Australian Media Unites in Blackout Campaign

Virtually all leading Australian media outlets published heavily redacted front pages in an effort to publicly protest perceived legislative threats to domestic press freedom on October 21, the Associated Press reports. The campaign, a rare display of unity among rival outlets, pushes for stronger protection of media freedoms in Australia, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The Herald cites a “growing culture of secrecy” within government bodies, developing from recent federal national security laws.

Entities under two of Australia’s largest media companies partook in the unprecedented blackout, including publications the Australian, the Age, the Daily Telegraph, and the Sydney Morning Herald. Participant newspapers printed large blacked-out tracts of front-page text adorned with red “SECRET” stamps on their October 21 releases.

The redactions specifically seek to draw public attention to national security laws that heavily penalize whistleblowers and potentially endanger the work of investigative journalists, according to the Guardian. Writing by email, Monash University Associate Professor of Journalism Johan Lidberg cited an ever-increasing “web of laws” encroaching on the press’ capacity to cover national security issues. “However you turn, as a journalist, you risk breaching a law. It’s an impossible situation that must change.”

Lidberg’s comment comes amid terse interactions between law enforcement agencies and journalists across the country. According to the Guardian, in June, Australian federal police (AFP) raided the home of a News Corp Australia journalist investigating a leaked government surveillance proposal that would allow undetected access to bank records and text messages. A day later, the AFP carried out a raid of the Australian Broadcasting Company’s (ABC) Sydney office in response to the network’s running of “The Afghan Files,” a series of articles containing classified information fixating on Australian special forces operations in Afghanistan. Some critics see the police interventions as forms of government intimidation to silence investigative reporters, thereby precluding public access to information.

The Federal Court of Australia has rejected legal challenges to the raids, and three journalists face the threat of prosecution, ABC reports. Officials have also struggled to respond to the Right to Know coalition’s six core demands, which include legal exemptions for journalists and further protections for whistleblowers. However, on October 22, responding to the front-page blackout, Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared that the “whim of politicians” should not dictate the prosecution of journalists, the Australian reports.

Given the government’s mixed response, Lidberg noted, “The media needs to make a much more compelling case to the public for support, [and] explain how this goes beyond media freedom and directly connects to other civil liberties.”