Racial Stereotyping And Racism In The Media example essay topic

Mainstream media is a very popular way of reaching the audiences. The news media such as television, film, broadcast radio, print articles and even comic book producers is expected to nurture an informed audience by providing balanced and impartial reporting of events and issues. It is considered as a form of tool and mechanism as it is able to manipulate the majority of the audience preferences and constructs social reality through the placement of coded messages that reinforce an idea of what is good and acceptable. The media is able to influence and as research has shown, it has the greatest impact when they reinforce the preconceptions and belief of the audience, as it is market driven. Australia's population growth is partly attributable to the increase intake of immigrants over the past three decades along with natural population increase. Immigrants are drawn to Australia by business opportunities, the clean and safe environment and lifestyle.

However, the process of assimilation has not been without its obstacles with varying levels of tolerance in the community. The lack of community acceptance of indigenous and ethnic minorities is partly due to talkback radio and mainstream media depiction of stereotypical favouring negative portrayal of minorities. It has a long history of racism and discrimination ranging from the mistreatment of Aboriginals to ethnic minorities. This is caused by society way of thinking which is often accompanied with positivism or negativism and media is usually responsible for it. Common street crimes such as break in of liquor stores and car theft have always been associated with young aboriginals instead of any other gender and unfair treatments to Asians have been reported in the service industries. When a crime is reported, society presumes that it is associated with young aboriginals.

How have these issues come about if there are no practices to it? Racial stereotyping and racism in the media is institutional. The opinions express by radio broadcasters during air time and published articles by journalists can influence and moulds the way society thinks. However, this can sometimes be superfluous and cause prejudices, biases and racism. Thus, the mainstream media is a perpetrator in constructing street racism and the undesirable social outcome of the society. Radio has always been a favorite medium in achieving current news.

Programs such as talkback radio enable and encourage listeners to express and exchange their viewpoint on a chosen topic. 6 PR is one of the Perth radio stations noted for its high ratings achieved through talkback programs. TALK ABOUT 6 PR, WHO OWNS IT? SINCE WHEN?? TIME IT WAS FAMOUS? and that encourages racial stereotyping by the audience was talkback radio show from 6 PR, Howard Sattler. The conspicuous Sattler file made waves during the 1990's when the crimes rate were very high.

TALK ABOUT CAR THEFT N LIQUOR STORE BREAK, STREET FIGHTS... The media has fueled this hatred into the public through public broadcasting such as talk back radio and published articles such as GIVE EXAMPLES, thus produced racial stereotyping and street racism to the Aboriginal people. The mainstream media has therefore fuelled the hatred among the public toward the Aboriginal people and this had caused problems to the government such racial discrimination and society is not able to live in harmony. PROBLEMS!? Perpetuation by journalists of racist stereotypes is one way in which Indigenous people are misrepresented by media.

Observers and participants in the media, have turned their attention also to mechanisms for misrepresentation which are more subtle, less overt, than the classic picture of the "Aboriginal criminal" or the "Aboriginal drunk". More often than not, the groups being stereotyped have little to say about how they are represented.