Researchers from the University of Adelaide will carry out weekly media analysis throughout the remainder of the Voice referendum campaign with a view to holding News Corp “accountable” for its coverage of the Yes and No camps.
The research, commissioned by the Australians for a Murdoch Royal Commission campaign, will be carried out by communications lecturer Dr Victoria Fielding with two researchers and aims to qualify context given to Yes and No campaign spokespeople, beyond counting mentions.
“For instance, if Yes advocate Thomas Mayo is mentioned, it is important to know if he is mentioned in a positive or a negative context,” Fielding wrote in the research proposal.
“As such, this research will not only measure the inclusion and exclusion of voices from the Yes and No camps, but identifies the context in which they are used. Furthermore, as well as assessing which sources are used, this analysis also reveals which News Corp voices are most prominent in their Voice coverage.”
Fielding argued the research was necessary for “a healthier democracy” given the corporate media’s failure to self-regulate.
“Self-regulation through the Press Council or broadcast regulation through ACMA is not having a meaningful impact on media standards when it comes to bias and misinformation,” she said. “In this context, it is important that the country’s largest and most partisan media organisation’s Voice coverage be scrutinised.”
The research will also try to capture how often both cases are presented to audiences of News Corp’s coverage of the referendum, in a bid to measure balance and move to assess how much Voice coverage across the News Corp stable amounts to political campaigning.
“A key element of media campaigning is when an author or television presenter — whether they be a journalist, commentator, panellist, or guest — advocates for the audience to take a position by making their views clear and presenting an obviously-one-sided assessment,” Fielding said.
A News Corp Australia spokesman rejected the claim and told Crikey: “News Corp Australia’s publications are not campaigning against the Voice. We are publishing the views and positions of all sides of the debate to inform the community.”
The platforming of “disinformation and hateful ideas” across News Corp will also be a target of the research, which Fielding argues there is “already evidence” of. The research would measure the inclusion of misinformation and disinformation, along with hateful ideas.
“This includes accusations by the No camp such as the Voice causing segregation and creating an apartheid state, that the Voice gives Aboriginal people special privileges and will lead to more land rights claims, and that the Voice will be able to veto decisions made by the Australian Parliament,” she said.
The researchers said they would use the coverage of News Corp’s competitors — Nine newspapers, the ABC, and Guardian Australia — to identify voices and ideas that had been excluded from News Corp coverage, or to “identify how Yes ideas are being misrepresented or attacked” in News Corp coverage.
The commissioned research comes just one week after the campaign’s co-chairs, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and Sharan Burrow, co-wrote an opinion piece in Guardian Australia branding Sky News a misinformation machine and its new 24/7 “Voice Debate” channel “an affront to the foundations of Australian democracy”.
On the new channel, which has been live for about a week, programming has so far given balance to spokespeople from both campaigns.
An organization holding News Corp to account on it’s “Balance” live, real-time?………………..
Now THAT’S something I would support with cash.
Perhaps the Government should mandate that News Corp give the results front page coverage every week…………………………….
Only fair, considering their relentless hammering of the ABC on that very point.
…. with a view to holding News Corp “accountable” for its coverage of the Yes and No camps.
A Herculean task, which I, too, would support with cash.
And you can and should support them with cash! Join me and become a fellow supporter of Australians for a Murdoch Royal Commission at https://murdochroyalcommission.org.au/
“Reporting”? … Limited News?
Stretching the definition until it screams……………….
A Cat’s Cradle of gossip columnist opinionistas …. “Stick ya finger in there.”
read there, read here, there’s a balance somewhere between.
So if you equate insanity with sanity, you expect some sort of “balance”?????
This is great! I can’t wait to see the data that will back up what we’ve always known; that NewsCorp is simply the propaganda arm of the political right in Australia.
Got the cart and the horse confused there………………….
The Liberal Party is simply the Political Wing of He Who Must Not Be Named.
(….and the AFP is the enforcement arm)
Another 0xym0r0n to join military intelligence, Sydney society, a certain WA Senator’s character – now we have News Corp accountability.
Resubmitting because the original is Awaiting Approval, so I’ve edited and censored to try to get around the algorithm.
Murdoch needs to be brought to account.
Fox News and Sky news don’t take responsibility for the accuracy of their reporting………..
and does the ABC?
It is required to by legislation……………..
……..or has that escaped your attention?