NewsTalk: Australian public commentary

Public commentary on news websites is a rich but fragmented source of data for understanding public opinion and discourse. NewsTalk is an aggregator built to capture these conversations, providing researchers with a centralised and ongoing collection of reader comments from across the Australian media landscape. Consisting of over 3 million comments and growing daily, NewsTalk harvests commentary from major Australian news websites and from Reddit threads that link to Australian news stories. This approach provides an expansive dataset for gaining insights into the conversations happening around Australian news.

What is in NewsTalk?

The NewsTalk collection is designed to be a comprehensive barometer of public discussion on news websites.

How does NewsTalk collect data?

The databank gathers comments from two primary sources:

  • Direct Site Comments: It continuously monitors and archives the comment sections of Australian news websites that allow reader contributions.

  • Reddit Comments: It also finds Reddit threads where users are discussing links to Australian news stories. This allows it to capture public commentary on articles from outlets that do not have their own on-site comment sections (like ABC News or News.com.au).

What sources are included?

NewsTalk monitors over 18 Australian news websites and mastheads, covering a wide ideological and geographical spectrum. Sources include:

  • Public broadcasters like ABC News and SBS News (via Reddit).

  • National mastheads like The Guardian and the Nine Media network (e.g., The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age).

  • Independent and subscription sites like Crikey and The Saturday Paper.

  • Major news aggregators and tabloids like MSN News and Daily Mail Australia.

  • A range of regional and special-interest publications.

What time period does NewsTalk cover?

The collection is ongoing and began in November 2022. The database is updated regularly to ensure researchers have access to timely and current public discourse.

What are the advantages of NewsTalk?

NewsTalk provides a ready-to-use resource that overcomes the challenges of collecting this data independently.

  • Broad and Diverse Coverage: The collection spans a wide range of Australian news sources, allowing for comparative analysis across different audiences and media outlets.

  • Unique Data Capture: By harvesting Reddit discussions, NewsTalk provides access to commentary on news stories from publishers who have disabled on-site comments, offering a more complete picture of public reaction.

  • Centralised and Longitudinal: As an ongoing and centralised database, it saves researchers the technical effort of building and maintaining their own collection systems.

Crucial Disclaimer: It is important to note that NewsTalk provides the commentary only. The full text of the news articles themselves is not available through this service to respect copyright.

What research can NewsTalk support?

This dataset is ideal for a wide range of projects focused on public opinion, media effects, and political communication. Researchers can use NewsTalk to:

  • Analyse public reaction to specific breaking news events or government policies.

  • Track and compare political sentiment and partisan debate across different media ecosystems.

  • Study the language, tone, and themes present in public discourse on social issues.

  • Investigate how information and misinformation circulate within reader comment sections.

How to Access NewsTalk

Who can access NewsTalk?

Access to the NewsTalk databank is provided on a per-project basis to academic researchers across Australia.

What do I need to get access?

Access to download and use the data requires evidence of ethics approval (low-risk or above) from your home institution for your specific research project.

  • The comment data is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC-BY-NC) license.

  • Ownership of the comment texts is retained by the original authors.

How do I get started?

If you are a researcher with ethical clearance and would like to use NewsTalk for your project, please get in touch with us. We look forward to helping you gain valuable insights into the conversations around Australian news.