Crime and policing in the media

Essay plan

2006-01-31T03:05:00.000-08:00

My essay question is as follows:

“If the media are the central locus of war-mongering then, logically, they have the capability to be the catalyst for peace-mongering.” (Greenslade in Lynch and McGoldrick 2005, p.xi). Discuss this statement in the light of the Australian media’s coverage of the Cronulla ‘race riots’ in December 2005.

“Contemporary war is fought as a media event.” (Hammond in Lynch and McGoldrick 2005, p.xiii). The Cronulla riots in 2005 were no exception as the conflict was dramatically broadcast not only to Australians but also throughout the world.

I intend to analyse the progression throughout December 2005 of the Australian media’s coverage of the Cronulla ‘race riots’ from initial war-mongering to later attempts at Peace Journalism. As the riots were essentially a localised conflict, I have limited the scope of the question to incorporate only Australian media. My focus will lie with the coverage of events in mainly print media, however, examples from talkback radio, television news programs and other media outlets will also be explored.

In terms of structure I intend to divide my response in to three main sections. Firstly I will take a general look at the sheer power of the media to influence public understanding. I will discuss this generally before progressing to look more specifically at the persuasive role of the media in times of war and peace.

As I have stated previously, the reportage of the Cronulla riots is marked by a linear progression from a war approach (5th – 16th Dec 2005) to a peace approach (17th Dec- 31st Dec 2005) Although there are exceptions to these outlined stages, this is how I intend to structure the latter two sections of my essay; the war or security approach, followed by the peace approach. I will discuss the characteristics and effects of each approach, applying them directly to stories from the riot coverage, where layout and images as well as the wording of reports will be taken into consideration.

I will argue that the media are responsible for inciting conflict in general, and specifically in the context of the Cronulla riots. Logically, then, as my question suggests, I will argue that the media also have the capacity to encourage peace.
__________________________________________________________________________________

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1) Allan, S & Zelizer, B 2004, Reporting War: Journalism in Wartime, Routledge, Oxon.

I intend to utilize two chapters in particular from this source. The chapter entitled “When War is Reduced to a Photograph” deals specifically with the extensive employment of visual images in times of conflict to forward various agendas. It will be particularly useful to my analyses of both Peace and War Journalism as I intend to look closely at the role of the image in both of these journalistic approaches.

The second chapter of relevance is “The Battlefield is the Media: War Reporting and the Formation of National Identity in Australia.” This chapter focuses on the continually revisited myth of the Anzac and its associated symbolism which interestingly made a number of subtle appearances in the Cronulla Riot reportage. This discussion of national identity is relevant to both War and Peace approaches to reporting.

2) Connelly, M & Welch, D 2005, War and the Media: Reportage and Propaganda 1900 – 2003, I.B Tauris and Co Ltd, London.

War and the Media: Reportage and Propaganda 1900 – 2003, provides a chronological analysis of conflict coverage from pre World War I agitations to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The final chapters of the book are of most relevance to my essay as they draw conclusions about the changing context of war reporting and propaganda in the twenty first century. Chapters about the media war in the digital age and the psychological operations of the media are also relevant.

3) Lynch, J & McGoldrick, A 2005, Peace Journalism, Hawthorn Press, Gloucestershire.

Peace Journalism clearly explains how most reportage of conflict inadvertently fuels further violence and unrest and suggests practical options for journalists who seek to report conflict in a more constructive way. The book has formed the backbone of my analysis as it clearly defines both Peace and War Journalism by providing real life examples of each. It contrasts the two approaches, providing explanations which lend themselves very well to the war and the peace reporting seen in the Cronulla riots.

4) Lynch, J & McGoldrick, A War and Peace Journalism in the Holy Land, Social Alternatives, 2005 First Quarter, Vol. 24 Issue 1, p11-15.

The themes of this journal article are similar to those running through Lynch and McGoldrick’s book Peace Journalsim which argues that Peace Journalism is a long overdue approach. This article, however, looks more specifically at the question of how much background should the journalist include in conflict reporting. The question is answered using the example of the Arab/Israeli conflict. Yet, once again, all arguments can be easily translated to fit in with issues raised in the reporting of the Cronulla riots.

