Are we being fooled?

Television in Australia

Are we being fooled?

Television as stated by Ingham, is to be the “most real form of media” Ingham, H. (1995) it is therefore important to question the how real the representations of people, issues and current affairs are represented throughout television within Australia.

Not only as individuals should we question these representations but we should also acknowledge the influences and ways these issues are conveyed to audiences and the powerful effects they have in our society.

It is evident whilst flicking through the channels on Australian television at 7:30pm of the current affair programs, such as ‘Today Tonight’ and ‘60 Minutes’ and the content they have implemented for tonight’s entertainment. For example, Tuesday 1st June, stories included ‘How to dress for your size’ and stories which include ‘Neighbour feuds’. These stories may seem juvenile in comparison to political issues and world health, but these juvenile issues keep appearing throughout Australian Television current Affair programs.

As Baker describes, Television current affairs programmes on Australian Television initial purpose was to “background, contextualise and examine in depth issues which may have appeared in the news…They clearly met the public broadcasters' brief to 'inform and educate' and contribute to the notional 'public sphere'.”

However, over the past two decades, the structure and content of these programs have changed in order to achieve desirable ratings and profits for each television, and in particular channel Nine and Seven within this report. Thus, non-commercial stations such as SBS are left struggling to exist due to the enormous competition these commercial stations uphold. This therefore impacts on the structure of current affair programs and what each individual in displayed with.

Baker states that “the impact of new media technologies have arguably diminished the role of public broadcasting and profoundly affected the resources available for current or public affairs television with subsequent impacts on its forms and importance.”

“In a public system, television producers acquire money to make programmes. In a commercial system they make programmes to acquire money”


As McQuail states, “Either audiences can accept media output as true to reality, in which case they are successfully socialized, brainwashed by patriarchy or lured into the idea that what they see and read is ‘common sense’ or they see through the tricks the mass media play on them and reject the sexist patriarchal, capitalist representations of the world.” McQuail, D. (2002)


An example of McQuails theory can be displayed within this YouTube clip, the below link will display ‘Hungry Beast’ television show that displays how gullible Australian media is and in particular 2GB news radio, 3AW news radio, Ninemsn, and finally to Television to the ‘7pm Project” which “draws its highest audience of 2010 with 1.11 million viewers” as evident on ‘Entertainment News’ website 2010. This clip provides an example of how the development in new technologies has affected the media within Australia and the stories and news provided across the nation.

“People believe everything they read without sourcing it…”

The ‘Hungry Beast’ YouTube clip also highlights and supports the notion, whether journalism and Australian media employees are using accurate sources when delivering news.

The Hungry Beast: Gullible Australia? Gullible media

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMQCcOSfaYw


“Either audiences can accept media output as true to reality… or they see through the tricks the mass media play on them”. McQuail, D. (2002)