Media Watch (TV Program)
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''Media Watch'', formerly ''Media Watch: The Last Word'', is an Australian
media analysis A news analyst examines, analyses and interprets broadcast news received from various sources. Sometimes also called newscasters or news anchor or Broadcast News Analyst. News analysts write commentaries, columns, or scripts. They coordinate and ...
and political opinion television program currently presented by
Paul Barry Paul James Barry (born 24 February 1952) is an English-born, Australian-based journalist, newsreader and television presenter, who has won many awards for his investigative reporting. He previously worked for the BBC on numerous programs, bef ...
for the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
(ABC). The program focuses on critiquing the Australian media together with its interconnections, including with politics. In 1999, ''Media Watch'' played a key role in revealing the unethical behaviour of radio talkback hosts, which became known as the " cash for comment affair" and was the subject of an investigation by what was then the
Australian Broadcasting Authority The Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) was an Australian government agency whose main roles were to regulate broadcasting, radiocommunications and telecommunications. The Authority took over the functions of the Australian Broadcasting Trib ...
(ABA).


Format

''Media Watch'' is a 15-minute program which identifies, investigates and examines instances of what the program determines to be failings in news coverage by Australian media outlets. The series features a single host speaking directly to camera, detailing a mix of amusing or embarrassing editing gaffes (such as miscaptioned photographs or spelling errors) as well as more serious criticism including
media bias Media bias is the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of many events and stories that are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening of ...
and breaches of journalistic ethics and standards. Over the years, the program's emphasis has shifted towards the latter. Although most episodes of ''Media Watch'' focus on any recent incidents of media misconduct, episodes sometimes focus on a single issue of particular importance (for instance, news coverage of a recent election).


Presenters

Stuart Littlemore was the inaugural host of ''Media Watch'' and remains the longest-running host to date. Following his nine-year tenure, various other journalists have hosted the program.
Paul Barry Paul James Barry (born 24 February 1952) is an English-born, Australian-based journalist, newsreader and television presenter, who has won many awards for his investigative reporting. He previously worked for the BBC on numerous programs, bef ...
, who previously hosted the program in 2000 and for a brief period in 2010, resumed hosting duties in 2013. * Stuart Littlemore (1989–97) *
Richard Ackland Richard Alan Ackland is an Australian journalist, publisher and lawyer, who has won many awards for his reporting. Ackland graduated with degrees in economics and law in the early 1970s and was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of ...
(1998–99) * David Marr (2002–04) *
Liz Jackson Liz Jackson (1951 – 27 June 2018) was an Australian journalist and barrister noted for her work on the '' Four Corners'' and '' Media Watch'' television programs. She received nine Walkley Awards for excellence in journalism. Career Jac ...
(2005) *
Monica Attard Monica Ann Attard OAM (born 12 December 1958) is an Australian journalist and academic. Early life Attard was born to Maltese parents in Sydney, where she was educated at Bethlehem College, Ashfield and Santa Sabina College.''Who's Who in A ...
(2006–07) * Jonathan Holmes (2008–13) *
Paul Barry Paul James Barry (born 24 February 1952) is an English-born, Australian-based journalist, newsreader and television presenter, who has won many awards for his investigative reporting. He previously worked for the BBC on numerous programs, bef ...
(2000, 2010, 2013–present) *
Jeremy Fernandez Jeremy Fernandez is an Australian journalist and television news presenter with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Career Fernandez joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2000 working as a producer for ABC Local Radio. ...
(2021; guest host) *
Janine Perrett Janine Perrett is an Australian journalist and commentator who has worked across newspapers, radio and television for four decades. She currently works for ABC TV after working as a television presenter for Sky News Australia, until December 20 ...
(2021, 2022; guest host) * Andy Park (2022; guest host)


Notable pieces


"Cash for comment"

