Why is the first page of all newspapers in Australia black
Newspapers have taken this step to oppose the attempts to rein in the media in the country.
Newspapers say that the strict law of the Government of Australia is preventing them from bringing information to the people.
Newspapers raised this method of keeping the pages black in June this year as part of ongoing protests over the incident of raiding the headquarters of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), a large media group in Australia and the home of a journalist.
These raids were killed after some articles were published based on information leaked from whistleblowers.
Many television, radio, and online groups are also supporting this campaign of newspapers – Right to No Coalition.
Those campaigners say that in the last two decades, such strict security laws have been introduced in Australia, which is threatening the investigative journalism.
New laws were introduced last year after which media organizations are campaigning for exemption in reporting sensitive cases to journalists and whistleblowers.
Raid
On Monday, the country’s largest newspaper and its contestants, in solidarity, painted all the words written on their front pages with black ink and put a red seal on them which read “Secret”.
These newspapers say that due to national security laws, reporting is being curbed and a “culture of privacy” has been created in the country.
The government says it supports the freedom of the press but is “no greater than the law”.
In June, there was a lot of protest after the raid on ABC’s headquarters and the home of a journalist from News Corp Australia.
Media organizations said that these raids were killed after the publication of some reports based on leaked information.
In one of these reports, war crimes were charged, while in another report a government agency was accused of spying on Australian citizens.
Solidarity
The executive chairman of News Corp Australia tweeted a picture of the front pages of his newspapers and urged people to ask the government the question – “What does he want to hide from us?”
At the same time, News Corp’s main rival – Nine – also printed black on the front pages of its newspapers ‘Sydney Morning Herald’ and ‘The Age’.
ABC MD David Anderson said, “Australia is in danger of becoming the world’s most secretive democracy”.
But the Government of Australia reiterated on Sunday that prosecution can be taken against three journalists for taking these raids.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that freedom of the press is important but the rule of law should remain intact.
He said, “The same applies to me, or to any journalist, or anyone.”
A report on the freedom of the press in Australia will be presented in Parliament next year.
