Conservative advocacy journalism: Explored with a model of journalists’ influence on democracy

Abstract

The democratic role of news media in Western society is usually analysed through the lens of the dominant liberal model of media. This model assumes that journalists play a positive part in democracy by monitoring those with power and facilitating a diverse marketplace of ideas. Within this model, journalistic professionalism emphasises objectivity, neutrality, pluralism, balance and independence. There are, however, two types of advocacy journalism which, despite receiving less attention, nonetheless are present in Western media and exhibit characteristics contrary to these liberal values: radical journalism and collaboration between journalists and the state. Through a case study comparing Australian Murdoch media coverage of an industrial dispute to that of non-Murdoch media, this paper proposes a third type of advocacy journalism: conservative advocacy. Through the development of a model of journalistic influence on democracy, conservative advocacy is proposed as the least democratic form of journalism due to its suppression of voices that challenge power.