There are many things that can be done by people working in the media, and also by community members, to reduce the glamorisation of getting drunk and drunkenness.
What can the media industry do?
- Invite discussion about drunkenness and people getting drunk on inappropriate occasions through mediums such as talk-back radio, online blogs and forums without glorying the behaviour.
- If alcohol is being served at an event receiving media coverage, ensure that presenters and guest speakers receive adequate briefing about the target audience of the event, the nature of the event and discourage making references to alcohol that will normalise use or glamorise drunkenness.
- As with any other workplace, define expectations for staff about consuming alcohol responsibly.
- Develop a policy outlining how alcohol and drunkenness will be portrayed and referred to during media coverage.
What can individuals do?
There are many things that can be done to challenge the media from normalising and glorifying drunkenness in the media. Action can be a powerful tool in promoting a community voice that seeks change. Actions include:
- Letters to the editor
- Complain about inappropriate alcohol advertising
- Complain about the glorification of alcohol to broadcasters. For an example of a scenario and action content, see below and find out what you can do.
Scenario
Station X is a popular radio station for people aged 13-25 years of age. On the day after Australia Day, presenters Bill and Ben from ‘The breakfast show’ on Station X invite calls from listeners who are ‘hungover’ from the previous day.
Mr Smith is a listener who calls in and shares a story about the amount of alcohol he drank the previous day at a barbecue and how he and his friends were unable to go to work due to the amount of alcohol consumed. The presenters laugh and say to Mr Smith, “Well that’s what we do in Australia”.
Action
If a listener wished to make a complaint about this incident, or a similar issue, to the broadcaster, the details to note in making the complaint are:
Time of incident: Approximately 8.30am on January 27.
Presenter/presenters: Bill and Ben from ‘The breakfast show’ on Station X.
The nature of the complaint: The topic encouraged people to call in and discuss their excessive alcohol consumption and celebrated the fact that this behaviour resulted in time off work.