Journal Article:
Sonwalkar, P. (2005).
Banal Journalism: The Centrality of the ‘us-them’ binary in news discourse. Ln
S. Allen (Ed.), Journalism: critical
issues (pp. 261 – 273). Maidenhead: Open University Press
The author of this
analysis, Prasun Sonwalkar, was formerly a journalist for many news papers and
channels before becoming a researcher and teacher at the University of New
England. His years of experience in the field of journalism are evident in the
writing of ‘Banal Journalism’, where he discusses the institutionalized bias of
mainstream journalism. Sonwalkar states that banal journalism can be explained
through the social system of the ‘us’ and ‘them’ binary, where ‘us’ symbolizes the
mainstream audience and ‘them’ social minorities. He proves his views through
examples from both personal experience and researched cases, presenting his
findings in a clear and concise manner. Sonwalkar believes this binary occurs
as a result of social values and beliefs, dependent on the locality, the focus
and the perspective of the journalist. I believe that his opinions are highly
valid and applicable in the field of journalism. This is because I have often
seen examples of his theories in mainstream journalism. I agree that the
‘us-them’ binary can work both ways, with minorities speaking against mass
media as well. I also trust the credibility of Sonwalkar’s writings because his
extensive use of citations legitimises his claims he has made, as does his
broad personal experience.
Helbig, K. (2012, May
15). Campbell Newman likens Aboriginal
'embassy' protesters in Musgrave Park to squatters, urges them to move on. The Courier Mail. Retrieved from: http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/campbell-newman-likens-aboriginal-embassy-protesters-in-musgrave-park-to-squatters-urges-them-to-move-on/story-e6freoof-1226356238207
In this article
featured by the Courier Mail, Koren Helbig presents a somewhat one sided story
in relation to the recent removal of the Aboriginal tent embassy from Musgrave
Park, Brisbane City. Helbig’s article discussed the refusal of the Aboriginal
people to vacate the park, proving this with many quotes from the Brisbane City
Council and Premier Campbell Newman. Only one short quote was mentioned from
the embassy’s spokes person Wayne Wharton, which expressed that he did not wish
to speak with the council. The article also expressed the Premier’s wishes that
the park should again be enjoyed by the greater public. These are all examples
of an article demonstrating an ‘us-them’ binary, where the ‘us’ symbolizes
Brisbane’s greater pubic, the ‘them’ Aboriginal people through association
with the tent embassy. It is instances like this where racial stereotypes are
born, and this is why I do not agree with the way this article has been
written. The credibility of the given statements is apparent, though trust is
lost in the article through what is not said of the Aboriginal people. This omission
of the tent embassy’s opinion was seen across many stations and medias
including radio and television, which would make sense in relation to Prasun
Sonwalkar’s article, as most Brisbane reporters art influenced by similar
perspective and culture.
News Broadcast:
McDonald, B
(Presenter) & Hegar, U (Reporter). (2012, May 15). Evict Call. [news broadcast]. Brisbane, Australia: Channel Ten.
Retrieved from: http://ten.com.au/watch-tv-episodes-online.htm?movideo_m=188755
Channel Ten’s news
broadcast focused on the planned evacuation of the Aboriginal people from the
tent embassy in Musgrave Park. This report showed a less bias account of the
events than the above article, though the placement of
information showed that ‘Evict Call’ was not a fair report. The first half of
the report showed images of messy campsites, graffiti and Aboriginal
spokesperson Wayne Wharton refusing to speak with the City’s council, along
with descriptions of the complications caused by the tent embassy’s existence.
The middle of the report expressed the opinions of the Aboriginal people
involved, though I saw none of the reasonable, compelling arguments given on other
television networks such as the ABC. The way this story was covered made it
appear as if both sides were fairly represented, however this was not the case.
The reason for this is that the time allotted for the Aboriginal people
(‘them’), did not succeed in expressing their true opinions and reasons for
remaining in Musgrave Park. The issue involving the Aboriginal people was presented so that it appeared to be an issue which disturbed the main population. This
is how the ‘us-them’ binary works, any news story must affect the majority
or ‘us’. Here, the given information is not credible, as the opinions of the
Aboriginal people have been altered or omitted.
Radio Podcast:
Wiles, P.
(Presenter), (2012, May 18). Am 17-05.
[audio podcast]. Retrieved from: http://caama.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/am-17-05.mp3
This radio segment
presented by Paul Wiles also discusses the Musgrave Park issue. However, being
an indigenous radio channel presents the views of the Aboriginal people. This
does not stop the segment from demonstrating an ‘us-them’ binary; in this case
‘them’ represents the Police, the City Council and White Australia. The segment
discusses the opinions of the Aboriginal people through interviews and
recordings in a reasonable manner. The main focus of the podcast is that
Campbell Newman send over 250 police to remove 40-50 peaceful protesters from
Musgrave Park. They believe it was excessive and domineering of the Queensland
government. I believe this story was covered very differently by the Indigenous
run radio than it was by almost every other media outlet in Queensland. It is
interesting to see how the story changes depending on the perspective of the
writers. The credibility of the radio segment is not of a high quality, as the
only interviews included were given by protesters, and therefore the podcast is
very one sided.
