Petty Politics Disenfranchise Viewers
November 18th 2008 11:09
I HAVE a bee up my butt about so-called “current affairs” programmes at the moment – specifically Today/Tonight and A Current Affair. For those unfamiliar with these two shows, they are Australian programmes that follow the 6.30 evening news on Channel 7 and Channel 9 respectively. Both take hot topics of the day, some of which have been given the once-over-lightly treatment on the preceding news, and try and give the subject matter more in-depth coverage. I’ve never really been a fan of these types of shows. There is never enough time to encourage a more thorough, robust discussion on any subject, with most given only 6-8 minutes of coverage.
Being a news junkie, and having just arrived to these shores, last night I thought I’d give both shows a look – hopping between channels and letting go of the remote once a particular subject caught my eye.
Today/Tonight started off with a piece on successful restaurateur turned TV chef Gordon Ramsay; of particular interest the amount of cussing he did on his Channel 9 programme Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. To be fair, the story was accurate in that the somewhat excitable Ramsay does indeed expound an expletive or 10 during the show, so you might think reporter David Richardson has a point. However, it became clear within the first minute it was a hatchet job. Why? Because Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares just happens to run on the opposition Channel 9 network.
As well as disingenuously acting outraged at Ramsay’s conduct, Richardson employed one of the more annoying tactics used by reporters making mountains out of mole hills. One of Richardson’s interviewees was food personality Libby Travers who was asked a series of questions. In a voice over Richardson said Travers was very angry at Ramsay’s swearing on national TV. However, HE asked the leading question, but the way the voice over was phrased, made it sound like she was offering an off-the-cuff opinion. To me, this is dishonest. It is ok for the person being interviewed to offer up an unsolicited honest opinion, it is quite another to ask a leading question then make out it was unsolicited. Some may think I’m being a pedant on this point, I don’t care. There is a subtle difference between the two, and at the end of the day it is misleading because it is attempting to give credibility to the reporter’s view. And when the reporter’s view is so obviously biased, it matters.
And don’t think for one minute that was Richardson was acting on behalf of outraged viewers at Ramsay’s conduct. This was payback for another incident a couple of weeks ago from A Current Affair (which I’ll get to in a minute). Richardson gives about as much of a toss for Ramsay’s demeanour as John Howard gives for the Stolen Generation – bugger all.
And this is the main plank for my rant. What is the line between a news story and having a crack at the competition. If Today/Tonight had been any more transparent, Richardson would have been a piece of Perspex.
Now before Channel 9 acts all pious about the Ramsay non-story, a few weeks ago it was their turn to act silly. A Current Affair’s reporter Ben McCormack decided to take it upon himself to be the champion of former game show contestants on the now defunct Channel 7 programme National Bingo. Apparently the show was cancelled with some of the pre-shot episodes not going to air. So what you might say. Well it turns out that some contestants of these programmes won prizes. A clause in their contract stated they would not get paid if the show did not go to air, so they missed out.
Along comes Sir McCormack with his shiny microphone and decided to hassle Channel 7’s talking heads David Koch and Melissa Doyle – like they have anything to do with it – live on their morning show Sunrise. More annoyingly, not only is this a beat up on the competition, but it was just as dishonest as Richardson's piece. As a viewer I was lead to believe these contestants had been seen by a couple of million people on the gigglebox and Channel 7 hadn’t paid up.
Channel 7 then ran a story the following night explaining the clause. If McCormack is indeed the award-winning journalist his bio claims him to be, surely that little nugget would have been of interest to the viewer. Is it fair, that these people were not paid out? I don’t know. That is not for me to decide. What I do know, as a viewer, I want ALL the information available so I can make an informed decision on the merits of a story, not cherrypicked gen from a biased reporter from the opposition. Of course Channel 9 had to do another piece the following night on how the contestants were coerced into signing the contracts, yadda, yadda yadda. What a snore fest.
Surely these shows would much better serve the public by giving us stories that really matter. I know CanWest doyen Izzy Asper once said (and I’m paraphrasing) “television programmes are those annoying things in between ads”, but have the Powers-That-Be become that cynical? The cheapest shot is the best shot, we’ll dump real stories in favour of this pap? And don’t even get me started on hosts editorialising during the gaps in between (although there is a case that these are not straight news shows, so therefore they have that right).
