Today is Wednesday, March 30, 2022, and the final day of my weekly observations of front-page news. While it has been an incredibly unique pursuit, I found that the scope of my studies proves that every country has its way of reporting. What could be news in the States may not be news in Oceania, or vice-versa. It all depends on your target audience and what may or may not be necessary to them. For the past few weeks, I've learned that rugby and dinner table issues, such as money, food, and politics, are critical to New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji citizens. In my last write-up on this topic, I will mention the same things from the previous week, with a slight shift for one newspaper.
First, I will highlight The West Australian, which until today has been the most consistent with its postings. After looking at the cover, I noticed that issues that should take precedent appear in two tiny boxes off to the side. While the focus for the rest of the body pertains to pictures of The Royal British Queen and a broadcast of "Shane Warne's memorial service." What was the most information forward paper has turned the tide and dipped into fluff pieces to round out the middle of the week. However, something that manages to catch my eye is the bright yellow and black banner at the bottom of the page. The words "$1 trillion of liberal and labor debt means higher inflation and higher interest rates" signal the nearing election season for those in Australia.
In the same breath, the two papers in Fiji, The Fiji Times and Fiji Sun, each cover a crucial political moment. On both covers is a picture of New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta "following the Duavata Partnership" with the Fijian Prime Minister. The political trend for each of these papers continues to trend even after my post on Monday. Each cover has each country's political figure front and center. They dawn smiles on their faces and shake hands that signal a new partnership. Despite these papers and the one from New Zealand being in different locations, they still clearly prove how valuable the news plays in politics.
To conclude, the front pages of our news outlets say a lot. They tell us about the meat and potatoes issues that we all face. From the economy, the environment, and even our local governments yet, how they choose to portray it says more. As consumers, we must understand how our news frames critical topics. Whether they use a large and in-your-face font, position clear pictures of political figures in the middle of the page, or use a heartbreaking tragedy. Our news sources will never change, yet how we choose to ingest what they craft is something we can change ourselves.
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