Media Treatment and Communication Needs of African-Australians
Investigators:
| Dr David Nolan | Media and Communications, University of Melbourne |
| Mr Michael Gawenda | Centre for Advanced Journalism, University of Melbourne |
| Dr Tim Marjoribanks | School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne |
| Dr Ramaswami Harindranath | Media and Communications, University of Melbourne |
| Dr Karen Farquharson | Sociology, Swinburne University |
Summary
In March 2009, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) produced a discussion paper, proposing to examine issues relating to African Australians’ experience of rights, social justice and access to key services. The report raises concerns regarding negative media coverage of African Australians, and about the effects such representations can have on the quality of life, experiences of rights and social justice experienced by migrant groups (AHRC 2009: 7). Modes of communication and media representation are central to African-Australians’ awareness and experience of rights, both in terms of access to services and everyday social treatment. Such forms of representation are equally crucial for the wider Australian community to gain an awareness of the needs and experiences of African Australians, and what courses of action and provision may be required to ensure their rights and access to social justice are respected and facilitated.
This project will form the basis for a larger, collaborative research project with industry partners to explore media treatment and communication needs of Sudanese-Australians. To do this, the overall project will: (1) analyse media representations of African-Australians in print, broadcast and on-line media, with a particular focus on Sudanese Australians; (2) analyse the effects of such representations; (3) develop initiatives to facilitate better quality journalism relating to Sudanese-Australian communities; and (4) develop capacity-building initiatives to enable Sudanese-Australians to communicate with the broader Australian population. The project will contribute to the objectives of the SJI by highlighting the need to place communication at the centre of initiatives to promote social justice, in this case in the context of media and Sudanese-Australian communities.