5) Seib, P 2004, Beyond the Front Lines: How the News Media Cover a World Shaped by War, Palgrave Macmillan, New York.

Beyond the Front Lines looks closely at the world media’s coverage of conflict in the “crises-laden post 9/11 era.” (Nacos in Seib 2004) Although focusing on the reportage of conflict involving America, Seib constructs valuable arguments surrounding the more general issues of objectivity, political affiliation and patriotism in the reporting of conflict. He also criticises a number of journalistic approaches suggesting detailed alternatives for better reporting. The examples given, from primarily September 11th and the war on terror can be easily applied to the smaller scale coverage of the Cronulla Riots and therefore remain valuable to my analysis.

Drawing conclusions

2006-01-23T20:56:00.000-08:00

Crime and policing has been an interesting and ever changing category in the media over the past few months. At no point did I struggle to find something to write about as it has become clear that we have a fascination with crime, an obsession reflected in news media coverage.

Whether it be annectodes about a seven year old boy stealing his dad's car in the U.S, exclusives on gross police misconduct or reportage on war, all have their place in the media. Scarily, it is their place in the media which determins the way these events are construed by society at large and therefore we are again reminded of the social responsibility vested in journalists.

Obviously the Cronulla riots over December 2005, took up most of my blogspace as they escalated not only into war on the beaches, but also a media event. What is undeliable is the sheer extent of the coverage,which spread across every medium in the Australian media and also reached overseas news outlets who largely generalised that Australians weren't as accepting as the world had previously thought.

So the coverage was extensive, but was it of respectable quality? To answer the question bfiefly, yes and no. I will elaborate further on this when I post my essay question and outline online, however what stood out for me was the media's progression from an unfavourable war approach to a peace approach which suggested non violent alternatives to the problem rather than using the media as a tool for inciting more violence.

As a student studying the quality of the coverage, it was beneficial to see a range in quality from warmongering by outspoken shock jocks, to the papers bleated call for peace around Christmas. Even the Hoff made an appearance which is always pleasing. The opinions section also provided some refreshing insights on an issue about which everyone had something to say. Although I intend to be critical of a large section of the reportage in my essay I am greatful I have so much to work with in terms of varing type and quality of news.

The Christmas wrap up: All quiet on the southern front?

2005-12-28T18:07:00.000-08:00

While we were all getting presents, getting fat, getting drunk over the silly season, here's what was happening in terms of crime and policing reportage. Actually, I may as well just call it race riot reportage seeing as that was the only issue reported under my crime and policing category.

Despite international Headlines such as Race riots mar Australian Christmas the reporting of the race riots over the christmas period focused on renewed calm in affected areas, urging people to return to the beaches. Examples include: Serenity Prevails at Cronulla from the SMH, and the Australian's article Beach riots? No worries, it's Christmas. These articels, not only encouraged people to return to the beaches, but also encouraged peace... for a change. They also had a Christmassy feel, commenting how the riots had been the subject of a number of Christmas church services. Thrilling.

The end of December also saw the first charges for inciting violence through text messages, an event covered by all sydney papaers, and even picked up by the Taipei Times.

China remained on the ball with the China Post, the only international publication I could find, who reported the impacts the riots would have on Australian tourism. This was also mentioned by Some Sydney papers.

The most memorable riot related article over the christmas break, however came from the SMH.The article published in the SMH on Boxing day and also covered by the mainstream news stations, reported that a survey has produced a map of Sydney's most racist suburbs, with Mosman and Woollhara topping the list. I'm sure all would agree that this article was one of the SMH's most preposterous attempts, only falling short of its earlier warmongering articles and images. This story just wanted people to ask "maybe we should go fight the rich people, aparently they're even more racist than the toothless tatt covered shire folk." Interestingly enough, however, the splendid article concluded that despite some of our richest suburbs being labelled racist, Australia was found to be not nearly as racist as England or America... at least we have something to be proud of...

