Pioneering University of Canberra research reveals the connection between representation in news media and social belonging

Do speakers of languages other than English feel represented in Australian media? What influences do these and other factors have on multilingual audiences’ sense of belonging to broader society?

The University of Canberra has today unveiled the findings of a new joint SBS research project examining the impact of media representation on multicultural audiences’ sense of belonging to broader Australian society.

The ground-breaking work, titled Sense of belonging among multilingual audiences in Australia, finds that multicultural audiences who feel represented in news media experience both a greater sense of trust toward it, and a greater sense of belonging to Australian society overall. The study reveals the clear connection between audiences’ sense of belonging and their confidence to contribute to, and participate in, Australian society at large.

The report employed a first-of-its-kind research methodology with over 1,000 respondents, and survey questions offered in English and in-language for five of Australia’s largest language groups: Arabic, Cantonese, Italian, Mandarin, and Vietnamese, each chosen to represent a range of migration recency and English fluency.

Findings from the report include:

• Those who migrated to Australia more than ten years ago are more likely to feel at home in Australia (76%) than those who have been here fewer than ten years (65%);
• multilingual audiences with a higher sense of belonging are more likely to have the confidence and willingness to participate in civil society;
• 86% of those who feel represented in news feel at home in Australia;
• and that longer time spent living in Australia and higher confidence using English positively influences belonging and engagement in social or political discussions – meaning, a greater confidence to influence their needs being met and to have an impact on Australian society.

Research lead and Professor of Communication and Professorial Research Fellow at the News & Media Research Centre, Professor Sora Park, said that a sense of belonging is crucial to social inclusion and active participation in society.

“This work represents an important early step in uncovering attitudes among our nation’s ever evolving linguistically diverse communities.

“Feeling that they belong to Australian society is important for migrant communities, and this study confirms the role that news plays among multilingual Australians.”

The University of Canberra’s News & Media Research Centre Director, Dr. Kerry McCallum said, “This project was conducted collaboratively between the SBS team and our Centre researchers, and we hope to build on these findings through further research.”

SBS’s Director of Corporate Strategy Sarah Yassien said, “This rigorous, high-quality research is intended to spark a new type of conversation about how Australians think and talk about inclusion and social participation.

“It also attests to the work we do at SBS, demonstrating that multicultural audiences feel higher levels of representation in SBS News compared to the broader Australian news landscape.”

The full report is available to read here.

For a PDF of this media release, click here