22/08/2018

Today’s class saw us looking at the result of the Panama Papers investigation. I had vaguely heard about this investigation, but was oblivious to the extent of it. In 2015, 2.6 terabytes of bank statements, contracts, legal documents and other miscellaneous paperwork was leaked from a Panamanian law firm and corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca & Co (Main and Worthington, 2018).

This investigation was so difficult to get my head around, purely due to the scale of it. Evidently, the operation, using the help of skewed banking privacy laws in various nations, many companies and individuals worldwide were able to launder money for many illegal purposes including drug trafficking and tax evasion (Pegg, 2016). As Will described in his presentation, evidently names like Nicole Kidman, Michael Hutchence, and even Malcolm Turnbull were dropped in the investigation, although Malcolm Turnbull was cleared of any wrong-doing. The video below explains the Panama Papers in a simple and easy to understand way.

 

Today’s topic got me thinking about investigative journalism and the idea of whistle blowing. The amount of personal satisfaction for the individual who brought this operation to a halt would be enormous. However, in my research one particular new legislation passed by Turnbull known as The National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Bill 2017 was passed. Fundamentally, its intent was to stop official government information being leaked and foreign interference taking place as a result. However, this is a step backwards for whistle blowers and investigative journalists, who under the new legislation could face up to 15 years imprisonment (Gregoire and Nedium, 2018). Check out the document here! http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/legislation/bills/r6022_first-reps/toc_pdf/17295b01.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf

 

I have always questioned the idea of investigative journalism. After looking at the Panama Papers case, the idea of whistle blowing is still a tough idea for me. Part of the reason is the stereotypes that surround investigative journalism. These include the idea that journalists operate with the intent of finding a juicy story and printing it, regardless whether it is true or not. Carson in Tanner & Richardson (2013) explains how journalism is not an emotional process. It is an intellectual process comprised of sifting through information from a number of sources and deciphering it to come to the most important thing: the truth (Carson in Tanner & Richardson, 2013).

While I agree with this idea, the fact remains that investigative journalism holds significant risks. Murrell (2018) describes how a bomb in Kabul killed nine local journalists this year, emphasising that keeping safe in conflict zones is essential.

To me, this is quite a frightening prospect, because in order to travel to these places in search of a story would essentially mean being married to your job.

While I don’t feel that I love journalism enough to risk losing my family and friends, I think this is one of those cases where I don’t know how I will react until the opportunity arises.

 

References:

 

Gregoire, P. and Nedium, U. (2018). Turnbull’s New Secrecy Laws: Prison for Whistleblowers and Journalists. [online] Sydney Criminal Lawyers. Available at: https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/turnbulls-new-secrecy-laws-prison-for-whistleblowers-and-journalists/ [Accessed 22 Aug. 2018].

 

Main, L. and Worthington, E. (2018). Explained: What are the Panama Papers?. [online] ABC News. Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-04/explained-what-are-the-leaked-mossack-fonseca-panama-papers/7270690 [Accessed 22 Aug. 2018].

 

Murrell, C. (2018). ‘A time of anxiety’: The depressing new reality for local journalists in conflict zones. [online] The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/a-time-of-anxiety-the-depressing-new-reality-for-local-journalists-in-conflict-zones-95878 [Accessed 26 Aug. 2018].

 

Pegg, D. (2016). The Panama Papers fallout: banana protests, paltry fines and a PR problem. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/21/panama-papers-fallout-banana-protests-fines-iceland-uk-david-cameron [Accessed 22 Aug. 2018].

 

Tanner, S. and Richardson, N. (2013). Journalism Research and Investigation in a Digital World. South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press.

 

29/08/2018

This week’s class saw three presentations about Public Interest Journalism. This was most interesting because it showed an interesting variation of opinion.

Andie’s presentation identified the governing bodies and guidelines journalists must adhere to. These include the MEAA, the Australian Press Council, and ACMA. According to the MEAA (2018), the main qualities to which journalists should commit are honesty, fairness, independence, and respect for the rights of others.

The idea of Public Interest Journalism is straightforward. It is information that the public has a right to know as it could affect them.

However, some differences of opinion emerged in a case study presented by Chelsea. In 2010, Channel 7 exposed NSW Transport Minister David Campbell leaving a gay sex club in Sydney. Video footage was aired following Campbell as he left the club and drove away. Channel 7 defended its decision to run the story as the car was funded by the tax payer.

Many were torn on what to feel by this. Legally, Channel 7 had not broken any privacy laws; he was filmed in a public place. However, most could agree that journalism ethics were breached. One particular clause in the MEAA (2018) Code of Ethics was, “Do not place unnecessary emphasis on personal characteristics, including race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation, family relationships, religious belief, or physical or intellectual disability.”

In this case, Channel 7 focussed way too much on the fact that Campbell was leaving a gay club. It could be argued that had it been a different kind of club, the sensation would not be as great, and Channel 7 might not have even reported on it. In the aftermath, Campbell resigned. Although the backlash and criticism toward Channel 7 was enormous, the damage was done. Below is a clip of a statement by Campbell following the ordeal.

It was barely reported in the aftermath that Campbell had not in fact, broken any rules by visiting the gay sex club. In short, Channel 7 has ruined a man’s reputation and career.

This case is a classic example of what not to do as a journalist. However, there are two sides to every story. Cillizza (2015) emphasises the intense pressure on journalists these days. With jobs in print journalism declining, and less people paying for quality journalism, the people lucky enough to have a job for big news outlets are under heavy time constraints. After all, we are all human, and sometimes we make mistakes. Click here to see the story.

 

At the end of the day in whatever story I choose to do for whichever publication, all I can do is my best and use my intuition and the skills I have learnt to the best of my ability so as to produce positive results with what I produce.

 

References:

 

Cillizza, C. (2015). This study says being a ‘newspaper reporter’ is the worst job there is. [online] The Washington Post. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/04/15/this-study-says-being-a-journalist-is-the-worst-job-there-is-wrong/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.0b2d0c73963c [Accessed 29 Aug. 2018].

 

MEAA. (2018). MEAA Journalist Code of Ethics. [online] Available at: https://www.meaa.org/meaa-media/code-of-ethics/ [Accessed 29 Aug. 2018].