The media and Indigenous political aspirations: a book review

 

Here is a link to a book review I recently wrote published on the Australian Policy and History website (link here).

The role of the media, broadly defined, in covering Indigenous policy is under-analysed in academic and wider public discourse. In particular, the footprint of the media is very uneven and increasingly highly segmented. The book under review is one very useful and stimulating perspective.

Of course, a focus on mainstream media is arguably overly narrow. Indigenous art, broadcasting, film making, and social media activity are alternative ways for First Nations’ to promulgate and circulate their own narratives and perspectives.

Further, as my review hints, the ways in which governments and corporate interests use the media (in all its formats) to advance self-serving narratives relating to aspects of Indigenous policy deserve critical analysis too.

This is to say that the role and impact of the media on Indigenous policy and political aspirations deserves greater focus, but perhaps within a wider theoretical framework or set of frameworks than usually brought to bear.