Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Speaking Up And Talking Back: News Media Interventions In Sydney's 'Othered' Communities, Tanja Dreher

Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive)

Since August 2001, Arab and Muslim communities in Sydney's western suburbs have been caught up in a spiral of signification that linked 'gang' activity in the area to the standoff over asylum seekers aboard the MV Tampa , a federal election campaign fought on the theme of 'border protection' and global news reporting of September 11 and the 'war on terror'. Many people who live and work in the Bankstown area responded to this intense news media scrutiny by developing community-based media interventions that aimed to shift the mainstream news agenda. Through media skills training, forums, events and cultural production, …