Whether it’s the reporters, producers or owners driving these stories, they all need to grow up. Airing your petty professional fracas on national television is not only pathetic, but it is boring, boring, BORING. How about some real news next time, huh?
Being a news junkie, and having just arrived to these shores, last night I thought I’d give both shows a look – hopping between channels and letting go of the remote once a particular subject caught my eye.
Today/Tonight started off with a piece on successful restaurateur turned TV chef Gordon Ramsay; of particular interest the amount of cussing he did on his Channel 9 programme Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. To be fair, the story was accurate in that the somewhat excitable Ramsay does indeed expound an expletive or 10 during the show, so you might think reporter David Richardson has a point. However, it became clear within the first minute it was a hatchet job. Why? Because Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares just happens to run on the opposition Channel 9 network.
As well as disingenuously acting outraged at Ramsay’s conduct, Richardson employed one of the more annoying tactics used by reporters making mountains out of mole hills. One of Richardson’s interviewees was food personality Libby Travers who was asked a series of questions. In a voice over Richardson said Travers was very angry at Ramsay’s swearing on national TV. However, HE asked the leading question, but the way the voice over was phrased, made it sound like she was offering an off-the-cuff opinion. To me, this is dishonest. It is ok for the person being interviewed to offer up an unsolicited honest opinion, it is quite another to ask a leading question then make out it was unsolicited. Some may think I’m being a pedant on this point, I don’t care. There is a subtle difference between the two, and at the end of the day it is misleading because it is attempting to give credibility to the reporter’s view. And when the reporter’s view is so obviously biased, it matters.
And don’t think for one minute that was Richardson was acting on behalf of outraged viewers at Ramsay’s conduct. This was payback for another incident a couple of weeks ago from A Current Affair (which I’ll get to in a minute). Richardson gives about as much of a toss for Ramsay’s demeanour as John Howard gives for the Stolen Generation – bugger all.
And this is the main plank for my rant. What is the line between a news story and having a crack at the competition. If Today/Tonight had been any more transparent, Richardson would have been a piece of Perspex.
Now before Channel 9 acts all pious about the Ramsay non-story, a few weeks ago it was their turn to act silly. A Current Affair’s reporter Ben McCormack decided to take it upon himself to be the champion of former game show contestants on the now defunct Channel 7 programme National Bingo. Apparently the show was cancelled with some of the pre-shot episodes not going to air. So what you might say. Well it turns out that some contestants of these programmes won prizes. A clause in their contract stated they would not get paid if the show did not go to air, so they missed out.
Along comes Sir McCormack with his shiny microphone and decided to hassle Channel 7’s talking heads David Koch and Melissa Doyle – like they have anything to do with it – live on their morning show Sunrise. More annoyingly, not only is this a beat up on the competition, but it was just as dishonest as Richardson's piece. As a viewer I was lead to believe these contestants had been seen by a couple of million people on the gigglebox and Channel 7 hadn’t paid up.
Channel 7 then ran a story the following night explaining the clause. If McCormack is indeed the award-winning journalist his bio claims him to be, surely that little nugget would have been of interest to the viewer. Is it fair, that these people were not paid out? I don’t know. That is not for me to decide. What I do know, as a viewer, I want ALL the information available so I can make an informed decision on the merits of a story, not cherrypicked gen from a biased reporter from the opposition. Of course Channel 9 had to do another piece the following night on how the contestants were coerced into signing the contracts, yadda, yadda yadda. What a snore fest.
Surely these shows would much better serve the public by giving us stories that really matter. I know CanWest doyen Izzy Asper once said (and I’m paraphrasing) “television programmes are those annoying things in between ads”, but have the Powers-That-Be become that cynical? The cheapest shot is the best shot, we’ll dump real stories in favour of this pap? And don’t even get me started on hosts editorialising during the gaps in between (although there is a case that these are not straight news shows, so therefore they have that right).
Whether it’s the reporters, producers or owners driving these stories, they all need to grow up. Airing your petty professional fracas on national television is not only pathetic, but it is boring, boring, BORING. How about some real news next time, huh?
| 33 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
