Attitudes of selected groups toward media coverage of the Fitzgerald Inquiry on Police Corruption in Queensland. by Bernie Murchison B.Bus. (Comn) Master of Business (Communication) Thesis School of Communication Queensland University of Technology February 1989 To the Librarian, Queensland University of Technology Name: Bernard John MURCHISON Address: Title of thesis: ATTITUDES OF SELECTED GROUPS TOWARDS MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE FITZGERALD INQUIRY ON POLICE CORRUPTION IN QUEENSLAND. A. I wish consultation of this thesis to be restricted only to staff and students of the Q.U.T. for three years after the degree has been awarded. B. I give pennission to the Librarian of the Queensland University of Technology to photocopy this thesis on the condition that I am subsequently notified of the person or organisation to whom this copy has been supplied. Signature: Date: .. ...... ~J.1.~i The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree or diploma at any other tertiary educational institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made. Signed: Date: ......... .2:11 :#.f ... ABSTRACT This study uses primary research in the form of Q Methodology to identify attitudes toward media coverage of the Fitzgerald Inquiry. Interviews were conducted with representatives of three distinct classes of people; senior journalists, opinion leaders and communication students. Opinion statements were extracted from these interviews and 44 Q statements were developed to measure attitudes of 47 respondents. Unlike many other forms of media research, no fixed definitions were prescribed and respondents subjective viewpoints, or ways of seeing an issue, were simply collated. Three distinct types of people were identified. The largest was Type One and was named "The Fervent Crusader". The majority of the group consisted of journalists. A clear understanding that the media had a role as a public watchdog was present, supported by the view that only a tenacious grip could stop corruption from returning. Respondents held to an admonishment of any suggestion that they personally would hold any interest in voyeuristic or sensational aspects. Opinion leaders formed the majority of Type Two, "The Journophobic". As the name implies, respondents revealed a distaste for most aspects of journalistic practices. While accepting that the media was at least partially responsible for the Fitzgerald Inquiry, most attention is applied to a strong skepticism. It seems likely that this applied to journalistic practices in general, rather than reports on the Fitzgerald Inquiry solely. Type Three, "The Rational Observer", was more homogeneous. Unlike the other types, respondents of this type appeared to be more "objective" in assessing media coverage. They analysed the question of media reporting without the more myopic and sanguine saliency of the others. ( i) TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT •••••••••••••••••••••••• ..................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT •........... .......................... iv LIST OF QUANAL DATA . • . • . • . • . • . • . v CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................... 1 Purpose of study . 1 Theoretical relevance .•.•. , , • . • . • . • . • . • • . • . • 2 A Matter of Opinion........................... 4 Opinions and Attitudes ....... ,.,.............. 5 2. STUDIES ON ATTITUDES TOWARD MASS MEDIA REPORTING.. 7 Consonance and Dissonance..................... 7 Rationality and Rumour . • • • • . • • • • • • . • . • 8 Empirical Research - News Selection.......... 11 3. METHODOLOGY AND STUDY DESIGN ...................... 25 Q Methodology . 27 Scope and Limitations ...••.•..••••.•...•..•••• 29 Statement Selection••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 32 4. INTERPRETATION OF STATISTICAL VALUES ............. 41 5. FACTOR 1 - "THE FERVENT CRUSADER".................. 50 Analysis...................................... 50 Items most significant to factor one ••...••.. 53 Discussion . 54 6. FACTOR II - "THE JOURNOPHOBIC" .................... 56 Analysis . 56 Items most significant to factor two......... 59 Discussion . 60 7. FACTOR III - "THE RATIONAL OBSERVER" 63 Analysis . 63 Items most significant to factor three .••••... 66 Discussion . 67 (ii} 8. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TYPES ......................... 69 Type One and Type Two ••••.• 69 Type One and Type Three 74 Type Two and Type Three 77 The Consensus Factor 80 9. CONCLUSION ..................................... 81 Organisation and Justification 81 Rationale 82 Summary 83 Discussion 84 Conclusion 86 APPENDICES ........................................... 90 REFERENCES ........................................... 