tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post6991922828129484627..comments2023-12-06T00:23:28.790+11:00Comments on Press gallery reform: Draconian journalismAndrew Elderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705844456819481896noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-54390498322580118612011-11-17T07:10:30.123+11:002011-11-17T07:10:30.123+11:00Matt, you seem to believe that I have to put up wi...Matt, you seem to believe that I have to put up with the media the way it is, and you are wrong about that. What you detect as 'cynicism' is a refusal to take people with a large but fragile collective ego on their own terms, and to accept their sillier assumptions as not only valid but somehow unquestionable. <br /><br />Let me give you another example of a service industry staffed by skilled and busy professionals who hae the perspective that journalists tend to lack. Journalists refuse to believe their work can be compared to others', but that's part of the problem. <br /><br />Some time ago I went to a fancy restaurant. The dish I ordered was cold (and it wasn't one of those dishes that's meant to be served cold). I called the waiter over. What do you think happened next?<br /><br />Because the restaurant was staffed by professionals, the waiter apologised, whisked the cold meal away and replaced it with a hot one, which was delicious. My enjoyment of the evening was undiminished.<br /><br />Now, here's what would have happened if that restaurant was run by journalists: the waiter would have refused to respond to my call, would have cut me off halfway through my explanation with a smirk and "be grateful we gave you anything at all!". Then, the chef would have stormed out told me how he'd had X years in the business and won a whole lot of [chef equivalent of Walkleys], and followed this by telling me to piss off to McDonalds. <br /><br />I understand the self-censorship, I just don't respect it. The industry is run by fools and I've worked with my share outside the media, thanks all the same. The whole industry needs wholesale change and if you're not helping that change then I've no sympathy for you. Be the change you want to see, and some journalism from the press gallery would be nice.<br /><br />I haven't watched a full episode of <i>Media Watch</i> in some time - probably dropped in on a dozen episodes in the last 3-4 years.<br /><br />"In the current economic climate, they're lucky to have a job" - bullshit, Matt. The country has close to full employment. <br /><br />If you want to be a jobsworth who does what he's told and shovels shit instead of news, be it on your own head and don't expect my respect - or my money and time to consume your product.Andrew Elderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04705844456819481896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-86272670998782064992011-11-17T06:48:07.995+11:002011-11-17T06:48:07.995+11:00Anon, I still think history grads should have more...Anon, I still think history grads should have more power than they do. Thank you for that.<br /><br />HS, if you worked with Michelle Grattan who knows what would happen?<br /><br />Alpha, I agree with you about the reaction to <i>Sideshow</i> and the lack of perspective (I would have added the absolute active hostility, from CEO to grunt reporter, to any input from outside the 'profession'). I thought Greg Hywood might be that Rusbridger but he's just another drone. The fact that the Walkleys are handed out by the union mitigates against exclusive notions of excellence.<br /><br />PK, the more I see pieces like this, the more journos deal themselves out of the self-regulation game.Andrew Elderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04705844456819481896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-40356751808711542382011-11-17T04:19:39.325+11:002011-11-17T04:19:39.325+11:00Good post, Andrew. It's refreshing to hear ano...Good post, Andrew. It's refreshing to hear another person frame the notion of 'regulation' in sensible terms, rather than in unboundingly negative ones. Since you have no email address on your blog, I thought I'd make a few points here that strike me immediately.<br /><br />The first is the quantity of cynicism that I sense in your attitude toward journalists. I feel that a decent stint working as one would rectify this deficiency. As a blogger, obviously, you're involved in public discussion, but that's a bit different. There's an upside, tho. Your attitude means you are unlikely to accept the shrill assertions of journalists, and journalism company managers, that emerge when faced with even the faintest possibility of govt regulation. This is good, because those people control the mechanism of diffusion of ideas. In other words, you're calling out the powerful.<br /><br />My second point is to do with the relative power of an individual journalist, given that he or she works in a mainstream media company of the likes of Fairfax or News Ltd. In simplest terms, you will not get very far by consistently taking an editorial line that goes against the one being pursued further up the feeding chain. Apart from any specific cases of rewrites of ledes, for example, which would alter the slant of a story, the corporate ethos will mould, unbidden, the junior journo's way of approaching any given story. This is self-censorship, and in the case of News Ltd I believe that it operates ideally in a way that benefits the conservative side of politics in Australia. Fairfax is a bit behind the times, in this regard. Rather than aping the "feral" elements of the Lib-Nat coalition (thanks Laurie Oakes), they're stuck in Malcolm Fraser mode.