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Here we are now, represent us: Women’s media and political representation in Australian election reporting, 1984–2010
thesis
posted on 2023-05-16, 00:34 authored by MEGHAN BELINDA HOPPERThe thesis analyses changes in the Australian mainstream print media’s coverage of women by comparing two Australian federal election campaigns spaced twenty-six years apart, a period in which women’s presence and prominence in politics increased. Using a mixed-methods approach, the thesis compares press coverage of the federal elections of 1984 and 2010 in order to examine gendered shifts in reporting. The thesis demonstrates a connection between women’s political representation and media representation: as political presence increased, so too did presence in election coverage. A stronger relationship emerged between women’s increased media representation and the presence of a symbolic representative or critical actor, than a descriptive or group representation.