In 1999, ''Media Watch'' revealed that influential
talkback radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
hosts Alan Jones and
John Laws Richard John Sinclair Laws CBE (born 8 August 1935) is a Papua New Guinean-born Australian radio announcer. For 50 years, until 2007, he was the host of an Australian morning radio program combining music with interviews, opinion, live adverti ...
had been paid to provide favourable on-air comment about companies such as
Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
,
Optus Singtel Optus Pty Limited (commonly referred to as Optus) is an Australian Telecommunications in Australia, telecommunications company headquartered in Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore, Si ...
,
Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...
and
Mirvac Mirvac is an Australian property group with operations across property investment, development, and retail services. This entity now broadens their clientele and shareholder return on investment by venturing across multiple development sectors, ...
without disclosing these arrangements to listeners. It also persistently criticised the then Australian Broadcasting Authority (superseded by the
Australian Communications and Media Authority The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is an Australian government statutory authority within the Communications portfolio. ACMA was formed on 1 July 2005 with the merger of the Australian Broadcasting Authority and the Austr ...
, or ACMA, 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 Richard Alan Ackland is an Australian journalist, publisher and lawyer, who has won many awards for his reporting. Ackland graduated with degrees in economics and law in the early 1970s and was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of ...
, Deborah Richards and Anne Connolly two
Walkley Awards The annual Walkley Awards are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism. They cover all media including print, television, documentary, radio, photographic and online media. The Gold Walkley is the highest prize and ...
: the
Gold Walkley The Gold Walkley is the major award of the Walkley Awards The annual Walkley Awards are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism. They cover all media including print, television, documentary, radio, photographic ...
, 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 David Edward Flint (born 1938) is an Australian legal academic, known for his leadership of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy and for his tenure as head of the Australian Broadcasting Authority. Early life and education David Flint was bo ...
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.


''60 Minutes'' 1995 massacre at Srebrenica story

In 2002, Channel Nine ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'' reporter
Richard Carleton Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
sued ''Media Watch'' over allegations of
plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
. The judge found that the allegations were untrue and declined to award any damages. The ABC World Today reported on 18 December 2002: "The veteran reporter was horrified to see ''Media Watch'' accuse him of plagiarising a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
documentary on the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica for his Channel Nine program. But today a judge ruled that even though the program did defame Mr Richard Carleton and two colleagues, it was fair comment and no damages were awarded."


"The Truth Behind Tuam"

In June 2014, ''Media Watch'' examined false claims of a mass grave being discovered in
County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...
, on the west coast of Ireland, found on the site of an old mother and baby home run by nuns in the town of
Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bron ...
. The story was repeated by global broadcasters including the ABC. In his editorial about the incident, Barry concluded, "So why did the media fall for it? ... matched our prejudices. And it made such great headlines, it was really too good to check. And who cared if it suggested those nuns were mass murderers?"


"ACON & The ABC"

In 2022, ''Media Watch'' ran a piece about "a difficult conversation we all need to have", accusing the ABC of bias against "anti-trans voices" by examining its collaboration with LGBT health organization ACON, and its participation in ACON's "Workplace Equality Index", in which it has at least twice received the title of "Gold Employer". The piece drew significant scorn from ABC news staff, with
Patricia Karvelas Patricia Karvelas (born 29 January 1981) is an Australian radio presenter, current affairs journalist and political correspondent. Karvelas currently hosts ''RN Breakfast'' on Radio National. Early life Karvelas was born in Australia to Gree ...
responding with "The ABC also participates in other benchmarking indexes to monitor its progress and improve workplace practices, such as those run by the Diversity Council of Australia, Reconciliation Australia and the Australian Network on Disability. But only scrutiny of one group." Luke Siddham Dundon tweeted "The ABC also has relationships with other diversity organisations, so why are you picking on our partnerships with LGBTQI+ communities and organisations?" ABC tech reporter Ariel Bogle responded by stating that anti-trans talking points are "often intertwined with far-right entities and narratives". The ABC itself issued a statement on the matter, saying "participation in benchmarking indexes has no bearing on content commissioning processes and no influence on editorial content" and "transgender and gender identity issues are complex and require careful editorial judgement to ensure informed reporting without causing offence or undue distress and harm to vulnerable individuals and communities."


Cancellation and return

''Media Watch''s ability to generate controversy led to the temporary cancellation of the show. In 2000, Barry was controversially sacked and, in 2001, the program itself was axed by
Jonathan Shier Jonathan Fraser Shier (born 18 October 1947) is an Australian businessman and media executive. He was educated at Geelong Grammar School and Monash University (LLB BEcon). During the years 1978 to 1999, Shier lived in the United Kingdom and the N ...
, the head of the ABC. However, in early 2002, after Shier was himself sacked in similarly controversial circumstances, the show returned with David Marr as the new host. While ''Media Watch'' was off air, former host Stuart Littlemore presented a replacement program, ''Littlemore'', that also examined issues about the media, running for 13 episodes between March and May 2001.


