Articles for tag: Australian Journalism, Dezi Freeman, Folk Hero Myth, Media Accountability, News Ethics, Porepunkah Shooting, Sensationalism

Lawful Dissent, Unlawful Narratives: How the Media Shaped the Freeman Story

When Dezi Freeman was named as the suspect in the Porepunkah tragedy, it wasn’t his first headline. Years of selective coverage and sensational framing reveal how media mythmaking — the process of creating simplified, often misleading public stories — can elevate volatile figures into an avatar of anti-authoritarian dysfunction.