Papers
Women in Australian politics: Mothers only need apply
Pacific Journalism Review, vol.12, no.1, 2006
When Julia Gillard considered running for the leadership of the Australian Labor Party in early 2005, her political enemies immediately raised three reasons for opposing her: she is female, single and without children. These criticisms prompted a flurry of discussion in the media about the relevance of a person’s family situation to their ability to work effectively in politics. This article examines the treatment of female politicians by the press over the more than 80 years since the first woman appeared in any Australian parliament. It finds that there continues to be pressure on women to continue in the traditional roles of wife and mother, while more recently, female politicians have had to contend with an extra layer of coverage concentrating on their sexual attributes.
Death of a princess: the press, the public and the powerful in changing times
JEA Conference 2005: Proceedings of the 2005 Journalism Education Association Conference, Griffith University (Refereed paper)
She was young, widely admired, and considered a breath of fresh air in an increasingly unpopular British monarchy. Her sudden death at a time when she appeared to be moving into a new phase of her life prompted an outpouring of public grief and a frenzy of media coverage. Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales died in November 1817, and the description above fits her as closely as it does Diana, Princess of Wales, who died almost two centuries later.
This paper compares The Times of London’s coverage of these deaths and examines the changing role that the press has had in dealing with the elite of the day. It finds a number of similar themes in the coverage of and public reaction to both deaths and uncovers changes in attitudes to death and grieving. It also shows the major change in the role of The Times from that of mouthpiece of the establishment to voice of the people.
A mother in Cabinet: Dame Enid Lyons and the press
Australian Journalism Review, vol.25, no.1, July 2003
Dame Enid Lyons went from being a Prime Minister's wife to a politician in her own right, becoming Australia's first woman in the House of Representatives in 1943 and later becoming the first woman to gain a place in Federal Cabinet. This paper examines how the press treated Dame Enid at the time she was appointed to Cabinet in 1949. It finds she was treated as the 'Other' in politics, in that the press concentrated on her role as a mother rather than on her previous public activities, and also dwelt on her style of dress.
Private lives, public interest: Did we need to know about the Kernot/Evans affair?
Australian Studies in Journalism Number 12, 2003
The media revelation of a past extra-marital relationship between two former Australian politicians, Cheryl Kernot and Gareth Evans, sparked widespread public debate about a public figure's right to privacy, and criticism of the journalist who broke the story. This paper examines the journalist's decision to publish the story of the affair, by testing it against a number of ethical theories and moral reasonings. It finds that the journalist's decision to publish is supportable, based on the public's right to know about the behaviour of figures who hold or have held public office.
The more things change: Women, politics and the press in Australia
Ejournalist: A Refereed Media Journal, vol.2, no.1, 2002
Female politicians have long complained that the media treat them differently from their male colleagues. This paper analyses the press treatment of the first female MPs, members of cabinet and government leaders in the States, Territories and the Commonwealth. The original study began with Edith Cowan in 1921 and ended with Joan Kirner in 1990. However this paper will also include discussion of contemporary female politicians who have more recently received coverage as the Other.
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Kerry Chikarovski and the Press
Hecate, vol.26 no. 1, 2000
Kerry Chikarovski became NSW Opposition Leader in December 1998, the first woman to be elected to that role. This paper examines her treatment by the media and finds that it is an instructive example of how women politicians have been treated as the 'Other' in public life.
The online forum as flexible assessment: Gender differences in participation
Proceedings of the ASET/HERDSA 2000 Joint International Conference, University of Southern Qld, Toowoomba, Qld, 2000. Refereed paper.
A trial of an online forum as a form of reflective assessment in a practical Journalism subject produced gender-related patterns in the postings, prompting a quantitative analysis of the times and days on which the students made their contributions.
A total of 454 postings was made over the three month period of the forum, and the consequent analysis of the postings uncovered some differences in usage of the forum depending on gender. Perhaps the most significant finding was that the female students were more willing to post their forum contributions from 6pm to 8am than their male counterparts, The female students also made more postings on weekends than their male counterparts, leading to the conclusion that the females were more prepared to use the online forum in a flexible manner.
Women in the news: still not quite visible
Australian Studies in Journalism Vol. 2, 1993
Studies investigating the coverage of women in the media have been carried out since the the early 1970s. The field has expanded to cover the portrayal of women in newspapers, magazines, radio and television, and includes studies of editorial material, photographs and advertisements. From this research, one thing becomes clear: despite the fact that women make up more than half of the world's population, they appear in far smaller proportions in the news. This study, which examines reporting of women on the front pages of three Australian daily newspapers during 1992, comes to the same conclusion - when it comes to being represented in the news, women still have a long way to go.
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