News Media Bias

The news media is a powerful institution which plays a role in the public production and reproduction of social discourse. It communicates to audiences what is known about the world and which issues are of particular importance (Sunderland, 2000; Wall & Arnold, 2007). It has been argued that the news media utilises a number of strategies to tell an objective ‘truth’, including presenting alternative views, using hard statistical evidence, and seeking expert opinions to justify arguments (Marshall & Kingsbury, 1996). Within the sample of 30 news clips, I sought to investigate which discourses were privileged, along with the discourses that were marginalised and the subject positions made available. The most striking was the finding that the

Thus it was unsurprising that the thirty news stories focussing on primary caregiving men were overwhelmingly positive in nature. For example, the journalist’s personal opinion is announced in an A Current Affair bulletin entitled Single Dad Booms (2013) where she states: “They’re fabulous kids so I reckon those dads are doing a great job” (Grimshaw & Halls, 2013). Despite this positive attitude primary caregiving is not framed as men’s personal choice. In the story; Ready for Daddy Daycare, it is reported that the population of stay-at-home fathers is growing, which implies that more men are seeking to engage in this model of fatherhood: “In Australia, there are more than twelve thousand stay-at-home dads, an increase of over thirty six per cent over the past two years. Often it comes down to a financial decision” (White, Cassidy, Quigley, Stewart, & Galaz, 2012). The growing number of stay-at-home fathers is not framed as a shift in the men’s personal preferences, but as a result of structural constraints. It is assumed that if the men were not subject to harsh economic pressures, they would be financial providers. This particular news story follows James, an expectant father who is planning to stay at home full time following the birth of his baby whilst his partner engages in paid employment. James does not express a personal preference to be a primary caregiver,