Anzac Day Media Analysis
Anzac Day Media Analysis
"Gallipoli was a bastard of a place," he said. "I never understood what we were fighting for. All I could think of was that I never wanted to go back to the bloody place."
Albert White, aged 100, Brisbane, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 2002
On such a national occasion as Anzac Day a newspaper front page might be viewed as not just a microcosm from which to extrapolate a broader understanding of public sentiment but a snap shot of the most prominent values and themes of the moment. This select and elevated status (as well as the corresponding absences) makes for a particularly revealing analysis.
Consequently it is through the comparison and contrast of the two following daily newspaper front pages that the portrayal and role of Anzac day is explored and from which the associated understandings of Australia as a nation are subsequently discussed.
A foreground of mown lawn is interrupted by rows of headstones facing away towards the sea below. In parallel on the beach front nineteen Aussie teenagers stand side by side, arm in arm, heads bowed towards the sea. A modest caption reads “Teens ensure we will not forget“. This was the single image that dominated the face of The Courier Mail on Anzac day 2008. (see Appendix A)
Interestingly another adolescent occupied image became the first front page pictorial coverage of Anzac day for the Courier Mail in 1939. This smaller but distinctly headlining picture features two rows of classmates looking up in expectation. Soldiers out of shot relate the gallant deeds of Gallipoli, the small caption beneath informs us. Conversely it is the Royal well wishes, providing the leading copy, that compete for the reader’s attention beside this picture. (see Appendix B)
The 1939 portrayal of this national day as a proud chapter in the history of the British Commonwealth is expressed through the prominence of the headline “Royal Anzac Day...
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