This report provides background on recent media reviews in Australia, and assesses what they may mean for the future. Since the seventeenth century the media have been seen as the watchdogs of democracy— guardians of the public interest, protecting the people against arbitrary rule by governments. In recent times however, there has been considerable speculation...

The news media has been a forum for commentary and conversation about social and cultural issues. At its best, journalism has been a professional practice that has done all these things ethically and fairly. Until recently, newspapers and the print media have been the central institution through which these functions of journalism have operated. Today...

On 14 September 2011 the Australian Government established an independent inquiry into the Australian media. The inquiry was led by former Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, Mr Ray Finkelstein QC and reported to government on 28 February 2012.

We have, in this brief history, a story of the varying articulation of the three business models which have, in varying degrees at different times and places, sustained public mass media: direct payment for content, payment for advertising and state subsidy.

Women are still significantly underrepresented and misrepresented in news media coverage, according to Global Media Monitoring Project research in 108 countries coordinated by the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) despite significant change since the project began 15 years ago. 24% of people in the news are female, compared to 17% in 1995. 44% of...