Mark Scott is now officially the darling of new media, says Marni Cordell in this thoughtful piece in New Matilda. But what about the kind of journalism that matters?
I am more of an enthusiast for Scott’s approach to ABC leadership than Cordell is, but I do think she has a point in what she says about ABC journalistic cultures. A friend of mine describes ABC newsrooms as the places the phones never ring, unless it is a PR person making the call.
Cordell says:
The ABC news rooms across the country do a great job of providing fair and balanced daily news. No serious commentator could question their commitment to this or the fact that they do it, in the most part, very well.
But what about investigative journalism? What about the journalism that isn’t based on a government press release but on information that has been dug up through the journalist’s own initiative — the kind of journalism that exposes things that those in power would prefer remained hidden.
Indeed, what is investigative journalism — and how do we go about measuring its health in the current Australian media environment?
Good questions. The ABC newsrooms cover the field, but when is the last time you remember the ABC breaking a big story?
2 Comments
Good to see people waking up. Scott’s idea of news is the sort of rip and read style of AAP Don’t read his lips look at his track record. He was not a hell fire news breaking media executive there it was everything for the quiet life. And he shows he has little understanding of independent journalism when he thinks that a global ABC would be projecting Australian power. It is independet for goodness sake not the provisional wing of whatever govt is in power. Good on Marni
Two observations:
1. Marni observes the Scott roadshow and the pitch for a community model of media. Is this not consistent with the need to avoid controversy if one is to ascend via political favour? In other words, the “model” is the soft option, pandering to fashion and avoiding the need for the ABC to create and offer (politically hazardous) strong representations of Australia in news, drama and information programming.
2. How many newsrooms are focused on news breaking, which you seem to think is “investigative”? Too many, including the ABC’s, have an agenda, with a lazy pipeline of pulp to fill the B roll requirements.