Constructing Hansonism: A study of Pauline Hanson's persona in Australian press

Authors

P. E. Louw, Charles Sturt University
Eric Loo, University of WollongongFollow

Abstract

This article discerns the extent to which the presence of controversial Australian politician, Pauline Hanson, in the public sphere has been mocked and shaped by the media. Based on a textual analysis of a month's coverage of Hanson in the broadsheet metropolitan dailies, it suggests that the one-dimensionality in which Hanson was reported tells us more about Australian journalists and their practices than about Pauline Hanson herself Journalists allowed the elements of 'political correctness' to set the parameters of how they dealt with Hanson. It concludes that since journalists are the product of journalism training programs, some self-reflection on the part of journalism educators of their reaction to Hanson is called for.

Recommended Citation

Louw, P. E. and Loo, Eric, Constructing Hansonism: A study of Pauline Hanson's persona in Australian press, Asia Pacific Media Educator, 3, 1997, 4-31.
Available at:https://ro.uow.edu.au/apme/vol1/iss3/2