There was also a strong sentiment from a minority of journalists, mostly female, that issues around ageing and ageism are gendered. This view was underpinned by a perception that older men are often presumed to offer more experience and wisdom. ‘Ageism is a huge issue, and it’s also very gendered.’ ‘There is a bigger stigma around women ageing and still being capable. It’s a problem for some men, but other men’s age can also be seen as experienced and worldly. Most older women don’t get that benefit.’ ‘There is a general view that older women are even more vulnerable than older men and I think that can come through very strongly in media coverage.’ (b) Assessment of current coverage and content Almost all journalists, producers and editors interviewed agreed that the issues around ageing and ageism deserve greater media attention and coverage. ‘Ageism is one of the biggest ‘isms’ in Australia right now and it’s not getting the coverage and attention it deserves.’ ‘These issues were covered pretty prominently during the Royal Commission but not a lot since. There hasn’t been a lot of follow up since then and it should [have been].’ ‘Ageism is under covered, and I am not sure why. It’s incredibly important and we are all going to get old so if it’s not relevant to you now, it will be one day.’ ‘Stories about race and sex discrimination always have an acute interest but there’s not always a lot of interest in stories about age.’ ‘During the Royal Commission there was a lot of interest. There should be a lot more follow-up but I think governments have also dropped the ball on it.’ ‘It [ageing and ageism] is well reported but it’s a bigger crisis than a lot of people realise which by definition means it’s under reported.’ The media professionals observed that there has been noticeably less coverage and focus on stories around ageing and ageism since the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality & Safety and the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative interviews 21