Same but different: Bali Nine and children in detention

The notable feature of this coverage was that it depicted them as guilty, even before judgement. In the early stages we also had the Denpasar District Court described as a "kangaroo court".

Chan was: "the Godfather", to which Chan replied when asked by other news media: "Do I look the Godfather?". Media also described his as "mastermind" and "kingpin". Sukumaran was "the enforcer" and "martial arts expert" (he had taken a three months course once).

It was correct reporting for the media to quote Indonesian police at their arrests who described them as "Godfather" and "enforcer". But for the media to then perpetuate theses labels throughout the men's court trials and beyond as if they were accurate labels, was not. At best it was misleading, at worst unjust.

The media had set itself up as "the hanging judge" from the outset.

Chan and Sukumaran consistently described as "ringleaders" when clearly they were part of a much larger drug dealing operation that was run by the real "ringleaders". The media hyper-inflated their role from the start of reporting.

It was only this year that The Sydney Morning Herald said the use of these terms may have damaged Chan and Sukumaran's chances of a reprieve.

My research showed the media's choice of negative words and descriptors in framing these men has been potent, resonant and consistent.

It also shows how labels misrepresent and distort.

Interestingly, the growing groundswell of support for the men to be spared has coincided with the Australian media dropping these old labels. Voices are raised in protest at their punishment.

Media language has changed to "young men" and "organisers of a drug operation". We see photographs of them and their families and "the pair" is now "the Australians", or ameliorated to "Bali duo". They are being described (at last) as what they are.

Pejorative, hackneyed language, or words that are just plain wrong, have been perpetuated in media descriptions of those who seek asylum and at times it is even insinuated with terrorism.

Asylum-seekers (and by implication their children in detention) have ranged across a variety of damaging or incorrect terms including "queue jumpers", "illegals"/"illegal immigrants", "boat people", "by-passers of proper processes" and "detainees".