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Media sources can influence and shape attitudes and beliefs towards others. This study explored newspapers depictions of autism. All articles which included keywords relating to autism published in 2016–18 in Australian newspapers were read, coded, and categorised. In 2016, 428 articles relating to autism were published, 532 in 2017, and 391 in 2018. Only 7% of all articles demonstrated a high content focus on autism; most (59%) were heavily focused on opinion and less than 1% included first-hand perspectives from individuals on the spectrum. Over half the articles focussed upon health and medical issues (33%) and profiles of people on the autism spectrum (25%). To minimise the spread of misinformation around autism, the paper concludes with advice for those writing media articles related to autism. Newspapers provide a public account of autism and those with autism, therefore, media portrayals and what aspects of the condition are reported, inform public perceptions. Newspaper articles predominantly focus on the health and medical aspects of the condition, emphasising a 'cure' or treatments for autism. Articles tend to single out individuals with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum, through media depictions or characterisations. Media articles reviewed often only mentioned autism but did not explain or discuss the details related to the syndrome and rarely included the expertise of qualified practitioners. Only 1% of all news stories included first-hand perspectives from individuals on the autism spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia, the rise of the #MeToo movement coincided with a major public reckoning with sexual and family violence, through two royal commissions. Across #MeToo and the royal commissions, a common picture emerged whereby the mutually reinforcing role of institutions such as the media and law was considered central to the production of problems such as sexual assault. Drawing on insights from feminist science and technology studies on the constitution of realities, this paper examines how the role of institutions has been constructed in public debate since, through an analysis of Australian newspaper accounts of #MeToo from 2017–2020. Some accounts materialise #MeToo problems as the product of mutually reinforcing institutional dynamics. More commonly, these problems are constituted as the product of "institutional exceptionalism": rare features of particular institutions, not commonly replicated. We consider the implications of these media constructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. The goal of the paper is to identify, investigate and present the official ways of controlling the press in Australia in the 1930s and the ways in which editors and publishers of Croatian newspapers in Australia avoided censorship. This was the time when publications in foreign languages were checked before granting permission to publish, and within the Australian Croatian community the primary language of communication was Croatian. Based on the research, a list of all Croatian newspapers that were published in Australia in the early 1930s is compiled. Approach/methodology/design. The methods used in the research are the method of structured search of online public institutions' catalogues (primarily libraries and archives in Australia), content analysis of archival sources and publications, and the method of involving the Croatian community in Australia. Results. The research resulted in new findings about publications and their editing in the observed period. The social framework for publishing newspapers was researched and presented, and ways to avoid censorship were identified. Each way to avoid censorship is documented and described on the basis of archival sources or a few preserved publications. The research has identified publications that were published in the observed timeframe; the basic data on their publication and editing practices have been investigated. Originality/value. Two publications discovered during the research are described in the paper (Oganj and Iskra). In addition, one publication (one issue of Borba) was found, which was mentioned in the literature, but the bibliographic elements and technical characteristics have never been analysed and the place of storage was not known. All three publications have been digitized and are freely accessible at the links provided in the paper. Furthermore, the research has shown that one publication, which has so far been cited as the publication of Croats in Australia, was not actually published in Australia (Proleter). A list of publications published by Croats in Australia in the early 1930s was compiled on the basis of archival documents, and the ways of conducting and avoiding censorship were presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article shows, on the example of Croatian newspapers in Australia and New Zealand, the possibilities of researching the publications of Croatian emigrants. The goal of the Croatian Emigrant Press project implemented at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, is explained. The method of creating bibliographies within the project (with views in ISBD and MARC 21 formats) is also explained, as is the research methodology, which includes searching library catalogues, community engagement (crowdsourcing) and searching archival materials. The role of archives as heritage institutions that are indispensable in the research of publications is especially explained. Examples are given of New Zealand and Australian newspapers for which the only surviving sources are archival ones. One New Zealand newspaper (Glas istine, The Voice of Truth) has not been preserved in any of its copies, but documents preserved in the New Zealand archives prove that they were published. A similar example is of an Australian newspaper (Svijetlo, The Light) for which a document was found which makes it clear that the person who wrote the document had the publication in his hands. Images of documents related to the research of Croatian newspapers are also presented in the paper. One of these documents is related to the implementation of censorship in Australia in the 1930s and indicates that it were the Croatian newspapers Iskra (The Sparkle) and Oganj (The Flame) that influenced the amendments to regulations in order to control press as effectively as possible. The importance of private archives and community archives within Croatian associations is pointed out, and new possibilities for researching Croatian publications in archives in countries where emigrated Croats live are also emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims This paper analyses the content of news media messages on drinking during pregnancy in Australia over an 18-year period to understand whether and how the nature of messages communicated to women has changed over time. Methods Factiva was used to search Australian newspapers from 2000 to 2017, resulting in a sample of 1394 articles from the 18 major national and state-based newspapers. Content analysis of articles was