Explore a range of media for news items related to Indigenous Australian’s health

According to Stoneham, Goodman and Daube (2014), one factor impacting on the relationship of Indigenous
Australians with mainstream society is the media portrayal of Indigenous people and issues, in this unit the issue
is health. These authors’ examined media portrayals of Indigenous Australians’ public health issues in selected
media over a 12-month period.
Before starting assessment 3 read the article titled “The Portrayal of indigenous health in selected Australian
media” that you can find in a CDU library search. Notice the comments in the notes and discussion section.
Balvin and Kashima (2012) and Larson, Gillies, Howard and Coffin (2007) cited in Stoneham, Goodman and
Daube (2014) note that that negative news reporting impacts on the self –esteem Australian Indigenous
people and perpetuates Indigenous stereotypes within mainstream society. Larson et al., argue that this is
discrimination and a determinant of health and that until change occurs in the perception of the
dominant Australian culture, public health, education and employment opportunities will be at risk for
Indigenous Australians.
This assignment draws on the work of Stoneham, Goodman and Daube (2014) to provide a framework for
you to examine current health and well-being issues related to the health of Australian Indigenous peoples.
This assignment relates to the four learning outcomes for this unit.
AIM:
To explore current health issues affecting the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians by examining
media items and identifying how media is used to report Australian Indigenous peoples’ health issues
TASK:
1. Explore a range of media for news items related to Indigenous Australian’s health. This can include,
news items in daily papers, journals, television or radio, websites, magazines. You will need to
provide a link to your articles.
2. Choose three items about one of the following topics: That is, three items about nutrition, three items
about mental health or three items about smoking.
Nutrition
Mental Health
Smoking
3. Read the article, analyse and make notes guided by the following criteria:
a. Assess each article according to negative, positive or neutral qualities as per
Stoneham, Goodman and Daube(2014)p.3.