→Overview: reference for ABC criticism |
→Overview: Robert Manne also agrees there is (or was) a left wing bias |
||
Line 65: | Line 65: | ||
|title=Adams sacrificed for the war on the Right |
|title=Adams sacrificed for the war on the Right |
||
|author=[[Andrew Bolt]] |publisher=''[[Herald Sun]]'' blog |
|author=[[Andrew Bolt]] |publisher=''[[Herald Sun]]'' blog |
||
⚫ | |date=[[2 October]] [[2007]] |accessdate=2007-10-04}} (Note that Bolt and ''Media Watch'' have a history of strongly criticising each other.)</ref> [[Robert Manne]], a supporter of the show, also agrees it has historically had a left wing bias.<ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/the-new-bland-and-dull-abc/2007/04/03/1175366237709.html?page=fullpage The new bland and dull ABC], [[Robert Manne]], [[The Age]], 4-apr-2007</ref> ''[[The Australian]]'', which is regularly scrutinised by Media Watch, has been a long term counter-critic of the show. In August 2007 it [[editorial]]ised that Media Watch "lacks journalistic integrity and conducts its affairs along the lines of an insiders' club that pushes its ideological prejudice at taxpayers' expense".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22290476-16741,00.html|title=Old tricks back at Media Watch|work=Editorial |publisher=''[[The Australian]]''|date=[[23 August]] [[2007]] |accessdate=2007-10-03}}</ref> |
||
|date=[[2 October]] [[2007]] |accessdate=2007-10-04}} (Note that Bolt and ''Media Watch'' have a history of strongly criticising each other.)</ref> |
|||
⚫ | ''[[The Australian]]'', which is regularly scrutinised by Media Watch, has been a long term counter-critic of the show. In August 2007 |
||
==Cash for comments== |
==Cash for comments== |
Revision as of 02:23, 4 December 2007
Template:Current Australian COTF
Media Watch | |
---|---|
File:Media Watch Cap 2006.jpg | |
Directed by | David Rector |
Presented by | Jonathan Holmes (2008 – present) |
Theme music composer | Roi Huberman |
Country of origin | Australia |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 18 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Tim Palmer |
Running time | 15 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | ABC TV |
Release | 8 May 1989 – 6 November 2000 8 April 2002 – present |
Media Watch is an Australian television program broadcast by ABC TV and ABC2. It currently screens from 9.20 pm to 9.35 pm on Monday, repeated on Tuesday at 12:20 am. Despite the limitations of this timeslot and its small production budget, it has been one of the most controversial and influential programs on Australian television since its premiere on 8 May 1989.
Overview
Media Watch is viewed by some as a watchdog of the Australian media, that investigates and exposes media bias and breaches of journalistic ethics and standards.
The series initially presented a roughly even mix of amusing gaffes (such as miscaptioned photographs) and more serious criticism. Over the years, the emphasis has shifted towards the latter, although the show often begins or ends with a more humorous piece.
The show's presenters have taken some pride in the vehemence of the criticism it attracts; at one point, the opening credits were made up of a montage of such criticisms, prominently featuring a description of original presenter Stuart Littlemore as a 'pompous git'. In 2002, the then-editor of The Daily Telegraph, Campbell Reid, sent host David Marr a dead fish; a replica of it is now awarded as the Campbell Reid Perpetual Trophy for the Brazen Recycling of Other People's Work.[1] Known as "The Barra" and bearing the motto Carpe Verbatim, it is awarded annually for bad journalism and particularly plagiarism (a practice for which Reid was frequently criticised).
