Some would call me a late adopter, but I’ve become a great fan of Aunty’s Media Watch (Aunty is the ABC, or the Australian Broadcasting Commission, for those not from Oz). The program provides a reality check for the print media as well as news and current affairs programs on television and radio. Compulsory viewing in my opinion — you can never take anything you see on TV or read in the paper at face value.
After seeing a few Media Watch episodes now, at least two things amaze me:
* The lengths that the media will go to to sensationalise stories, often creating complete fabrications and reporting them as fact in order to win ratings or increase circulation, seem to be boundless.
* In spite of the existence of programs like Media Watch, such practices continue without pause.
One of the best recent examples of how ludicrous the situation has become is this: recently, the Seven Network’s Today Tonight program ran a story about airline security. The producer of the report was filmed placing a kitchen knife into a handbag, and then carrying that handbag onto a commercial flight from a New South Wales regional airport to Sydney. The report went to air claiming that it showed proof that Australia’s airline security was lacking. Then, based on the evidence of the video footage and Seven’s willingness to air the story and “prove the point”, the segment’s producer was charged with carrying a weapon onto a commercial flight. The kicker is this: in spite of Seven standing by the accuracy of the story, the producer’s defence argued that the video evidence did not prove that the knife was actually taken onto the flight — it merely showed a knife being placed into a handbag, and a bag which *may* have been the same bag being taken onto the aircraft. The producer was cleared.
To me, this demonstrates complete duplicity. A willingness to produce a version of the truth that suits a purpose. Not my cup of tea.
Crossed Wires 