Understanding Public Relations - Indigenous Health

Running head: UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC RELATIONS
Understanding Public Relations
-Indigenous Health
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC RELATIONS
Introduction:
The issue of Indigenous health have remained one of the most crucial topics in
Australia mainly because of the historic inequalities faced by the Indigenous people in
Australia as well as a corresponding inequality in the health of Indigenous people compared
to the non indigenous population which places them at higher risk for several diseases and
long term conditions and have been acknowledged as a health gap (Marmot, 2017; Paradies,
2016; Mitrou et al., 2014). The aim of this report is to analyze five news articles about
Indigenous health to understand how the articles can influence public opinion and develop
understanding of the tone, angle and content of each of the article.
Discussion:
Article 1: “Aboriginal communities warn housing stalemate is a mental health risk”
Borrello (2018) ABC News.
Angle of the story: The news article uses several angles, acting as a follow up story of the
aftermath of funding cuts in the housing for Aboriginal communities and linking a recent
local incident of suicide of a 10 year old girl in Kimberley, WA to mental health problems
among Aboriginal communities in Australia.
Pitch: The article utilizes an influencer pitch in order to influence policy makers towards a
policy reform and improving funding for Aboriginals.
Framing: A situational framing is used in the article in which the incident of suicide has been
attributed to mental health problem.
How the issue is reported: The issue is reported in the form of an audio piece. It presents
information regarding the funding cuts in federal housing projects and how that can be related
to an increase in suicide rates.

2UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC RELATIONS
Key message: The article clearly states that housing problems and overcrowding in
indigenous communities can be linked to poor health outcomes as well as the incidence of
violence and suicides in the communities.
Is the story positive/negative or neutral? The article delivers a negative message, highlighting
how the funding cuts for housing can further increase the incidence of violence and suicides
among the Aboriginal communities and adversely affect their health.
Agenda of the media outlet: From the article it is clear that the agenda of the outlet is to
mobilize the policymakers and stakeholders against funding cuts for remote housing projects.
What can be assumed about the target audience by the way the issue is framed?: Judging by
how the issue is being framed, it is evident that the target audience (policy makers) are not
completely aware of the impact of the ‘remote housing’ funding cuts on the health and
wellbeing of the people (Ziersch et al., 2017).
Article 2: “New suicide statistics 'paint a bleak picture”- Hirini (2018), NITV
Angle of the story: A national angle is provided by the news article, that reports a 21%
increase in the rates of suicide in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in the last decade.
Pitch: In the article, both an influencer pitch as well as an announcement pitch has been
utilized. The article both announces an increase in the incidence of suicide was well as
influence stakeholders to work towards the reduction of suicide rates.
Framing: The article utilizes a news framing style.
How the issue is reported: The news is reported based on statistical data from Australian
Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showing an increase in suicide rates over the last decade.