Parochialism, politics and the Tasmanian Press: A study in the politics of Journalism. by Stephen J. Tanner A dissertation submitted to the Department of Political Science, University of Tasmania, for the Degree of Master of Arts. Department of Political Science 1990 (i) DECLARATION: This dissertation represents my own work and contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma, or any copy or paraphrase of material written by another person, except when due acknowledgement is made. Signed: ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In researching and writing this dissertation, I was given invaluable and timely assistance by a number of people, and it is to them that I express my sincere thanks. To my wife, Kath, for her encouragement, understanding and assistance, particularly in the months following the change of government when I was able to commit myself totally to this project. To Dr Richard Herr of the Political Science Department, for his encouragement, patience and advice through this and the Masters (qualifying) Program. He was very understanding of my other commitments and did all he could to assist me. To those interviewees - Mr Bryan McKendrick and Lloyd Whish-Wilson of the Examiner and Mr Jim Harris and Mr Henry Catchpole of the Advocate - whose personal involvement added an important dimension to this study. To Mr Terry Newman and Mrs Heather Thurstans of the Parliamentary Library for the use of facilities and research material. To Mrs Sandy Wittison for typing a great deal of the draft information. And finally, to those many people who provided the back-up, the advice and the encouragement, particularly my colleagues at work who were very understanding while the paper was being researched. To all these people. I am indebted and again thank sincerely. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii INTRODUCTION 1 Chapter 1. REGIONALISM - A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 30 2. THE NEWSPAPERS AND REGIONALISM 75 3. THE STATE BANK DISPUTE 142 4. STATEWIDE FOOTBALL - PAROCHIALISM ANSWERED OR INFLAMED 9 213 5. BRIDGING THE STRAIT 268 CONCLUSIONS 320 APPENDIX 349 BIBLIOGRAPHY 354 INTRODUCTION Newspapers are generally ascribed an important role within the community. With media attention becoming increasingly focussed on the reporting of conflict, this role can be an influential one. A great deal of research has been conducted into the relationship between the media and the broader community. Michael Gurevitch et al. have described the relationship as symbiotic - that media organisations draw on their environment both for economic survival and for the raw data needed to fulfill editorial requirements.' The media is said to be a powerful influence on the formation of public opinion. According to Tod Gitlin the earliest studies have demonstrated that the media played a central role in, "consolidating and reinforcing the attitude of people." 2 Newspapers 'Michael Gurevitch, Tony Bennett, James Curran and Janet Woollacott, eds. Culture, Society and the Media (USA: Methuen, 1982), 20. 2 T. Gitlin, "Media Sociology: the Dominant Paradigm," in Mass Communications Review Year Book, eds. G. C. Wilhoit and H. Boch (Beverly Hills, California: Sage, 1981). Quoted in John S. Western, "The Role of the Media in Politics," Current Affairs Bulletin 63, no. 9 (February 1987): 15. 2 have been said to, "both reflect public opinion and influence public opinion." 3 Said Hertz: "People identify closely with their newspaper and actively use it." 4 It is a two-way relationship; one in which media content may influence our behaviour and our behaviour may influence the content that is offered. 5 Researchers have posited a number of theories to explain this relationship. One popular theory - the agenda-setting theory - draws extensively from the tenet that the media largely controls the formation of public opinion. It has the ability to select certain issues for discussion and to ignore others. Emory Bogardus summed up this belief when he said that the media's, choice and treatment of news decides whether favourable opinion on a subject is to be made or unmade."° Marie Curnick gave it a slightly 3 Emory S. Bogardus, "Reading Newspapers," in The Making of Public Opinion (New York: Association Press, 1951), 47. °Leon Hertz, "The Case for Newspapers," in A Forum on Australian Media: Current Views (Pope and Kiernan and Black, n.d.), 59. W. Phillips Davison, James Boylan and Frederick T. C. Yu, eds. Mass Media: Systems and Effects, 2d ed. (New York: Rinehart and Winston, CBS Publishing, 1982), 1. °Bogardus, 44. 3 different emphasis when she said, "part of this agenda- setting function is to treat conflicts of interest as manifestly proper material for news and others as too complex, too marginal or too unmanageable."' However it was John Western who put it into perspective with the comment: "while we can argue with some force ... that the media sets the agenda, we need to ask, on what basis is this agenda set and who determines what gets on the agenda and what does not?" In discussing the relationship between media organisations and the broader community, researchers generally accept that the former's influence is substantial. According to W. Blood: "... there is a positive causal relationship between the media agenda, what the media emphasize and the public agenda, what the public thinks important."