‘Australian Media and the Politics of Belonging’ explores mediated debates about belonging in contemporary Australia by combining research that proposes conceptual and historical frameworks for understanding the concept in the Australian context. A range of themes and case studies make the book a significant conceptual resource as well as a much-needed update on work in this area. ‘Australian Media and the Politics of Belonging’ also provides an intervention that engages with key contemporary issues, questions and problems around the politics of belonging that are relevant not only to academic debate, but also to contemporary policy development and media and popular discussion.
The chapters address a variety of key issues and questions regarding the ethics of media practice and actual media practices — consideration of ethical obligations, media treatment of different populations and the degree to which media serve not only as sites through which a range of voices contribute to definitions of Australian belonging but also, significantly, as a means through which such voices can be heard. An engagement with the problem of ethical practice also asks how a greater understanding of the impact of media representations can contribute to new ethical frameworks and new forms of media practice in areas of key sensitivity such as the reporting of Islam. [NP] In addressing such issues ‘Australian Media and the Politics of Belonging’ provides an important resource for understanding, and makes a vital contribution to, debates surrounding belonging in Australia.
