The University of NSW. Photo: UNSW. |
The media possess considerable power in a world increasingly confronted by significant security concerns. When combined, that power and those concerns can make for a very worrying mix.
This was the conclusion reached today by a gathering of experts at the Exploding Media Myths: Misrepresenting Australia? conference at the University of NSW. The one-day conference drew together members of the media, academics from numerous fields, policy makers, public relations practitioners and the public.
The conference sought to determine whether Australian society has become more relaxed and calm, or whether it has been gripped by anxiety. The answers to these questions were not hard to find.
Keynote speaker John Tulloch, a Research Professor in Sociology and Communications at Brunel University in West London, relayed his experiences of surviving the London bombings of July 7, 2005. He emphasised the importance of engaging the public in open discussion about foreign policy, terrorism and media representations of ethnic groups.
Dr Anne Aly, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Social Marketing, at Western Australia’s Edith Cowan University, used her keynote address to highlight the fact that media coverage often perpetuates fear in society.
“The response to terrorism is not about nothing,” Dr Aly said. “It is about real, lived experiences.”
Dr Aly also presented the conclusions of her most recent research into media and security, which stressed the fact that media promulgate a fear of Muslims and that Muslim Australian representations in the media are different to non-Muslim Australian representations.
Following the keynote speeches, the participants divided into small groups to discuss issues ranging from civil liberties and education, to social inclusion, security and reporting.
Participants agreed that the media play an instrumental role in shaping the Australian public’s perceptions and experiences. Often, however, this role translates into negative coverage with potentially harmful consequences for certain communities.
The conference was part of a three-year, Australian Research Council-funded project that investigated community, perceptions of fear and the public’s understanding of terror.
Full details are available on the conference website
Published November 20, 2008
Updated November 24, 2008 | 
