From as early as I can remember, my family has sat down at 7pm every weeknight to watch ‘Home and away’ on channel 7. This long running tradition still continues as i occasionally find myself flickering over the TV giving me a sense of familiarity and comfort whilst I struggle to get through assignment due dates and weekly readings.
A lot has changed from when I was a kid watching TV and back in 2017 the rules changed regarding who controls the media outlets (Battersby, 2020) and what power they have.
Previously media outlets had certain provisional when broadcasting such as: (What broadcasters must do to comply | ACMA, 2020)
– The 2 out of 3 rule which prevents a single person or company from owning more than 2 radio, television and newspaper media outlets . (the conversationalist)
– The reach rule stops a single person or company from controlling more than 75% of a licensed area.
To learn more about the rules and regulations https://www.acma.gov.au/what-broadcasters-must-do-comply
This made me curious about who owns and/or controls the media I watch. Like most young adults of my generation, I largely consume media online with our TVs’ becoming home décor or dust collectors.
I later found out that Kerry Stokes and Bruce Gordan control majority of the media I watch, with a combined holding of over 70% in the channel 7 network they both plays a key role in what their audience consume and what perspective its portrayed in. Growing up I was familiar with news presenters Mark Ferguson and Ian Ross watching them for over 10 year it weirdly felt as though they became trusted members within my family who I counted on to keep me updated on the latest local and international news.
It’s extremely important to be consciously aware of not only what you’re watching but who created it and their intended message as this forms the basis of your opinion, beliefs and views on political, social and economic restrictions. It’s extremely easy for media outlets to twist the news to favour a certain viewpoint or side. For example, a key moment in media history was Hilter’s use of propaganda to spread his ideology of Nazism through Germany during WW2 , this was particularly demonstrated in his 1935 campaigning video ‘Triumph des Willens’ and ‘Olympia’ (The early years of the Nazi Party – The Holocaust Explained: Designed for schools, 2020) produced by Leni Riefenstahl and propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. The videos expose how Hitler would play on people emotions in order to gain their support through idolizing anti-Semitism leading to his quick rise to power.
The news wasn’t something I enjoyed watching until after I moved away for uni and it became evident that what’s happening globally has the potential to impact you locally.
A more recent example of why its crucial to know who owns the media you have access too is the Outfoxed documentary directed by Robert Greenwald (News, 2020) Murdoch’s U.S television program reaches over 280 million people worldwide and his program was utilized by millions to keep them updated. The documentary exposes Murdoch’s to using his control of FOX news to mislead the audience over certain political and social topics to align with his viewpoints (News, 2020).
References
Acma.gov.au. 2020. What Broadcasters Must Do To Comply | ACMA. [online] Available at: <https://www.acma.gov.au/what-broadcasters-must-do-comply> [Accessed 17 April 2020].
All That’s Interesting. 2020. 21 Nazi Propaganda Posters That Helped Seduce Ordinary People Into Hatred. [online] Available at: <https://allthatsinteresting.com/nazi-propaganda-posters#10> [Accessed 11 April 2020].
Battersby, L., 2020. Media Bosses Turn To Deals As Ownership Bill Beckons. [online] The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: <https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/media-bosses-turn-to-deals-as-ownership-bill-beckons-20170914-gyhe8j.html> [Accessed 20 April 2020].
Dwyer, T., 2020. Explainer: What Changes To Australia’s Media Ownership Laws Are Being Proposed?. [online] The Conversation. Available at: <https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-changes-to-australias-media-ownership-laws-are-being-proposed-55509> [Accessed 17 April 2020].
News, O., 2020. Outfoxed • Rupert Murdoch’s War On Journalism • FULL DOCUMENTARY FILM Exposes Fox News : Satan : Free Download, Borrow, And Streaming : Internet Archive. [online] Internet Archive. Available at: <https://archive.org/details/OutfoxedORupertMurdochsWarOnJournalismOFULLDOCUMENTARYFILMExposesFoxNews> [Accessed 7 April 2020].
Theholocaustexplained.org. 2020. The Early Years Of The Nazi Party – The Holocaust Explained: Designed For Schools. [online] Available at: <https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/the-nazi-rise-to-power/the-early-years-of-the-nazi-party/> [Accessed 16 April 2020].
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