Thats the long and the short of the Christmas coverage of crime and policing. The main point of the coverage, the 'return to the beaches' propaganda confirms the media's shift from a security approach to a peace approach as suggested by Johan Gatlung, an idea which I intend to explore in my final essay.

Fresh criticism of riot reporting

2005-12-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon this interesting site, called the Freemarket News Network (FMNN)
FMNN is a free-market alternative to mainstream media organisations. FMNN's catch phrase is "We're driven by truth. So are you."

I have written previously about how refreshing opinionated writing can sound after reading countless painstakingly politically corect, even cowardly, objective articles. This particular article on the FMNN site entitled LEBANESE MUSLIM THUGS SPARK RIOTS AND THE MEDIA BLAME “RACIST” AUSTRALIANSis indeed an interesting and refreshing analysis of alleged journalistic wrongdoing in the coverage of the riots by Gerry Jackson, an Australian 'freemarket economist' and online journalist.

Here are the best bits!

Let us take a quick look at what this despicable bunch of ideologically motivated hacks deliberately ignored. Three lifesavers objected to Lebanese Muslims bullying a group of women because of their bathing costumes These Muslim thugs attacked the greatly outnumbered lifesavers and badly beat them, rendering one of them unconscious.

It was this vicious incident of Lebanese Muslim thuggery that sparked the riots that these mendacious journalists are blaming real Australians for. For more than ten years these misogynistic thugs have been getting bolder in their demands and their violence in the face of the ALP Government’s contemptible cowardice and its refusal to order the police to enforce the rule of law against these self-appointed religious police.

If the riots were racially inspired, as our journalists claim, how come only Lebanese Muslim thugs were targeted? Why were there no Indians, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Ceylonese, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jews, etc., involved? Also ignored by our media guardians is the interesting fact that the Lebanese have been immigrating to Australia for more than 100 years without any kind of reaction from native Australians. Additionally, how do they explain Lebanese Catholic churches being targeted by Muslims?

So what happened? Nearly all of the former immigrants were Maronites while the Lebanese scum that started the riots are Muslims who came here in the 1970s. So what is that telling us? New South Wales Police Commissioner Ken Moroney inadvertently let the cat out of the bag when he admitted on Channel 7 that he

…sensed within some elements of this (Middle Eastern) community a hate. It’s a hate that I don’t understand, I don't understand it as a man.

“Middle Eastern” is the multiculturalist’s code phrase for Muslim. So what we have here is Muslim hatred of Australia. Nevertheless, despite massive evidence to the contrary our leftwing media still insists on lying to the public. It’s true that some racists attached themselves to the mob. But to use their opportunism to smear fellow Australians as “neo-Nazis” is, unfortunately, par for the course for our agitprop journos.

The truth, something these leftwing hacks cannot tolerate, is that the Labor Government encouraged the situation to fester until uncontrolled vigilantism broke out. Intolerable as mob rule is, let us not lose sight of who is really responsible for it. As Tim Priest, a former Sydney police detective, put it:

It’s been a long time coming ... and it can’t stop now…. Of course, the usual claque of agenda-driven ethnic community leaders were quick to condemn the Cronulla incidents as un-Australian and racist. Never mind the multitude of racist attacks on young Australian men and women during the past decade, which have now manifested into full-blown racial retaliation. (Blame race riots on police force neglect, The Australian, 13 December).

Nearly two years ago Mr Priest also argued in The Australian

…that the increasing frequency of racially motivated attacks on young Australian men and women –– including murders, gang rapes and serious assaults by young men of Lebanese Muslim descent –– would rise dramatically throughout Australia. These problems remain widespread and have been documented in the ensuing two years. Yet the NSW Labor Government and police have failed to address the issues in any way…

So while Lebanese Muslim thuggery intensified and the incidence of their violent crimes rose, the ALP Government settled for abject surrender. The Party of the little people, of the working class, of the fair go and the toilers sacrificed the welfare of these people to the God of multiculturalism and political expediency. No wonder Howard keeps winning elections*.

