Pluralism in the Australian print media

Abstract

This paper discusses some fundamental assumptions aboutpluralism in the Australian print media. Pluralism, the number of print media outlets available to the public, and known as structural diversity, can be considered as one of two elements of media diversity. The other is the variety of views presented by those outlets, known as content diversity. This paper presents an analysis of Australian newspaper ownership from 1986 to 2000, which shows a significant newspaper oligopoly exists. However, it discounts the argument that the buyout of newspaper titles in the 1980s by Rupert Murdoch’s News Limited was the catalyst for concentrated print media in Australia, arguing this has been a progressive trend in Australian newspaper ownership since the early 1900s. It also discounts the argument that newspaper circulation is in decline, showing that national Saturday and Sunday newspaper circulation, as well as suburban newspaper circulation, has increased up to 6 per cent in the last six years. Reasons why the Australian print media oligopoly is maintained are also discussed. Ownership concentration in media markets is a significant economic, social and cultural issue in Australia and many other countries, according to the Productivity Commission (2000: 303).