The Intervention of Media Power in Indigenous Policy-Making

Abstract

This article explores how media power impacts on policy-making in Indigenous affairs in Australia through an examination of the 2007 Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER). The article draws on interviews with a range of actors in the policy constellation to discuss three intersecting factors contributing to this media-driven announcement: the Howard government's political and policy aims for Indigenous affairs; policy bureaucrats' increasingly mediatised practices; and the rise of conservative Indigenous spokespeople as key players in debates about Indigenous affairs policy. The article concludes that these factors have made a significant contribution to the manifestation of media power in the Indigenous policy-making process.