Voices represented and voices silenced: Represented voices in the media coverage of the implementation of a supervised injecting facility.

BACKGROUND: Victoria's first medically supervised injecting room (MSIR) has remained controversial despite mounting evidence in support of the facility. The opposition to a policy idea is subject to a myriad of factors including the media. Favouring the opinions of various actors, the media are a fundamental element of the narrative formation process. In this article, we examine the voices represented and voice silenced in print news media and the possible effects of such reporting. METHODS: A quantitative content and qualitative thematic analysis of Victorian print media (n=645) focusing on the implementation and continued operation of North Richmond Community Health's medically supervised injecting room was conducted. RESULTS: The representations of the MSIR were debated by three predominant actors - politicians, public, and residents. Politicians largely relied on the 'saving lives' rhetoric when supporting the facility. In addition, competing representations of 'public amenity' were presented by both advocates and proponents of the MSIR. We found the voices of people who inject drugs were inadequately represented within the data. Instead, overdose statistics were featured as were discursive descriptions of people who inject drugs such as 'addicts', 'junkies', and 'druggies'. CONCLUSION: Despite people who inject drugs being the population the MSIR is designed to benefit, their experiences and voices were lacking, highlighting social power structures, denying the silenced power, and obstructing social change. Overdose rates were consistently presented as numbers, negating personal experiences and lacking meaningful debate. Further, negative discourse referring to people who inject drugs may have implications regarding internalised and externalised stigma and drug policy.

The print media's construction of the 'drug problem' in Victorian newspapers: The case of North Richmond Community Health's medically supervised injecting room.

INTRODUCTION: The media's influence on policy has been widely documented. This study sought to investigate how Melbourne's medically supervised injecting room (MSIR) was represented in the print media. METHODS: A qualitative discourse analysis of Victorian print media (n = 441 items) representation of MSIR was conducted. Constructivist Grounded Theory guided the sampling strategy and coding while the discourse analysis was informed by Bacchi's approach to policy analysis, 'What's the problem represented to be?'. Print news media was gathered from Factiva and Newsbank databases from January 2016 to June 2020. RESULTS: The media's representation of the 'drug problem' of overdose was identified by a range of actors in support and opposition of the facility. In attributing the concept of 'drug use' to the 'drug problem' items most frequently suggest it is the 'choice' of the individual to inject illicit drugs. The voices of people who inject drugs (PWID) were largely silenced in the print news media and to re-conceptualise the 'drug problem' to be a 'health problem' would aid in the support for the harm reduction strategy. The research highlighted 'dividing practices' (residents vs. PWID) and the portrayal of PWID that translate to the lived effects of PWID. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The print news media did not directly influence the establishment of the Melbourne MSIR. However, the representation of PWID in the print media must be further investigated for the successful establishment of future harm reduction strategies.