When the media’s watchdog chases parked cars, you have to wonder who’s holding the leash.
In a week when Reuters’ syndication flattened the assassination of Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif into just another “Israeli–Hamas” casualty, Trump marched troops into Washington, and Benjamin Netanyahu took the UN stage to suggest that Melbourne or Sydney would do what he’s doing (a perfect kindly go fuck yourself moment), Media Watch had no shortage of serious media moments to dissect.
Instead, with Linton Besser away, his stand-in Julia Baird went after a Daily Mail “Who’s Who” of Sydney’s Jewish high society. Neither racist, nor exactly fanning the flames, this cry-me-a-river piece hardly had the urgent call-out you’d expect in a week like this.
And that’s the fascination of watching Media Watch: you don’t just see what’s wrong with the media, you see what the ABC chooses to notice, what it ignores, and how those choices shift depending on who’s at the helm.
Some weeks, it’s a punch at the powerful. Other weeks, it’s a listicle in the crosshairs. And in that swing between the big stuff and the safe stuff, you learn who Media Watch is really talking to and maybe, who they’re trying not to upset.
