Media and the Queensland floods

By JOHN PASQUARELLI

 

Sitting in my comfortable lounge chair in Central Victoria,  I can no longer watch or listen to the flood news - I feel like a voyeur who gains morbid pleasure from the terrible stories repeated over and over again. 

The sight of the TV journos running the same interviews,  the same shocking scenes of destruction is truly sickening. 

I suppose many of these brain-dead talking heads  can see themselves walking away with a Walkley later in the year.

One wonders if there are any level-headed decent radio and TV bosses left who could ensure a proper level of  professionalism – seems not.

Disasters have to be reported but not like this and the reporting of the Queensland floods is a crudely-regurgitated version of the murderous Victorian bushfires. 

To date, no politician has dared to challenge the media maggots and of course there  are journos out there who know how to behave but sadly they are in the  minority. 

I liked the Mayor of Ipswich who said that he would use looters as flood markers and warned that the community would take matters into their own hands – comments sure to set the PC brigade foaming off at the mouth. 

When will a crushed victim asked by a journo – 'how do you feel?' ,  answer with 'like this' and deliver a right hook!