Australian print media have a degree of internal diversity through their opinion pages. These opinion pieces are either written by regular columnists who may or may not be staff on the paper, or by invited columnists such as politicians or other public figures or academic experts.
Some papers permit their journalists to work within a broader framework than others, just as some papers will have not only the journalist’s by-line but also their photo (see Josephi, 2011). With Australia’s news landscape dominated by two dominant commercial media players, News Corporation and Nine Entertainment, there are clearly limitations on genuine internal pluralism. In Australia, News Corporation dominates commercial news journalism in a way that has few, if any, parallels among democratic countries. In response to this situation, the Australian Senate has instigated an inquiry into media diversity (Australian Senate, 2020).