undertaken, and Poisson regression analysis was used to assess changes over time. Results The largest number of articles on drinking during pregnancy was published in 2007. Themes that significantly increased over time included Harms to the Child (from 0.97% in 2008 to 29.69% in 2015) and Prevention Initiatives (from 0% in 2005 to 12.50% in 2017). Articles endorsing women not consuming alcohol during pregnancy significantly increased over time (from 20.69% in 2001 to 53.78% in 2013), matched by a decreasing trend in the proportion of articles presenting mixed advice (from 15.93% in 2009 to 0% in 2017). The largest number of articles adopted no position in relation to women's consumption. Conclusions A stronger abstinence message during pregnancy has been communicated through Australian newspaper media over time. The mixed messaging and large number of articles not endorsing a position on consumption may reflect the inconclusiveness of the evidence on harms from low to moderate levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Opportunities remain for researchers to work with public health advocates to disseminate balanced messages based on evidence-based research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically documents media portrayals of Australia’s performance on the Program for the International Student Assessment (PISA), 2000–2014. We analyse newspaper articles from two national and eight metropolitan newspapers. This analysis demonstrates increased media coverage of PISA over the period in question. Our research data were analysed using ‘framing theory’, documenting how the media frames stories about Australia’s performance on PISA. Three frames were identified: counts and comparisons; criticisms; and contexts. Most of the media coverage (41%) was concerned with the first frame, counts and comparisons, which analysed PISA data to provide ‘evidence’ that was then used to comparatively position Australia against other countries, reference societies, which do better, with particular emphasis on Finland and also Shanghai after the 2009 PISA. The other two frames dealt with criticisms and contextual issues. This paper only focuses on the first frame. The analysis demonstrates the ways in which media coverage of Australia’s PISA performance has had policy impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During the late nineteenth century, a considerable number of young Punjabi men sought their fortunes in the Australian colonies, working as hawkers and farm labor. While in Australia they experienced marginalization and high levels of racial vilification by the Anglo-Celtic settler community. Aims: To assess the frequency and nature of suicides of Punjabi workers in nineteenth century Australia. Materials and Methods: The paper draws on archival sources and contemporary newspaper reports. Results: A wide range of methods of suicides were observed, with drowning the preferred method. Conclusions: This article is the first to collate the data on the suicides and suicide attempts by young Punjabi men working in an immigration country. It can be shown that the suicide rate among Punjabi was almost six times higher than that of the host community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health efforts to lift childhood vaccination rates can be supported or undermined by media representations of parents. Polarising representations neglect the large range of ‘middle-ground’ positions people occupy, potentially alienating parents. In recent years, Australian public health actors have tried to better engage journalists to avoid this. As these efforts have unfolded, the main national immunisation policy lever has become more punitive. This paper examines whether Australian newspaper representations of parents have changed, by comparing 153 newspaper articles from two periods: 1997-1998 (prior to the development of a public health lobby targeting the media; when the first national childhood immunisation policy was introduced) and; 2015-2016 (5 years after advocacy groups began working with the media; and when the national policy took a punitive turn). We analyse patterns and shifts (between 1997-1998 and 2015-2016) in the portrayal of parents as complacent, alternative, hesitant and as choosing. Australian newspaper portrayals of parents are broadly aligned with the policy targets of the day. In 2015-2016, there was less negative representation of parents who occupy the ‘middle-ground’ between vaccine acceptance and rejection. However, coverage of alternative parents (vaccine objectors) intensified in quantity and negativity. Concurrently, there were new (minority) portrayals of vaccine objectors as invisible, and as victims being denied choice. This signals that reporting may simultaneously align with national policy targets and destabilise public health efforts to avoid polarising misrepresentations of parents, characterisations likely to undermine trust in public health. Rather than ‘blame the media’, this analysis illuminates conflicts within public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social workers have an important role in questioning how social problems such as homelessness are represented in public discourse. Using Carol Bacchi's policy analysis framework, this paper analyses representations of homelessness and service provision in the Australian print media, by examining assumptions underlying these representations, gaps and silences; the effects of these representations; and how these can be defended and disrupted. The study found that print media representations of people can reinforce deep-seated community values that maintain unequal gender and power relations, which has implications for social worker advocacy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is a dearth of scholarly analysis and critique of the Australian newsprint media’s role in the medicalization of child behaviour. To begin to redress this lack this paper analyses newsprint media’s use of metaphors that re/describe and construct realities of ADHD with a medicalizing effect. The interdisciplinary team used theFactivaTMdatabase to locate and review 453 articles published in Australian national and metropolitan newspapers during the decade 1999–2009. Data analysis involved generating statistical descriptions of the dataset according to attributes such as: date, state, newspaper titles and author names. This was followed by inductive analysis of article content. Content analysis revealed pervasive and striking use of metaphor in newsprint media reporting of ADHD content, especially when describing health professionals, educators, parents and children. This collection of metaphors was striking, and while the metaphors deployed were varied, this diversity seemed underscored by a common functionality that increased the risk that child behaviour was explained using medicalized knowledge. We contend that these metaphors collectively and coherently functioned to simplify and delimit meanings of children’s health and behaviour to favour depictions that medicalize problems of children and childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]