Diversity in Reporting? A Study of the News coverage of the 2016 New Zealand Local Body Elections

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aut.relation.issue1en_NZ
aut.relation.journalMEDIANZen_NZ
aut.relation.volume17en_NZ
aut.researcherRajic, Ivana
dc.contributor.authorBaker, Sen_NZ
dc.contributor.authorOwen, Ten_NZ
dc.contributor.authorRupar, Ven_NZ
dc.contributor.authorMyllylahti, Men_NZ
dc.contributor.authorDevadas, Ven_NZ
dc.contributor.authorCraig, Gen_NZ
dc.contributor.authorBerti, Cen_NZ
dc.date.accessioned2019-10-03T01:40:19Z
dc.date.available2019-10-03T01:40:19Z
dc.date.copyright2017-11-16en_NZ
dc.date.issued2017-11-16en_NZ
dc.description.abstractThis study offers an analysis of print news media coverage of the 2016 New Zealand Local Body elections, focusing on reportage around issues of diversity. This study builds upon a prior project by the Media Observatory group at Auckland University of Technology of the 2014 New Zealand General election that also examined issues of diversity. The function of news media in democratic societies is crucial. For a nation-state that is as cosmopolitan and diverse as New Zealand, issues of inclusivity and representation are critical considerations for news media. This study employs content analysis and examined news coverage of local body elections and analysed 198 Local Elections newspaper articles from the eight weeks prior to 8 October 2016 in one nationwide newspaper and four Auckland community newspapers. It focuses on The New Zealand Herald, East & Bays Courier, Manukau Courier, North Shore Times, Central Leader and the Western Leader. The analysis of the 2016 Local Election news coverage demonstrates a predominant focus on the mayoral candidates to the detriment of other aspects of local election voting, and a focus on campaign strategy over social issues impacting the electorate. The Local Election coverage placed particularly strong focus on “youth” as a social group in contrast to other classified groups such as Māori, Asians, Pacific Islanders, the elderly, and dependents. The Local Election coverage also represented a diversity of social issues, from housing, transport, to business and economy, environment, and law and order. The coverage provided ample space for words and perspectives from the electoral front-runners, local government representatives, and for public voices but it also paid minimal attention to non-mayoral voting categories, non-front runner candidates, and non-Auckland geographical locations, although this latter point was perhaps unsurprising, given the newspapers sampled in the study.
dc.identifier.citationMEDIANZ: Media Studies Journal of Aotearoa New Zealand, 17(1).
dc.identifier.doi10.11157/medianz-vol17iss1id184
dc.identifier.issn2382-218Xen_NZ
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10292/12872
dc.publisherMEDIANZ
dc.relation.urihttps://medianz.otago.ac.nz/medianz/article/view/184en_NZ
dc.rightsMEDIANZ abides by the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Public Licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. The work may not be used for commercial purposes. The work may not be altered, transformed, or built upon.
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccessen_NZ
dc.titleDiversity in Reporting? A Study of the News coverage of the 2016 New Zealand Local Body Electionsen_NZ
dc.typeJournal Article
pubs.elements-id307307
pubs.organisational-data/AUT
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/Design & Creative Technologies
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/Design & Creative Technologies/Communication Studies
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/PBRF
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/PBRF/PBRF Design and Creative Technologies
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/PBRF/PBRF Design and Creative Technologies/PBRF Communication Studies
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