This ability to generate controversy led to the temporary cancellation of the show. In 2000, host Paul Barry was controversially sacked and in 2001, the program itself was axed by Jonathon Shier, the head of the ABC. However, in early 2002, after Shier was himself sacked in equally controversial circumstances, the show returned with Marr as the new host.[2] Whilst Media Watch was off air, Stuart Littlemore returned to the ABC to host Littlemore, media program that ran for 13 episodes between March and May 2001.[2]
No media organisation is entirely safe from Media Watch, and it is a frequent critic of its own network, the ABC.[3] When David Marr was host during 2002–2004, the show often criticised Marr's employer John Fairfax Holdings.[citation needed] However, critics such as Andrew Bolt claim the show downplays major incidents at the ABC and Fairfax, and turns them into attacks on conservatives.[4] Robert Manne, a supporter of the show, also agrees it has historically had a left wing bias.[5] The Australian, which is regularly scrutinised by Media Watch, has been a long term counter-critic of the show. In August 2007 it editorialised that Media Watch "lacks journalistic integrity and conducts its affairs along the lines of an insiders' club that pushes its ideological prejudice at taxpayers' expense".[6]
Cash for comments
In 1999, the program revealed that influential talkback radio hosts Alan Jones and John Laws had been paid to provide favourable on-air comment about companies such as Qantas, Optus, Foxtel and Mirvac, without disclosing these arrangements to listeners. It also persistently criticised the then Australian Broadcasting Authority (superseded by the Australian Communications and Media Authority in 2005) as impotent or unwilling to regulate broadcast media, and to properly scrutinise figures such as Jones and Laws. The revelations won Media Watch staffers Richard Ackland, Deborah Richards and Anne Connolly two Walkley Awards: the Gold Walkley, and the Walkley for TV Current Affairs Reporting (Less Than 10 Minutes). In 2004, Media Watch played a major part in forcing the resignation of ABA head David Flint, after it was discovered that Flint had sent Jones admiring and effusive letters at a time when the ABA was investigating Jones concerning further cash for comment allegations. The reports won Media Watch another Walkley, TV Current Affairs Reporting (Less Than 20 Minutes) to staffers David Marr, Peter McEvoy and Sally Virgoe.
Hosts
At the end of the 2004 season, David Marr announced his intention to step down and return to mainstream journalism,[7] and former Four Corners reporter Liz Jackson became host for 2005;[8] at the end of the 2005 season Jackson returned to Four Corners.[9] Monica Attard then began hosting the program 2006,[10] though has stated she will not continue to be host when the show returns in 2008.[11] Jonathan Holmes has been announced as the new host for 2008.[12]
- Stuart Littlemore (1989-1997)
- Richard Ackland (1998-1999)
- Paul Barry (2000)
- David Marr (2002-2004)
- Liz Jackson (2005)
- Monica Attard (2006-2007)
- Jonathan Holmes (commencing 2008)
Episodes
- ^ No episode was broadcast on 29 May 2000 due to ABC TV's sceening of After the Corroboree? which was a forum on the future of reconciliation in Australia.
- ^ No episode was broadcast on 14 May 2007 due to ABC TV's sceening of Bastard Boys.
See also
Refrences
- ^ "The Barra 2005". Media Watch. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
- ^ a b Tabakoff, Jenny (2002-04-02). "The watchdog barks again". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Enker, Debi: Fifteen minutes of fame, The Age, 9 December 2004.
- ^ For example: Andrew Bolt (2 October 2007). "Adams sacrificed for the war on the Right". Herald Sun blog. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) (Note that Bolt and Media Watch have a history of strongly criticising each other.) - ^ The new bland and dull ABC, Robert Manne, The Age, 4-apr-2007
- ^ "Old tricks back at Media Watch". Editorial. The Australian. 23 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Delaney, Brigid (2004-10-06). "Media Watch presenter to hand over reins". The Age. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "Liz new Media Watch host". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2005-02-02. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Baker, Jordan (2005-11-25). "Media Watch on the prowl again for a host". The Sydney Morning Herald.
{{cite news}}
:|access-date=
requires|url=
(help); Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Joran, Baker (2005-12-07). "Attard fronts Media Watch". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Matthew, Ricketson (2007-09-17). "Media Watch presenter steps down". The Age. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Welch, Dylan (2007-11-27). "Holmes is new Media Watch presenter". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help)