4.3 Content analysis A sample of media coverage was drawn from key outlets comprising: l News Corp mastheads and TV l Nine mastheads and TV l ABC l SBS l The Guardian Australia l The Daily Aus. Search terms included ageing, ageism, aged care, older people, older Australians, older men, older women and elderly. The search was conducted in June 2024 and produced at minimum one page of results (search result: “ageing” in The Daily Aus) and at a maximum, 742 pages of results (search result: “ageing” on the ABC website). The sampled content was analysed for recurring themes, such as how issues of age/ageing were framed and what aspects of age/ageing were emphasised. The analysis also considered what positions, principles or biases were explicit or implicit in the reporting. (a) Areas of thematic consistency (i) Ageing as a process of inevitable decline Across content from all outlets sampled, ageing is repeatedly framed as an inexorable process of decline, both mentally and physically. Assumptions about the inevitability of pain, suffering and loss of capacity, underpin many representations and the fear of ageing is presented as normal and natural.27 This narrative of decline and deterioration is accompanied by a recurring assumption that ageing is something to be fought or resisted.28 As examined in the below subsection on ‘Gender and ageing’, there is a distinctly gendered element to such exhortations to fight or slow the ageing process, which emphasise traditionally gendered notions of beauty and aesthetic appearance. However, this analysis also identified many examples of media content encouraging people of all genders to resist the ageing process, though the focus tended to be less on appearance and more on the need to fight ill health or loss of capacity.29 The content analysis also found examples of reportage that contrasted the typical framings of ageing and decline by highlighting extraordinary feats performed by older people. For example, the ABC produced a segment titled ‘Running 500km at 94’, about a 94 year-old-man who had just completed his 100th fivekilometre run.30 As noted in the qualitative interviews with academics (see Chapter 5), these ‘superhero’ narratives, which exceptionalise accomplishments by certain older persons, contribute to entrenching a patronising approach to ageing whereby such feats are presented as unattainable for most older people. (ii) Older people as vulnerable and lacking agency In content from all the media outlets surveyed, older people are frequently portrayed as a vulnerable group lacking agency. This observation pertains to content where all older people are characterised as inherently vulnerable, as opposed to reports about specific groups who may have diminished capacity in older age. Reports on elder abuse, which highlight legitimate issues around abuse of power and trust, are also excluded from this observation. The content analysis also identified instances where media coverage portrayed caring for ageing parents as burdensome.31 Such articles often infantilised older adults, reinforcing the notion that infirmity and incapacity are unavoidable in older age. Additionally, the media reviewed frequently associated the process of ageing with the inevitability of isolation and loneliness.32 Another assumption implicit in the content analysed was that of older people as passive recipients of charity, which reinforces the view of older people as vulnerable and lacking agency.33 This characterisation of older people as vulnerable and passive is sometimes used as fodder for ridicule, with the underlying reasoning for publishing such stories difficult to ascertain.34 Overview of literature review and content analysis 15