The Battle of the Narratives: Australian media agendas and the Iraq war

306 Pages·2015·2.44 MB·English

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The Battle of the Narratives: Australian
media agendas and the Iraq war
- Judith Betts, B. Ec (ANU), MPA (Harvard), M. Comm. (CSU)

Thesis submitted for the degree of:
Doctor of Philosophy (Government and International Relations)
University of Sydney, October, 2015
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Statement of Originality

This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other
degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution and, to the best of my
knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another
person, except where due reference has been made in the text. Some of the data and
analysis in this thesis has been published in conference proceedings:
Betts, J. (2011) “The changing Australian politics of WMD over the course of the Iraq war:
Political agendas and press coverage”, refereed paper delivered at the Australian Political
Studies Association (APSA) conference, Old Parliament House Canberra, 26-28
September.
Betts, J. (2012) “Media agendas, Robert Manne and Iraq: the strengths and weaknesses
of quantitative analysis”, refereed paper delivered at the Australian and New Zealand
Communication Association (ANZCA), University of Adelaide, 4-6 July.
Interviews for this research project were conducted in accordance with the conditions laid
down by the University of Sydney Human Ethics Committee (Protocol No. 14374, 12
December 2011).

Judith Betts
October 2015
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Acknowledgements
Firstly, I would like to thank those who agreed to be interviewed for this project. Almost
without exception the interviews provided valuable insights into processes which, while on
the public record, are not often spoken about in the public domain. I greatly appreciate
interviewees’ time, the frankness with which they spoke, and their professionalism,
indicative of the professionalism they display in their daily work. Their involvement made
this a rich and rewarding project.
Secondly, this thesis would not have been possible without the wisdom, experience and
patient support of my supervisor, Professor Emeritus Rod Tiffen, who has spent every year
of his retirement thus far patiently guiding me along the path to completion. As his last
PhD student I hope I do him proud. I would also like to thank Professor Rodney Smith,
Associate Professor Ariadne Vromen, Dr Adam Kamradt-Scott, Dr Betsi Beem, Dr Anika
Gauja and Dr Lily Rahim for their advice and encouragement through the process and for
making me feel welcome in the academic community. Thank you too to Dr Bob Howard
and Associate Professor Ben Goldsmith for allowing me to sit in on their classes and
benefit from all their years of reading and research.
One of the great pleasures associated with the PhD process has been making the
acquaintance of other students in the PhD community. I would like to thank Stephen Mills,
Naser Ghobadzadeh, Trevor Cook, Ben Moffitt, Christopher Neff, Colombina Schaeffer,
Stewart Jackson, Christine Winter, Jenny Mason, Adele Webb, Caroline Yarnell, Tom
Wynter and Erin Hurley for their friendship and advice. I have really enjoyed our drinks
and discussions at the pub after PhD seminars. Many thanks too to my friends and
colleagues at UTS, including Vicki Bamford, Jannet Pendleton, Mai Hansford, Kate Delmo,
Melanie King, Mehal Krayem, Jesica Mwithia, Jim Macnamara and Jenna Price.
Over the course of this project I have benefited from the insights and observations of
friends, including Kristen Barry, Chas Savage, Jack and Deborah Gray, Lois Meyer, Ian
and Ardsley McNeilly, Patrick Rowe, Mary Venner, Jane Harris, Darcy Duggan and Karen
Waller. I am also privileged to be an honorary member of the Dooley family (Anna,
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Damian, Han and Jinny) and the Pratt family (Alison, Damian, Maggie and Hamish) all of
whom I love dearly.
Above all I want to express my heartfelt gratitude and love to my own family: my patient
and supportive husband Steve; my intelligent and inspiring step-children Philippa and
Edward; my strong and loving brother Doug and partner Judy; and my recently departed
wonderful dad, Edgar and his partner Aileen. I would like to remember too my sister
Dianne - talented and funny, she chose to leave us clamouring for more - and my
wonderful mum, Vera, who put up a dignified fight before succumbing to cancer.
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Table of Contents

Tables and Figures .............................................................................................................. x
Acronyms .......................................................................................................................... xiii
Content analysis sample periods ...................................................................................... xiv
Synopsis ............................................................................................................................ xv
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 1 – Media and political agendas: untangling the debates ..................................... 13
Chapter 2 – Research design ............................................................................................ 42
Chapter 3 – The Iraq war and the media agenda .............................................................. 64
Chapter 4 – WMD and the shaping of the media’s pre-war agenda ................................ 101
Chapter 5 – Drawing the battle lines - wartime coverage................................................. 137
Chapter 6 – Uncertain Victory – collapsing rationales and continuing civil war ................ 168
Chapter 7 – The Iraq war and Australian politics ............................................................. 208
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 239
Appendix: People interviewed .......................................................................................... 260
References ...................................................................................................................... 262
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Detailed table of Contents
Tables and Figures .............................................................................................................. x
Acronyms .......................................................................................................................... xiii
Content analysis sample periods ...................................................................................... xiv
Synopsis ............................................................................................................................ xv
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1
Media and political agendas ........................................................................................ 4
Research aims and design .......................................................................................... 5
Structure of the thesis ................................................................................................. 8
Conclusion 10
Chapter 1 – Media and political agendas: untangling the debates ..................................... 13
Agenda setting, agenda formation and framing ......................................................... 13
Critiques of the media and the Iraq War .................................................................... 25
Contested agendas ................................................................................................... 38
Conclusion 40
Chapter 2 – Research design ............................................................................................ 42
Research questions and hypotheses ........................................................................ 42
Design rationale ........................................................................................................ 44
Content analysis design ............................................................................................ 45
Qualitative analysis rationale ..................................................................................... 62
Conclusion 63
Chapter 3 – The Iraq war and the media agenda .............................................................. 64
Editors and the war ................................................................................................... 65
Influence of the proprietor.......................................................................................... 73
Comparing patterns of press attention ...................................................................... 80
The significance of article placement ........................................................................ 92
Conclusion 98
Chapter 4 – WMD and the shaping of the media’s pre-war agenda ................................ 101
Patterns of press attention ....................................................................................... 102
Observations on press coverage ............................................................................. 111
Dynamics of agenda setting .................................................................................... 118
Conclusion 133
Chapter 5 – Drawing the battle lines - wartime coverage................................................. 137
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Patterns of press attention ....................................................................................... 137
Observations on press coverage ............................................................................. 152
Dynamics of agenda setting .................................................................................... 155
Conclusion 165
Chapter 6 – Uncertain Victory – collapsing rationales and continuing civil war ................ 168
Patterns of press attention ....................................................................................... 168
Observations on press coverage ............................................................................. 189
Dynamics of agenda setting .................................................................................... 191
Conclusion 205
Chapter 7 – The Iraq war and Australian politics ............................................................. 208
Shaping the pre-war agenda ................................................................................... 209
Controlling the post-war agenda .............................................................................. 214
Conclusion 237
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 239
Australian media: ‘lapdogs’ or ‘watch-dogs’? ........................................................... 240
Did Government dictate the terms of the Iraq debate? ............................................ 242
Did Labor go silent on Iraq? .................................................................................... 244
Was the Australian consistently more pro-war than the SMH? ................................ 247
Were the media mindful of public opinion? .............................................................. 249
Could journalists have sustained a political controversy/crisis over Iraq? ............... 250
The media agenda .................................................................................................. 252
Conclusion 258
Appendix: People interviewed .......................................................................................... 260
References ...................................................................................................................... 262

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