So how is Premier Morris Iemma dealing with the situation? He is telling law abiding Australians to stay away from their own beaches. But what can we expect from a pusillanimous creep who smeared his fellow Australians by falsely stating that the riots were “the ugly face of racism ... and also the attitudes and the physical assaults that took place the weekend before”.

Why did he refuse to use the ‘M’ word? Because this snivelling coward’s Lakemba electorate is dominated by –– you guessed it –– Lebanese Muslim thugs. It is therefore no accident that though the Lakemba mosque is notorious for its hate speech and the presence of the pro-terrorist Islamic Youth Movement the state has never interfered with its anti-Australian activities, even though its actions amount to sedition.

It is time to recognise the extremist religious canker in our midst and cut it out –– even if it means revoking these thugs’ citizenship and deporting them to Lebanon where, I have no doubt, they would be welcomed with open arms by Islamo-fascist terrorist groups.

Note: Miranda Devine, Janet Albrechtsen, Andrew Bolt and Paul Sheehan are among the few in the media who have had the courage to write the truth about the hatred, thuggery and racism coming from Lebanese Muslims.

*It also looks like the French public is swinging to the right in a reaction to Muslim riots. This ought to be a warning to the ALP.

Race Riots for Dummies: Your online map of racist conflict!

2005-12-18T20:24:00.000-08:00

The Times has published an amusing map illustrating 'flashpoints' where violence has taken place around Sydney in the past weeks. It looks like something you'd see in a history book on the Arab Israeli conflict or something similar... To add even more humour, the map also highlights prominent Sydney landmarks such as the Opera House so disgruntled Pomms can make some sense of the happenings. Pure genuis.

Iemma's promotional police praise overshadowed by latest criticisms.

2005-12-17T04:14:00.000-08:00

Continuing on with previus tracks of police inadequacy and refreshing news, I found the article article in this morning's SMH entitled "A great divide takes some great understandig" particularly interesting. The article features heavily, the opinions of ex-police officer turned social worker and academic Michael Kennedy. Kennedy shares a range of insights from his personal experiences liasing with Lebanese drug lords to the history of the Lebanese civil war. It was also good to hear deeper social issues dealt with, especially those surrounding the long-standing issue of police's general avoidance of crime associated with Middle Eastern gangs. Interesting arguments were also raised pertaining to the downfall of the police after the Wood Royal Commission and Peter Ryans stint as Police Comissioner. Most significantly, however, the quotes that follow act as a beautiful counterweight to Morris Iemma's kissing of police ass earlier in the week.

Here are a few of the best bits!

Moroney speaks in cliches. It suited the ALP to emasculate the police. They now run the police like a business, like a Coca-Cola bottling plant, statistics and productivity bonuses. It's all data-driven.

(Kennedy on Moroney's leadership)

The NSW Police has just developed into a pansy operation since politicians took away the kick-arse provisions in the law. You give the crims an inch and they take a mile.

(Kennedy's criticism continued)

It's as if they've left the police band out to do the job. They are small, young, one-stripe. Little experience. No street presence. They can't do it.

(A former police officer on police'sperformance at cronulla and other problem areas last weekend)

The mismanagement of this situation by politicians, lawyers and police has taken us to the point where we could see violent civil disorder on a scale we have not seen before. The minute you talk tough, and these Lebanese guys lose face, they only know one thing to do. Retaliate. You saw it immediately after the Cronulla riot.

(Kennedy on neglect for the issue)

As police began to gather and act on intelligence on these emerging Middle Eastern gangs, the NSW Police was restructured under Peter Ryan and crime intelligence was dismantled overnight and the NSW Police turned against every convention known to Western policing.

(Tim Priest, a police whistle blower criticises the restructuring of the police force, an issue also adressed by Kennedy in his honours thesis on policing in the Lebanese community.

In hundreds upon hundreds of incidents police have backed down to Middle Eastern thugs and taken no action and allowed incidents to go unpunished. I stress the unbelievable influence that local politicians and religious leaders played in covering up the real state of play in the south-west

… (Tim Priest showing incredible foresight in a speech in November 2003)

Kennedy, in his honours thesis, wrote:

Law enforcement changed significantly when zero tolerance policing was officially launched in 1998 by way of Operation and Crime Reviews … This declaration of war against the Arabic-speaking community in 1998 [caused] the young men of the community to retaliate, not only with an aggressive protest masculinity, but the withdrawal of support for the moral authority of the police … Zero tolerance policing is seen as being directed towards the entire Arabic community.

