Catherine Son

Research Interests

Communication & Media Studies

Dr Catherine Son

School of Humanities

College of Creative Arts, Design and Humanities

Catherine is a media studies and communication researcher, with expertise in media agenda setting and framing. Her research focusses on how media agenda setting influences public debate of significant issues, such as the aftermath of the Lindt cafe siege, violence against women, and the 2023 Australian Voice to Parliament referendum. Catherine's work continues to open new avenues of research into media agenda setting and framing practices, such as exploring how digital publics increasingly challenge news media's agenda setting authority. She is also a member of Automotive Historians Australia, and is interested in researching media representations of car enthusiasts, the social history of car enthusiasts, and the modification and restoration of cars as a form of self-expression.

Date Position Institution name
2024 - ongoing Adjunct Fellow University of Adelaide
2019 - ongoing Academic Tutor University of Adelaide
2019 - 2020 Lecturer, Course Coordinator University of Adelaide

Date Institution name Country Title
2015 - 2018 University of South Australia Australia PhD

Year Citation
2026 Son, C., Fielding, V., Beare, A., & Boucaut, R. (2026). An Agenda Feedback Wheel: News Corp’s Coverage of the Marcia Langton ‘Racism’ Controversy. Journalism and Media, 7(1), 4-1-4-20.
DOI
2026 Ali, S., & Son, C. (2026). Token pushback: The Australian media’s muted resistance to national security laws. Journalism, 1-20.
DOI
2026 Son, C. (2026). Understanding News Audience Logics on Social Media: Inter-Audience Agenda Setting as a Five-Factor Framework. Journalism and Media, 7(3), 177-1-177-21.
DOI
2025 Son, C., & Fielding, V. (2025). "Teen Fled Danger into the Arms of Death": The Political Agenda Setting Effect of Australian News Media Framing of Violence Against Women. Violence Against Women, 31(5), 1282-1305.
DOI Scopus5 WoS3
2025 Fielding, V., Son, C., Boucaut, R., & Beare, A. H. (2025). News Corp Australia’s Conservative Advocacy Against the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. International Journal of Communication, 19, 437-457.
Scopus6 WoS6
2025 Fielding, V., Boucaut, R., Son, C., & Beare, A. H. (2025). News media’s legitimization of disinformation: propaganda and the length of the Uluru Statement. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 42(1), 89-94.
DOI Scopus3 WoS2

Year Citation
2017 Son, C. (2017). From Port Arthur To the Lindt Café Siege: The Role of Digital Publics in Challenging Australian Print Media Agenda Setting Practices. In AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research. Tartu, Estonia.

Year Citation
2024 Ali, S., & Son, C. (2024). Muted Defiance: The Australian Media’s Response to Press-Limiting Security Laws. Poster session presented at the meeting of Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand Communication Association (AANZCA). RMIT, Melbourne.
2024 Son, C., Fielding, V., Boucaut, R., & Beare, A. (2024). News Corp’s agenda wheel of influence: Media, political and public agendas converge in the Voice referendum. Poster session presented at the meeting of Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand Communication Association (AANZCA). RMIT, Melbourne.
2024 Son, C. (2024). Comment is NOT free: Below the line comment management in Australian online news sites. Poster session presented at the meeting of Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia (JERAA). Online.
2018 Son, C. (2018). Rules of engagement: What terms and conditions moderating reader comments to Australian online news sites say about trust in the audience. Poster session presented at the meeting of Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR). Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane.
2018 Son, C. (2018). News values and new developments in the media ecology: Have audience measurement tools made news values redundant. Poster session presented at the meeting of Australian and New Zealand Communication Association (ANZCA). University of Auckland, New Zealand.
2018 Son, C. (2018). Archives, interviews and imperfect memory recall: Critical methodological issues in historical media research. Poster session presented at the meeting of Australian Media Traditions. University of South Australia, Adelaide.
Date Project Title Investigator Role
2023/24 Counterterrorism Laws and the Australian Media Dr Saira Ali Research Assistant
2023 Murdoch Referendum Accountability Project Dr Victoria Fielding Research Assistant
2020/21 Using Mixed Reality Technology to Support People Vulnerable to Post-Traumatic Stress: Understanding the Perceived Training Needs of First Responders Dr Amy Baker Research Assistant
2020 Identifying Combat and Combat-Related Stigma Through the Language of a Deployed Australian Military Population Dr Leanne Glenny Research Assistant

 

 

2026 Transmedia Storytelling MDIA 5015 Tutor
2026 Immersive Media Project MDIA 3035 Tutor
2026  Social Media Management MDIA 5002 Tutor
2026 Leadership in Strategic Communication MDIA 5016 Course Coordinator and Tutor
2026 Strategic Communication Contexts MDIA 5000 Course Coordinator and Tutor
2025 Risk and Crisis Communication MDIA 7006 Course Coordinator and Tutor
2025 Media Relations MDIA 2227 Tutor
2024                           Leadership in Strategic Communication  MDIA 7009  Tutor
2024 Risk and Crisis Communication MDIA 7006 Tutor
2024  Media Relations MDIA 7005 Tutor
2024 Social Issues in Journalism MDIA 2338 Tutor
2023/24 Social Media Management MDIA 7004 Tutor
2022 Media Policy and Media Law MDIA 2301 Tutor
2020 Media Industry Transitions MDIA 3207  Course Coordinator
2020 Media Professions and Identities MDIA 1020 Tutor
2019/20 Professional Practice MDIA 3310 Course Coordinator
2019 Introduction to Media MDIA 1002/MDIA 1014OL Course Coordinator
       

 

 

 

Date Topic Presented at Institution Country
2024 - 2024 Muted Defiance: The Australian Media’s Response to Press-Limiting Security Laws Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand Communication Association (AANZCA) RMIT, Melbourne Australia

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