Is this bad journalism?
OK you media types... tell me what's going on here.
I posted a comment here on Gordo's blog in relation to this story about a man "arrested for jaywalking".
It was splashed across the front page of the Sun Herald on the weekend. There is an accompanying video (needs IE).
Now it seems to me that the writer(s) reporting this story has gone in with a definite "angle". The vibe around police and APEC seems to have been that Sydney was turning into a police state. So when this incident occurred, it seemed like evidence to back this up.
The man arrested was painted in a very positive light: accountant, father of three, from the North Shore, spending quality time with his son. I know plenty of people like this, and none of them deserve to be pushed to the ground and arrested.
However, the article only briefly mentions the reason he was able to be held for 22 hours - he has an "outstanding assault charge". Under laws implemented for APEC, this meant he could be refused bail.
None of the accountants, fathers-of-3 or glasses-wearing North Shore residents I know have outstanding assault charges.
Looking again at the video, the footage cuts straight from police chatting to him, to him being pinned to the ground and arrested. Not exactly conclusive. I find it hard to believe that the police weren't incited in some way to take the action they did.
So is this bad jounalism? I suppose we are given the whole story. The information is there even if it is not fairly balanced.
Is it wrong for a journalist to go into a story with a preconceived idea of the "angle" they want to take? What is the difference between an "angle" and bias?
(PS - this certainly wouldn't be the most biased piece of writing I have ever seen - but its topical.)
UPDATE - Read an eyewitness account of the arrest on Crikey.com... This guy saw the situation very differently to the way it was reported in the paper!
I posted a comment here on Gordo's blog in relation to this story about a man "arrested for jaywalking".
It was splashed across the front page of the Sun Herald on the weekend. There is an accompanying video (needs IE).
Now it seems to me that the writer(s) reporting this story has gone in with a definite "angle". The vibe around police and APEC seems to have been that Sydney was turning into a police state. So when this incident occurred, it seemed like evidence to back this up.
The man arrested was painted in a very positive light: accountant, father of three, from the North Shore, spending quality time with his son. I know plenty of people like this, and none of them deserve to be pushed to the ground and arrested.
However, the article only briefly mentions the reason he was able to be held for 22 hours - he has an "outstanding assault charge". Under laws implemented for APEC, this meant he could be refused bail.
None of the accountants, fathers-of-3 or glasses-wearing North Shore residents I know have outstanding assault charges.
Looking again at the video, the footage cuts straight from police chatting to him, to him being pinned to the ground and arrested. Not exactly conclusive. I find it hard to believe that the police weren't incited in some way to take the action they did.
So is this bad jounalism? I suppose we are given the whole story. The information is there even if it is not fairly balanced.
Is it wrong for a journalist to go into a story with a preconceived idea of the "angle" they want to take? What is the difference between an "angle" and bias?
(PS - this certainly wouldn't be the most biased piece of writing I have ever seen - but its topical.)
UPDATE - Read an eyewitness account of the arrest on Crikey.com... This guy saw the situation very differently to the way it was reported in the paper!
Labels: ape 4 APEC., bias, jaywalking, journalism, police powers
posted by Guthers at
8:25 AM
1 Comments:
I agree - very biased journalism. But I just read the article again and maybe the media haven't got it too wrong seeing the article states that his character and profession were taken into account when he was released on $1000 bail even though he had an outstanding assult charge. Seems the police think that because he is from the North Shore this makes him a law abiding citizen?
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