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Newspapers as Political Instruments in Media Policy Debate

2001; ANU Press; Volume: 8; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.22459/ag.08.02.2001.01

1447-4735

Peter Putnis,

Asian Studies and History

Is press coverage of media issues self-interested?The short answer is yes, most of the time.There can be apparent exceptions.For example, a recent two page feature by Luke Collins in The Australian Financial Review ('The Hilmer Report -Downgrade adds to pressure ', 23 March 2001) gives great prominence to Fairfax chief Fred Hilmer's announcement downgrading profit forecasts and, all in all, appears to give Fairfax a rather hard time.It duly notes that Fairfax shares had fallen some 43 per cent over the last twelve months and that its Internet arm lost $40 million in 1999-2000.It publicises criticisms of Hilmer's strategy by fund managers and even refers to a 'not warm and friendly' meeting between Hilmer and major Fairfax shareholder James Packer, discussion of which would, one might assume, embarrass Fred Hilmer.The piece is crafted with a keen sense of balance.Comments by Fairfax executives are carefully counterpointed by criticisms of Fairfax strategy and performance from various analysts.We are even told that the views of the chief executive of News Ltd, John Hartigan, were sought but that he declined to be interviewed.What could be fairer?Yet even in this admittedly highly professional piece the disinterestedness is more apparent than real.The crafted balance and tone of impartiality, worthy though they are, are themselves mobilised to give credibility to an article which is essentially a defence of Fairfax and of Hilmer's management.Fairfax's recent performance and adverse comments on it were, after all, already on the public record.The article, while acknowledging them, is primarily a rebuttal with Hilmer given the dominant voice.The strategy is a subtle one, at least when compared with News Ltd's previous frontal attack on Fairfax in The Daily Telegraph which ran a story, including colour photographs of Fairfax executives playing golf during what The Daily Telegraph described as a 'crisis conference', that described Fairfax circulation as 'plummeting'.But The Australian Financial Review story is nevertheless a strategic intervention serving the interests of Fairfax management and shareholders.You may suppose that when newspapers report on their own performance and that of their rivals, we can expect self-interest to colour editorial judgement both with respect to what is deemed worthy of coverage and how it is treated.