Despite all the political machinations and hate towards the media coming from the president of the United States, I always thought the majority of Australian politicians supported the role of the press in safeguarding democracy.

And I certainly did not expect Peter Dutton — amid an election campaign, one with citizens heading to the polls on World Press Freedom Day — to come out swinging at the ABC and Guardian Australia, telling his followers to ignore “the hate media”.

I’m not saying Labor is likely to be the great saviour of the free press either.

• READ MORE: On ‘moral panic’ and the courage to speak – the West’s silence on Gaza
• Trump’s war on the media: 10 numbers from US President’s first 100 days
• Other media freedom reports

The ALP has been slow to act on a range of important press freedom issues, including continuing to charge journalism students upwards of $50,000 for the privilege of learning at university how to be a decent watchdog for society.

Labor has increased, slightly, funding for the ABC, and has tried to continue with the Coalition’s plans to force the big tech platforms to pay for news. But that is not enough.

The World Press Freedom Index has been telling us for some time that Australia’s press is in a perilous state. Last year, Australia dropped to 39th out of 190 countries because of what Reporters Without Borders said was a “hyperconcentration of the media combined with growing pressure from the authorities”.

We should know on election day if we’ve fallen even further.

What is happening in America is having a profound impact on journalism (and by extension journalism education) in Australia.

‘Friendly’ influencers
We’ve seen both parties subtly start to sideline the mainstream media by going to “friendly” influencers and podcasters, and avoid the harder questions that come from journalists whose job it is to read and understand the policies being presented.

What Australia really needs — on top of stable and guaranteed funding for independent and reliable public interest journalism, including the ABC and SBS — is a Media Freedom Act.

My colleague Professor Peter Greste has spent years working on the details of such an act, one that would give media in Australia the protection lacking from not having a Bill of Rights safeguarding media and free speech. So far, neither side of government has signed up to publicly support it.

Australia also needs an accompanying Journalism Australia organisation, where ethical and trained journalists committed to the job of watchdog journalism can distinguish themselves from individuals on YouTube and TikTok who may be pushing their own agendas and who aren’t held to the same journalistic code of ethics and standards.

I’m not going to argue that all parts of the Australian news media are working impartially in the best interests of ordinary people. But the good journalists who are need help.

The continuing underfunding of our national broadcasters needs to be resolved. University fees for journalism degrees need to be cut, in recognition of the value of the profession to the fabric of Australian society. We need regulations to force news organisations to disclose when they are using AI to do the job of journalists and broadcasters without human oversight.

And we need more funding for critical news literacy education, not just for school kids but also for adults.

Critical need for public interest journalism
There has never been a more critical need to support public interest journalism. We have all watched in horror as Donald Trump has denied wire services access for minor issues, such as failing to comply with an ungazetted decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

And mere days ago, 60 Minutes chief Bill Owens resigned citing encroachments on his journalistic independence due to pressure from the president.

The Committee to Protect Journalists is so concerned about what’s occurring in America that it has issued a travel advisory for journalists travelling to the US, citing risks under Trump administration policies.

Those of us who cover politically sensitive issues that the US administration may view as critical or hostile may be stopped and questioned by border agents. That can extend to cardigan-wearing academics attending conferences.

While we don’t have the latest Australian figures from the annual Reuters survey, a new Pew Research Centre study shows a growing gap between how much Americans say they value press freedom and how free they think the press actually is. Two-thirds of Americans believe press freedom is critical. But only a third believe the media is truly free to do its job.

If the press isn’t free in the US (where it is guaranteed in their constitution), how are we in Australia expected to be able to keep the powerful honest?

Every single day, journalists put their lives on the line for journalism. It’s not always as dramatic as those who are covering the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, but those in the media in Australia still front up and do the job across a range of news organisations in some fairly poor conditions.

If you care about democracy at all this election, then please consider wisely who you vote for, and perhaps ask their views on supporting press freedom — which is your right to know.

Alexandra Wake is an associate professor in journalism at RMIT University. She came to the academy after a long career as a journalist and broadcaster. She has worked in Australia, Ireland, the Middle East and across the Asia Pacific. Her research, teaching and practice sits at the nexus of journalism practice, journalism education, equality, diversity and mental health.

Pacific Media Watch newsdesk

The Peter Greste-fronted Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom is launching a press freedom tracker for use in engaging with politicians and government officials to push for better protections for journalists in the Asia-Pacific region, reports Miranda Ward of the Australian Finanancial Review.

Greste, who spent more than 400 days behind bars after he and two colleagues were charged with terrorism offences while on assignment for Al Jazeera in Egypt, said the press freedom tracker would record incidents, both attacks on press freedom and positive steps forward, and help the AJF and other stakeholders assess the state of press freedom in the region.

