CommBank Insurance Scandal: Media Release Analysis and Comparison

This report provides an analysis of the media coverage surrounding the Commonwealth Bank (CommBank) insurance scandal of 2019, focusing on a media release concerning criminal charges faced by the bank. The analysis compares how three Australian news sources – Business Insider, The Guardian, and ABC News – presented the information, examining differences in their reporting styles, the angles they adopted, and the information they chose to emphasize or omit. The report highlights how each news outlet treated the initial media release, the quotes they published, and whether the angle of the story was altered. It also references Grunig and Hunt’s theories of public information to contextualize the media release. The Business Insider article is valued for its concise summary, The Guardian for its detailed discussion and credibility, and ABC News for providing a 360-degree view of the case. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of understanding how media outlets interpret and disseminate information from initial media releases, especially in the context of high-profile cases like the CommBank insurance scandal.

Running Head: Introduction to Communication and Journalism
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Introduction to Communication and Journalism
[Document subtitle]

Introduction to Communication and Journalism 1
The purpose of this paper is analyze the details about news event occurred in the year 2019 in
regards to the Commonwealth bank of Australia. The below mentioned paper analyze the
media release for the Commonwealth bank when they faced criminal charges over the bank
insurance scandal. The essay analyze the difference in the event recorded by 3 famous
newspapers of Australia and the ways in information differed and neglected. The essay
represents the ways in which three different news articles presented the information in
relation to the given case. Further, more details about the essay are mentioned below:
Commonwealth bank comes under the big four banks of Australia and slightest of action
implemented by this bank is reported in news media and creates headlines. The bank in the
year 2019 committed a crime due to which headlines were formed against the bank and its
working. The bank in the press release stated that they self-reported the matter so as to
prevent themselves from going further in the negative direction. The bank was accused of
selling life insurance products to the customers of Commonwealth bank through unsolicited
phone calls. The bank faced 87 criminal charges in total and maximum people of each charge
was expected to be AU $1250. The life insurance arm of Commonwealth bank was making
alleged phone calls to its customers to unlawfully sell the products and initiate sales.
Resulting in which ASIC alleged the bank for condemning such mistake under the name of
Simple Life. The media release attracted all the of people present in the Australian
environment and outside Australia. Also, the report was majorly interested by the
stakeholders and customers of the bank. The media was released so as to guide the people
about the event performed by Commonwealth bank and make investment or retail decision in
relation to the bank wisely. Based on Grunig and Hunt’s four theories, this press release was
related to public information because the newspaper organization posted this news so as to
aware the people of Australia (Tenor 2018).

Introduction to Communication and Journalism 2
Furthermore, below mentioned is the analysis of same information about Commonwealth
bank from three different sources:
The Business Insider news article was selected for this case on the priority because it easily
summed up the crux of the case in three bulletins mentioned at the initial of the news report.
So, even if a person does not have time for the same then they would just read these points
and would get to know about the case. The case involved only the crucial information relation
to the company and the events occurred (Hennessy, and Ankel 2019). The news also reported
the future events that might take place and the amount of penalty that Commonwealth bank
could face in the environment. The order of information was clear and narrative as it guided
the reader about the main verdict about the case and with history of the Commonwealth bank
Insurance segment and the future actions that could take place. Further, it should also be
noted that the news covered was not descriptive at all and the information shared was
adequate for the users to make judgment (Jensen, Mortensen, and Ørmen 2016).
The Guardian newspaper has been selected because of two reasons, one is the brand
reputation and the authenticity that the writer maintains while writing the paper and second is
the elaborated discussion of the case. The difference between the news shared on Business
Insider and The Guardian is that this newspaper gives a detailed views of the case and the
other one of provides the headlines related to the case. This sources helps the reader to rely
on the information by backing up with other relevant source or the past activities of the bank.
The headline of the news is also clear about the fact that the bank has faced (Butler 2019).
The use of words is kept simple by the organization so as to keep the public interacted in the
environment. Also, the definition of cold calling, who banned it etc. details relating to the
case is also discussed so as to help the reader attain complete information about the current
situation. Also, it should be noted that this platform did not change the information but it
enhanced the information by providing more details (Bruns 2018).

Introduction to Communication and Journalism 3
Just like the other two articles, the ABC news article was also posted on 4 October 2019. On
the level of priority reading, this article would come on the third position because its headline
tells the theme of the case but does not engage the user like The Guardian. However, there is
appropriate use of sources throughout the report and this article clearly represents most
accurate information about the event (Khadem 2019). Also the article provides the
perspective of all the parties mentioned in the case like ASIC, CBA and CMLA while in no
other article, the statements of CMLA was mentioned. Sometimes, it gets difficult to read
such length article due to which The Guardian length of article is preferred. However, this
article provides a 360 degree view of the case with a fair perspective as well. This article did
not change the original angle of the case in any way (Levy 2018).
Thus, in the limelight of above mentioned events, the fact should be noted that the paper
highlighted information about the case analysis of Commonwealth bank facing criminal
charges. It should be noted that the articles from The Guardian, ABC News and Business
Insider have been analyzed in the paper so as to check its relevancy with the actual news and
differentiation between all the three articles as well.

Introduction to Communication and Journalism 4
References
Hennessy, J., and Ankel, S., (2019) One of Australia's biggest banks is facing 87 criminal
charges for allegedly hawking life insurance through unsolicited phone calls [online].
Available from https://www.businessinsider.com/commonwealth-bank-unit-comminsure-
faces-87-criminal-charges-on-insurance-2019-10?IR=T [accessed on 31 March 2020].
Butler, B., (2019) Commonwealth Bank insurance arm faces 87 criminal charges [online].
Available from https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/oct/04/commonwealth-bank-
insurance-arm-faces-87-criminal-charges [accessed on 31 March 2020].
Khadem, N., (2019) CBA faces criminal charges over CommInsure scandal [online].
Available from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-04/cba-faces-criminal-charges-
comminsure-scandal/11573790 [accessed on 31 March 2020].
Bruns, A., 2018. Gatewatching and news curation: Journalism, social media, and the public
sphere. Peter Lang.
Levy, M.R., 2018. Disdaining the news. In The Media, Journalism and Democracy (pp. 291-
298). Routledge.
Jensen, J.L., Mortensen, M. and Ørmen, J. eds., 2016. News across media: Production,
distribution and consumption. Routledge.
Tenor, C., 2018. Hyperlocal news and media accountability. Digital journalism, 6(8),
pp.1064-1077.