Australian Journalist Practice and News Reporting in Relation to First Nations

It has been well established that Australian news reporting has been harmful to First Nations. This research illustrates the important role of applied journalism and media studies in supporting culturally competent journalist practices and news reporting on First Nations. The production of stereotypical and racialising news media on First Nations emerged in tandem with settler colonisation in countries such as Australia. Deficit discourse frames First Nations as “different” in comparison to non-Indigenous peoples and expectations of what is “normal”. These comparisons continue paternalist and homogenising approaches to First Nations, positioning the latter as “all the same” and as passive recipients of government intervention. A range of journalism education and scholarship as well as professional guidelines have attempted to address these problems including the adoption of respectful cultural protocols and encouragement to reduce unnecessary emphasis on race and ethnicity. At the core of Australian journalist practice is the placing (or not) of First Nations as sovereign First Peoples. By providing a historical context for the development of journalist practice and news reporting in relation to First Nations in Australia, this chapter highlights the specific needs of First Nations in news media reporting and how culturally competent journalist practice can mitigate representational harms.