(e) Lack of relevant spokespeople on age-related matters There was broad agreement that there is a critical lack of media spokespeople as advocates for older Australians, and that this presents a significant barrier to better coverage of issues around ageing and ageism. ‘There is a lack of experts on ageing issues available for comment.’ ‘There’s a strong representation of spokespeople available on just about every issue or interest group except ageing. There’s plenty of talking heads for stories on gender inequality, LGBTI issues, Indigenous affairs or ethnic and multicultural groups. But finding someone to speak on ageing and ageism is much tougher. The few that have the expertise required for comment are either inaccessible or unresponsive.’ ‘There’s a couple of spokespeople around but not a lot.’ ‘I think the elderly would feel underrepresented in media coverage more generally. Expertise in this area was lacking in the Royal Commission coverage, we had plenty of coverage about the politics of it, and the political consequences as well as financial perspectives and you can do a good job with that but there was certainly not a lot of experts we could call on for comment or background or explanation.’ ‘There’s a lack of voices available to represent older Australians.’ ‘There are a few organisations we can tap into for comment or background but to be honest they aren’t very accessible. When you are working to deadline or wanting nice clean copy from a third-party, I don’t really know who to go to.’ Others reflected that the problem was not only the lack of available spokespeople as subject matter experts, but also the absence of journalists with expertise to cover age-related stories. They said this impacts accurate and extensive coverage and contributes to knowledge gaps. ‘The problem with modern journalism is there’s not enough subject matter experts reporting. Readers and viewers tend to have cognitive dissonance when consuming these stories because whilst a subject matter expert will see the flaws in an issue’s reporting, to the audience it’s correct and accurate.’ ‘There are a few journalists who know their stuff on issues around health, healthcare and ageing … most newsrooms can’t afford to have dedicated journalists with that type of deep specialisation anymore. So, combine that with a lack of available spokespersons representing older people and you have a real problem.’ 30 Shaping Perceptions: How Australian Media Reports on Ageing