100 (iii) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Warmest thanks are extended to Dr F. N. (Chip) Karmatz for his constant support during the planning, research, writing and re-writing of this thesis. The knowledge and experience gained through his apprenticeship in Q Methodology under its father, Dr Will Stephenson, has assured a more intimate, enjoyable and memorable way to learn and develop. It is pleasant to know that knowledge gained from textbooks and computers can be enhanced in the way of centuries past - from the master's apprentice to his/her apprentice. I would like to thank Tony Stevenson for his considerable efforts to ensure a smooth transition for the first graduates of the Master of Business - Communication program. In addition, my thanks go to all colleagues who provided a sympathetic ear and to Dr Bruce Molloy as Head of the School of Communication for his enthusiastic drive and assistance in helping staff attain higher degrees. Debbie Hunter deserves special mention for being so efficient and tireless, despite the headaches caused by transfering material from one word processing program to another. Finally, my thanks to Dr Len Granato and Dr Sheldon Harsel who provided their time and considerable knowledge to assess and improve this work. (iv) The World Outside and the Pictures in Our Heads * A Matter of Opinion ••• "Man does not deliberately falsify his environment, of course. But one observer's experience is never exactly like that of other observers, and he interprets his new experience in terms of his previous experience. Furthermore, a great part of his experience is already filtered before it comes to him •••• the comparatively meager time available in each day for paying attention to public affairs, the distortion arising because events have to be compressed into very short messages, the difficulty of making a small vocabulary express a complicated world, and finally the fear of facing those facts which would seem to threaten the established routine of men's lives." * from Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion, New York: Harcourt, Brace 1922 Wilbur Schramm, The Process and Effects of Mass Communication, Chicago: University of Illinois Press 1970 pl09 (v) CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This study was designed to determine attitudes toward media coverage of a single news issue, using three separate groups of people. The theory and methodology used was Q methodology, to investigate attitudes to mass media reports on Queensland's Fitzgerald Inquiry. The three distinct areas are: (i) Attitudes of opinion leaders toward mass media reports on the Fitzgerald Inquiry; (ii) Attitudes of news executives toward mass media reports on the Fitzgerald Inquiry; (iii) Attitudes of communication students toward mass media reports on the Fitzgerald Inquiry. The Fitzgerald Inquiry commenced in July 1987 and was initiated by the Acting Premier of Queensland, the Hon. Bill Gunn. The commissioner of the inquiry was a respected, but publicly unknown, Q.C., Tony Fitzgerald. His task was to examine the issue of corruption within the Queensland police force. Media reports prior to this inquiry told of past inquiries which failed to uncover corruption. This Fitzgerald Inquiry did uncover corruption on a large scale and by the time it stopped taking evidence in December 1988, 2,210 exhibits and 340 witnesses had come before the Commissioner and his staff. The decision to make the inquiry public resulted in an 18 month media coverage. Few members of the public could avoid the issues involved in the inquiry nor the method by which they were being informed. 1 Q Methodology quantitatively and qualitatively measures subjective viewpoints of specific individuals called the Q population. With this methodology, correlations and differences between people's attitudes towards a subject can be measured. High correlations among respondents in attitudes about a topic are said to be on a factor. They become typologies (Stephen, 1953). Q Methodology and its particular application to this study is described at length in Chapter Three. While the study is framed by a number of areas of interest developed from readings in mass media research, these areas did not necessarily control the direction of the findings. Q Methodology does not set up experiments with any predetermination or hypothesis. Rather, it yields an intuitive or abductive inference about general areas the researcher wishes to study (Stephenson, 1961). The point should be made that in Q one does not set up attitudinal values and concepts against which groups and individuals can be measured (Karmatz, 1974). Rather, one examines factors represented by "n" opinions, to find underlying attitudes. Theoretical Relevance It was suggested in a number of news and current affairs interviews between April and November 1988 that the Fitzgerald Inquiry was a public inquiry