Amid ongoing debate about media coverage of antisemitism, this paper examines how a shift from reporting to advocacy has led, in many cases, to a negative portrayal of Jews, Israel and related issues in Australia. It argues that a decline of trust in much mainstream journalism, both as a profession and as an institution, as well as job losses made necessary because of the online transition, forms an important part of the story.   

The transformation of journalism over the past two decades has been both economic and intellectual. The paper notes that the collapse of the traditional business model, the contraction of newsrooms and the disappearance of specialist expertise have coincided with a deeper shift in professional norms and the practice of ethical journalism – from reporting to advocacy, from balance to moral positioning and from institutional authority to individual branding. 

The paper is part of The Centre for Independent Studies research program, The New Intolerance: Antisemitism and religious hatred in a fracturing civic compact. 

Key points

• Media advocacy replaces balanced reporting and distorts coverage of Jews and antisemitism in Australia.
• Decline of foreign reporting capacity leads to inaccurate narratives about Israel and Australian Jewish communities.
• Journalistic framing that casts Jews as powerful aggressors fuels hostility and normalises antisemitism.