Balanced or Biased? Voice Engagement in Australian News Media’s Communication of China

Abstract Given Australia’s troubled ties with China in recent times, this research sought to demystify the engagement strategies employed by Australian news media in communicating China’s image to Australians. Anchored in the analysis of China-related news reports from two major Australian print media, this research compared the engagement patterns of news sources in China-related news reports during two periods, 1972–1978 and 2017–2023. Results showed a growing bias in Australian news reporting of China over the past few decades. By engaging with various news sources, Australia’s voices were prioritized in shaping the Australian public perception of China while China’s voices were sidelined, indicating a shift from ‘narration of China stories by China’ to ‘narration of China stories by Australia’. It was suggested that such an imbalanced engagement mechanism was related to both the journalistic practices in Australia and the strategic triangle between Australia, China and the US.