The Power of Media in Contemporary Australian Politics

THE POWER OF MEDIA IN CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN POLITICS 1
MEDIA HAS POWER IN CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN POLITICS
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Introduction

THE POWER OF MEDIA IN CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN POLITICS 2
Media is an essential foundation in any political system, although it is not built on a
formal status like the other institutions. Media also plays a central role in the practice of any
country’s politics. Media happens to be the main source of information for a great number of
people. Most people do not participate directly in political affairs by being members of any
political party or Attending the political rallies, and so they learn about the political
developments through the television, newspapers, radio and internet. This communication is
not relayed in the one-way process because it is through the same media that the politicians get
to know all the concerns and the expectations of the communities. Apart from linking the
people and the politicians, the media plays a political role in setting the political agenda
especially in any democratic country that has an independent and free media. Through history,
the media has been charged with the role of a “watchdog” taking the full responsibility of
monitoring the political developments by identifying the positive progress and the failings on
behalf of the public (Flew, 2010, p. 21). To fulfil this particular role, the media is allowed to
access political grounds to get information. This research looks into the influence of media in
setting the agenda of Australian politics.
Politicians, journalists and the citizens in Australia employ media tools to support and
settle their political goals. Through a close analysis of sampled articles over time, we get a clear
insight that the media organisations and the journalists have changed over time and become
political tools (Dean, 2015, p. 34). This is because the mainstream media plays a crucial role in
framing and positioning of important communication aimed at gaining or neutralising political
mileage. Key findings show that some articles in social media mostly report about politics. The
media moved from the usual way of telling a story and became focused more on the political
agenda (Ferrate, 2015, p. 87). Many articles in the media over the recent years reflected on the

THE POWER OF MEDIA IN CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN POLITICS 3
politician's negative attitudes towards the role of the media being used as a political tool.
Members of the public are seen to use social media to fight for their rights and have the support
of particular causes. They employ the tools of media to gossip, criticise or support the
politicians.
In 2007 the Australian locally produced 24-hour news channel became an important
player in shaping the Australian politics. The sky news channel ran a series of hosting the
leader's debate of the federal elections and also predicted the outcome of the elections. It has a
great impact on how the news in Australia are reported and influenced the behaviour of
Australian politics widely by increasing the sensitivity of the prevailing news in the leadership
fields. Information technology and communication spearheaded the political landscape of
Australia. People changed the old way of electoral campaigning and embraced the use of
networking technology to bring together strong social movements. In the year 2007 sky news
decided to do a comprehensive coverage of political practice (Davis, 2010, p. 67). The station
interrupted the news bulleting to have live media coverage of the political rallies. Every day
there was a content related to politics that would be aired through the television (Cohen, 2011,
p. 43).
The leader opposition, Kelvin Rudd, employed a media trick by running a smooth
presidential website, online videos and use of the social networking services (SNS) that enabled
him to be at the frontline of campaigns. This was the beginning of the use of online videos and
social media directly in the target of supporters and key campaign groups. At the grass root
level, there rose a wide range of use of the internet to access political information. This has
become the order of the day, and the media has been embraced as the pre-eminent tool that
links people with the political environment in Australia. It is not just a passive way of having