Defamation cases present significant constraints on journalism, particularly for investigative reporters. “Publication of genres like investigative journalism have been made so much more difficult by the extraordinary complexity of the laws,” Manning says.
There needs to be a major campaign to rectify the imbalance in freedom of speech and defamation cases in Australia.
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1/ The ABC should consider privatising if it continues to express biased and leftist views. If the objectivity of the ABC cannot be sustained, they should consider selling out, if not for the interest of the public they are responsible to, then for their own survival which becomes more difficult with every opposition to the government. The performance of the ABC has been poor in recent times, which makes it difficult to justify the $800 million of taxpayer money it receives every year. A typical week's free-to-air TV ratings are: Channel 9, 28.5 per cent; Channel 7, 27.1 per cent; Channel 10, 23.7 per cent; ABC TV, 15.8 per cent. This does not explicitly mean that the quality of the programming is poor, but the principles the ABC was founded upon are becoming less and less relevant in the competitive modern media market. The impact on broadcast journalism would be that the professionals themselves are given more opportunities, autonomy and pay with the benefits of private sponsorship. In a perfect world the objectivity would not be obscured by privatisation, but this remains to be seen.
2/ I would most likely hire the male. Unfortunate though it may be, in television reporting there is a great need for diversity and presence. Television is a powerful visual medium and, as such, requires the best, visually appealing elements. The female would also be a good choice and would probably be preferable to the male as a radio broadcaster. Of course, if the gap between the two applicants skill and experience was rather vast, the female would probably be preferred. Looks and personality are important, but if the male applicant was unlikely to ever reach the female’s level of skill it would be harder to justify his hiring. At 28, the male has the potential to improve and provide a familiar and trusted face for viewers for a long period of time.
3/ Each medium has its own strengths and weaknesses. The web, in many cases, is able to combine all the positive elements from the other mediums. It can combine print, radio and television elements and allows a wide range of coverage on issues from a number of sources simultaneously. The problem with this diverse range of coverage is that browsers can cherry pick the information they want from whichever source they want, meaning that individual angles can be overlooked. Television holds an advantage over the other mediums in that it is convenient and easily accessible. It takes no effort on the part of the viewer to consume television broadcasts, whereas there is some amount of effort in reading print or searching the web. This holds true for radio also, but televisions combination of visual and audio makes it preferable. Each medium must provide strong basics in reporting. Good reporting transcends the medium divide.
4/ From my research, I would suggest that the last campaign focussed more on personalities than policies in broadcasting. While policies were mentioned, the campaign tactics and personal attributes were given more prominence. Campaigns were built around smearing the opposition’s character more so than policies. Vision of the candidates was centred around desirable human qualities than tough decision making. Here is an example from the ABC, where Mr. Latham takes an opportunity to slander the opposition.
REPORTER: Or should I call you Robin Hood after opening the paper this morning?
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: The mind boggles.
REPORTER: You're prepared to wear the Robin Hood banner if you have to?
MARK LATHAM: Robin Hood was a much better bloke than Mr Howard!
