Media actors as policy entrepreneurs: a case study of "No Jab, No Play" and "No Jab, No Pay" mandatory vaccination policies in Australia

Katie Attwell; Adam Hannah; Shevaun Drislane; Tauel Harper; Glenn C. Savage; Jordan Tchilingirian

doi:10.1007/s11077-024-09522-z

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Media actors as policy entrepreneurs: a case study of "No Jab, No Play" and "No Jab, No Pay" mandatory vaccination policies in Australia

Journal article

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Peer reviewed

Media actors as policy entrepreneurs: a case study of "No Jab, No Play" and "No Jab, No Pay" mandatory vaccination policies in Australia

Katie Attwell, Adam Hannah, Shevaun Drislane, Tauel Harper, Glenn C. Savage and Jordan Tchilingirian

Policy sciences, Vol.57(1), pp.29-51

2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11077-024-09522-z

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Abstract

Public Administration

Social Sciences

Social Sciences - Other Topics

Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary

The media's central role in the policy process has long been recognised, with policy scholars noting the potential for news media to influence policy change. However, scholars have paid most attention to the news media as a conduit for the agendas, frames, and preferences of other policy actors. Recently, scholars have more closely examined media actors directly contributing to policy change. This paper presents a case study to argue that specific members of the media may display the additional skills and behaviours that characterise policy entrepreneurship. Our case study focuses on mandatory childhood vaccination in Australia, following the entrepreneurial actions of a deputy newspaper editor and her affiliated outlets. Mandatory childhood vaccination policies have grown in strength and number in recent years across the industrialised world in response to parents refusing to vaccinate their children. Australia's federal and state governments have been at the forefront of meeting vaccine refusal with harsh consequences; our case study demonstrates how media actors conceived and advanced these policies. The experiences, skills, attributes, and strategies of Sunday Telegraph Deputy Editor Claire Harvey facilitated her policy entrepreneurship, utilising many classic hallmarks from the literature and additional opportunities offered by her media role. Harvey also subverted the classic pathway of entrepreneurship, mobilising the public ahead of policymakers to force the latter's hand.

Details

Title: Media actors as policy entrepreneurs: a case study of "No Jab, No Play" and "No Jab, No Pay" mandatory vaccination policies in Australia
Authors/Creators: Katie Attwell - The University of Western Australia
Adam Hannah - The University of Queensland
Shevaun Drislane - The University of Western Australia
Tauel Harper - University of Canberra
Glenn C. Savage - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority
Jordan Tchilingirian - University of Bath
Publication Details: Policy sciences, Vol.57(1), pp.29-51
Publisher: Springer Nature
Number of pages: 23
Grant note: University of Western Australia
Identifiers: 991005680136707891
Murdoch Affiliation: School of Media and Communication
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Citation topics: 6 Social Sciences; 6.27 Political Science; 6.27.489 Public Administration
Web Of Science research areas: Public Administration; Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary
ESI research areas: Social Sciences, general