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...

This paper will consider some of the wider contextual and policy questions arising out of four major public inquiries that took place in Australia over 2011–2012: the Convergence Review, the National Classification Scheme Review, the Independent Media Inquiry (Finkelstein Review) and the National Cultural Policy. This paper considers whether we are now witnessing a ‘convergent...

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 2 March the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, released the Report of the Independent Media Inquiry, undertaken by Former Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, Ray Finkelstein QC, with the assistance of Dr Matthew Ricketson. The Report has been forwarded to the Convergence Review, which is taking...

The following media analysis presents a snapshot of female representation in the Australian media. It has been prepared by The Media Research Group, at the request of The Women’s Leadership Institute Australia.