Also, the Nanny State versus the Islamic Idiots’ State; The Astonisher’s Chutzpah Award for Cheek with a story decrying another organisation’s shoddy spelling, grammar and facts; and the latest federal pollie to make clever use of an old pop song to make a contemporary point. Also, that gives us a reason to revisit one of the funniest Hitler’s Downfall spoofs ever. (Bentley is on a gap week.)
As if we needed further proof that News Corpse is trailing other mainstream media in grasping modern ethics and responsibilities of publishers, we certainly got it last Saturday.
It was also a lesson in what happens when venality trumps responsible journalism, after you clean out all the sub-editors and most of the senior journalists for financial expediency (read greed).
If there is one single word that sets off all sorts of alarm bells in Australian newsrooms, it is the word ‘suicide’. Journalists are constantly advised by advocacy groups and by their own editorial policies about the great care that needs to be taken on this issue. Responsible news organisations would allow competent journalists to make extensive inquiries to ascertain the facts before carefully considering how to report it, or if indeed it should be reported at all. Most such incidents don’t get reported because inter alia they are considered private matters that do not pass any public interest test, and could amount to callous invasion of privacy of those already in deep grief.
That seems all a bit to hard – read expensive – for the Townsville Bulletin.
Townsville Bulletin Oct 25, 2014
Last Saturday, Josh Alston quoted Bob Katter (another two words that set off their own set of alarm bells) as naming a woman who had allegedly committed suicide because her cattle property was being foreclosed by the bank. Katter also named the property. He made other less specific statements about at least one similar incident, and used it as a platform to have a populist (but otherwise justified) spray against banks. At best, that all turned out to be a self-serving and over-enthusiastic representation on the behalf of the thousands of rural folk doing it really tough in these drought-stricken times. It quickly turned out that Katter was wrong.
(NB The front page photograph above deliberately been printed so the text cannot be readily read, otherwise The Magpie would be repeating the error of which he is critical.)
Come Monday, an apology appeared on P3 of the Bulletin.
And it seems they can’t even get that right, they still highlighted the name of the cattle station, which, in effect, again named the woman. It said in part (The Magpie has X’d out the name of the property):
BULLETIN APOLOGY
…(we) wrongly stated the owner of XXXXXX station took her life after a bank foreclosed on the property … The Bulletin, however, accepts the information related to this case and another farming death was incorrect and the properties had not been foreclosed. The Bulletin apologises for the error and any hurt the article caused the family.’
And so it bloody should, careless blunders don’t come much bigger than this.
On P17 of the same Monday Bulletin, a ‘clarification’ letter from Bob Katter was published.
The words ‘clarity’ and ‘Bob Katter’ are rarely if ever heard in the same sentence, and thus it was. His letter was hardly straightforward, and appeared initially to blame reporter Josh Alston for misquoting him or not respecting an implied agreement that not all the information was for publication – this from a senior politician of many years media experience? – then later excused him because Alston ‘was young and pushed for time’. (How many journos over the years – including The ‘Pie – would love to have had that excuse available – it is not, because that is often the nature of the job we were trained to do, albeit usually under the direction of editorial oversight.)
Like others, The Magpie first read the Saturday story on-line, and circulation figures make it obvious that that would be the sole source of information for a number of readers. BUT there was not a single word of the apology that The ‘Pie could discover then or now on the website. Nor was Katter’s ‘clarification’ letter posted.
You’d think you’d hardly need to say it, but nowadays, and especially if you a mainstream media outlet, you are responsible for all that you publish, so if you cocked it up in the on-line edition, then it must be put to rights in the on-line edition. The initial incorrect report ran on the front page on Saturday and online, making it such a prominent balls up that any sincere apology should be plastered everywhere. And it is interesting to note that the Bulletin knows it is in deep shit by using the word ‘Apology’ rather than the more legally ambiguous ‘Correction’.
What The Magpie has been able to ascertain is that there was a tragic PRIVATE matter of no general public interest whatsoever, a circumstance that should’ve been established before rushing into print. If The ‘Pie can manage that discovery with little effort, why couldn’t the Bulletin?
