General Press Release No. 281 (October 2007)

Newspaper election coverage unbiased

With the election campaign starting this week, it is likely that we will soon hear accusations that this outlet or that is biased in its coverage. It is interesting then to see that research conducted for the Australian Press Council has found that there was no evidence of bias in newspaper coverage of the 2006 Victorian and Queensland state elections.

In a report on recent developments in the Australian print media to be launched on Thursday 18 October at 10 am, the Press Council publishes summaries of original research it commissioned on the question, "Is newspaper coverage of elections biased?" Academic studies of The Courier-Mail's coverage of the 2006 Queensland election campaign and The Age's coverage the 2006 Victorian election campaign found no bias. The basic intent of the studies was to gather empirical data relating to the possible bias of newspapers in election periods, an accusation frequently aired by all sides in politics, but the research went further, with evidence of such matters as a longer-term trend toward presidential-style elections, where reporting centres on the leaders, and where there is close control of the flow of information by political parties. The coverage illuminated the main issues in each state, even to the point of the newspapers, in the absence of opposition advocacy, analysing issues that ought to be addressed. In the case of The Age, such analysis continued through the election, while The Courier-Mail had largely defined the issues in its coverage of state politics leading up to the election.

On Thursday the Council will launch the 2007 Supplement to The State of the News Print Media in Australia 2006, a report it issued last year, based on a similar American analysis of its media. The Council intends to publish a full State of the News Print Media every second year. In the odd-numbered years it will issue a Supplement, which updates the report with recent developments. Unlike the full report, which is also available in hard-copy format, the 2007 Supplement will be available solely through the Council's website (http://www.presscouncil.org.au/snpma/index_snpma2007.html), with a downloadable pdf version also available on the site.

The 2007 Supplement will be available on-line from 10 am Sydney time on 18 October.

In addition to the original research on election coverage, the 2007 Supplement also contains:

• analysis of the latest trends in circulation, readership and usage of on-line news sites;
   
• comments on the recent changes in cross-media ownership rules and their impact;
   
• developments in newspaper on-line sites, including reports from Fairfax Media and News Limited on their moves towards a 'convergent' newsroom;
   
• discussion of some of the current ethical issues in the press, including the use of confidential sources; what's off-the-record; and when the press should use leaked material of doubtful origin; and
   
• an update on further legislative, administrative and judicial restrictions on the ability of the press to report matters of public interest and concern (and a few, very few, cases where there has been a easing of those restrictions).

In his Introduction to the Supplement, Council Chairman Professor Ken McKinnon notes that the year since October 2006 has seen enormous changes in the Australian media landscape. In particular, "The transition ... towards making news available on-line, involving the convergence of print, photography and video to tell vital stories, has ... become the settled way forward, although metropolitan companies are well in advance of regional and rural companies in implementing the new business model."

He also comments on one development that will affect the future of the Council itself:

"The Press Council is widening its remit to include Internet news sites that have, or wish to gain, reputations for accuracy, fairness and balance. The Council will accept applications for affiliation from any such sites willing to abide by both its long-standing Principles, and Privacy Standards, and willing to police some additional blog 'etiquette' requirements, covering civilised discourse, an absence of threats and extreme language, currently being finalised."

Professor McKinnon will launch the 2007 Supplement to The State of the News Print Media in Australia 2006 at the Council's Sydney offices at 10 am. The media are invited.

See also
The 2007 Supplement
The State of the News Print Media in Australia 2006

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