The Power of Media in Contemporary Australian Politics

Running head: Politics and Government

Politics and Government 1
The power of media in contemporary Australian politics
Media is becoming increasingly involved into political practices all over the world. Media is a
means through which people like to be informed about the social, political and economic
conditions of their own and other countries. The politicians, citizens and journalists implement
new media tools to assist and complement their political goals. It is important for media to show
a true picture of the conditions of the country so that the citizens can make informed choices. In
Australia, the media has been given great freedom to verify the information to be presented and
express the truth to the people through newspaper, television and the internet. The freedom and
rights include its protection, capability to disapprove the acts of the government and right to
access the information until the rights are infringed in the procedure. With the declining trust and
participation of the Australian citizens in the federal politics, the government, political parties,
the social and political scientists have adjusted their focus on the potential of media to address
these deficits and rejuvenate politics (Prat, 2015). So, the chosen topic of this essay is the power
of media in contemporary Australian politics. It will be explained with the help of some
examples.
As per University of Canberra (n.d.) the mode through which people of Australia engage in the
politics is transforming. The older generations used to participate through the most traditional
forms of engagement such as protests, contacting parliamentary representatives and campaigning
whereas the younger generations are preferring the most contemporary forms of political
participation such as using the power of media and the online social advocacy groups to retrieve
knowledge about the current happenings in the Australian politics.
There is a great involvement between media and politics. Media is a way through which the
citizens are informed about the decision making and the formulation and implementation of the
policies of the government. Media had received new freedom and rights to ensure that the
underprivileged can access it. Also, it has promoted equality, appropriate information and has
alerted the common man about the threats opposing the government.
In the present scenario, particularly social media has been used by the parliaments, governments
and the political parties as a highly efficient tool to engage and inform the citizens about the

Politics and Government 2
public policies and the formulation of governments. The emerging power of media can highly
influence the common man as compared to any other mode of communication. It encourages
greater participation, responsibility and transparency in the delivering of information, so the
politicians use it as an effective mode to reach the young people of the country (Saldaña,
Mcgregor and Zúñiga, 2015).
The politicians can use their celebrity status in social media such as Facebook and Twitter to
attract young Australians in politics and political issues. Media has been efficient in motivating
the voters to donate their contributions in the election campaign fund raising. The
parliamentarians can use media to focus the citizen’s attention on political parties and issues, to
reply to the queries of the voters and respond to their needs.
With the increase in the public expectations of responsibility, transparency and participation, the
politicians can use them to enhance their observations and in building assistance. It can also help
them in raising funds, getting the voters to the poll and to respond on the issues of stakeholders.
Media helps in interchanging information about the issues and to enable the citizens to see that
the politicians are actively working for the benefits of the common man (Leonzi, Ciofalo and
Stefano, 2015).
Thus media is no longer a story but a means to tell a story. The transforming relationship
between the media and politics has crucial influence over the political agenda setting. The media
is emerging prominently in the political news reporting. It is using the tools and technique of
digital media for political engagement. Media offers new methods for citizens to participate in
the public affairs and elections (Sauter and Bruns, 2013). Use of computer forms of political
participation such as posting comments on a political blog and electronically subscribing to the
political mailing list have strengthened the political participation through the relative ease of
use. It helps in lowering the cost of participation as well as provides greater public access to
political elites.
Through evidences it is proved that news consumption has led to increase in the political
knowledge thereby resulting in political efficiency amongst the citizens. Additionally, the use of
media for political information has an influence on the political engagement of the people. The