January 8, 2009 at 9:42 am · Filed under America, Australia
The lead story on ABC Radio National 8:00 am news was the report of a man shot in the stomach in Melbourne. He was found by a passing motorist and taken by ambulance to a local hospital where his condition was tagged as “life threatening”. It is a personal tragedy and I hope he is able to recover. Commuters face long delays as the highway is closed for a forensic investigation.
Now, Americans - let me ask you this: Has a non-fatal shooting of a single, average citizen ever grabbed the lead story in national news? Nope. Didn’t think so either.
Hearing in Sydney of a gun-shot incident in another city made me reflect on my time in Michigan (1999 to 2004 working for Ford Credit). Detroit had one of the highest murder rates in the nation - surpassed of course by Washington DC. Shootings were so common they didn’t rate a mention in radio news. Let alone the thought of NPR (USA’s National Public Radio) starting their hourly news broadcast with the reporting of a non-fatal gunshot casualty. (”Leading today’s news, in East Los Angeles today there were no gun fatalities or shootings. Police are investigating the sudden calm. ‘It makes me quite unsettled,’ said long-time resident Mary Marker.”)
Family who’ve been to Australia say it reminds them of America in the 1950s - calm, bucolic, nice. Rather like ‘Pleasantville’. Not that Toby McGuire had to come to the aid of any gunshot victims - his biggest crisis was Mom’s makeup.
January 7, 2009 at 2:14 pm · Filed under Media Industry
Which CEO wouldn’t like to manage the media the way the Israelis are managing foreign correspondents?
Despite court orders and demands from global outlets, the Israeli Military are denying journalists access to the Gaza Strip. This is while fighting intensifies, civilian casualties mount and people around the world clamour for updates.
Instead photojournalists use telephoto lenses and must rely on footage spirited out of the conflict zone.
Meanwhile the Israeli military has smooth spokespeople calmly providing views. Last night ABC-TV News interviewed a spokesman with an American accent. My guess is he was available across all the USA primetime news slots. Very smart to use an acceptable American accent to communicate to the critical USA audience.
And why the CEO reference up top? Perhaps because compaies no longer have the option to bar media from their operations. Part of “business as usual” today is the acceptance of media into all facets of business. Whether you’re fighting for market share or rocket launchers the media infiltrate and provide information to all concerned.
Israel has more to gain by opening the borders. Journalists operate in war zones and understand the risks. Many a talented reporter has been killed in action.
The world needs to see both sides of the story in the Gaza Strip. There are journalists knocking on the door of the hellish Gaza Strip. Open the borders, Israel!