° This belief is supported by others, including Donald Edgar, who argued that the media helped structure our view of the 'Marie Curnick, The Coding of News in the Australian Press, New South Wales Institute of Technology, Media Papers, no. 11, (April 1981), 2. °Western, 16. °W. Blood, "Agenda Setting: A Review of the Theory," Media Information Australia 26, (1982): 5; cited in Western, 16. 4 world." Michael MacKuen said that while the mere observation of a coincidence between media and citizen agendas hardly establishes a direct causal connection, its existence could be substantiated by research." In seeking to adopt an agenda-setting role, the media has a number of tools at its disposal. It is widely •recognised that it can influence the formation of public opinion through the interpretation and presentation of news. That is, the media can present news in a biased fashion; it can influence an individual's interpretation of events by colouring news. It is able to omit particular arguments, or to give priority and undue coverage to articles representing the views it supports. Having selected particular articles for publication, it is able to enhance their readership and thus further its own agenda-setting role by positioning the articles in a prominent position within the newspaper. In recent years a great deal has been said and "Donald Edgar, "Mass Media as Legitimators of Order," Introduction to Australian Society: A Sociological Perspective (Sydney: Prentice Hall Pty Ltd, 1980), 252. "M. B. MacKuen and S. L. Coombs, More than News: Media Power in Public Affairs (Beverly Hills: Sage, 1981), 22. 5 written about the influence of the media. There has been a general questioning of media responsibility. There has been much discussion of its role in shaping, guiding and moulding public opinion. A great deal has been written about media bias, of the differences between fair reporting and propaganda and of the media's role as censor. These discussions have produced claims that there is bias in every newspaper, admitted or not." Furthermore, that readers should be protected against the colouring of their judgment by, 00 propaganda disguised as news and by wrongful emphasis through the one-sided presentation of argument. "1 Not all researchers agree that bias is all pervasive, with at least one arguing that it has lessened over time. 14 However there does appear to be widespread acceptance among researchers that the media not only sets the agenda by deciding what is printed or "Warren Breed, "Social Control in the Newsroom: A Functional Analysis," Social Forces 37 (1958):209-216. Cited in William A. Tillinghast, "Slanting the News: Source Perceptions After Changes in Newspaper Management," Journalism Quarterly 61 (1984): 311. 13 D. McClelland, "The Press in Australia," Australian Quarterly (December 1962): 28. "Tillinghast, 311. 6 omitted, but can also influence the way in which issues are presented. According to Bogardus, the media is able to both color and suppress news: Most people do not read critically. They do not weigh words and sentences. They are more or less relaxed when reading a newspaper and hence susceptible to the suggestions which characterize coloration." Other writers are not so convinced that the media does play an influential role, arguing that both general and specific constraints exist. According to A. F. Davies, "there is still an enormous unresolved doubt about the general influence or power of the mass media."" It has even been suggested that, ... media influence will be in inverse proportion to the importance to the community of the issue involved."" Certainly there are instances where authors have claimed that deliberate attempts by the media "Bogardus, 49. "A. F. Davies, "Mass Communications," in Australian Society: A Sociological Introduction, 2d ed., eds. A. F. Davies and S. Encel, (Melbourne: Cheshire, 1970), 526. "Raymond Bauer and Alice Bauer, "American Mass Society and Mass Media," Journal of Social Issues 16 (1960): 3-66. Quoted in Davies and Encel, Australian Society, 535. 7 to persuade people have produced disappointing results." The general constraints on media influence can be simply stated. Despite all the tools at a newspaper's disposal, there is no guarantee that news items published will be read. The information derived from a newspaper is determined by a number of factors. These include: (1) the information presented and (2) the news items which the reader selects. It is generally accepted that as an issue gains momentum in a community and additional articles on that subject are published, the prospects of it being read by an increasing proportion of the population are enhanced.