The cost of living in Australia is rising, even if supermarket price gouging claims don’t stack up.

Online proposal for news feature

Topic

My news commentary will explore the rising cost of living in Australia, with a particular focus on the price increases at major supermarket chains such as Woolworths and Coles and the reasons behind it.

Despite growing consumer dissatisfaction with rising supermarket prices, a recent Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) investigation showed that allegations of price gouging by supermarkets were not fully substantiated. Therefore, this commentary will explore possible reasons for price increases, such as global supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and inflationary pressures, in an attempt to analyze the truth behind rising grocery prices in Australia. At the same time, given that the two supermarket giants have been plagued by allegations of fraud, I will also analyze how the complexity of price increases has been overlooked in the public debate.

Genre

I choose to complete this story in the form of news commentary. I will combine existing reports, data and voices to put forward my own views. Because I am not simply reporting on the event, but want to comment on a controversial real-life news topic – a critical analysis of the rising prices in Australia and whether there is “price fraud” in supermarkets.

At the same time, I can also add some feature writing methods, such as starting the commentary with the personal experience of an interviewee, but the main theme still revolves around the commentary and analysis of social issues.

Publication and target user group

I hope to choose ABC News as my publication. Because ABC News, as a local media, focuses on the actual social situation in Australia, and my story content is closely related to the daily life of Australian residents. ABC News also has a lot of public issue comments, and the content is both professional and public-oriented, which is suitable for my writing style.

My target audience includes most Australian residents affected by the increase in supermarket prices – they are concerned about the causes and subsequent developments of this problem, as well as some students and professionals who seek analysis of social issues.

Sources of information

1. Supermarkets inquiry from ACCC
2. Existing news on supermarket prices (from ABC News, The Guardian, The Conversation and other news media)
3. Random interviews with supermarket shoppers (including locals, international students and other identities)
4. Random interviews with supermarket employees or managers

Ideas

1. In addition to high-resolution images related to the topic, I can also include videos of related reports and interviews to let readers quickly understand the whole story.
2. Provide a link to the Supermarkets inquiry document released by the ACCC, which is an important relevant document for this news commentary.
3. Create and initiate votes such as “Does the increase in supermarket prices have a significant impact on your life?” and “What changes have occurred in your monthly living expenses in the past year?” to allow readers to participate in the interaction and leave their opinions on supermarket price issues.