Aborigines. Media Coverage of Aboriginal Affairs in Australia

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject History - Australia, Oceania, grade: 1,0, Eötvös Loránd University, language: English, abstract: In the Australian society, there seems to be an ongoing conflict, between the white british Australians, and the initial citizens of the island continent, the Indigenous people. The image that most white Australians have of those Aboriginal people, is mainly negative. Why is that so? What is the white Australians' source of knowledge about Aboriginal people? And most importantly: What role does the mainstream media in Australia play in the continuously bad relationship between white Australians and Aboriginal people? Does the mainstream media contribute to that conflict? And if so, in what way? In the following, I am going to try to answer those questions. I am going to try to shed some light on the role that the media is playing in the relationship between white Australians and Aboriginal people. In order to answer those questions, it seems indispensable, to first have a look into the history of Australia and Aboriginal Australians. I will outline the most important events in the history of Australia, starting with the arrival of the Indigenous people, ending with the current situation. After that, I will amplify the Aboriginal culture, assuming that to most readers it is largely unknown. In the main part of this work, I will then investigate the mainstream media coverage of Aboriginal affairs in Australia. I will try to ascertain in what manner the mainstream media treats Aboriginal topics. Further I want to determine if prejudices and stereotypes towards Aboriginal people exist, and how the current situation in the Australian society could be described. In the end, I will attempt to summarize my findings in a final conclusion.