Education

Background

Representation of Indigenous people by and in the media has been the subject of concern to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Evidence presented to the Inquiry and documented in the to the Report of the National Inquiry into Racist Violence by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission "demonstrated that Aboriginal and Islander people were keenly aware of media images which they felt were racist. Examples were provided of such reporting in the Inquiry's public hearings throughout Australia." [1] "The evidence presented to the Inquiry suggested a ranges of serious concerns of Aboriginal people in relation to the media. There was ample evidence of discriminatory reporting and racial stereotyping. It was argued that such presentations legitimise coercive and violent measures against Aboriginal people." [2]

Perpetuation by journalists of racist stereotypes is one way in which Indigenous people are misrepresented by media. Observers and participants in the media, have turned their attention also to mechanisms for misrepresentation which are more subtle, less overt, than the classic picture of the "Aboriginal criminal" or the "Aboriginal drunk". The experience of Indigenous people working in media and the arts has generated new ways of telling Indigenous stories in the non-Indigenous and Indigenous media. For journalism, this has focused on understanding, respecting and representing Indigenous world-views in reporting about or for Indigenous people.

On representation of Indigenous people, Marcia Langton, wrote: "I contend that the central problem is not one of racial discrimination, although I do not deny that it might factor in specific or general encounters. Rather, the central problem is the need to develop a body of knowledge on representation of Aboriginal people and their concerns in art, film, television and other media and a critical perspective to do with aesthetics and politics, drawing from Aboriginal world views, from Western traditions and from history." [3]

These protocols provide a guide to working within a framework that recognises respectful engagement with Indigenous people, the requirements and demands of the disciplined of journalism, and the history of colonisation, its impact in Australia on Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

An underlying principle of these protocols is an assumption that journalists are willing to undertake work which accurately and fairly represents their subjects. This is not always an automatic process, even with good will from the reporter. Lester Bostock's first Guideline in his text The Greater Perspective: Protocol and Guidelines for the Production of Film and Television on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities states:

1. program makers should always be aware of and challenge their own prejudices, stereotyped beliefs and perceptions about Indigenous people; [4]

What is News?

These protocols recognise that journalists alone do not decide what is newsworthy and what is not.

With this in mind, it is appropriate to consider the following questions:

• Are Indigenous people newsworthy outside of NAIDOC week or Reconciliation week? Are Indigenous people newsworthy all year round?
• Are Indigenous people newsworthy when positive achievements occur or only when the negative events occur?
• Are Indigenous people interviewed and polled on "non-Indigenous specific issues" like the latest CPI or football results? [5]

« Introduction | Principles »

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1. Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Racist Violence, Report of the National Inquiry into racist violence in Australia, AGPS, 1991, page 116. Back to text.
2. Ibid page 356 Back to text.
3. Marcia Langton, Well, I heard it on the radio and I saw it on the television…" An Essay for the Australian Film and Television Commission on the politics and aesthetics of filmmaking by and about Aboriginal persons and things. Australian Film Commission, 1993, Sydney, pages 27-28. Back to text.
4. Lester Bostock, The Greater Perspective: Protocol and Guidelines for the Production of Film and Television on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities, Special Broadcast Services, 2nd ed, 1997, page 9. Back to text.
5. Lorena Allam, Telephone interview, 29 May 2002. Back to text.