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Category: Media & Polarisation
How media companies manufacture division for ratings and profit — and what it means for Australian democracy.
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Why Does the ABC Cost So Much to Hate?
Few institutions in Australian public life generate more heat and less light than the ABC. The national broadcaster is simultaneously accused of being a left-wing propaganda machine funded by taxpayers, and celebrated as an indispensable pillar of Australian democracy, journalism, and culture. Depending on which media you consume, the ABC is either the last honest…
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The United States Is a Warning, Not a Model: What Australia Must Learn from America’s Democratic Crisis
For most of the post-war era, Australians looked to the United States with a mixture of admiration and affection. America was the cultural superpower, the military ally, the land of opportunity and innovation. Its democratic institutions — its constitution, its separation of powers, its tradition of peaceful transfers of power — were held up as…
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The Algorithm Knows You’re Angry: How Social Media Makes Politics Worse
Before you read this article, consider what you saw in your social media feed this morning. Was it uplifting? Probably not. If you follow anyone political on Facebook, X (Twitter), or YouTube, your feed was likely dominated by outrage — things that made you angry, frightened, or contemptuous of people who don’t share your values.…
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Sky News vs the ABC: Two Bubbles, One Australia
Ask a regular viewer of Sky News After Dark what they think of the ABC, and you’ll likely hear about left-wing bias, taxpayer-funded propaganda, and a media organisation that has declared war on traditional Australian values. Ask a devoted ABC listener what they think of Sky News, and you’ll hear about right-wing shock jocks, Murdoch…
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The Outrage Machine: How Australian Media Profits from Dividing Us
There is a business model behind Australia’s culture wars, and it’s worth understanding before we argue about anything else. For most of the 20th century, Australian media organisations made their money through a relatively straightforward exchange: readers, viewers, and listeners paid for content (or put up with advertising) and media companies provided information and analysis.…
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