A recent survey reveals only 43 percent of Australian women (compared with 62 percent of men) are very or extremely interested in news.This proportion of women has fallen by 16 percentage points since 2017 compared to a 6 percentage points drop for men. 47 percent of women in the survey (total 2025) thought that news covers women fairly and has enough coverage of matters relevant to women. 55 percent of women say they want positive news stories and 46 percent say they want news that suggest solutions rather than points out or poses problems. Women are more likely than men to say that they are avoiding topics such as national politics and sports. Findings from previous surveys suggest the top reasons that women avoid news are because there is too much coverage of politics and/or it negatively affects their mood. Only 39 percent of women in the survey say they trust what’s in the news. These figures should spark the interest of referendum and constitutional change campaigners. [“Women’s interest in news hits a record low” by Kieran McGuinness and Sora Park, BroadAgenda online, 14 June 2023. Research conducted by the News & Media Research Centre at the University of Canberra]
Woman for an Australian Republic, Adelaide Ironside, republican poet and artist 1831-1867
Self portrait 1855, Newcastle Art Gallery NSW
