The Australian Human Rights Commission, in partnership with Media Diversity Australia, has produced the Race Reporting Handbook to help overcome misrepresentation and stereotyping.
Noting that "journalists play a critical role in the way people are racialised", the Commission said on Monday the handbook "reveals the inequity in our current media landscape and includes tips for newsrooms to overcome it... from reporting on First Nations people that reinforces stereotypes to the cultural burden placed on people with lived experience of racism in newsrooms".
Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman said the media "has the power to decide who tells stories, whose stories are told, and how they are told".
"If you are white, you are often centred in nearly every aspect of the media and rarely, if ever, need to be concerned about the way in which the media represents your race," he said.
"Responsible reporting which is built on racial literacy is essential for creating any anti-racist society. It's time to shift narratives from sensationalist headlines and move to editorial decision-making that are reflective of stories that showcase strengths rather than diminish negatively racialised communities.
"The handbook contains principles and checklists for anti-racist journalistic and editorial practices, including recruitment for greater diversity in media workplaces. Inclusive storytelling will better amplify underrepresented voices for more robust reporting," Commissioner Sivaraman said.
Media Diversity chief executive Mariam Veiszadeh highlighted the need for the handbook at a critical juncture in the Australian media landscape.
"If a person were of an Anglo background, would you, for example, reference their race? This is a crucial question to consider," she said.
"Enhancing the racial literacy of a sector that informs and shapes the health of our democracy can result in more nuanced and inclusive reporting, greater audience reach, and a stronger, more resilient democracy."
The 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum campaign saw a tidal wave of racist anti-Indigenous commentary on social media, often in response to reports published and shared online by major media companies.
The Race Reporting Handbook aims to address how to combat structural and systemic racism in Australia's media landscape.
The authors intend to emphasise an anti-racist approach to reporting to assist media professionals in building stronger community connections and adopting more inclusive editorial policies.
The Human Rights Commission said the launch of the handbook "comes at a crucial moment", as the Commission is set to release the National Anti-Racism Framework later this year—an initiative aimed at dismantling racism across all sectors of Australian society.