''Media Bites''

Starting in 2017 in conjunction with ''Media Watch''s return, a weekly online spin-off series, ''Media Bites'', was created. A new episode is uploaded every Thursday to the program's website, social media outlets,
iView IView or iView may refer to: * ABC iview, a video on demand and catch up TV service run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * IrfanView, an image viewer, editor, organiser and converter program * iView Media IView or iView may refer to: * A ...
and ABC's official
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel, each episode running for about two minutes. Unlike the main show, ''Media Bites'' is more casual in presentation, and Barry sits in the production office (not a studio) talking to the camera in a position similar to many online
vlog A video blog or video log, sometimes shortened to vlog (), is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in ...
gers. Barry is often in more casual clothing using the light source of the office instead of professional lighting. Each episode has the same format, two mini-stories and the week's
alternative fact "Alternative facts" was a phrase used by U.S. Counselor to the President, Kellyanne Conway, during a ''Meet the Press'' interview on January 22, 2017, in which she defended White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's false statement about the at ...
. The mini-stories are in essence a shorter version of the main series in-depth format, introducing the story and explaining the problem. For example, a story where ''
Woman's Day ''Woman's Day'' is an American women's monthly magazine that covers such topics as homemaking, food, nutrition, physical fitness, physical attractiveness, and fashion. The print edition is one of the Seven Sisters magazines. The magazine was fir ...
'' ran an article about
Paul Hogan Paul Hogan (born 8 October 1939) is an Australian actor and comedian. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance as ...
's ex-wife (Noelene Hogan) in which, using a photo of Noelene with her son, the article incorrectly portrays the son as her deceased partner Reg, stating the couple were a "cute pair", only to be corrected by a tweet from a family member. The Alternative Fact of the Week points out an incorrect or baffling titbit, often involving
US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
. Episodes conclude with a "
teaser Teaser may refer to: * One who teases * Teaser (animal), a male livestock animal (typically a bull) whose penis has been amputated, "''gomer''" Film exhibition, broadcasting, advertising * Teaser (trailer), a short film used to advertise an ...
" for the following episode of the main show. The episodes contain the same sarcasm and quips from Barry as does the main show. Episodes are edited in a similar fashion to the main show, with relevant corresponding images, text and effects relating to his narration. The stand-out difference in editing is that subtitles are permanently part of the video along the bottom of the screen, instead of being an optional
closed caption Closed captioning (CC) and subtitling are both processes of displaying text on a television, video screen, or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information. Both are typically used as a transcription of the audio po ...
.


Reception

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 ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'', 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. 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). ''Media Watch'' scrutinises all media outlets, and has criticised its own network, the ABC. When Marr was host from 2002 to 2004, the show often criticised Marr's employer
John Fairfax Holdings Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The Sydney Morning Herald ...
.
Robert Manne Robert Michael Manne (born 31 October 1947) is an Emeritus Professor of politics and Vice-Chancellor's Fellow at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. He is a leading Australian public intellectual. Background Robert Manne was born in Melbo ...
, writing in ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' in 2007, commented that:
Media Watch was once, unashamedly, a program of the left... was sometimes unbalanced and unfair, usually intelligent and witty, always fearless and tough. No program more effectively tracked the steady drift of the political culture to the right. No program more effectively scrutinised the politics and practices of the contemporary commercial mainstream media—the rise of commentariat Islamophobia, the scandal of "cash for comment". The fact that it was not "impartial" was the key to its unpopularity in certain quarters, but also to its importance and success.


Criticisms from ''

News Corp News Corporation, stylized as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The second incarnation of the News Corporation (1980–2013), original News Corporation, it was formed ...
'' assets

Commentry programs and segments on
Sky News Australia Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs f ...
also allege the program has a consistent left wing bias. Following the 2019 federal election, Sky News Australia commentator
Chris Kenny Chris Kenny (born 28 September 1962) is an Australian conservative political commentator, author and former political adviser. He is a columnist for ''The Australian'' newspaper as well as the host of a weeknight current affairs program, ''Th ...
(writing for ''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'') claimed that the program had a reliance on Labor Party or
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
-aligned journalists for its criticisms of the ''News Corp'' conglomerate. Kenny further claimed a failure to disclose these alleged associations, and opined that this undermined the credibility of host Barry's analyses of News Corp's output & business methods. ''The Australian'', which is regularly criticised by ''Media Watch'', has been a long-term 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". In June 2007, an episode of ''Media Watch'' entitled "Have Your Spray" strongly criticised ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'', among others, for failing to censor racist comments on their website forums posted over an extended period, but then allowed strongly anti-Semitic comments to remain on its own web forum for a "few minutes" until removed. The ABC later launched an internal inquiry into claims and criticisms published by ''News Corp'' mastheads that ''Media Watch'' allegedly relied on ''IslamicSydney'', supposedly "an Islamic website that peddle anti-Semitic and jihadi messages", for this story.


See also

* List of longest-running Australian television series


References


External links


Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Media Watch (Tv Program) Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Criticism of journalism Television series about the media ABC News and Current Affairs Australian non-fiction television series 1989 Australian television series debuts 2000 Australian television series endings 2002 Australian television series debuts 1990s Australian television series 2010s Australian television series English-language television shows