Australian press and public opinion on the Israel–Palestine conflict

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between Australian press coverage of, and public opinion on, the Israel–Palestine conflict using a framing perspective. The first part of the study involves analysis of almost 10,000 articles published in The Australian and the Sydney Morning Herald between 2000 and 2010. The second part of the study is based on an online survey conducted with 1021 participants nationally. The main aim of this study is to identify the extent to which the issues deemed most central to resolving the conflict have been covered by the Australian press and the extent to which Australian public opinion is either reflective of this content or represents alternate views. The study found that respondents expressed perspectives inconsistent with prevalent news frames, including a close identification with the Palestinian narrative as well as views on a resolution of the conflict reflective of a concern for human rights and universal values.