5. Qualitative interviews 5.1 Summary The Australian journalists, editors and producers interviewed for this research reported that issues around ageing are complex and important to society, and have deep economic and social impacts. However, they acknowledged that these issues are typically underreported and do not receive the coverage they deserve. They attributed this to a few key factors, including: l the often distressing, and therefore unpopular, nature of the subject matter l limited newsroom resources, including specialist reporters with the time to cover the issues properly l lack of subject matter experts and spokespeople to provide comment to the media l the media industry’s commercial drive for a younger audience, despite current audiences typically reflecting an older demographic. While recognising that specific issues around ageing and ageism are underreported, interviewees were of the view that there is generally good coverage of other topics of particular interest to older populations, such as superannuation, property values, and the public and private health systems. There was also a view that ageism is potentially more prevalent in the media industry than in the broader community, particularly for older women. Other issues highlighted by the journalists, editors and producers were: l l l generational tension in newsrooms, between older, highly paid journalists and younger, ‘under-paid and over-worked’ journalists, and its ripple effects on media coverage the tendency for ‘click bait’ coverage to pivot off perceived generational tensions and portray older people as vulnerable, a burden, or the beneficiaries of a tax system that disadvantages younger people lack of training or education on ageing or ageism in the media industry and the loss of ‘informal’ instruction following the retirement or redundancy of older, more experienced journalists. Despite these barriers, there was an almost unanimous view among those interviewed that a greater availability of subject matter experts and spokespersons would result in more accurate and extensive coverage of the issues affecting older Australians. The academics interviewed were divided on whether ageism in the media is a meaningful problem and on whether media organisations are in fact seeking to appeal to younger audiences to grow their subscription base. Several academics observed that mainstream Australian culture generally has not caught up with the reality of ageing Australians, such as extended lifespans, and the notion of life stages being experienced at different numerical ages. The corporate communications professionals interviewed identified ageism in the media as a reflection of mainstream Australian culture, noting that ‘Australia is not a place that values older people.’ Entrenched ageism in Australian culture was perceived to make stereotypical portrayals of age an ‘easy story’, resulting in a media landscape where older people were either pitied or reviled, and their strengths or values ignored. They identified ‘frailty’ and ‘intergenerational conflict’ as two prevailing age stereotypes in media portrayals. Intersectionality, where age is overlayed with other characteristics like race or gender, was also recognised as a factor that can worsen the implications of ageism. Significantly, it was considered that more balanced and positive representations are possible where there is a business imperative to pursue more accurate representations of older people. Qualitative interviews 19