Almost one-third of younger Australians turn to celebrities and social media influencers for their news content, according to research profiled in this week’s column, which also looks at some wider news trends of concern, including the creation of fake news sites.
We highlight the pervasiveness of racism across political spheres, and other attacks on human rights, locally and globally, as well as bringing some uplifting news about awards and recognition for those working for a safer, healthier world.
The quotable?
A National Anti-Racism Framework is great, but what we really need is action .”
Communications matters
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released new research into trends and developments in the Australian media and communications sectors, with findings that are relevant and useful for health communicators and advocates.
The research shows a continued shift away from traditional live TV services with more Australians than ever using streaming services for video and audio content.
In 2024, 91 percent Australians used an online service, paid or free, to watch video content, up from 83 per cent in 2023. YouTube remains the number one online service used for video content with over half (57 percent) of Australians watching in a week.
The research showed a continued decline in the number of people who watched live free-to-air TV (excluding catch-up TV). This year marks a key milestone in Australian’s viewing patterns, with less than half of Australians watching live free-to-air TV (46 percent down from 52 percent in 2023) for the first time.
More Australians are using apps for voice calls. While younger Australians are generally heavier users of apps to communicate, it is older Australians who are driving this growth. Almost half (47 percent) of Australians aged 65-74 used an app to make a voice call, up from 38 percent last year.
Nearly all Australians (98 percent) are on at least one communication or social media website or app, an increase from 97 percent in 2023. Facebook takes the top spot, with 78 percent of adults using it in the previous six months, while YouTube sees a decline to 70 percent (from 75 percent in 2023).
Free-to-air TV remains the most common main source of news, used by a quarter of Australian adults (26% – stable compared to 2022), followed by online news websites or apps (23%).
The only news source to see more adults choosing it as their main news source in 2023 was social media (20% compared to 17% in 2022). This rise is being driven by younger Australians. For those aged 18–24 years, nearly half (46%) nominate social media as their main source of news.
News sources vary across generations. More than half of Australians aged 75+ (52%) read a print newspaper in the previous week, this compares to seven percent of 18–24-year-olds. Similarly, older Australians were more likely to watch news on the TV, with 90 percent of those aged 75+ using a TV source in the past week, compared to 30 percent of 18–24-year-olds.
Just 12 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds use online news websites as their main source, down from 28 percent in 2022. Social media websites or apps
were more likely to be the main source of news for those aged 18–24 (46%) and 25–34 (38% up from 28% in 2022), higher than all other age groups.
Although down from last year, the most popular social media news sources remained professionally produced news media outlets (69% down from 78%) and official/reputable sources (43% down from 51%).
Compared to 2022, more adults used community and special interest groups (38% up from 29%) for news via social media.
Younger Australians (aged 18–24) are more likely to turn to celebrities and social media influencers (31%) for their news content, significantly more so than all older age groups.
Climate and global health news
Newsweek: Climate Science and Big Oil Need to Go Their Separate Ways
The Lancet Planetary Health: Indigenous Elders’ voices on health-systems change informed by planetary health: a qualitative and relational systems mapping inquiry
https://www.who.int/news/item/11-12-2024-reinvigorated-global-efforts-needed-to-curb-rising-malaria-threat
#AusPol
Human Rights Law Centre: Crisafulli Government’s discriminatory laws will send more children to prison and override human rights
First Nations health news
VACCHO: A National Anti-Racism Framework is great, but what we really need is action 
Human rights
Public health updates
Media matters
An astounding read from the US about fake news, AI and the demise of local journalism: https://www.opb.org/article/2024/12/09/artificial-intelligence-local-news-oregon-ashland/
Awards and appointments
Events upcoming
