56 GQ.COM.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
T
here’s one word that
stands between people
knowing the truth about
virtually all areas of life –
‘access’. This is the ability
of the media to stay on
the inside of a story by being able to talk
to the powerful. But it often comes with
a heavy cost. One where there’s an entire
industry that enforces the rules of the
game. A game from which the reader,
viewer or listener often gets removed.
Increasingly it is this ‘access’ that governs
so much of what you see in the media and
is a big reason behind what you don’t.
They used to say a reporter is only as
good as their contact book; a reference
to who they knew and their ability to get
the inside word on a story. Now there are
plenty of old-school reporters who still
know the people they report on personally. But the next generation
isn’t as well connected. They have put more time into getting to know
the gatekeeper. ‘PR’, ‘Media Liaison’, ‘Advisor’, ‘Communications
Professional’ – going by many names, they’e skilled and often nice
people. But all become an almost impenetrable barrier between the
media and what they are trying to write or film or talk about.
Politicians love the buffer; it means they are rarely caught off guard
in an interview. There is a group of people to handle not just media
requests for comment on the day’s news, but dozens of people who use
‘access’ to string the media along. A year ago, I was told by one of them if
I was nicer to their minister on TV then he would give me an interview.
We never spoke again and suffice to say my editorials didn’t change.
For a real democracy to work, you need to believe that there are people
who ask hard questions and make powerful people feel uncomfortable,
holding them to account for their inconsistencies and the consequences
of the decisions they make.The heroes of the modern media
aren’t the ones with the biggest Twitter
following, or who pop up on TV all the
time to trump their own ‘exclusives’.
The people I look up to are the reporters
who roam freely with no fixed beat.
They are not full-time sports, political
or business reporters. They bring
fresh eyes to a situation because they
don’t need the gatekeeper and couldn’t
care less what the company, politician,
athlete or subject of their focus thinks
of their story. Little will prevent them
from seeking out the truth. And they
certainly won’t be concerned with its
possible repercussions.
One of the most famous examples
of this came about 10 years ago when
Rugby League was rocked by a salary-
cap scandal at the Bulldogs. This wasn’t
exposed, as it should have been, by a full-time footy reporter. Rather,
by two wonderful old-school reporters Kate McClymont and Anne
Davies. What started as stories about property development ended with
the team being stripped of all their points and receiving a hefty fine.
We need more of these genuine outsiders in the Australian media.
Who aren’t afraid of the buffer, who don’t obsess about their standing
in the press gallery in Canberra, or play the access game with business
leaders or celebrities.
From our end, when trust has never been lower in the media, we – the
media – need to be fearless to help restore some faith in our profession.
So, if you are in the business, my advice would be to break free of the
pack and remember, while the media companies pay your wage, we
only owe one group true loyalty: the people who turn to us to know
what’s really going on.
Paul Murray LIVE, Monday-Thursdays airs at 9pm AEST
on SKY NEWS LIVETHE AGENDA
BY PAUL MURRAY
THE ANCHOR ON PAUL MURRAY LIVE
IS CONCERNED JOURNALISTS ARE NOT
GETTING WHAT THEY NEED TO WRITE
THE STORY YOU, THE READER, DESERVE.
DOES HE HAVE A POINT?‘ACCESS’ ISN’T A KEY
TO TRUTH, OFTEN IT IS
A BUFFER AGAINST IT
PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES.