Coverage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nutrition in major Australian newspapers, 1996–2015

Abstract

The coverage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nutrition in newspapers does not reflect the diversity and strengths of Australia's First Peoples. Implications for public health: This study highlights the role of the media in policy advocacy; however, advocates should ensure that they do not perpetuate negative representations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Coverage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nutrition in the Koori Mail

“…In line with previous studies analysing media representations through content and/or framing analysis, 14,15,19 a combination of content and framing analysis was used to examine the extent and nature of the coverage of nutrition issues, the portrayal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples/communities and inclusion of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander voices. The Koori Mail was chosen for analysis due to its status as a community newspaper that specifically covers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues 34,35 .…”

“…This study identified six themes linking newspaper reporting and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health policy: highlighting problems, reporting government announcements, promoting programs, advocating solutions, critiquing government and defending policy. The majority of the articles in this study highlighted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nutrition ‘problems’ 15 …”

“…Since Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples make up only around three per cent of the Australian population, 2 many Australians have little or no exposure to the issues that their communities face beyond what they see in the mainstream media 10 . However, there is growing evidence suggesting that mainstream media often portray Aboriginal issues in a negative and sensationalist way, which has helped to perpetuate racist stereotypes among non‐Indigenous people 11–15 . Such racism impacts health and wellbeing through different pathways such as psychosocial stress, low self‐esteem and depression 14,16 …”

“…Previous studies have identified that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health issues are often framed by the mainstream media in a negative light and as ‘problems’ requiring individual responsibility and/or radical policy action 14,15,17–19 . This framing contributes to deficits discourse, racial stereotypes and ongoing colonisation 20 .…”

“…Stories about nutrition and diet frequently appear in the mainstream media and previous research has suggested that these are often framed in terms of individual ‘lifestyle’ 23–25 . Browne et al 15 explored the extent and nature of coverage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nutrition issues in mainstream media over 20 years and concluded that reporting of nutrition issues in major Australian newspapers was intermittent and predominantly negative, and the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices was limited. This study identified six themes linking newspaper reporting and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health policy: highlighting problems, reporting government announcements, promoting programs, advocating solutions, critiquing government and defending policy.…”