Peter Greste wants to help the Australian public understand the challenges facing press freedom in Australia.

• READ MORE: AJF’s Press Freedom Tracker

“It’s designed to be something that looks at the state of press freedom, the direction of travel and whether it’s up or down across the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.

“We’re also being very careful not to rate countries because we don’t think that’s necessarily helpful. What we’re looking at, though, is a way of comparing and contrasting the way that various countries handle press freedom across the region and the broad direction of trends.”

Greste said the AJF would use it as a tool “for opening political and diplomatic conversations and as a tool for advocacy”.

The AJF was formed in 2017 by Greste, lawyer Chris Flynn and former journalist and strategic communications consultant Peter Wilkinson. Flynn and Wilkinson worked with the Greste family to free Greste from an Egyptian prison.

Complement advocacy work
The press freedom tracker, which was launched in Brisbane yesterday, will complement the AJF’s advocacy work and how the organisation engages with governments to discuss press freedom issues.

Greste said the AJF was also working on its “regional dialogue” project, which is a series of semi-formal meetings between news companies, governments and security agencies designed to help each understand the other better and find better ways of working together.

“One of the chief arguments is that there’s often talk about the trade-off between press freedom and national security, the balance between press freedom and national security, which implies that if you have more of one, by definition, you have less of the other,” he said.

“We disagree with that characterisation. We think that press freedom is actually part of the national security framework. It indirectly helps government function better, it helps the system work more effectively, it helps expose corruption within governments and organise crime.”

The biggest challenge facing press freedom in Australia, said Professor Greste who is also UNESCO chair in journalism and communication at the University of Queensland, was making the general population understand the threats facing media.

“Opening up a daily newspaper, it doesn’t feel as though Australia press is limited in any way. We don’t have explicit censorship and not seeing journalists thrown in prison. Up until the [Australian Federal Police] raids [on the ABC and a News Corp journalist], we weren’t seeing police kicking down the doors of journalists in a rage reaction. So it doesn’t look as though journalism is in a crisis,” he said.

Greste said that if the public had a better understanding of how “dangerous it is for sources within government to speak to journalists anonymously, confidentially”, and the effect that has on stories that are not being told, he believed it would be more widely recognised that journalism in this country was “not as healthy as we’d like to believe”.

No constitutional protection
“The challenge is getting the public to understand the role that journalism plays, and appreciate that role, and recognise the loss of press freedom that we’ve seen since 9/11. The impact that the national security legislation has had on press freedom.”

In Australia specifically, the AJF is pursuing the creation of a media freedom act that would help provide protections to journalists and compel the courts to consider press freedom in any case that would affect the state of press freedom in the country.

“Australia is about the worst Western liberal democracy in the world when it comes to legal and constitutional protections for things like freedom of speech and press freedom,” Greste said.

“We have no constitutional protection at all.”

The AJF hopes a media freedom act would help protect news organisations from police raids such as the AFP’s 2019 raid on the ABC’s Sydney headquarters by insisting judges be obligated to consider press freedom and the public interest before signing warrants to allow such raids to take place.

Greste said that while a parliamentary inquiry in August last year recommended sweeping reforms, politicians need to find the will to implement the recommendations.

“The opportunity for the AJF is to help the public understand this and to find and develop political support for media freedom,” he said.

“We’re getting some support, we’ve had a number of politicians approach us. We’re in the process of drafting an act. We’ve been speaking to a number of independent MPs about working on the idea and certainly politicians in the Coalition and in the Labor Party privately have been expressing support for the idea.”

“It’s just that it’s hard to put on the political agenda and get the kind of moment that we need to see a piece of legislation go through.”

Republished with permission from the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom.

The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom has called for a voluntary certification programme for Australian journalists as an essential step towards building trust in journalism, and distinguishing journalists from what can be false and misleading commentary on social and digital channels.

“We believe that a voluntary certification programme is needed now,” says AJF spokesperson Professor Peter Greste in a statement.

“As journalism and the platforms through which it is practised undergo rapid change, it will help to ensure the high standards of professionalism and independence necessary for it to continue to make its important contribution to democracy and transparency.

• READ MORE: The AJF programme

“Central to this is the need to distinguish journalists from others who post news and commentary on social media.

“A voluntary certification programme that includes a minimum level of training will, for instance, ensure the certified journalist understands the law and their code of conduct, and is prepared to be held accountable to it.

“This is about building trust in journalism. It is no different from the trustworthiness accountants, doctors, engineers, lawyers and many other professions gain by being certified.

“The voluntary certification program must be completely independent of government.

“In that respect it is similar to the Australian Institute of Company Directors program, which certifies directors who have completed their voluntary graduate course.”

The AJF sees the certification as an essential component of the AJF’s proposed Media Freedom Act (MFA).

