3. Introduction 3.1 About this research Through language, imagery, narrative and representation, the media plays an important role in both reflecting and shaping how age and experiences of ageing are perceived, interpreted and valued. There are known issues with the negative portrayal of age and ageing in the Australian media. For example, the Australian Human Rights Commission’s (Commission) 2013 research report ‘Fact or Fiction: Stereotypes of Older Australians’ found that older Australians were underrepresented and poorly portrayed in traditional media, social media and advertising. Media was seen to create and reinforce negative stereotypes of ageing in older people.4 In 2021, the Commission’s research report on ageism across the adult lifespan, ‘What’s Age Got To Do With It?’, found ageism to be present in Australian media representations of all age groups. Research participants agreed that the media uses stereotypes to characterise people across different age groups and media narratives of scarcity and greed were seen to spur on intergenerational conflict.5 Other studies have highlighted similar issues of stereotyping, invisibility, underrepresentation and negative representation of age and ageing in Australian media which can contribute to ageist attitudes, discrimination, and the marginalisation of older people.6 Studies have also drawn attention to workplace ageism and discrimination within the media and advertising industries, though there has been limited focus on the potential ripple effects on media content.7 To counter ageism and negative age stereotypes, researchers and advocates have made recommendations, led public awareness campaigns and developed resources such as media and messaging guides to encourage more diverse, nuanced and realistic representations of age in Australia.8 While work has been done to demonstrate how age is and should be represented in the media, few studies have directly involved or engaged with media professionals on these issues.9 This research builds on existing knowledge about ‘how’ age and ageing is represented in Australian media by bringing media industry professionals into dialogue on ‘why’ negative age portrayals persist and ‘what’ needs to be done to drive positive change, with a view to engaging the industry in the Commission’s ongoing efforts to combat ageism and age discrimination in Australia. 3.2 Objectives The objectives of the research were to: l l l 10 review current knowledge and evidence on how age and ageing is presented in Australian media gather insights from media industry professionals about the underlying factors that influence media representations of age and ageing provide ideas and solutions, informed by media industry professionals, for engaging with the media on promoting more diverse, accurate and balanced representations of age and ageing. Shaping Perceptions: How Australian Media Reports on Ageing