Here we are now, represent us: Women’s media and political representation in Australian election reporting, 1984–2010

The 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.