This could cost the paper a substantial amount of money (we’ll never know how much, any matter is sure to be settled out of court – anyway, that too is none of our business), but no amount of money can make up for the hurt and humiliation caused by a pipsqueak publication written and run by people suffering delusions of grandeur and adequacy, quoting – unchecked – a well known if well-meaning MP who also has form as a gabbling dingbat.
But the Astonisher earned itself a double Ironyman Award for it’s efforts later in the week. Take this fronter on Thursday.
Here’s how it was noted in Magpie comments on the day.
October 30, 2014 at 12:17 pm (Edit)
Notes from today’s Astonisher. Ace revealer Simpo Templeton gives us our daily larf, right up front.
Front page is a doozy. Rarely is the once coveted front page given over to a story so heavily dependent on qualifiers – in this case, ‘could’, ‘maybe’ and ‘only if’ and strong negatives that basically make it a classic space filler non-story. On the front we have Direct flights Could Be Only Months Away’ and inside (p5) ‘International Flights May Finally Take-off’.
BUT in the very first par, fronter and P5, we read this (caps by The Magpie):
International flights between Townsville and Bali COULD commence in coming months, BUT ONLY IF a way to reduce the cost of providing customs and quarantine services can be found.’
A couple of lines on, Simpo admits that this stumbling block ‘may sink the plan’ and the airline Air Asia ominously hints at beat-up when the reporter tells us’… but the carrier was also talking to other airports.’. No way around the impasse is suggested by Simpo or anyone he talks to.
Topping this off is that prominent red banner on the front proclaiming ‘EXCLUSIVE’.
The trusty old Magpie Dickshunairy tells us that among various definitions, ‘exclusive’ means ‘catering or available only a few, select persons, high class and expensive’. Only the word ‘few’ in this definition fits the bill for Astonisher readers, but another definition is ‘not published or broadcast elsewhere’. Well, that’s certainly true for obvious reasons, namely good judgement.
And Simpo, since no one is going to approach your apparently notoriously touchy lordship, The ‘Pie will point out that something CANNOT be ‘centred around’ something, it is ‘centred on’ something. Much in the same manner that while popular opinion has it that you have your head up your arse, it is simply not possible. Not in any literal sense anyway.
This again from Magpie comments (sorry if you’ve already seen it, many haven’t).October 31, 2014 at 5:44 pm (Edit)
Now, look you can’t say The Astonisher doesn’t have a sly sense of humour, especially when irony amuses.
Today’s P13 story ‘Errors Irritate Home Tutors’ presumes righteous indignation about a subject with which the paper is only too familiar. The opening par of Rachel Afflick’s story (and nothing wrong with the yarn, just the context) had The ‘Pie rolling in the aisle (not appreciated by BiLo’s staff).
‘Frustrated parents say distance learning papers provided by the the Department of Education are full of factual errors, spelling mistakes, poor grammar and missing links to videos since the introduction of the new curriculum in 2012. Mum and dad home tutors based in the bush claim the mistakes are occurring on a daily basis ….’
Need it be said that this is a problem with which the dwindling number of Bulletin readers can identify and sympathise.
Qld Education Minister, former fang farrier John Paul Langbroek (and Typo Gleeson buddy) is later quoted in the story ‘…. spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, when your trying to teach someone, are glaring and really aren’t acceptable.’
Huh? Does that mean if you’re not trying to ‘teach’ someone, they are acceptable?
Well, that lets the Townsville Bulletin off the hook, then, doesn’t it?
Bob Katter looking not exuberant.
It wasn’t what you’d call a winning week for The Mad Katter. This is how his mid-week press release started out, decrying fuel excise increases.
Umm, ‘exorbitant, perhaps?
The ACT’s Shadow Minister for Planning, Alistair Coe, was faring worse, getting it around his neck in the headline.
And then there was this, from off-shore.
From one of the pommy papers. Must’ve been a hell of a lunch.
And even the Sydney Morning Herald.
A ghastly pretentious article anyway.
CUTEN? There simply is no such word. Smarten up your english, Amy.
And the optimist’s award of the week goes to the Immigration and Border Protection Department’s idle boast about getting 200,000 Facebook likes.
The ‘Pie thinks the original meaning of the thumb gesture is closer to what overseas folks think of the Department.
Moving on.
