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Islam and the Australian News Media
Islam and the Australian News Media

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Chapter Synopsis

  

Introduction

 

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Chapter 1:Orientalism and the Australian news media: Origins and questions
Benjamin Isakhan

The author draws on his expertise in Middle Eastern history and Western philosophical thought, presenting an ambitious chapter that traces the origins of orientalist discourse from the 18th and 19th century Europe to the beginnings of the Australian press. The chapter identifies the parallels between this discourse and the most contemporary representations of Islam and Muslims in the Australian news media. It documents that a key challenge for those working for the Australian news media is firstly to recognise the extent to which orientalist thought influences the reporting of Islam and Muslims and then to transcend the centuries-old view of this faith and its adherents as a threatening other.

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Chapter 2:Muslims in Australia: Negative views and positive contributions
Mohamad Abdalla

Drawing on his knowledge of Australian Muslim communities gained through many years of community service, the author provides an in-depth look at the history and diversity of Muslims in Australia. The chapter highlights that fact that a vast range of settlement experiences as well as national, ethnic, linguistic, socio-economic, general and ideological differences make the Australian Muslim community a complex phenomenon. It should cause journalists, commentators, and policy-makers to pause before making generalisations about Islam or any community as diverse as the Australian Muslims.

 

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Chapter 3:Reporting on Islam for the Australian media
Sara Smiles Persinger

This chapter addresses the other central focus of this book: the Australian news media. Years of experience as a journalist with some of the country's most prominent media organisations are reflected in the author's analysis of the inner workings of the Australian media and the practical realities involved in the reporting of issues and events involving Islam and Muslims. The chapter examines the oft-repeated claim that the media is responsible for the negative image of Islam in Australia. Her framework of analysis encompasses intra-media competition, space and time constraints of news production, infighting within the Muslim community, and the more general public discourse about Islam and terrorism that has been forged through such events as 9/11, Bali bombings, and London bombing. The author weighs the media's often extensive reporting of extreme and unrepresentative Muslim views against the media's failure to cover international events in a comprehensive way, give sufficient context to Muslim concerns and actions, and present the diversity of Muslim views and identities.

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Chapter 4:Jihad sheilas or media martyrs?: Muslim women and the Australian media
Julie Posetti

This chapter presents the findings of the author's research on Muslim women in Australia. It discusses the media representation of Muslim women as perceived by Muslim women. The author shows that Muslim women are under-represented in the media both as makers and as sources of news. Conversely, Muslim women are over-represented in media content as symbols of an Islamic threat and victims of oppression.

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Chapter 5:Media content and inter-community relations
Halim Rane

This chapter takes the issue of media representation to its logical conclusion and explores the relationship between media coverage of Islam and relations between Muslims and the wider Australian society. Based on the findings of a survey on the public's media use, knowledge of Islam, interactions with Muslims and attitudes towards Muslims, this chapter reveals that while the media is the primary source of information about Islam and Muslims, this does not necessarily translate into negative attitudes towards them. It contends that direct interaction with Muslim people is an effective means of improving inter-community relations and offsetting the impact of pejorative representations of Islam in the media. The author highlights that perceptions that the media lacks credibility has fostered scepticism among the Australian public on issues concerning Muslims and thereby reduced the extent of the impact that negative media representations of Islam and Muslims may otherwise have on inter-community relations.

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Chapter 6:Why Muslims make headlines
Tom Switzer

As a former editor of The Australian, the author addresses what he refers to as one of the world's most intractable problems: conservative Islam and its clash with Western identity. Arguing that Muslim integration in the West is the central challenge, this chapter attempts to demonstrate that The Australian has maintained balance in its reporting of Islamic and Muslim issues. It provides insights into three cases that have grabbed public attention in recent years: Sheikh Hilali's comments about women and sexual assault; the Cronulla riots; and the federal government's anti-terror laws.

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Chapter 7:A lapse of reason or Islamophobia at work?
Yan Islam

Providing a counter-narrative to that presented in chapter 6, this chapter demonstrates that the Australian media, and The Australian in particular, reinforces existing anti-Muslim prejudice. Analysing recent reportage by The Australian, the author identifies an ‘Islamophobic' tendency in the newspaper's reporting. He argues that the political climate that developed in the wake of 9/11 facilitates an atmosphere in which selective, prejudicial, and stereotypic

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Chapter 8:News, views and agendas: Talking about Muslims
Jacqui Ewart with Julie Posetti

This chapter discusses the role of talkback radio as a forum for discussing Islam and Muslims. Breaking from the conventional approach to studying talkback radio:which tends to focus on formats, hosts and their relationship with callers:the authors examine the emerging function of talkback radio as space where issues of identity and belonging are conceptualised. A significant contribution of this chapter is its identification of the ways that Muslims are using talkback radio to articulate their own identity and respond to community concerns about their faith and fellow Muslims. This chapter highlights the largely untapped potential of talkback radio to advance cross-cultural communication and understanding.

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Chapter 9:Community media intervention
Tanja Dreher

This chapter takes an in-depth look at Muslims' response to the media representation of Islam and its followers. The author discusses the diverse range of strategies pursued by Muslims to address their concerns with the media, including media monitoring and complaints processes, media skills training, media advocacy work, training journalists and relationship building with media personnel. Such initiatives have resulted in improved relations between Muslims and certain media, more objective and accurate reporting, and more diversity in terms of Muslim voices and issues covered in the media. This

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Chapter 10:Media and myth: Dr Haneef and the fourth estate
Jacqui Ewart

The author examines the issue of the media:the fourth estate:through a detailed examination of the case of Dr Mohammad Haneef, an Indian doctor arrested and detained without charge under Australia's anti-terror laws. This chapter disputes the notion that the media's performance on the Haneef case was an example of exceptional journalism that lived up to the fourth-estate ideal. It contends that any kudos that could be accorded to the media is largely due to the work of two journalists, while the media overall lacked self-reflexivity and a willingness among journalists to take a line opposed to that of their colleagues.

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Conclusion: A way forward?
Mohamad Abdalla, Jacqui Ewart, and Halim Rane

This chapter highlights the major findings of the book and outlines a way forward for the news media, Muslim community, and Australian society in the promotion of mutual understanding and more harmonious social relations.

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