Indigenous Australia in media: A portrait of health

Abstract

The television media is a powerful tool in forming and influencing the general public on various issues and opinions. It has the potential to change and create a positive or negative effect on the peoples view of the world and the environment they live in. When positively viewed media can create an environment conducive to change. However, negative views will have the far reached outcomes unprecedented in many cases and time. The negative view can be a problem when the media, in particular television starts to create a negative portrayal of a particular group. The purpose of this Thesis is to investigate whether television reporting of Indigenous issues and peoples have an effect on their quality of life and in particular health. The methodology used in this Thesis is of a qualitative nature, which consisted of a series of interviews and literature reviews. The findings indicate that media, and in particular television have a negative view of Indigenous issues and portray the Indigenous people negatively. Such negative portrayals have adverse effects on the quality of life, in particular health, of Indigenous people and their communities. It is recommended that necessary Code of Practice to be developed by the relevant government agencies in partnership with the Indigenous communities, to make sure that the programmes are free from misused information on disadvantaged groups and in particular Indigenous peoples. Furthermore an Affirmative Action for employment of the Indigenous workers in media will go a long way to improve the current portrayals of the Indigenous Australians.