The Media Landscape in Australia
Discuss about the Power of Media in Influencing Health Policy and Politics.
Australia is a liberal nation in which the people exercise their right to information. That simply means that in Australia, there is a heavy media presence because everyone has a free access to print media (newspapers, magazines, and journals), broadcast media (radio, television, video, cinema, and film), and electronic media. Each of these media platforms has been instrumental in informing, educating, and entertaining the users. As a one of the most influential agents of social change, media has been used to make positive contributions in the healthcare sector. Here, it has been relied upon to educate people on various health-related matters such as the outbreak, prevalence, management, treatment, and control intervention for various illnesses.. That is what the “Flesh-Eating Ulcer Outbreak ‘Exploding Epidemic’ in Victoria” was written to do.
‘Flesh-Eating Ulcer Outbreak ‘Exploding Epidemic’ in Victoria” is an article that was written by Liam Mannix and published by the Sydney Morning Herald on April 15, 2018. The main aim of this article was to report on the progress that had been so far made on the fight against buruli ulcer. In the report, the author took time to do two things. One, the writer reports on the outbreak of the ulcer and gives a breakdown of the magnitude of its impacts on the Australian population in general and Victorian population in particular. Two, the writer critiques the efforts that the government has been making towards the management of the disease which is labeled “a flesh-eating ulcer.’
The article does not oppose the assertion that the fight against the buruli infection has not been effectively done. Although the author is not an expert in the buruli infection, she relies on expertise opinion from someone who understands it better than her. Liam relies on the research conducted by Daniel O’Brien to explain how worse the situation is. According to Dr. O’Brien, Buruli Ulcer has become a pandemic because its prevalence is on the rise. As a professional medic who has been dealing with the ailment, Dr. O’Brien says that the situation has become pathetic because of the laxities of the government which, according to him, has failed to avail adequate resources to effectively handle the infection (Munro 2015). However, these accusations are refuted by the Department of Health and Human Services that faults the good doctor for peddling lies because the government has been actively involved in supporting the infection’s research (Bagdikian 2014). Nonetheless, given the magnitude of the threat posed by the ulcer, Dr. O’Brien is convinced that the government still has to provide enough funds to be used in conducting further research to help in getting enough information to be used in eradicating the infection from troubling the Australians.
Overview of ‘Flesh-Eating Ulcer Outbreak ‘Exploding Epidemic’ in Victoria’
The media uses different strategies to appeal to the audience and convince them to believe in its contents. Apart from relying on the expertise opinion, the author uses advocacy as a tool of reaching out to her audience. The author was not only interested in informing the readers on the prevalence of the infection, but also interested in illustrating how the governed has failed to deal with the infection (Lawson & Cowling 2015). According to what Dr. O’Brien said, the government has not been actively involved in the war against the ulcer because it has not been considered as a priority area. This paper interprets that the author was trying to fault the government because it is the supreme authority charged with the responsibility of providing quality and safe healthcare services to everyone (Denecke, Bamidis, Bond, Gabarron, Househ, Lau, Mayer, Merolli & Hansen 2015). However, since the ulcer has never been taken seriously, it is no doubt that the government is not very much concerned about it (Shaw, Russell, Greenhalgh & Korica 2014). Otherwise, it would have come up with policy measures to effectively deal with it. To someone like Dr. O’Brien, baruli ulcer should not be ignored any longer because it might end up becoming a challenging disaster that the government might not manage in the near future.
The article is not biased because it was written by an impartial author. The writer was guided by the principle of objectivity because she appears to be focus on exactly what to do. In this article, the author was intending to give a comprehensive and informative report on the status of the buruli ulcer in the country. Although the main focus was on Victoria, the article can still be relied upon to depict a clear picture of the infection in the larger Australia. According to this paper, Liam was reporting on the research that she had conducted on the prevalence of the ulcer. In her opinion, the ulcer has become an epidemic because it has been posing a great threat to the Australians for many years (Meyer 2015). However, since she is not a medic practitioner, the writer chose to rely on a professional medic who has a sound knowledge on illnesses like buruli ulcer. That is why she relied on Dr. O’Brien to give a comprehensive analysis of the infection, trace its history, and provide all the necessary information on the mitigation strategies and research efforts that have been made to deal with it over the years.
Expert Critique of Government Efforts in Disease Management
When writing this article, Liam knew so well that she was publishing a news item that would play a significant role in boosting the media campaign in the country. The article is political because it involves a heated discussion by two opposing sides. On his part, Dr. O’Brien argues that the infection has escalated into a pandemic because of the laxities of the government in dealing with it. As an experienced medic, Dr. O’Brien believes that the government has not been supporting the fight against the ulcer the way it ought to (Bard 2016). In his opinion, the government does not give the researchers enough resources to use in studying the infection. However, his statement is refuted by the Department of Health and Human Services whose official denies the Dr. O’Brien’s claim. According to this official, the government has been at the fore front of tackling the infection because it has been spending a total of $800,000 on its research within the last ten years. The disagreement between the two demonstrates that the matter has been politicized (Jolley, Freeman, Baum, Hurley, Lawless, Bentley, Labonté & Sanders 2014). Since each of them does not want to compromise, it is obvious that there is someone between them who is not saying the truth. If they had not politicized the matter, they would have given a similar position because it cannot be true that the government has not acted or acted at the same time (Lupton 2013).
