Australian Media
Overall framework: how does Australian Media underpin, inform or animate a sense of national belonging? (Inclusions/ exclusions)
IMAGINED COMMUNITY
Cinema  tragedy of Australian stories, competition
Press  magazines/newspapers – Democracy? Government?
Radio  talk radio
Television  Still viable? National fears
Advertising  PR. Outnumber journalists
 Historical AND contemporary
 Connections and challenges

Week 2: MEDIA, REPRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
Why we analyse media?
 To see how texts generate meanings and the critical implications thereof
Representations have an uneasy relationship with reality
Are we looking for accurate representations of reality? NO

Language is a culturally specific system of differentiation
How can I convey something that is not culturally informed?
REPRESENTATIONS RE-PRESENT REALITY
E.g. a drawing of a tree

Every representation is the result of a decision-making process
Editorial decisions shift meanings one way or another
CONSIDER THE IMPLICATION OF FRAMING DEVICES – leaving something out
CONSIDER SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THIS DECISIONS-MAKING PROCESS E.g. family
 We form ideas about people/places about which we know little

E.g. Tourism Australia adds
E.g. What particular moment is in the media

Understanding Representations
Our familiarity with cultural codes helps us unpack/read texts
Cultural codes – culturally CONSTRUCTED: secret things we understand
Meanings arise out of context
E.g. Green: money, St Patrick’s, environment
E.g. MJ: context changes
How do we understand meanings?
 How do texts refer us to specific interpretations?

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
Denotation  first impression. Most stable, obvious, ‘commonsense’ reading of the text
Connotation  Second appreciation/associations. Associations that come to mind.
You need to identify which discourses you’re using to