Free press is fundamental for any democratic society, but the ongoing tension within the journalists’ communities – both in Australia and globally – around whether media coverage of Israel-Gaza has been fair has put journalists, and indeed the audience, in a conundrum: how ‘free’ are journalists, or to put it in other words, how free are they ‘allowed’ to be?
In Australia at least, answers can be found in the swift action and warnings directed by some media organisations at their journalists, who endorsed an open letter advocating for ethical reporting in Israel and Palestine.
At the same time, the response (especially prohibiting these journalists from reporting on the war altogether), and indeed the letter itself, has also raised more questions not only about journalistic independence and freedom of expression, but also about the broader implications for media integrity and impartiality. In her piece, Monica reflects on the letter, and writes about its implications for journalistic principles of impartiality and the reputation of the profession more broadly.
This is a serious concern as the relationship between professionally generated news media and its audience is already encountering tension, amid rising number of individuals globally professing a lack of trust and interest in news, and instead engaging in proactive avoidance. The global slump in press freedom is also considered a significant factor in the growing news avoidance and related phenomena such as ‘news fatigue’ or ‘compassion fatigue’, which can be caused by over-consumption of often-depressing news, such as war or climate change. But all is not lost – not yet – as Sacha writes in his piece, drawing attention toward news sites that are dedicated to uplifting news stories from around the globe, such as the Good News Network. There is, however, no substantiating evidence regarding whether audiences are gravitating towards ‘positive’ news or if this too is subject to the prevailing trend of global news avoidance.
Speaking of signatories getting into trouble, Michael writes about the imperative for digital platforms to strike a balance between transparency in information and compliance with legislation. This comes in the wake of X/Twitter being expelled from the Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation for closing accessible channels for the public to report mis- and disinformation during the Voice to Parliament referendum. The complaint against X was made to DIGI, the group that administrates the Code, by tech and research policy body, Reset Australia.
Also in this newsletter is a link to CMT podcast: Double Take. For our last episode of the year, I spoke with the founder of Zan Times, a Canada-based news site that is led by Afghan women journalists in exile, and features stories about the condition of women living under the Taliban regime.
Read it in full here.
Ayesha Jehangir, CMT Postdoctoral Fellow