The article was also used as an instrument of advocacy by the writer. As a concerned citizen, Liam was ready to use the article to urge the government to consider making policy changes that would help in improving the health of the Victorian residents and the Australians at large (Sendall 2016). This was evidenced when Dr. O’Brien who was used as a people’s representative lodged a complaint against the government and went ahead to request for policy changes that, in his opinion, would play a major role in addressing the infection and providing a long-term solution to the challenges it poses on the Australians (Dew, Scott & Kirkman 2016). As a buruli ulcer specialist, Dr. O’Brien holds the view that the best way through which the government should intervene is by supporting medical research. That is why he is mainly concerned about the slow pace at which the government has been funding the research (Raghavendra, Newman, Grace & Wood 2015). In this regard, Dr. O’Brien appeals to the state government of Victoria and the Commonwealth government of Australia to consider adopting new policies which aimed at supporting research activities for this particular infection. The article, therefore, would help Dr. O’Brien to channel his demands to the government because he knows that it can reach the authorities. When the government officials get the information, they have no choice, but to read it, get to know about the people’s concern, accept the challenge, and act upon all the proposals that have been made (McCallum 2013). As an expert, Dr. O’Brien knows exactly the measures that can be adopted to help in managing and eradicating the infection from perpetually troubling the Australians.
Advocacy for Policy Changes
The article succeeded in accomplishing its role as a political piece because it was properly written. Right from the beginning, the writer demonstrated that she was planning to address political issues of concern to the people. The inclusion of the debate between Dr. O’Brien, and the government official, shows that the discussion had taken a political dimension and would involve a heated debate between two opposing sides. The author did this successfully because she managed to bring along the two characters who openly expressed their opposing views in the paper. For example, while Dr. O’Brien was claiming that the government has not been doing much to facilitate medical research on the infection, the government official was supporting the government claiming that it has been doing a tremendous job in supporting the research (Moorley & Chinn 2016). However, Dr. O’Brien was not convinced because, as a specialist who has been personally involved in the research, he knows what has been happening in the country. His claim is though political because he says that the government has not been doing a good work while everyone knows that it is the government which has been the chief financer of the research project so far conducted to study the infection. From their arguments, it can be deduced that the two are supporting what they believe to be true. However, it cannot be denied that they are purely politicizing this matter that actually requires an immediate intervention from the government and other concerned stakeholders.
The author also succeeded in using the article to help in advocating for policy changes in the country. By reaching out to the government official, it is clear that the writer was intending to publish an article targeting the authorities. The first way in which the article succeeded in its advocacy role is when the author incorporated the participation of Dr. O’Brien. As an expert, the doctor must been an invaluable resource because he helped in providing a professional appeal to the article. He is a professional is analysis and breakdowns cannot be ignored because he is an authority whose credibility is not doubted whatsoever (Dandy & Pe-Pua 2015). Since he has been directly involved in the research, it is no doubt that Dr. O’Brien knows the weak areas that need to be addressed. As a professional medic, Dr. O’Brien knows that he should always prioritize the interests of the patients and public. That is why it is logical to support his point of view because he is not acting for his own, but trying to fight for the rights of the general public that cannot get an opportunity to reach out to the government to request for such policy changes (Stoneham, Goodman & Daube 2014). His emphasis on research holds water because it is the best way through which such infections can be understood and ultimately addressed. The inclusion of a government official in the article was also a wise decision because it enabled the writer to identify the audience she was seeking to address (Smith, Crawford & Signal 2016). All these are strategies that enabled the author to write a good advocacy paper that can be relied upon to pressurize the government to come up with new policies that can help in dealing with the problem of baruli ulcer.
Fair and Impartial Reporting
The article represents the points of view of different categories of people. The opposing ideas can resonate with the pro-government and opposition figures who criticize the government for its inefficiencies. Whereas the official represents the government, Dr. O’Brien represents the experts who use their minds and courage to critique the government and put it on toes. The only group of people whose opinion was not captured in the article is the patients of the ordinary members of the public who are the main beneficiaries of such actions. The politicization of the fight against baruli ulcer was, therefore, a wise decision because it enabled the author to use a professional medic to inform the public and shame the government for its laxities in the war against the infection. The escalation of the infection into a pandemic was a trick that was applied to appeal to the government to consider it as a serious illness that requires an immediate intervention (Ferguson, Inglis, Newton, Cripps, Macdonald & Davidson 2014). At the same time, the provision of the latest statistics on the infection was also a brilliant decision because it enabled the author to illustrate how terrible the situation is. The use of these statics would help in advocating for policy changes because it would be accessed by the government that would have to act. At the same time, the article would be effective in motivating the ordinary Australians to come out and start agitating for policy changes designed to address illnesses like baruli ulcer that might end up spreading to other regions in the country (Stanfield & Beddoe 2013). The paper is able to bring such a change because it was published by a reputable media house whose publications are trusted because all over the nation. After all, the Sydney Morning Herald is a newspaper that has a great influence and can bring a massive change in the society. Hence, there is no doubt that its publication of this article would be of great importance because it would sensitize many people including the government agencies responsible for the funding of medical research in the nation (Eilstrup-Sangiovanni & Bondaroff 2014). However, when it comes to interpretation, those who agree with Dr. O’Brien will support him for saying the truth and advocating for additional government funding. However, those who disagree with him will support the government and commend it for making deliberate steps towards the war against the deadly infection.
Political Dimension of the Outbreak
In conclusion, media is a very influential platform. It is used to communicate important information to the mass because many people believe in it as a source of truth that can be relied upon to understand different issues in the locality, state, nation, and globe at large. ‘Flesh-Eating Ulcer Outbreak ‘Exploding Epidemic’ in Victoria” is an example of how media can be used to advocate for policy changes in health care. By publish this article in the Sidney Morning Herald, Liam was quite sure that she was not only informing the readers, but playing her role as an advocate for change. The article succeeded in appealing to the government to consider implementing policy changes aimed at supporting and boosting barulli ulcer as requested by Dr. O’Brien. Although the article is purely political, it is unbiased and objective.
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