Monday 7 February 2011

Are TV reporters TV actors?

: Sunrise' Grant Denyer.

by Mat Churchill

When people are desperate for information they turn to the news. But where is the line drawn that distinguishes fact and entertainment?

The question dawned on me on Thursday morning. I woke up and switched on the TV to get the latest on Cyclone Yasi. Within five minutes I'd seen the same street sign being blown up the same street at least half a dozen times.

I saw reporters so desperate for a sound grab (that one quote which can be played over and over until someone else says something even more dramatic like "I thought the world was ending") that they seemed to coerce the hapless interviewee into giving the reporters what they were after simply to get them out of the house (Grant Denyer I'm looking at you).

It's the over-dramatising of an already stressful situation which gets on my wick. Family and friends from interstate were led to believe that from Cairns to Townsville was virtually destroyed, despite the fact that the Cairns region came away relatively unscathed.

There was a period of time prior to when the cyclone hit the coast when there was a level of uncertainty about who was at risk, but isn't that the role of the news, to say it how it is? Once we'd been told of what to expect and how to prepare it was time for only accurate assessments of what actually was happening in each area. Not the seeking out of victims at their most vulnerable.

Granted not all reporters can be tarred with the same brush, but the ones who frequently cross the line live on commercial TV. Commercial TV is all about hype and drama, instilling fear through repetition of adjectives and repetition of images.

Through my bleary eyes I could've sworn that I saw one Cairns based Channel 10 news presenter pretend to be nearly blown over in what could only be described as a stiff breeze. With acting like that he's a shoe in for a bit part on Neighbours.

Another image that sticks in my head is the Townsville webcam showing some palms being blown about by the wind late on Wednesday night, and then someone's hand making like a duck crossing in front of the camera.

Now I'm not saying that Townsville was unaffected by any means. All I'm saying is at that particular point in time the commentary didn't necessarily reflect the true situation. It made us second-guess the news reports coming out of the network.

Credit should go to the ABC for their coverage of the event. But I guess that's the nature of a Government funded TV network which doesn't need sensationalism to secure the latest Bunnings ad campaign.

What are your thoughts on the coverage of Cyclone Yasi? Who did you rely on for accurate coverage? And who were your worst TV offenders?

Got a Viewpoint you'd like to share? Email us at info@thenewsport.com.au.

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Tony Woodall, 10-02-11 14:42:

Like I said in this column last year. We need clear lines of communication with all of the Australian media and the most effective overseas media to immediately after a cyclone send them a news release stating that we are still in one piece and its business as usual.

Just make it as sensational as possible because that is what they feed on.

philip dalziel, 08-02-11 18:30:

So right Mat ,I'm in Sydney and they are still talking about it like it just happened, I think they all see themselves at the Walkleys and am so sick of the cliches , "Its like a war zone" etc , etc , must be the most well documented event ever ,even saw Koshie on TV in the States but all those shows are so fake anyway ,who can be that happy before the pubs open??

Nick Churchill , 08-02-11 15:25:

Hi Mat, I am not in the smallest way satisfied with your explanation to Jan Thomson re your coverage of the cyclone. You just rolled out some old excuse about the internet being down. I watched it live on tv. I wathed the brave crazy chanel 7 and 9 reporters risk their lives in the mighty storm to bring every minute to my lounge room, ok they were at gun point from produces but they still did it. You were hiding in your safe motel room bravely drinking beer and making jokes about hang gliding. I say if you can't handle the heat get something from the kitchen.

Gary k Bock, 08-02-11 12:14:

Well said Matt.The behaviour of the sensation seeking media was APPALLING!!..This style of reporting is a blight on an already tense situation..It has been a disturbing trend in the last few years, where there is a desperate attempt by inadequately skilled (but inevitably pretty and vacuous) reporters,.who are vying to attain celebrity status and greater exposure with their constant badgering of grief stricken victims, and the repetitive use of "cliche'" phrases of Doom ,that strike terror in mainstream society, who willingly accept their poorly researched diatribe as gospel!.....E.I.E.I.O........(Enough Is Enough I'm Over-it..)

Dale Priem , 08-02-11 11:56:

My neck is sore from agreeing too much

Mat Churchill, 08-02-11 09:26:

It's good to see The Newsport flew its star sports reporter and his family to the Gold Coast to protect him from Yasi. By the way, your report is due Nicky G!

nick gibson, 08-02-11 05:11:

Interesting thoughts boys. I watched it all unfold on the Gold coast & found it quite amazing that the Sunrise 'A' team were all positioned where the cyclone was to hit. If it was gonna take out everyone & everything why pop in for a visit? If i was one of the crowd in the background josh i would have followed Mel home & not because i think she's attractive! I bet she didn't head for Stocklend Earville!

Dale Priem, 07-02-11 18:13:

Couldn't agree more. The problem is that whenever you try to calm someone down from the frenzy they've worked themselves into after watching sensationalist media for hours on end, you are accused of not caring enough. As it turns out, most of the 'injuries' resulting from Cyclone Yasi turned out to be people giving themselves heart attacks due to anxiety. And please, corporate media, it's cheating if you use the screaming headline "FATAL STORM CLAIMS LIFE!!!" when that life was lost due to someone going to sleep with a generator running in their bedroom. Sigh.

Josh McConnell , 07-02-11 13:44:

I have to agree with your words here Mat as everything you say about Sunrise and commercial TV is correct. One period comes to mind early on Wednesday morning when Mel from Sunrise was standing on the foreshore in Cairns saying "it is so scary here it is like a ghost town"!
If Mel or one of the producers had only looked over her left shoulder she would have seen about 30 to 50 people all laughing having a good time watching her in the sunshine.
It is time the commercial TV stations started giving the right information at the right time, and not only for the people going to be directly affected by this disaster, but the family and friends that are watching and sacred for relatives and family in the affected areas.
My mother said she nearly passed out with fear when she heard Anna Bligh (who I must say did a good job with getting the information out and in good fashion, except for maybe this bit!) signed off at 11pm on Wednesday with the wording "good luck to all and we hope to see you in the morning as this storm will have the force of atomic bomb when it hits!" or to a similar effect.
Not a very happy thought to go to sleep with when one or more of your family members are in harms way and there is nothing you can do about it!