AustLit

'The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Country Hour radio programmes are produced regionally and promote specific understandings of rurality. This article presents an analysis that shows Indigenous people and issues are rarely sources or topics in Country Hour, and that stories about Indigenous land use are generally broadcast only if the land is used in a way that is seen as ‘productive’ through settler colonial eyes. It also argues the programme should include Indigenous voices and understandings of the land in imagining this space. It makes a theoretical contribution to media studies by extending on concepts of the ‘rural imaginary’ and ‘settler common sense’ to argue that the programme perpetuates a discourse that legitimates and valorises the use of ‘rural’ space for non-Indigenous people, concepts and activities. Indigenous people are noticeably absent and silent. Country Hour is therefore conceptualised as a media space that continues to transmit settler colonialism and its attendant myths.' (Introduction)

'Media narratives that dehumanise asylum seekers have tremendous power to shape and reinforce public support for policies that jeopardise the well-being of some of the world’s most vulnerable people. Research suggests that such dehumanisation is exacerbated by the limited opportunities these groups have to contribute to media coverage about their experiences. In response, scholars have advocated for more inclusion of asylum seekers’ voices in news coverage; however, little is known about how Australian media audiences are engaging with this issue. This article discusses research utilising Critical Discourse Analysis alongside a cultural studies Audience Reception framework to examine the perspectives of 24 Western Australians concerning news discourses about asylum seekers. Resistance to dehumanising constructions was a recurring theme, with many participants arguing for greater inclusion of asylum seekers voices’ in news depictions of their plight. These findings suggest that some audiences are challenging and resisting dehumanising discourses about asylum seekers and in some cases, demonstrating awareness of Australian media’s evident exclusion of their voices. Examined through Judith Butler’s social ethics lens, we consider these findings in the light of positions that advocate for the provision of voice as a means to a more ethical and inclusive Australian media.' (Publication abstract)