“It does not mean that non-certified journalists would be unprotected by the legislation,” said the AJF statekent.

“Certification is simply an accredited acknowledgement of a certain level of understanding of journalists’ principles.”

How certification might work
As the aim is to increase the quality of journalism and public confidence in the work that journalists produce, certification must include the following:

• A training component, to confirm that anyone who is certified has done a requisite level of training in the law, professional practice and ethics;
• Evidence of a process for producing work that meets the standards required of certified journalists;
• Evidence of published journalism;
• A commitment to abide by a recognised journalists’ code of conduct;
• Accountability to that code of conduct.

Once an applicant has completed the requisite training and produced evidence of published work that meets the minimum standards, they would qualify for certification. Such a denomination would allow a journalist to place a “kite mark” next to their name in any published work or on social media. That would signal to readers and audiences that they have been recognised by their peers as someone who produces a high standard of work.

Any member of the public who thinks a certified journalist has breached the code and general principles would have the right to complain to the certifying body. If the complaint is upheld and found to be serious enough, the body would have the power to withdraw certification.

Certification would also work in concert with the Media Freedom Act. The Act could determine that anyone who is certified, is assumed to be a journalist and benefit from its protections. It would then be up to the investigating authorities to show why an individual had breached their obligations as a journalist and should be treated as an ordinary person.

This does not mean a person cannot work as a journalist without certification. Nor does it mean that an uncertified journalist would not be protected by an MFA. It simply means that they would need to show the authorities why, for the purposes of the Act, they should be treated as one.

Australia’s ABC has revealed the Australian Federal Police (AFP) recommendation regarding the Afghan Files investigative journalism report is for the Commonwealth DPP to consider charging journalist Dan Oakes for his role in the leak.

The revelation has prompted a renewed call by the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom (APJ) for a media freedom law.

ABC’s managing director David Anderson said in a statement “The Afghan Files is factual and important reporting which exposed allegations about Australian soldiers committing war crimes in Afghanistan.

READ MORE: The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom and what it campaigns for

“Its accuracy has never been challenged.”

Peter Greste, AJF’s spokesperson, said Australia urgently needed a Media Freedom Act.

“Australia is the only Five Eyes nation that has similar levels of national security protections, but no press freedom protections written into our legal code,” he said.

“To find balance between these two fundamental pillars of democracy, we urgently need a Media Freedom Act.

“The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom has been calling for a Media Freedom Act since May 2019, three weeks before the AFP’s raids on Annika Smethurst’s home and ABC’s Ultimo offices.

“The news that an Australian journalist who reported in the public interest is now at risk of being prosecuted by the Commonwealth DPP is a plain example that we need to strike this balance urgently, or risk further damaging our democracy.”

The AJF promotes press freedom and the right of journalists to report the news in freedom and safety. This includes working with Australian governments to ensure legislation supports press freedom.

The alliance also campaigns in the Asia-Pacific region, wherever journalists are censored, threatened, imprisoned or killed.

• Possible prosecution of journalist must be dropped – MEAA

The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom has welcomed the decision by the Australian Federal Police to drop charges against Newscorp journalist Annika Smethurst and has renewed its call for a media freedom law.

The announcement, coming more than a year after the raids, underscores the need for unambiguous protections for press freedom in Australian law, the AJF said in a statement.

The AFP were searching for evidence of the source of a story she published revealing secret plans by the government to expand the powers of the nation’s international electronic eavesdropping agency, the Australian Signals Directorate.

READ MORE: Australia’s global media freedom status – ‘investigative journalism in danger’

The raid, and a similar one the following day on the offices of the ABC, highlighted the precarious position of Australian journalists who are fulfilling their democratic duty to keep watch over our government.

It also appeared to send a message to both journalists and their sources exposing abuses of government authority – the police are prepared to come after you.

The AJF believes the damage the case has done to journalism, to the AFP’s reputation, and to Australia’s international standing as a champion of democratic values, could have been avoided if press freedom was clearly enshrined in our legal code.

AJF spokesperson Professor Peter Greste, the UNESCO chair in journalism and communication at the University of Queensland, said: “This decision is the right one, but the controversy would never have happened if we had a law in place that protects journalism in the public interest, while giving the security agencies the tools they need to go after genuine threats to the country.

“We can do that with a Media Freedom Act. Such an act would clearly establish the relationship between journalists holding government to account, and the security agencies trying to keep us safe.

“A Media Freedom Act would enshrine the public’s right to know, but also help the security forces from damaging the very thing they aim to protect, namely the health of one of the world’s most successful democracies.”

The AAJF first called for a Media Freedom Act in May 2019, three weeks before the raids.

Australia is ranked 21st out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2019 World Press Freedom Index.

• AFP rules out charges against NewsCorp journalist Annika Smethurst after raid