ABSTRACT
The central role of the journalistic media in the construction of an informed citizenry and deliberative democracy is widely accepted in the political science and media studies literature. The liberal media's functions of reportage, analysis, commentary, representation and advocacy are recognized to underpin genuinely democratic political systems by informing citizens about the issues on which they have the constitutional right to exercise political choices. Media and political science scholarship – in Australia and internationally – has been highly critical of the media–politics interaction ever since. In Australia, as in the UK and comparable democracies, perceptions of bias are often part of the political debate itself, and usually bound up with the political divide in parliament and right. The chapter also provides a concept of the public sphere which more accurately fits the reality of how people actually use the media for political and civic purposes.
