Advocates for Indigenous Mental Health recently launched 'Good Yarn Guidelines', a new initiative that aims to reduce the social and emotional harms caused by inaccurate, offensive or insensitive reporting.
The new guidelines have been endorsed by National Indigenous Television (NITV), and were developed by the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association (AIPA), Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA), and Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia, the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing, mental health and suicide prevention, as well as mental health research institute the Black Dog Institute and Everymind.
Dr Clinton Shultz, a Gamilaroi/Gomeroi man and Director of First Nations Partnership and Strategy at the Black Dog Institute, said the way media report on First Nations issues can have "a profound effect" on the social and emotional wellbeing of First Nations peoples and communities.
"The increase in misinformation/disinformation and hate speech against First Nations peoples during the Voice referendum campaign has had significant impact on the social and emotional wellbeing of our communities," he said.
The Voice referendum campaign saw Indigenous people exposed to racist advertising and rhetoric in the media.
Australia's own history of racist advertising and media propaganda was explored by Wiradjuri scholar Kathleen Jackson in her essay Representation and Power: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Nulla-Nulla: Australia's White Hope, The Best Household Soap 1920.
In 2016, Australia made global headlines for a racist Bill Leak cartoon published in the Australian newspaper.
Numerous Indigenous-led organisations and Amnesty International have stated that using the term 'Aborigine' is generally perceived as insensitive, because it has racist connotations from Australia's colonial past. However there are still mainstream news personalities that continue to use the term.
Experts are calling for a close examination of the media industry which has always played a critical role in shaping popular opinion as it can now influence at a faster rate than ever before.
Award winning and veteran Journalist Stan Grant told the ABC: "I think there needs to be a reckoning in media around the destructive tendencies and instincts about what passes for media coverage, and the need for a more constructive approach."
Dr Richard Denniss, Executive Director of the Australia Institute said misinformation and disinformation "swamped the referendum campaign with arguments that often had little to do with what Australians were being asked to vote on".
New research by the Australia Institute revealed that nine in 10 Australians support truth in political advertising laws, regardless of how they voted in the referendum or their political affiliations.
Dr Shultz said the 'Good Yarn Guidelines' aim to set "guardrails for media reporting about First Nations issues to reduce harm in the future, in the same way the Mindframe Guidelines do for reporting on mental health and suicide".
"This isn't about casting blame or pointing the finger. It's an acknowledgement that harm has occurred, whether intentionally or unconsciously, and that we need to do better.
"If we want to take steps towards reconciliation post-Referendum, we need to lift the standard of the conversation so that First Nations people feel safe to participate, and that includes conversation in the media," he said.
The Good Yarn Guidelines include 10 principles for better reporting on First Nations issues:
• Culturally responsive language and practice
• Inclusion of First Nations voices
• Diversity of perspectives
• Safety of First Nations sources
• Relevance when mentioning First Nations identity
• Strength-based approaches
• Historical and cultural accuracy
• Alignment with Human Rights
• Appropriate image and video use
• Minimising the impact of hate speech
The National Indigenous Times have contacted the Minister for Communications and Australian Communication and Media Authority for comment.
