Feeding the world: Australia, live export and the interplay of influences

When advocates consider how to best encourage governments to change policy in their favour, there is an assumed rhetoric that the media are the mitigating factor required to achieve success, without a semblance of a structured argument or indeed evidence behind such a claim. This is in part due to the difficulty that previous research studies have found in coming to a definitive answer as to who and what affects policy change. This research thesis provides evidence to show how policy can be manipulated by not only the media but by an interplay of advocates, the backbench and journalists to influence the policy decision makers. The focus of this research paper is to answer the fundamental question: who influences federal government policy relevant to the Australian agricultural sector, in particular the live export market, and what are its global implications? Using the case study of the live export industry and events that occurred in 2011 post the Four Corners program, 'A Bloody Business', this paper deconstructs newspaper articles, parliamentary speeches and the interviews of 17 respondents to reach seven findings that provide practical guidance to inform best practice for those involved in a policy change within government. This study is primarily qualitative and applies quantitative content analysis methodology to the research sample. This thesis draws on a theoretical framework that includes agenda-setting, Habermas’ concept of the public sphere, news as a social construction as discussed by Ericson, Baranek and Chan, together with theories related to gatekeeping, priming, framing, news values and bias. The thesis acknowledges past academic scholarship placing the media at the forefront of policy making, while arguing that policy making is determined by an interplay of political, advocate and news influences.