<br /><br />All those industry rent-seekers certainly watch Johno Holmes every Monday night, as do you and I. Why not? It's always great TV. What they might personally think themselves is - even in this socially-mediated world of status updates and tweets - a profound mystery. Like suitably tractable employees everywhere and at all times they're keeping their heads down and leaving public pronouncements up to their betters. Any other approach would be professional suicide. In the current economic climate, they're lucky to have a job.Matthew da Silvahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07158988637117138260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-62377922595912956742011-11-17T00:56:06.957+11:002011-11-17T00:56:06.957+11:00If I were Finkelstein & Ricketson, I'd be ...If I were Finkelstein & Ricketson, I'd be wondering 'who the hell is Murphy to pre-empt my recommendation?' Fair enough that journos are paranoid of regulation but it's not even news. The report hasn't been handed down and they've already tried to exonerate themselves from censure.pknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-30866514232199733372011-11-16T23:40:41.073+11:002011-11-16T23:40:41.073+11:00The mere raising of the 'draconian' flag (...The mere raising of the 'draconian' flag (a variant of a Godwin in blogging) shows journalists don't have the capacity to reflexively consider their own profession. In any serious profession based not on technical skill but on outlook two questions are usually the most enduring and fundamental: 'what is the nature of what we do' and 'how do we make sure it's any good. The Australian media hasn't been able to resolve what the nature of its contemporary task is, and is floundering badly. On the second, it's lost its ability to assess as a body the quality of its output and to improve it. Serious journalists, who truly really deeply care about what they do and their community of peers would have at least asked these questions, taken them seriously, and likely proposed solutions or ways of advancing beyond the present problems. [Handing out Walkleys on 'social media reporting' is a symptom - a Walkley should be rare and require dedicated effort, not just time serving or profile, to get]. They would ask how the media got to the point where in a robust and relatively free democracy like Australia government government took the highly unusual step of deciding an inquiry was required. One or two would write bombastic incisive analytical books that cub reporters cling to for inspiration years after. Where is the serious critical long-form media engagement with Tanner's (admittedly flawed) Sideshow? Instead we have immature umbrage and foot stamping, shrieking and tantying, or as with Oakes' Olle Lecture an 'ugly but necessary' conservatism. Oh for an Australian Alan Rusbridger who can both critically engage with their profession, while helping navigate it through the changing world and avoiding the mire.Alphabajangodeltanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-82570029617785089602011-11-16T22:40:21.144+11:002011-11-16T22:40:21.144+11:00To view the reductio ad absurdem of Self Regulatio...To view the reductio ad absurdem of Self Regulation, taken to the level of a fairly large American State, and how that power, devolved by the State to the vested interest group, for a price, can corrupt democracy absolutely, you only have to read Matt Taibbi's gloriously profound exposition of Rick Perry's Texas, in this month's Rolling Stone.<br /> As for Katharine Murphy. All I need say to paint a word portrait of the woman that says it all about her, is to relate her performance today at The National Press Club, when asking Jean Kitson, our new Women's Ambassador for Menopause(oh well,it's probably a well-paying gig for an aging comedienne). Ms Murphy said, wtte, "Can we now blame Menopause, instead of 'That time of the month', when we lose it and lash out against someone in the family?" Plus, "I don't want to stand when I ask you a question because that would be too intimidating." ???<br /> Now, I know her body of work is a bit like the Curate's Egg, but what seems disconcerting to me is the way it slips between lucidity and looniness so easily.HillbillySkeletonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06056151016359730712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-52996627079075273972011-11-16T20:43:20.446+11:002011-11-16T20:43:20.446+11:00Hi, long time reader, first time commenter. Just a...Hi, long time reader, first time commenter. Just a wee note on the word draconian-comes from the Ancient Greek- Draco, a Athenian legal eagle who proscribed harsh punishments for minor crimes-hence the word draconian. My time in Ancient History at Uni was sooooooo worth it. <br /><br />Love your page, visit it every day.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com