Guilty until proven innocent, and maybe not even then: Craig Thomson and public perception (Annotated Bibliography)

Mass media is undoubtedly influential in the public’s perception of individuals, in particular of politicians. Media coverage of potential candidates affect voters’ evaluations and public support (Druckman & Parkin, 2005). This Annotated Bibliography will explore current news stories concerning the claims against Federal Member of Parliament Craig Thomson, referring to articles by James Druckman and Michael Parkin, Herald Sun, ABC: The Drum and Dylan Malloch. It aims to illustrate contrasting and collaborative views concerning the supposed misuse by Thomson of a union-issued corporate MasterCard.

Druckman, J. N., & Parkin, M. (2005). The Impact of Media Bias: How Editorial Slant Affects Voters. Journal of Politics, 67, 1030-1049.

The authors, James Druckman and Michael Parkin, are equally credible academics. Druckman is a Political Science Professor at Northwestern University and has been recognized with 12 best paper awards. Parkin is the Assistant Professor of Politics at Oberlin College and his research has appeared in a number of journals including the American Political Science Review and The Journal of Politics. The article focuses on the effect media has on public perception of politicians. Druckman and Parkin (2005) explained that the public often base their opinions of politicians on the amount of news coverage media outlet’s give them and the tone of that coverage. The article defines this quantity and tone of a media outlet’s coverage as “editorial slant” and suggests it is based on the outlet’s editorial position (Druckman & Parkin, 2005). In relation to the claims against Craig Thomson, Druckman and Parkin’s article (2005) give a theory as to why, despite no legal charges being laid, the Australian public has already passed a guilty verdict. The media circus surrounding Thomson has been daily and undoubtedly negative, as illustrated in the articles by Herald Sun and Dylan Malloch below.

Hudson, P. (2012, May). Tearful Craog Thomson tries to create doubt. Herald Sun. Retrieved from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/tearf/story-fnddzlu4-1226362409374/

The author, Phillip Hudson, is a national political editor for the Herald Sun newspaper and has gained his reputation through years of opinion writing. The Herald Sun is a tabloid paper based in Melbourne, Australia and is a subsidiary of News Limited. News Limited, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, is a publically traded company and is dependent on profit as a result. Herald Sun is profit-driven and therefore is more likely to print stories to sell rather than unbiasedly inform. Phillip Hudson insinuated that Craig Thomson’s parliament speech was insubstantial, and described evidence against him as “damning”. Hudson also provided quote rebuttal for Thomson’s claim that union official Marco Bolano set Thomson up. The article title itself “Tearful Craig Thomson tries to create doubt” is a dig at Thomson’s credibility. The article’s webpage even had a public poll asking if they think the MP was set up and did nothing wrong. Ninety percent of voters said No. Phillip Hudson has created an article to coincide with the public’s demands. It will sell and Druckman and Parkin (2005) suggest it will further ingrain the “guilty” verdict against Craig Thomson.

Cassidy, B. (2012, May). The alarm bells ring, but precious few heed them. ABC News: The Drum. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-25/cassidy-alarm-bells-are-ringing/4031494/

Author Barrie Cassidy is one of Australia’s most experienced political journalists and is the presenter of ABC TV’s programs Insiders and Offsiders. His knowledge and experience has gained him credibility in Australian politics and as an influential media veteran. Cassidy’s take on the mass media coverage surrounding Craig Thomson was somewhat different to Hudson’s in that he focused more on the potential harm the negative media has on Thomson as a person more than a politician (Cassidy, 2012). Cassidy (2012) started his campaign to great effect with talking about the media’s responsibility for Victorian Labor MP Greg Wilton who commited suicide, and daughter of former NSW Labor leader Paula Wriedt and her attempter suicide. Cassidy (2012) compared this to the Craig Thomson media circuit and calls for a ceasefire with “judging guilt or innocence of potential criminal charges is not on, not for the media or the politicians”.

Malloch, D. (2012, May). Craig Thomson: please go home. [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.dylanmalloch.com/2012/05/craig-thomson-please-go-home.html

Dylan Malloch’s blog, dylanmalloch.com, has some notoriety as Malloch is a known writer for a number of publications including The Punch, ABC Online and The Spectator. Malloch’s opinion on the claims against Craig Thomson are on par with the findings by Druckman and Parkin (2005) in that public perception is reliant on information and tone of events given by the media. Malloch explains that whether or not the courts find Thomson guilty doesn’t matter to the public because they have already made up their minds about him (Malloch, 2012). Malloch coverage of the story is similar to Phillip Hudson’s article (2012) as Malloch, too, sees Thomson as a liar who should resign from office. However, Malloch also considers the mental health of Craig Thomson like Cassidy (2012) did, but puts the responsibility on PM Julia Gillard’s shoulders, claiming that she should prioritise the wellbeing of her MPs over the majority in parliament (Malloch, 2012). The blog post adheres to public opinion that Craig Thomson is guilty of misusing union money.