Calls grow for media reform as fear-driven news hurts the vulnerable

As anxiety grows among older Australians, critics say the media must account for the human cost of its fear-based formula, writes Nick Potter.

MY MOTHER grew up in an age when television was a miracle, a living room sanctuary for progress and connection. His parents were among the first people on their street to have color television, and they watched Channel Nine News every evening. It was reliable. It was family. Australia was talking to itself.

This ritual never left him.

Throughout marriage, motherhood and retirement, she maintained the same routine: dinner at six, Channel Nine at six. He watched, trusted and absorbed politics, crime and disasters for decades. However, over time, comfort became wearisome.

After retiring at the age of 50, his social circle diminished and his only friend was television. When life got quieter, the TV became louder. The world on screen seemed darker, more dangerous, and more divided. The more he watched, the more worried he became. Each crisis felt imminent; each title felt personal.

Now my mother is being held in an aged care mental health facility. So what’s playing day and night in the common room? The same mainstream media cycle (fear, anger, disaster) repeats. Faces change; The formula is not like that.

The psychology of fear-based news

Modern news is built on the economy of attention, not truth.

Fear continues to watch people, and older viewers, especially those who are isolated or retired, are the most loyal and vulnerable viewers.

Research shows that it is repeated Exposure to threatsnegative images or vision negative thoughts It is associated with altered cortisol responses and increased sensitivity to threat, which may promote chronic anxiety. Seniors who live alone are particularly susceptible to this situation because their social reality is shaped almost entirely by what they see and hear on the screen.

In aged care homes, where routine and repetition already define the day, the news becomes a constant drip of existential dread. I’ve seen patients wander past the TV, muttering about wars or viruses they barely understand; Meanwhile, news anchors were smiling between drug commercials and funeral plans.

This is not public interest journalism.

It is emotional exploitation disguised as information.

Forgotten maintenance task

Australian broadcasters are not subject to the same ethical scrutiny as healthcare professionals, but they influence millions of minds every day. Australian Communications and Media Authority (OPENING) enforces rules against misinformation – but not against the psychological harm caused by relentless negativity.

If a drug caused anxiety, despair, or confusion in elderly patients, we would pull it from the shelves.

If a broadcaster causes the same damage, we call it “nightly news”.

Reform and call to conscience

I’m not writing this to declare war on Channel Nine.

I write because my mother’s story is not unique; It is reproduced in thousands of homes and hospitals every night.

That’s why I ask Channel Nine and all major news networks in Australia to act conscientiously:

Introduce balanced programming, daily episodes that highlight community resilience, scientific progress, and acts of kindness, not just crime and disaster.

Collaborate with mental health organizations to design monitoring guidelines for aged care settings and isolated elders.

Train journalists in trauma-informed reporting to ensure stories of violence and tragedy are covered responsibly, not sensationally.

Australia’s greats built the world we stand on. They deserve a media environment that honors their trust, not one that weaponizes their trust for ratings.

bigger question

When we turn on the news, we assume we are connecting to reality. But what happens if this “reality” becomes a distortion that isolates, frightens, and slowly erodes the well-being of those who once believed in it most?

If a society is judged by how it treats its elders, then perhaps the media that shapes their world deserve to face the same moral test.

My mother deserved better.

Make yours too.