The history of corruption inquiries in this country suggests that when the truth comes out, the media has often played a dual role – revealing problems on the one hand, and all-too-often being used by the corrupt on the other.
In the filthy waters of the state of Victoria, the media will have to move carefully indeed to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.
Take the case of Carl Williams. There is a fair bit we don’t know, and a fair bit the media is prevented from saying, but you don’t have to be Einstein to join some dots.
On Monday the Herald Sun effectively announced on its front page that Williams had done a deal with the police. The story, by Padraic Murphy, did not make this explicit, but it was the clear implication of the yarn, which stated that Williams’ daughter’s school fees were being paid by the cops.
Now, I am not suggesting that the Hun is responsible for Williams’ death, which came just hours after the paper hit the streets. It seems clear that quite a few people knew or suspected that Williams was talking. Indeed, the Herald Sun itself had published previous stories suggesting as much.
And just a week ago, Padraic Murphy had another story about someone who was a crucial witness in the same prosecution where Williams was expected to appear. The tenor of that story was the amount of taxpayer’s money being spent on protecting the witness.
Read that story and this week’s school fees story together, and the direction becomes clear: an apparent attempt to discredit the prosecution and its witnesses. Provoking violence against Williams may or may not have been part of this agenda.
News Limited’s tabloids announced this morning that they are off to court today to “seek permission to publish information that has so far been banned for legal reasons”, and in the initial story the Hun stated that it could not publish the reason the school fees were being paid “for legal reasons”. In fact all major media organisations are seeking to have suppression orders lifted.
In the meantime it is widely known there is a major criminal matter before the courts, fenced about with the habitual suppression orders, and Williams’ likely testimony was relevant. So there are people who would have benefited from Williams being discredited.
Who can doubt the Herald Sun was probably used by those people, as well as benefiting from them?
It would be nice to think that the Hun’s senior editorial team thought about the rights and wrongs of publishing in this context.
But we all know that, particularly under the paper’s current gung-ho leadership, it is far more likely that they looked no further than the scoops on offer. Publish, and let the cards fall where they may.
Not so much conspiracy, as opportunism. Indeed, in my experience most news organisations are far too opportunistic to be able to engage in long-term conspiracies or even campaigns.
Yesterday the Office of Police Integrity announced that it will oversee the police inquiry into Williams’ murder. Given the circumstances – the bleeding obvious fact that this is just the visible part of many murky dealings – that is hardly surprising. It would be worrying if the OPI were not involved.
Meanwhile the OPI is already in a Federal Court battle with News Limited over the case of Cameron Stewart and his leak, as reported previously in Crikey. That, too, is easily portrayed as a case of opportunism. A giant scoop, a good get – and consequences that are still playing out.
The Australian supports a Royal Commission into corruption in Victoria. Like almost everyone else who has a knowledge of the history of corruption in this country I think they are right on this. Victoria needs more than the OPI can give in the way of a shake-out.
It needs an inquiry that can go beyond cops and robbers, and in to the professions, private institutions and the political connections that are always entwined and implicated when there is institutional corruption in a police force.
One of those institutions is the media – which can expose problems, but in its imitation of an unguided missile is also all too easily used by the corrupt.
In attacking the OPI, and in the Stewart case seeking to suppress information from being published, is News Limited really on the side of the angels?
The answer, I suspect, will one day be revealed to be sometimes yes, sometimes no. And while nobody would ever accuse The Australian of being without an agenda, in the case of the Herald Sun, it seems to be a case of randomness, as reporters and their editors chase the easiest scoop of the day.
Why do we assume that the Herald Sun is merely opportunistic rather than an integral part of the corruption of public life in Victoria. After all it is from the News Ltd (Murdoch) stable which 8 years ago was the fourth party in the Iraq war and indeed the softening up of the public in the US, UK and Australia by News Ltd was the main reason that the criminal invasion of Iraq was allowed to proceed. With 1.2million innocent people dead as a result of that bit of spin, do you still think that any of the News brands view themselves as anything other than players rather than commentators?
Dr Harvey M Tarvydas
They’re dumb bastards (media people) that know very little about anything or they are corrupt bastards who are smart enough to know exactly what they are doing.
There’s corruption everywhere only because it’s aided by the easily frightened decent people who could blow the whistle if they had the guts. The more courageous of these there are the absolutely less danger all are in.
I’ve done some interesting things in professional life and have been set upon by the corrupt in my profession.
With a bit of luck my work in fixing this in my own profession may result in some Medical Board members behind bars or am I ordering a bullet to my uniquely beautiful (no, gorgeous) head
If the end justifies the means, I’d congratulate them. But it doesn’t.
Dr Harvey M Tarvydas
@MICHAEL CROOK
You are a man with the guts to tell the truth about the Iraq war.
They view themselves as innocent and important.
Denial is a survival tool God given to our personal psychology tool box.
It legitimizes good and evil staring into each others face up close and smiling while they tell us which tools shall be used on our heads to enable us to live with ourselves.
Psychologists aren’t quite up to this yet if you should ask one.
“Did the Herald Sun kill Carl Williams?” is the title of the article. And a little way down is the line
“…..Now, I am not suggesting that the Hun is responsible for Williams’ death, which came just hours after the paper hit the streets.”
…well, exactly what is that headline suggesting?