Idea: Show Current Affairs on Current Affairs Shows

It really irks me that the two leading current affairs programs in Australia – Nine’s A Current Affair (ACA), and Seven’s Today Tonight (TT) – never seem to actually show any actual current affairs stories.

They generally show what often don’t seem like much more than paid advertorials.

Incidentally, these two programs finished fifth and sixth in the overall ratings for yesterday – so there are plenty of people watching their rubbish “journalism”.

Lets for instance take as an example, ACA’s fourth run of basically the exact same story:

How Many Times Can ACA Talk About Salt Therapy?

Same salt therapy business, same interview subjects. Over and over again – and not really a bit of hard nosed journalism in sight, right?

ACA and TT often show almost identical stories, on the same nights, as ABC's excellent Media Watch has demonstrated.

Though still excellent, even the ABCs “7:30” has gone downhill a little since the departure of Kerry O'Brien.

The Ten Network came along in 2011 with veteran current affairs man George Negus, with a bunch of talented journalists, and we actually got a decent current affairs program on network television for a while.

Until it was cancelled, because not enough people were watching.

Because people couldn’t stop watching the drivel on Seven and Nine. They keep lapping it up.

I remember when Jana Wendt, Ray Martin, Mike Willesee and Mike Munro variously hosted ACA, and it was real journalism.

But that was long ago.

Maybe if people were actually told about the world around them, they wouldn’t be so ignorant to it. It’s not the viewers fault – they’ve just been hoodwinked into believing that ACA and TT have some journalistic merit.

It’s trash television.

I hope “7:30″ doesn’t disappear, because then we’ll have almost nothing left.





Posted by: Michael Wyres.
Published: January 5, 2012 at 18:59.
Categories: Media, Newsworthy, Personal Thoughts.
Tags: , , , .
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  • http://twitter.com/stubrightwell Stuart Brightwell

    You are right – that timeslot (6.30 – 7pm) is a black hole where the viewer is likely to lose IQ points, and gain excess blood pressure.  Time to cut the crap!

    • http://michaelwyres.com/ Michael Wyres

      I can’t remember the last time I actively watched either of them. If it is 10 or 12 years I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest.

      When Media Watch and TV Tonight point these things out, I realise what a good thing that keeping away from them is!

  • http://twitter.com/njptower Norman Partington

    It will never happen

    The only decent “current affairs” show was Frontline

  • http://twitter.com/DrFriendless John Farrell

    Michael, how does an erudite person such as yourself bear to notice the existence of such twaddle? 6:30 is time for SBS News, the news which gives you the shallowest of coverage of what’s happening in the world, as opposed to the travesties on the other stations.

    • http://michaelwyres.com/ Michael Wyres

      It was more the TV Tonight – (David Knox’s excellent media blog, specifically focussed on television) – story that got me a bit ranty here.

      As I suggested above, it has been many a year since I have actively watched either.

  • Michael Ferencz

    I’ve recently taken to watching those one of those shows since I found a current affairs/today tonight bingo board on the ausgamers website. I doubt I can keep it up much longer. The sheer amount of airtime given to bogans or other subhuman types is staggering, not to mention it probably kills more brain cells than alcohol.

    I find it sad that shows such as these have been embraced by the public. I don’t see the attraction given the journalistic standard couldn’t possibly get any lower.

    Cheers,
    Mike (a Delimiter reader, occasional comment poster, and constant cringer at Alain’s anti-NBN posts)