SMH rebuked for failing to contact Schapelle Corby’s mum over bidding war story

Given the potential level of impact on Shapelle Corby arising from media comment and media agreements, you would think SMH to be extra cautious in ensuring facts were straight.

I was the person who made this complaint to The Sydney Morning Herald (and to the Press Council). The newspaper ignored me, and when I eventually managed to get a senior and relevant staff member (at the SMH), on the phone, I told them (in no uncertain terms), that Rose had paid for the Bali airfares herself (and had the receipts to prove it). I also told them they needed to contact her to verify this. Bizarrely, the person I spoke to point blank refused. I also know for a fact Rose contacted them herself. Their yarn of “No record” of her contacting them is pure BS. Fairfax have no intention of reporting fairly and accurately on Schapelle’s issue, and their miserable track record speaks for itself, as their “Senior” investigative reporter Eamonn Duff was recently subject to this humiliation (and expense), for his Godawful spin and smears: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....ation.html Rose is still awaiting her day in court, as she refused to settle. I am a Registered Nurse by profession (qualified for many years), but I really don’t think journalists can call themselves “Professionals” in any normally accepted sense, as they cannot be struck off for misconduct and no formal disciplinary process exists for them (as far as I’m aware). The mother of the missing child Madeleine McCann also pointed this out in her book about her ordeal, which included the hell the press put her through (she is a doctor). I think journalists should be forever grateful members of the medical profession don’t carry out their duties like they do. Quite honestly, if doctors and nurses did their job like the corporate hacks, their patients would die like flies. And if you want know all the facts the corporate press isn’t reporting, check out http://www.expendable.tv

Massive cock-up in the captions of today’s SMH photos at the floral tributes to the siege dead in Martin Place – relatives of Tori Johnson being identified as relatives of Katrina Dawson on Page 3 while in another photo on Page 2 they are correctly ID-ed. It would appear the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, but that’s par for the course at Fairfax these days. Barely a story doesn’t throw up at least a literal or missing word. The website is even worse. But no one cares about that boring old stuff any more. Notice the wrongly captioned photo was also from an agency. Oh, that’s right – they axed all their photographers as well as their subs. But the same management bumbles on – meet the new boss, same as the old boss as the Who (remember them?) once sang..

Sounds to me like you have a grudge. Please don’t attack all journalists and label us one thing. I, for one, think we are professional and have to work to high standards. I can’t speak for SMH. But there are plenty of doctors and people in the medical profession, or any profession, who don’t behave well. A journalist who is known to get information seriously wrong on a regular basis won’t get work in the industry, it’s as simple as that.

Of course some doctors (and nurses), behave badly, however, there are disciplinary procedures in place for striking them off the register or placing severe restrictions on their practise if they stuff up. For me, this is the essence of what defines a “Profession,” e.g. hard hitting, formal accountability and processes. Forgive me if I’m incorrect, but I don’t think the public has the same formal protections against incompetent journalists? As for journalists “Not working” if they continually get things wrong, I think they are well aware getting facts wrong is not a “Hanging” issue (or an offence that will earn them reprimands), as long as the facts they “Get wrong” support the preferred spin of the organisation they work for. Have you come across Media Lens? Check out their site http://www.medialens.org/ I was particularly taken with their new article about the appalling behaviour of The Guardian in relation to one of their very popular journalists, who was terminated despite no factual errors in his reporting (which supports the point I’m making): http://www.medialens.org/index.....-blog.html

Corby is a convicted drug courier. The Australian public has zero time for her or the family.

Lindy Chamberlain was a convicted murderer and we all know the outcome of that injustice. The Chamberlain case also demonstrates the ability of the Australian media to spin the most bizarre and outrageous lies, then present them as “Facts.” The fairy tale about Schapelle’s family, dished up by Fairfax (as discussed in the Mumbrella article above), is just one small example amongst a plethora of deliberate smears and outright fabrications. Further, Schapelle is very much on the Australian public’s mind, as shown by Google trends for 2014: http://www.google.com/trends/t.....038;geo=AU She was the number 1 searched for person. On top of that, her book sold over 100,000 copies in the first year alone, then it was translated into six languages and re-published 7 years later in 2012. It’s still on sale in bookshops up and down the country. As for the social media, this post alone was shared over 700 time on Facebook at the time it was published (there are many more similar examples): https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=588762521205213&set=a.119032021511601.28637.117859211628882&type=1&relevant_count=1