Talking about 10 would have distracted from the issues MW was addressing about the ABC.
The statement from Nine was interesting in how they resourced their newsroom, including perhaps why they didn’t have sport and weather segments in the 6pm bulletin:
ABC statement
On April 13, the night of the tragic stabbing at Bondi Junction in Sydney ABC News channel inadvertently broadcast images of one of the victims - Jade Young - taken at the scene. We acknowledge those images were graphic and inappropriate. ABC News is deeply sorry about that. A decision had been made to either blur images like those, or not broadcast them at all. Unfortunately, in this instance that process failed and the videos were shown before they were blurred.
It was an error of judgement for which we take full responsibility. The ABC apologises to Jade’s family and to anyone else who was distressed by the images.
8 posts were merged into an existing topic: General News Events - Coverage Discussion
Inquest into deaths begins today.
Families of some of the victims of the Bondi Junction stabbings have told the inquest that intrusive media tactics compounded their grief and that inaccurate reporting was rife.
The inquest was extended to examine media reporting in the immediate aftermath of the event and the impact on the families of the deceased, giving the public a rare insight into what it’s like to be at the centre of the media spotlight.
At the inquest into the Bondi Junction stabbings last year, families urged the coroner to make recommendations which may protect families in the future from intrusive media during mass casualty events.
On Thursday the New South Wales coroner’s court found that families were “retraumatised” by some of the coverage, including the airing of uncensored footage of victims, which Jade Young’s mother called “trauma porn”. Her daughter’s final moments at Westfield were broadcast on television, robbing Jade of privacy and dignity. Journalists scoured the social media accounts of victims for photographs and republished photographs without consent.
Intrusions on privacy listed by the state coroner, Teresa O’Sullivan, include: reporters waiting outside family homes; a young sibling of a victim being approached by reporters on the way to school; social media accounts being bombarded with messages from journalists, and constant texting of victims’ families and notes left in letterboxes. The coroner said inaccurate and sensational reporting included that Dawn Singleton had been shopping for wedding makeup and that her childhood friend was the offender. Dawn’s family said the cumulative effects of the reporting had caused “immense and immeasurable pain”.
O’Sullivan made two recommendations regarding the media.
First, that the Australian Press Council (APC), a self-regulatory body, should develop new advisory guidelines specifically for reporting on “mass casualty incidents” to balance public interest with the grief of families.
Secondly, that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) should consult with broadcasters on amending codes of practice to better govern the reporting of such violent events.
Sadly, these recommendations, if implemented, are unlikely to have a significant impact on media reporting.
Generally regarded as toothless tigers, both institutions are slow to act on complaints and media companies rarely face financial penalties for breaches.
Newspapers must publish adverse adjudications and broadcasters usually have to introduce more training for staff following breaches but these measures are widely seen as ineffective.
A case in point is The Kyle & Jackie O Show which had 12 breaches last year alone. Under the legislation, the Acma does not have the power to issue civil penalties or fines for breaches of the commercial broadcaster codes.
Guardian Australia is not a member of the APC but has an independent readers’ editor that investigates complaints and publishes corrections and clarifications.