Kennedy:

There was a huge struggle by the legal establishment to undermine the police. We had a royal commission that fed the public a lot of nonsense. The Wood royal commission absolutely interfered with policing in this state.

Priest:

In 1996, with the arrival of Peter Ryan [as NSW police commissioner], and the continued public humiliation of the NSW Police through the Wood royal commission, a chain of events began that have affected the police so deeply and so completely that, as far as ensuing public safety, I fear it will take at least a generation to regain lost ground.

The Cronulla former detective (who doesn't want to be named because he has a business in the area and fears it would be attacked): "The young police know that if they ever go in hard, they will get no back-up from the courts, or the police hierarchy. They may be charged with assault and accused of being racist. So we have a static, scared, reactive police force that is driven by statistics, not arrests. That's why you're starting to see vigilante-type thinking.

This article was jam packed with a range of interesting and relevant information in the area of crime and policing... an absolute gem and a stark contrast to the comments of praise for police eminating from the meda and polititians earlier this week.

HONESTY: A refreshing change from objectivity

2005-12-17T02:28:00.000-08:00

As reporting on the race riots sounds increasingly stale, today’s SMH contained some refreshingly honest opinions. The article,"Worlds apart, voices in unity," contained the opinion of Alex Sanchez, a "first generation Australian wog" who wrote into the SMH with his opinions on the recent riots.
Mr Sanchez's opinions are as follows.

"This is a joke. When are we going to see through this postmodern, excuse-driven, double standard bull? When?

"Whether it's Bondi rail, the northern beaches or Cronulla, this crowd want to keep others out. Be honest. You can dress it up as community, dress it up as green or environmental, but the bottom line is you don't want a basically white suburb different. You don't want ethnics or westies coming over. No siree. You have your nest egg and lifestyle to protect.

"As for the westies and Lebs, just get over it. Your victim mentality is just too much. Wake up to yourselves. The cultural strut is no replacement for the cultural cringe. Truly. Just because you come from the west or are a Leb or wog or whatever you are, it is no excuse to behave badly. Respect others and their neighbourhoods. Get off your arse, stop feeling sorry for yourself, get a job and get a life.

"What is truly remarkable about this whole Cronulla thing is how unappealing and miserable everyone is.

"The rich and protected, using whatever excuse and self-serving campaign imaginable to keep themselves rich and protected. Drunken yobbos, louts and white Aussie guys who have nothing better to do or to spend their money on, than beer and UDL cans and who drape themselves in the flag and leave the Gallipoli site a trash can.

"Macho boy-men Lebs, who get their kicks out of harassing families, girls and tooling around in souped-up cars and Adidas trackpants, whingeing that the world doesn't understand them. So called progressive journos and activists moaning on about racist Australia and that miserable John Howard, while never venturing outside their suburbs. Right-wing shock-jocks banging on about multiculturalism as they tuck into a Thai dinner and get their house cleaned by a Filipino.

"Honestly. What this all needs is some honesty. And admission that when push comes to shove, it's easier to make an excuse for yourself than it is to do something about your behaviour. Thanks for nothing, postmodernism."

Thank you, Alex Sanchez.

Now to my point of contemplation: As we have certainly learnt in the past weeks objectivity is certainly a journalistic aim and an ethical principle which underlies the majority of modern news reporting. Dating back to America in the 1920s where the American Society of Newspaper Editors concluded generally that "news reports should be free from opinion or bias of any kind. (Pratte in Schudson, 2001, p.162)

In the argument I am trying to construct here, I am by no means suggesting that we should do away with objectivity. Rather, I intend to raise examples where attempts at objectivity have become glaringly obvious, in my mind, damaging the overall value of the story.

