*** Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this column mentions someone who has died ***
The column this week brings news from Gaza, Paris and the United States, as well as various recommendations for reading on the media, including about “the gendered, racialised mess of media reporting”.
We link you into experts’ advice on tackling H5N1, as well as five key recommendations for supporting breastfeeding, and upcoming events not to miss.
The quotable?
Media power is built on the gigantic loophole in democracy that protects the freedom of the press without requiring any ethical, moral or societal responsibility from its owners. Media power sits at the centre of a system.”
Gaza
With the Middle East on a “knife’s edge” following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, civilians in Gaza continue to suffer amid an ongoing public health catastrophe. And Israel’s war on journalists continues.

AP: Lice, scabies, rashes plague Palestinian children as skin disease runs rampant in Gaza’s tent camps
Olympics
Public health concerns surrounding the Olympics continue (see our previous related coverage here and here).
The Guardian: Citius, altius, antibioticus: Olympic triathlon a triumph of optics for Paris
“The insistence on actually hosting swimming events in the Seine may have been deeply pig-headed. It may still turn out to be a terrible idea. Team GB’s athletes have already had their hepatitis jabs and will now complete a course of antibiotics. Who knows what the effects might be of all that tarnished river water combined with the cuts and wounds of assorted crashes, wipeouts and knee slides on the morning cobbles.”
Global health
In last week’s column, we examined how the election campaign of Kamala Harris is bringing opportunities for public health advocates to highlight issues such as access to abortion, climate justice, and the need to address racism in all its forms.
It is also, unfortunately, highlighting racism and sexism in media practices.
In an article for 360info, Media attacks on Kamala Harris follow a bleak pattern, ANU researchers Jack Hayes and Dr Elise Stephenson examine the implications of how the media is covering Harris for women’s political participation — not only in the United States but globally.
“Biased media reporting contributes to real-world consequences, deterring women and marginalised people from entering politics due to fears of online harassment and myriad biases,” they write.
Even if Trump fails and Harris becomes the next US President, “it is clear that the gendered, racialised mess of media reporting is not a blip, but a characteristic of our media landscape”, they write.

This World Breastfeeding Week, UNICEF and WHO call for equal access to breastfeeding support.
A joint statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell and WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus puts five calls to action to families, communities, healthcare workers, policymakers, and other decision-makers:
- Increase investment in programmes and policies that protect and support breastfeeding through dedicated national budgets.
- Implement and monitor family friendly workplace policies, such as paid maternity leave, breastfeeding breaks and access to affordable and good-quality childcare.
- Ensure mothers who are at-risk in emergencies or under-represented communities, receive breastfeeding protection and support in line with their unique needs, including timely, effective breastfeeding counselling as part of routine health coverage.
- Improve monitoring of breastfeeding programmes and policies to inform and further improve breastfeeding rates.
- Develop and enforce laws restricting the marketing of breast-milk substitutes, including digital marketing practices, with monitoring to routinely report the Code violations.
Health matters
Go Gentle Australia: NT expert panel recommends VAD laws
#AusPol
Conference Watch
Landmarks
Lowitja Foundation statement: Lowitja O’Donoghue Foundation celebrates second anniversary
#CroakeyREAD
Events upcoming