Reading Between the Crimes: Online Media's Representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People's Interaction With
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Edith Cowan University Research Online Theses: Doctorates and Masters Theses 2018 Reading between the crimes: Online media’s representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s interaction with the criminal justice system in post-apology Australia Jonathan Cannon Edith Cowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses Part of the Criminal Law Commons, Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, and the Mass Communication Commons Recommended Citation Cannon, J. (2018). Reading between the crimes: Online media’s representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s interaction with the criminal justice system in post-apology Australia. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2140 This Thesis is posted at Research Online. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2140 Edith Cowan University Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. 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Higher penalties may apply, and higher damages may be awarded, for offences and infringements involving the conversion of material into digital or electronic form. Reading between the crimes: Online media’s representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s interaction with the criminal justice system in post-apology Australia Jonathan Cannon This thesis is presented in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Criminal Justice by Research School of Arts and Humanities Edith Cowan University 2018 USE OF THESIS The Use of Thesis statement is not included in this version of the thesis. Abstract Australian research confirms that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience high levels of social inequality, racism and injustice. Evidence of discrimination and inequality is most obvious within the criminal justice system where they are seriously over-represented. The Australian news media plays a large part in reinforcing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inequality, stereotypes and racist ideology within specific situations such as the Northern Territory Emergency Response and the Redfern riots. This study widens the scope from how the media reports a single criminal justice event to how the media reports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s interaction with the criminal justice system. The study relies on Norman Fairclough’s (2003) theory of critical discourse analysis to analyse critically 25 Australian online news media articles featuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Specifically, the study applies Fairclough’s (2003) three assumptive categories (existential, propositional and value). It identifies discourse reinforcing dominance and inequality within those media articles and reveals two major findings. The first significant finding is the unwillingness of any article to challenge or question the power structures that reinforce or lead to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inequality. The second major finding involves three ideologies within the text communicating racism and inequality: neo-colonial, neo-liberal assimilation and paternalistic ideologies. The concern is that although the twenty-five news media articles appear neutral, the critical analysis reveals racist ideologies being communicated and an unwillingness to challenge the power structures that create these. This position suggests that racism is not just a problem of a bygone era—it is a contemporary issue continuing at a deeper level nestled in the underlying assumptions and ideologies found within news media discourse. These findings would bring awareness to the media’s discursive practices and generate further discussion and research to address the discursive structures responsible for perpetuating the systemic harm to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. iii USE OF THESIS The Use of Thesis statement is not included in this version of the thesis. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my family, especially my wife Anna, for their encouragement and support throughout my research journey. I am extremely grateful to my supervisors, Dr Ann-Claire Larsen, Associate Professor Margaret Giles and Professor Anne Wallace, for offering their wisdom and guidance in helping me complete this thesis. I would also like to thank Dr John Hall for his writing consultation services and Elite Editing who edited this thesis. Editorial intervention for this thesis was restricted to Standards D and E of the Australian Standards for Editing Practice. Lastly, I would like to thank all my lecturers for their knowledge and motivation throughout my degree. v Table of Contents Use of Thesis .................................................................................................................... ii Abstract ........................................................................................................................... iii Declaration ...................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................ viii List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introducing Media Influence and Indigenous Inequality ........................ 1 1.1 Defining Indigenous ............................................................................................... 2 1.2 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Disadvantage ............................................... 4 1.3 Media ...................................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Research Significance ............................................................................................. 6 1.5 Research Questions ................................................................................................. 7 1.6 Thesis Structure ...................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2: Media Theory, Ideology and Research in Review .................................... 9 2.1 Background Research ........................................................................................... 10 2.2 Ideology and Hegemony ....................................................................................... 14 2.3 Media .................................................................................................................... 16 2.4 Media Bias ............................................................................................................ 17 2.5 Framing, Agenda Setting and Priming ................................................................. 17 2.6 Indigenous Disadvantage ...................................................................................... 19 2.7 International Research on Indigenous Populations ............................................... 20 2.8 Australian Research of Australia’s First People ................................................... 21 2.9 Western Australian Research on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and Media..................................................................................................................... 24 2.10 Australian Research using Critical Discourse Analysis ..................................... 27 2.11 Significance ........................................................................................................ 30 Chapter 3: Research Design and Critical Discourse Analysis .................................. 31 3.1 Research Problem ................................................................................................. 31 3.2 Critical Discourse Analysis .................................................................................. 31 3.3 Analysis ................................................................................................................ 33 3.4 Sampling Rationale ............................................................................................... 36 Chapter 4: Analysing the Discourse—Part One ........................................................ 38 4.1 The Guardian ........................................................................................................ 38 4.1.1 Article 1 ......................................................................................................... 38