Media Watch (TV series)

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Media Watch
Opener to the 2006 season of Media Watch
Genre	News and Politics
Starring	Monica Attard (host)
Country of origin	Australia
Production
Running time	15 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC TV
Picture format	576i (SDTV)
Original run	1989 – present
Links
Official website

This page refers to the Australian television program. For other uses, see Media Watch (disambiguation).

Media Watch is an Australian television series screening on the ABC. It currently screens from 9.20pm to 9.35pm on Monday, repeated on Wednesday at 11.50pm. Despite the limitations of this timeslot and its small production budget, it has been one of the most controversial and influential programs on Australian TV since its appearance in 1989.

1 Overview
2 Hosts
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Overview

Opening sequence of 2005 season.

Media Watch's fans view it as a watchdog of the Australian media, seeking out and exposing journalistic failings and vested interests. Its detractors view it as an example of left-wing bias at the ABC, although the show presents criticism of articles from both sides of the political spectrum, including criticism of ABC journalists. Critics have pointed to the fact that recent presenter David Marr was a journalist with The Sydney Morning Herald (also accused of left-wing leanings) on leave.

The show's presenters have taken some pride in the vehemence of the criticism it attracts; at one point, the opening credits were made up of a montage of such criticisms, prominently featuring a description of original presenter Stuart Littlemore as a 'pompous git'. More recently, in 2002 the then-editor of The Daily Telegraph, Campbell Reid, sent Marr a dead fish; a replica of it is now awarded as the Campbell Reid Perpetual Trophy for the Brazen Recycling of Other People's Work [1]. Known as The Barra and bearing the motto "Carpe Verbatim", it is awarded annually for bad journalism, in particular plagiarism, a practice for which Reid was frequently criticised.

This ability to generate controversy even brought the show to a temporary end. Host Paul Barry was controversially sacked in 2000, and the program was itself axed in 2001 by Jonathon Shier, the head of the ABC. However, in early 2002, after Shier was himself sacked in equally controversial circumstances, the show returned with Marr as the new host.

The series initially presented a roughly even mix of amusing gaffes (such as miscaptioned photographs) and more serious criticism. Over the years, the emphasis has shifted towards the latter, although the show often begins or ends with a more humorous piece.

No part of the media is entirely safe from Media Watch, and it is a frequent critic of its own network, the ABC. During David Marr's tenure, the show often criticised his employer John Fairfax Holdings. The program has repeatedly targeted influential talkback radio hosts such as Alan Jones and John Laws, and the then Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA), for their roles in cash for comment stories - accepting money from commercial interests in exchange for favourable editorial, without disclosing this sponsorship to listeners. It persistently criticised the ABA as impotent or unwilling to police broadcasting media, and to properly scrutinise such figures as Jones and Laws; in 2004 Media Watch played a major part in forcing the resignation of ABA head David Flint, after it was discovered that Flint had sent Jones admiring and effusive letters at a time when the ABA was investigating Jones on allegations of cash for comment. The ABA has since been superseded by the new Australian Communications and Media Authority.

At the end of the 2004 season, host David Marr announced his intention to step down and return to mainstream journalism. Former Four Corners reporter Liz Jackson was the host for 2005; at the end of the 2005 season she announced she would not be continuing but would be returning to Four Corners. On December 6, 2005, Monica Attard was announced as the new host for 2006.