This morning's front cover of the SMH showed Middle Eastern youths training to be lifeguards at the now notorious North Cronulla Beach. A similar depiction was prominent in last Saturday's SMH in the memorable article entitled "A lesson in Beach etiquette, Shire-style.” Another glowing example of news (if you can call it that) being overly balanced and objective was a particularly painful interview on A Current Affair (they havent yet posted the transcript online) last week featuring the white, Australian, female headmistress of a Sydney Muslim school dressed in full Muslim garb. I am by no means denying the relevance of this woman's opinions, however, I spent more brain power thinking about how politically correct and how artificially balanced the interview was, than actually listening to what was being said.

As the days pass I am finding news stories on the riots increasingly dull and boring, despite the quiet giggles I have had at some of the more blatant attempts at pleasing as many sectors of society as possible in the one article or news report.
I think I can safely put a lot of this journalistic pussy footing around a number of issues down to arguments raised in Schudson's Article "The Objectivity Norm in American Journalism." Schudson writes:

Journalists live in the public eye. They are uninsulated from public scrutiny - they have no recondite language, little fancy technology, no mirrors or mysteries to shield them from the public. There are strong reasons for journalists to seek publicly-appealing moral norms to protect them from criticism, embarrassment or even lawsuits.

To come to some sort of conclusion after days of articles which screamed objectivity, the honest ranting and raving from Alex Sanchez was the most refreshing piece of writing I have come across to date on the topic, confirming the valuable place of honesty and the opinion column in the age where journalists seem to have little choice but to bite their tongues…

'Race riots:' a second chance for police to prove themselves after Mcquarie Fields blunders.

2005-12-12T02:48:00.000-08:00

After NSW police recently copped a hiding in the media over countless organizational blunders during the Macquarie Fields violence in February, they appear to be priding themselves on their preparedness for action in Cronulla and other suburbs affected by the recent 'race riots.' Media today has seemed to focus on the authorities organization and readiness for action with the announcement of special task force Seta earlier today.

Morris Iemma, who lead the promotional banter throught the day, was quoted in a number of sources stating:

They had the resources there ... the resources deployed with the riot equipment, the back-up, the dog squad, the mounted police, Polair, maritime police and up to 150 police and they performed outstandingly.

If this isnt a nifty piece of Piblic Relations then I don't know what is!

Listening to Tony Eastley's interview with Morris Iemma on ABC radio this morning, I couldn't help but wonder wether the police's performance was just ok, but was hyped up by Iemma, Scully and Moroney in a Public Relations manouvre aimed at getting rid of doubt still lingering after Macquarie Fields.

Dispite being questioned by Eastley over wider issues, Iemma still managed to finish almost every question with praise for the police, afew of these seemingly planned statements are as follows:

The police did an outstanding job yesterday, and have done an outstanding job into the night and the early hours of this morning.

police were down there in force, with numbers, as well as backup resources.

Despite all this praise, no doubt the official inquiry will highlight some gross error... surely it is only a matter of time. In the words of Elvis, I think what we need to change most minds is a little less conversation, a little more action.

How can police affect the presentation of crime in the news?

2005-12-11T20:12:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to tackle this question right now, however, I have found an interesting PDF on the internet which answers this question rather well. The Article, entitled Image Control: How police affect the presentation of crime news by Steven Chermak of Indiana University contains an extensive bibliography on police and crime in the media but also more general media related topics so it may be useful for all.

The media and the social construction of crime and policing.

2005-12-11T17:33:00.000-08:00

Here's a blog by an American University student that I stumbled upon. It seems to have pretty decent academic writing on the the media and the social construction of crime and policing. There are detailed bibliographies which could prove useful when it come time for us to write our essays. Some authors we have already touched upon, others may be helpful as additional sources.

Policing Knowledge

2005-12-07T21:28:00.000-08:00

Before leaping into a discussion of the recent happenings around Sydney sparked by racial clashes at Cronulla, I would like to discuss the policing of information within the police force in conjunction with some interesting points raised in the excerpt 'Policing Knowledge' from Richard V. Ericson's Negotiating Control.

