Beyond neutrality? Australian media coverage of the Israel–Gaza war

This study examines how major Australian media outlets have constructed narratives of the Israeli–Gaza conflict, shaping how the public evaluates violence. Based on content analysis of 5,183 articles from five leading Australian news sources (ABC, The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Daily Telegraph ), this article compares media reporting over two periods: 7 Oct 2021–6 Oct 2023 and 7 October 2023–6 October 2024. The findings demonstrate a paradigmatic shift from a diplomatic–political frame to a crisis–conflict frame, characterised by selective attention, emotive language, and asymmetrical representation of actors and victims. The authors theorise that these dynamics function as a process of conflict priming—a process of constructing evaluative standards that can guide judgements of violence, culpability, and policy. The findings extend debates on war journalism, mediated witnessing, and moral hierarchies by showing how national media reporting can stabilise asymmetric imaginaries and influence domestic public opinion and politics.