‘We can really shift public opinion on this’: The role of media in growing conversations on national crises

The national crisis of men’s violence against women has become a more public conversation, and the Australian media has played a critical role in that shift. But experts say it is crucial media practitioners engage respectfully and ethically to continue the conversation.

At the Women in Media National Conference on Friday morning, a session moderated by ABC’s 7:30 host Sarah Ferguson discussed how news coverage, advertising, social platforms and fictional storytelling on screen, stage and page can suitably talk about the epidemic.

Moo Baulch, chair of leading not-for-profit Our Watch, said community attitudes have changed, and journalists and other media practitioners have started to grasp how critical their roles are in telling these stories.