Sometimes, if it weren’t for the beheadings and Jacqui Lambie’s fractured speeches, it is hard to know which is worst, the Islamic State or the Nanny State. Appears one affects the other, with the Nanny State losing hands down to those murderous, mentally ill twerps so aptly described by an Australian senator as ‘dickheads’. This from London’s Telegraph.
A hangdog look?Rumours are flying that Isis, Lord Grantham’s yellow Labrador in the ITV period drama Downton Abbey, may be on the verge of being killed off, as programme bosses scramble to avoid any association with the terrorist group of the same name. The dog, according to a spokesman, is actually named after the Egyptian goddess, but he refused to confirm or deny reports that its days are numbered.
Don’t worry about some superannuated ancient goddess, spare a thought for Townsville own Isis goddess (well, she is to hubby), one Isis Symes, former Magpie colleague at the Astonisher. What does she do now to keep these Nanny Staters happy, change her name Bertha or Hortense? Sincerely trust she won’t be ‘killed off’. Funny though, our Isis does put one in mind of Egypt in one way … she’s now a mummy.
No if we’re looking for a dawg that best reflects the attitude of lawless thugs, this Halloween hound would be closer to the mark.
A bloody good night out.
Oh, grrrr-eat
Best line of the week goes to Craig Reucassel on the rather surprisingly watchable and funny Chasers’ Media Circus – on Auntie on Wed nights. The new format, involving – for a change – a few grown-ups as guests, is very funny and seems to be very light on the Chasers unfunny crassness. Clever stuff, as in the following.
Clever stuff.
In a news guessing game segment, (BTW that’s a still frame, not a link) Craig asked who had contributed more to the Ebola relief effort, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg or Microsoft’s Paul Allen. The answer was Allen, which prompted Craig to note ‘At last Microsoft is dealing with viruses.’ Boom tish but funny (along with the incidental information that Zuckerberg once dined on koala).
…………………
Seems that our federal pollies want in on the wave of yuk-yukkery around the place. What is it with these latter-day politicians, channeling pop stars from their earlier years. This phenomenon reached its low point with this cring-worthy Craig Emerson’s No Whyalla Wipeout parody of the 1975 Skyhooks aptly named song Horror Show. It sure was. The only good thing to come out of that bit of jaw-dropping inanity was one of the funniest Hitler Downfall spoofs ever.
This week, SA’s independent senator Nick Xenephon delved into his past to pour scorn on the government’s new spook laws about metadata snooping. The country not only owes Senator Xenaphon a vote of thanks for his opposition to this insidious law change, but also for reciting rather than singing his parody of Every Breath You Take by Sting. Nicky X’s clever version went:
Senator Nick Xenephon
Every call you take,
Every Internet move you make,
The government will be watching you.
Truth be known the original lyrics would’ve fitted the bill neatly, for the electorate to adopt as Abbott’s Anthem.
You belong to me,
Every move you make,
Every promise that you break, Every smile that you fake,
I’ll be watching you.
Every single day, And every word you say,
Every game you play, Every night you stay,
I’ll be watching you.
So how’s this for foresight. In February this year, London’s entertainment bible Time Out voted the song one of the creepiest ‘love’ songs of all time, and gave it a five out of five for its ‘creep factor’ – have a listen to see why, but you may have to look away from Mr Sting’s deliberate obsessional stare. But it turned out the insistent beat, foot stamping and lyric repetition for the last quarter of the song was no accident, as reviewer/interviewer Mathew Wilkening found out.
Many people apparently take the song’s “every breath you take / every move you make / I’ll be watching you” lyrics as a lover’s vow, but Sting says he had more sinister things in mind — for example, governments spying on their citizens. “I think the song is very, very sinister and ugly,” he told BBC Radio.
How apt, how prescient.
Peter Garrett, probably the only musical star to grace the government plush, never resorted to re-visiting his previous persona when making announcement about, oh, say, the Rudd government’s insulation pink bats program killing young workers. Although gallows humorists gleefully noted one of Midnight Oil’s hit ditties was Beds Are Burning.
Finally, some problem solving for our Muslim friends.
SHOULD HAVE GONE TO SPEC SAVERS!
And then news of the US Defence Force’s new terrorist catch and release program, where they have adopted a goodwill tactic of a stern but friendly lecture to IS killers, provide them a car, and direct them to go home and be good from now. They even give them a push start.
