ABC News X Seven News. Fight!

       

Welcome to Australia! Now... which news channel should you watch?

        As I grew up in Brazil, I am used to knowing what kind of content and approach I can expect from each Brazilian news channel. There’s the National News, which most parents (well… when I was little, most dads) will watch every evening in the nation’s most prominent channel. They are probably the most reliable source on open TV.

        There are one or two other channels that will broadcast news worth watching now and then, though one of them is funded by a Protestant church and tends to be biased. Things go downhill from there. What the other channels have to offer in terms of news is usually gory crimes, sensationalism, unnecessary suspense, dubious sources… and of course, some fake stories. I’d watch some of these fishy news programs as a kid and they would keep me up at night. Chupa-cabras (goat-sucking monsters), aliens, ghosts…  Definitely not age-appropriate, but they were very entertaining! 

        It was 2018 when I came to Australia. Wow, was Australia different from Brazil! Everything I'd come across was a novelty for me. I remember turning the TV on and seeing all these different channels, not knowing what to expect from each one of them. There were multiple news networks, so it was a bit overwhelming to try and choose one to watch.

        Well, 3 years have passed and I have learned a thing or two. First of all, I learned that ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) is a public network principally funded by the government. But is that a good or a bad thing? I honestly don’t know what to think, I don’t know how much the government interferes with what is broadcasted. I feel like so much could go wrong, but so far, I’ve found their content reliable and straight to the point.

        Wikipedia says the network was "Modelled on the British Broadcasting Corporation, which is funded by a television license (...) License fees were abolished in 1973 and replaced by direct government grants, as well as revenue from commercial activities related to its core broadcasting mission."

        ABC has released a very thorough analysis of different Australian news services in 2018, which shows what is, statistically, the focus of each one (including their own service, ABC News). Here are the results they got to:

 

        I have also looked into Seven News, one of Australia's longest-running television news services, founded in 1958. They are a popular commercial network. According to the website www.mediabiasfactchecker.com, Seven News has a center-right bias. In their words, “these media sources are slightly to moderately conservative in bias. They often publish factual information that utilizes loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes) to favor conservative causes. These sources are generally trustworthy for information, but may require further investigation.”

        You might be thinking, but what about Media Bias Fact Checker (Let's call it MBFC)? How do we know they are reliable? Well, their website is very transparent and upfront about their funding (Ads, Memberships, Donations). Their analysis is also loaded with verifiable references and clickable examples to support their claims.

        While we are at it, why don't we see what MBFC has to say about ABC News? Then, we can compare both networks. The website rates ABC News as “Left-Center biased based on story selection and word choices that moderately favor the left and High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing and a reasonable fact check record.” Just for reference, they gave Seven News a “Mixed” for factual reporting.

        With all of that in mind, let’s take a look at how ABC News and Seven News have approached the issue of the pandemic here in Australia in early October. In case you don’t know, we have been in lockdown number 5 since July. The number of cases got close to zero after last year’s lockdown, but vaccines didn’t become available for the general population until… well, July. With so few people immunized, the cases skyrocketed, as you can see in this graph:

         At the present moment, we are in a race to immunize everybody. All amidst violent protests from anti-vaxxers who believe the virus is a hoax.

        What does ABC have to say about recent COVID-related events? On Oct 7, ABC News aired a story with the headline Victoria's hospitals dealing with surge in COVID admissions. The anchor explained, with a serious tone, how cases have gone up – especially among those who haven’t been vaccinated. The story goes on to show graphs, statistics and interviews that emphasize the importance of vaccinating people with disabilities, as they can be at an even greater risk.

        Meanwhile, Seven News story from 5 Oct focused on the problem that can arise from reinforcing vaccination. Their story Victoria is facing a vaccine battleground as we prepare to reopen claimed that demanding that people are vaccinated in order to enter restaurants and hotels is dividing the population. They interviewed business owners, who shared their concerns about losing clients.

        There are also a couple of details that stand out when you watch Seven News. I noticed the background, choice of colors and even fonts they use evoke a sensationalist vibe, while ABC News appears to be more sober. 

        You can also have a good idea of who watches a channel by browsing through the comments. Well, ABC News’ channel on YouTube doesn’t allow comments in the first place, which is probably for the best. Seven News has several anti-vax sympathizers expressing their frustration in the comment section. Some throw other conspiracies in the mix. Most of them seem to be people who didn't have many opportunities in life and don't know much about science. They are scared and they don't trust the government (which is fair enough). 

        Even though it is not difficult to find information about broadcasting services, it is common for people to just keep watching whichever network they are used to. Many have never stopped to wonder if these sources are biased or who funds them. I believe we need to show people where to look and how to evaluate the credibility of stories with patience and kindness. The volume of information online can be very overwhelming to those who are not used to doing research, and dubious news programs thrive on that.