Journalism as Dialogue: Creating Collective Activism Through the Prison Writings of Behrouz Boochani

Abstract

The politicisation of border crossing around the world has become increasingly extreme and more damaging in recent decades with the mainstream media functioning as an organ of nation-state border regimes. In the Australian context, media coverage of people seeking asylum by boat has been indispensable to the dominant border control narratives perpetuated by both major political parties (McKay et al. 2012; Haw 2021). The mainstream media has played a crucial role in demonising people arriving by boat with some of the most intense anti-refugee rhetoric and propaganda occurring during John Howard’s time as Prime Minister (1996-2007), a disastrous and ruthless legacy that continues today.