Shaping Perceptions: How Australian Media Reports on Ageing (2024)

Overview

The focus of this report is on how the Australian media reports on ageing and older persons.

This research involved a review of literature and media reportage on age-related topics by key media outlets in Australia. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted with journalists, presenters, editors and producers across Australian media networks as well as with academics and corporate communications specialists. 

This report outlines the Australian Human Rights Commission’s key findings and identifies three key opportunities for the media industry and age sector to take a collaborative partnership approach to improving the accuracy, quantity and quality of coverage about older Australians and the issues that affect and matter to them. 

Read the full report here.

Read the executive summary here.

Key findings

This report highlights three key findings. 

   1. There are known and real issues with Australian media portrayals of ageing and older people. 

       These recurring themes are:

• the framing of ageing as a problem
• a prevailing narrative of decline, frailty and vulnerability
• intergenerational conflict
• gendered ageism
• invisibility of older Australians and their lived experiences

   2. Australian media representations reflect a broader mainstream culture that undervalues older people.

   3. Australian media representations are underpinned by specific drivers in the media industry, including:

• lack of access to subject matter experts
• time and resource constraints
• loss of experienced and specialist practitioners in newsrooms
• invisibility of age within the diversity and inclusion space
• lack of consensus among academics
• workplace tensions between older journalists and younger journalists
• business drivers

Opportunities

The three opportunities identified in this report are a call to action for the media industry and age sector to proactively pursue and accelerate change across the media landscape.

These opportunities are for the media industry and aged sector to work together to:

• Address the expert gap: by improving media access to relevant spokespersons and subject-matter experts.
• Address the education and training gap: by co-designing and providing resources and staff training to increase industry awareness about ageism and strengthen editorial standards in reporting on age-related matters.
• Shift the narrative on ageing: by collectively embarking on a communications campaign to combat ageism both within the media industry and in the wider community. 

Video: Commissioner Fitzgerald Launches 'Shaping Perceptions' Report

Downloads

• Full report: 'Shaping Perceptions': How Australian Media Reports on Ageing [PDF 3.8 MB]
• Executive Summary: 'Shaping Perceptions' [PDF 1.3 MB]