Special treatment: the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the media

Abstract

Australians turn to the mainstream media to gain information, analysisand reasoning about events and issues on a daily basis. 'The news' has apowerful and permeating influence on how we all understand and make sense of the world around us. Notions of 'objectivity' and 'fact' in media traditionbelie the reality that the experiences and values of those who work in the media influence the way events and issues are portrayed. Like many Australians, those who work in the media may have ill-informed or prejudiced views of the historical and current experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Although there are many commentators, opinion columnists andothers who make overtly racist statements about Indigenous people, racism in the media also manifests in more subtle ways in everyday media practices of news gathering and the narrative structures of news reportage. There is an institutional racism in the media, an entrenched culture that represents issues and people in particular ways. It is as much about what is not reported as what is. Whether deliberate or unconscious, those working in the media have the power to marginalise and construct Indigenous communities as 'other', as associated with criminality or conflict. This power comes from the capacity to make connections, to represent events or issues in the context of pre-existing prejudices. This article explores the relationship between media reporting, political rhetoric and community attitudes, and the impact on Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander people - from the way that legislation and policiesconcerning Indigenous people are formulated, to the way that Indigenouspeople are treated on a daily basis in the street, in the workplace, at school, and in the community.