Jump to content

Media Watch (TV program)

From Alfawiki
Media Watch
Company typeTelevision series
IndustryMedia criticism, Television
Founded1989
Headquarters
Australia
Area served
Australia
Key people
Linton Besser (presenter as of 2025)
ProductsTelevision program
Websitewww.abc.net.au/mediawatch/

Media Watch, previously known as Media Watch: The Last Word, is a television series from Australia aired on ABC Television. The program offers analysis and critique of the Australian media landscape, including its ties to corporate and political interests. Since its debut in 1989, the show has been hosted by various journalists; as of March 2025, Linton Besser serves as the presenter.

History

The series originally launched in 1989 under the name Media Watch: The Last Word, with Stuart Littlemore as its first host. By 1992, the subtitle was removed, and the program became known simply as Media Watch.

Format

Running for 15 minutes, Media Watch focuses on exposing shortcomings within Australian media reporting. Typically, a sole presenter addresses the audience directly to highlight issues such as editorial mistakes, biases, and ethical violations in journalism. Over the years, the show’s emphasis has increasingly shifted toward more rigorous critique. While most episodes examine recent media missteps, some editions delve into broader topics like election reportage.

Presenters

Stuart Littlemore was the original host of Media Watch. After his nine-year period at the helm, a succession of journalists have taken on hosting duties. Paul Barry, who first hosted in 2000 and briefly returned in 2010, resumed his role in 2013 and became the program’s longest-serving presenter before leaving on 2 December 2024. Currently, the show is hosted by Linton Besser.

"Cash for comment"

In 1999, Media Watch uncovered illicit secret payments within the talkback radio sector involving prominent hosts Alan Jones and John Laws. These broadcasters received undisclosed financial incentives to deliver favourable commentary on-air about corporations such as Qantas, Optus, Foxtel, and Mirvac. The program also criticised the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) for its inadequate oversight of broadcast media and insufficient scrutiny of individuals like Jones and Laws. This investigative work earned Media Watch contributors Richard Ackland, Deborah Richards, and Anne Connolly two prestigious Walkley Awards: the Gold Walkley and the Walkley for TV Current Affairs Reporting (Less Than 10 Minutes).

In 2004, following revelations that ABA chairman David Flint had sent supportive letters to Jones amid an ABA inquiry into additional cash for comment claims, Media Watch’s reporting contributed to Flint’s resignation. This coverage garnered another Walkley Award for staff members David Marr, Peter McEvoy, and Sally Virgoe.

60 Minutes 1995 Srebrenica massacre report

In 2002, Channel Nine's 60 Minutes correspondent Richard Carleton initiated legal action against Media Watch over accusations of plagiarism concerning a 1995 report on the Srebrenica massacre. The court dismissed these claims as unfounded and denied any compensation.

ACON & The ABC

In 2022, Media Watch alleged that the ABC exhibited bias by sidelining "anti-trans voices," focusing on the broadcaster’s partnership with the LGBT health group ACON and its involvement in ACON's "Workplace Equality Index," where ABC had twice received the "Gold Employer" award. ABC journalists, including Patricia Karvelas, responded by highlighting the broadcaster’s participation in other diversity benchmarking programs such as those run by Diversity Council Australia, Reconciliation Australia, and the Australian Network on Disability, questioning why only LGBTQI+ related collaborations faced scrutiny. ABC technology reporter Ariel Bogle pointed out that anti-trans rhetoric frequently mirrors far-right talking points.

The ABC clarified that its editorial independence remains unaffected by involvement in benchmarking initiatives, stressing that coverage of transgender and gender identity matters demands careful editorial consideration to provide responsible reporting without harming vulnerable groups.

Cancellation and revival

Due to its often contentious nature, Media Watch faced cancellation. In 2000, host Paul Barry was controversially removed, and in 2001 the program was discontinued under ABC chief Jonathan Shier. Following Shier’s own contentious exit in early 2002, the show resumed with David Marr as host. During the program’s break, former presenter Stuart Littlemore hosted Littlemore, a 13-episode media critique series broadcast from March to May 2001.

Media Bites

Between 2017 and Paul Barry’s departure in 2024, Media Bites operated as an online extension of Media Watch. Episodes premiered weekly on Thursdays across the show’s website, social media platforms, ABC iView, and YouTube. Each installment lasted about two minutes and featured an informal delivery style, with Barry addressing viewers directly from the production office rather than a formal studio setting, often dressed casually and filmed with natural lighting.

The segment typically included two concise stories summarizing media issues alongside a weekly "Alternative Fact," frequently exposing misleading statements from public figures such as then-US President Donald Trump. Episodes concluded with a preview for the upcoming main program. The content retained Media Watch's characteristic sarcasm and critical perspective.

Editing mirrored the main series’ approach with relevant imagery and text effects; however, subtitles were permanently embedded rather than offered as optional closed captions.

Reception

The program’s hosts have embraced its sharp criticism; at one point, the opening sequence displayed a montage of such critiques, including a description of original host Stuart Littlemore as a 'pompous git'. In 2002, Campbell Reid—then editor of The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)—sent David Marr a dead fish; this gesture inspired an annual award named the Campbell Reid Perpetual Trophy for Brazen Recycling of Others’ Work, colloquially known as "The Barra," bearing the motto Carpe Verbatim, which highlights poor journalism and plagiarism.

Media Watch holds all media organizations accountable, including its own network, the ABC. While David Marr hosted from 2002 to 2004, the show frequently scrutinized his employer John Fairfax Holdings.

Robert Manne wrote in The Age in 2007:

Media Watch openly embraced a left-leaning stance... occasionally unbalanced or unfair but generally intelligent and witty; always fearless and rigorous. It effectively tracked mainstream media’s rightward shift and exposed issues such as commentariat Islamophobia and "cash for comment". Its lack of strict impartiality contributed both to its unpopularity and its success.

Criticism from News Corp outlets

Commentators affiliated with Sky News Australia have accused Media Watch of maintaining a persistent left-wing bias. Following the 2019 Australian federal election, Sky News commentator Chris Kenny (writing for The Australian) asserted that the program relied heavily on journalists aligned with Labor or trade unions when critiquing News Corp. He claimed undisclosed connections undermined host Barry’s credibility in analyzing News Corp’s content and business practices.

The Australian, frequently targeted by Media Watch, has long opposed the program. In August 2007 it published an editorial asserting that Media Watch "lacks journalistic integrity and functions like an insiders' club promoting ideological bias at taxpayers’ expense."

In June 2007, an episode titled "Have Your Spray" sharply criticised The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) for repeatedly failing to moderate racist comments on its online forums while briefly allowing anti-Semitic remarks before removal. Subsequently, the ABC initiated an internal investigation following News Corp's allegations that Media Watch had based this story on material from IslamicSydney—a website described as promoting anti-Semitic and jihadi content.

See also

External links

Retrieved from "https://www.alfawiki.org/index.php?title=Media_Watch_(TV_program)&oldid=50321"