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Media and Law Reform

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Media and Law Reform

Read the case study and examine the campaign snapshot. Then answer the questions. The campaign and its figures are fictional; they are designed for analysis, not presented as evidence about a real Australian campaign.

Case study: Safer streets after dark

During a weekend bush regeneration day, volunteers Jai, Grace and Charlie hear residents discussing unsafe walking and cycling routes near a local reserve. A fictional community group, Safe Routes, later gathers residents’ accounts and requests better lighting and safer crossings. It posts short videos, shares a map of reported concerns and gives local journalists a summary of its evidence. A television report focuses on one resident’s frightening experience; a newspaper article examines council spending and road-safety data. Some social media posts wrongly claim that a new law has already been passed. The group asks state MPs to consider a proposal requiring safety audits near major public facilities. MPs may raise the issue, but any state law change would still need to go through the relevant parliamentary process.

Message

Responses

A resident’s personal story

A short video showing the route

A post summarising safety data

Analyse, evaluate and apply

Use evidence from the case study and campaign snapshot. Distinguish media influence from the formal process of making a law.

1.Which option best explains how media could contribute to law reform in the Safe Routes case?

Media coverage can make an issue more visible and increase pressure on decision-makers, but it does not itself pass a law.
A television report automatically changes state law.
Social media posts replace debate and voting in Parliament.
Journalists decide which proposal becomes legislation.

2.Match each media technique to the example from the case study.

A. Emotional appeal
B. Evidence-based persuasion
C. Visual storytelling
D. Misinformation

2. Presenting road-safety data
4. Claiming a law has passed when it has not
3. Posting a short video showing the route
1. Sharing a resident’s frightening experience

3.Which message received the most responses, and how many more responses did it receive than the data post?

4.Give one conclusion the group could reasonably draw from the campaign snapshot and one limitation that prevents it from proving which message is most persuasive to all Australians.

5.A post says, “The new safety-audit law has passed.” Based on the case study, is this claim supported? State one responsible action a reader could take before sharing it.

6.Put these stages in a sensible order by writing the letters in order: A. Parliament considers and votes on a bill; B. A proposal is raised with MPs; C. A bill is introduced; D. A community campaign brings an issue to public attention.

7.Australia’s Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011 introduced plain packaging requirements for tobacco products. Explain one way media coverage or public advocacy could contribute to debate about a reform like this, and name one factor—other than media attention—that could also influence law reform.

8.A news report includes only a resident’s personal story and no wider evidence or response from authorities. Identify one strength and one weakness of this coverage when informing public debate about a proposed law.

9.Write a two-sentence social media post for Safe Routes that encourages people to support a public discussion of the proposal. Include a clear call to action and avoid claiming that a law has already passed.

10.In a short paragraph, judge whether media is best understood as a direct maker of laws or as an influence on the law-reform process. Support your judgement with two details from the case study.