Reviews

The Politics of Our Words – Yarra Valley Writers Festival, 17th May 2020, Kerrie O’Brien, Rick Morton, moderated by Peter Wilmoth

The Yarra Valley Writers Festival, as with many events in during the pandemic, went digital this year, including Sunday Sessions through the month of May. On the 17^th May it had a session titled The Politics of Our Words with journalists Kerrie O’Brien and Rick Morton. O’Brien is described as a veteran of journalism these days – he has had years of experience at the helm of some of Australia’s most revered television programmes, such as the 7:30 Report and Four Corners. Rick Morton is a journalist and author, who previously worked at The Australian and whose research and writing on policy for the Saturday Paper I have come to admire.

The state of politics and of journalism is something that I have despaired about over the last few years. I wonder if it is a sign that I am entering my dotage, becoming that stereotypical grumpy old woman who bemoans the present whilst idealising the past. I consume a bit of media, in print form, via podcasts and online. I feel that I am fairly informed, but am frustrated that to try and understand a story, or move behind the public relations release that has been fashioned into a story, I have to consult multiple versions across platforms. I have great sympathy for the art and skill of journalists and journalism – the fourth estate is important to our democracy in Australia and in holding power to account (accountability being the vital factor that underpins both democracy and freedom of speech, if I am understanding Billy Bragg’s recent essay on this subject correctly). However, journalism has become devalued. The rise of citizen journalists has been great in uncovering and exposing those voices and stories previously unheard in mainstream media. But the internet and online environment has changed the nature and money in newspapers and other journalistic mediums, now at the behest of clicks. So with this in mind I was keen to hear from these two journalists.

The session was moderated by Peter Wilmoth, a journalist formerly at The Age newspaper. Wilmoth’s understanding and experience of the media environment added value to the session as he asked thoughtful questions guided by this insider knowledge. The discussion covered the last few decades of journalism – necessary as O’Brien led with identifying the build-up of media minders in the Whitlam era (1970s) as the start of the media training and ‘dark art of spin’ we have come to expect (and resent) from modern politicians. He lamented that interviews were no longer a ‘real conversation’ and that for politicians the last aim of an interview was ‘honest engagement’. Morton noted that this was a difficulty for interviewing – how long can a journalist keep asking a question when the interviewee will not answer the question or does so with lies.

Both men made thoughtful observations during the discussion. O’Brien, as expected, defended the role and importance of his former long-term employer, the ABC (Australia’s public broadcaster), and lamented the polarisation of the media. Morton, having written for both left and right wing identified media, believed his approach and style of journalism did not change across platforms and noted that journalists these days could be attacked for simply doing their job. And both were somewhat flummoxed in discussing Donald Trump and the media. Morton noted the ‘White House briefing was an exercise in humiliation’ where language had ‘itself ceased to have any meaning’. O’Brien was unsure how he would cover Trump –he called Trump’s supporters idiots, but quickly drew back on this idea, noting that he recognised their dissatisfaction with the political process and rather that it was the cynical use of this group of dissatisfied voters by Trump that was the problem.

Both men talked about the importance of face to face relationships in building stories and the need for time to do this. And they lamented the loss of experienced journalists from newsrooms to mentor and support young reporters and to facilitate collaboration.

There was much in this session that would support claims of confirmation bias for me. I was interested and sympathetic to the ideas and views of these men. I feel that I was their and the festival’s intended audience for this session. But they did provide insight into the present state of the media and gave voice to the maladies, even if they were less forthcoming about cures. In this, I think Morton’s continuing role as a working journalist provided greater insight. He noted he focussed on working as a policy journalist rather than political journalist. This provided avenues to engage with politicians but also chase down Freedom of Information requests and develop ongoing relationships with non-politicians to develop and write stories, such as his important work on the NDIS. It was a pleasure (if also somewhat despairing) hearing these two men talk. I thought Wilmoth was generally a great addition as moderator and his insider knowledge provided depth to his questions, although there were times I would have liked to have heard more from Morton – O’Brien was dominant in the conversation. Yet, hearing O’Brien was also wonderful and appropriate in recognising his experience and insight. I think I could have just listened to them both chat for a bit longer and revel in their journalistic minds.