“I Don’t Understand It”: Australians’ Low Interest in Politics and Political News

Caroline FISHER, Sora PARK, Kieran McGuinness, Janet Fulton, Shengnan Yao

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Research shows that while a significant portion of Australians are not interested in politics or political news, those who are interested in politics tend to consume a lot of news in general. Based on a thematic analysis of interviews with 60 Australians, ranging from nonnews consumers (less than once a month or never) to heavy news consumers (more than once a day), this article shows that the type of political news source used and the way politics is reported have a big impact on people’s level of interest in it. Drawing on the opportunity, motivation, and ability (OMA) model, this article highlights how negative perceptions of political journalism as biased, conflict-ridden, and complicated influenced the information-seeking behavior of Australian voters during the 2022 federal election. The findings raise important questions for news outlets about audience disconnection from politics and how it is covered.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1-19
    Number of pages19
    JournalInternational Journal of Communication
    Volume18
    Issue number19
    Publication statusPublished - 16 Sept 2024

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