The section, 'policing knowledge' made me ponder actual policing of information in relation to the recent inquiry into the Macquarie Fields violence as well as the episode of Fine Line which highlighted Jenny Brockie's close relationship with police.

The Daily Telegraph article discussed in my previous post stated that

NSW Police's own report into the riots, as well as a report by the Police Association, revealed a litany of errors which were made by senior officers.

Obviously these revelations arose from public documents, however, the article, in conjunction with the excerpt from 'Negotiating Control' made me wonder what legths the police media department go to to, in the words of Ericson, police information, keeping it "in the back room."

Ericson puts it simply :

All organizations, the police deprtment, the family, the multinational corporation, the newspaper, need to keep some matters secret and ensure that what becomes known about them publically is construedfavourably. Hence, All organizations are compelled to police knowledge about their activities.

Ericson continues to outline that the key to policing information in modern beurocracies such as the police force, is trust:

The key to a preventative system of policing knowledge is trust. The beurocratic organization with a specialized division of labour must trust its employees, who inturn, must trust journalists to maintain secrecy and confidence when it counts.

As soon as I read this I immediately thought back to the video shown in class, Fine Line Episode 1, in particular, Jenny Brockie's police documentary, Cop It Sweet.

Brockie, followed a group of policemen on the beat in Redfern over a number of weeks, documenting their actions and emotions whilst building a close relationship with them. The final documentary highlighted countless instances of police racism which caused police to label her a traitor. Brockie responded to the alledged betrayal stating

I think they wrongly felt that the fact we had spent alot of time with them, meant... implicitly that we were somehow on their side in everything and therefore we were going to do a film they would like and cut out the bad bits.

To conclude on the policing of knowledge, Ericson writes:

Most modern beurocracies, especially those in the public realm, such as the police and government ministries - recognize that a dual strategy is required for policing knowledge: informal relations based on trust and formal relations based on censorship. In termsof the latter, the goal of public relations efforts is to appear to be disclosing more while actually enclosing on what is publicized.

I guess those of us studying crime and policing in this subject will have to be very aware of the fact that the disclosure of some things inevitably equates to the enclosure of other issues. When looking into policing issues in the media I will be continually pondering what information was left behind in the dark of the back room!

10 Months On: Police Commissioner plays down severity of Macquarie Fields Violence

2005-12-05T23:31:00.000-08:00

The Sydney Morning Herald published a follow up article today after the AAP article run yesterday, which claimed that four days of violence in Macquarie Fields in February was not a riot but rather, a ‘disturbance.’

I think by any reasoned interpretation there is a very distinct difference between the two, both in terms of the intensity of the activity and the response which is required

Does it not appear conventient that Ken Moroney is downgrading the severity of the violence from a riot to a ‘disturbance’ amidst today’s admissions from Deputy Police Commissioner, Dennis Clifford, that police failed to appreciate the severity of the incidents? The article run by the Daily Telegraph today, Moroney: no need for riot apology included intereesting speculation that Moroney himself was to blame for inadequacies in organization.

Evidence of insufficient organization and other police inadequacies do seem worthy of the inquiry's time but does the name tag (‘riot’ or ‘disturbance’) that is attached to the incidents really matter? Whether a riot or a 'disturbance,' the incidents in Macquarie Fields were a wake up call to us all about a number of broader social issues. I’d like to imagine that the Parliamentary Inquiry looked into addressing these social issues before arguing over definitions. I found it surprising that the SMH would base two days worth of articles on petty definitions when surprisingly the DT had what I see as a more valid angle in Moroney's alledged shortcomings.

intro to crime and policing in the media

2005-12-04T20:20:00.001-08:00

The purpose of this blog is ultimately to open avenues for discussion surrounding the contentious issue of crime and policing as presented by the world media. Ideally the blog aims to provide commentary on journalism from a range of media sources both local and international, across a range of mediums. As crime has always been, and indeed continues to be a pressing issue which conjures fear alongside the publics' interest, it is a topic that the media continues to feed on. Undoubtedly a topic as broad as this will provide enough material for the contemplation a lot of quality and a lot of sensational journalism. Happy blogging!