Mike Smithson: Don’t blame the media for its insatiable appetite to hear from the Crows mega star

Carping at the media after a stage-managed apology reeking of too little too late misses a bigger picture, writes Mike Smithson.

Striking images have a habit of exhilarating or haunting us.

The media has an opportunity to manipulate any situation as it sees fit.

Often the viewing, listening or reading audiences are none the wiser as to whether a single split-second frame of vision is a true representation of the bigger picture.

So, there’s a huge ethical responsibility to portray significant events in a fashion which is fair and accurate.

Over the past three weeks sporting moments have stolen the headlines with images making us rise-up with pride or slump back with an awkward realisation that heroes can turn to zeros in the blink of an eye.

Many in mainstream media, let alone the good and bad trolls on social media, have almost been devouring themselves over coverage of significant sporting events.

I have a problem with prolonging the agony for those who’re in the firing line for under achieving in their own eyes.

Let’s start with the Olympics.

For those who’re devotees of television sport, or even have a passing interest, hours turned into days of compulsive viewing in coverage which is unsurpassed in excellence.

We all wanted to own a piece of Ariarne Titmus and Emma McKeon along with other emerging heroes such as Jess Fox and Keegan Palmer.

Aussie swimming star Ariarne Titmus in Tokyo. Picture: Getty Images

Audiences swam every stroke with our amazing gold medallists, especially in the nailbiting finals metres to touch the wall first.

In such times, where champions and heroes seem to evolve over just a few minutes, ordinary Australians dived in with fair dinkum enthusiasm.

It crossed my mind, during the height of the gold rush, whether those champions would be looked down upon if they emerged from the pool with anything other than gold – with the exception of Kyle Chalmers.

In the boxing ring, our own Skye Nicholson collapsed to the canvas in utter despair.

She was a long way off a gold medal.

Her tears were from a points decision depriving her of a semi-final berth and advancing to the opportunity of an Aussie medal, which would have been the first in her sport since 1988.

We all saw her raw and distressing emotions on screen.

But would many viewers now be able to recall Skye’s name, even if their lives depended upon it?

So, it seems the images of heartbreak or ecstasy attract our attention most and that’s human nature.

Now let’s turn to the other elephant in the room – ex Crows captain Taylor ‘Tex’ Walker.

His is a different case.

Tex shot himself in the foot with atrocious racial vilification directed towards someone who didn’t deserve it.

But the blunder wasn’t a result of Walker’s frustration in the heat of battle.

It was Tex Walker, the loveable larrikin, overstepping the mark as a spectator now knowing he may wear that odium for a long time.

I have a better-than-most perspective of Walker which, is as much off-the-field, than viewing his heroics and courage on-the-field.

A more likeable and decent person would be hard to find.

But his stage-managed apology to indigenous North Adelaide footballer Robbie Young reeks of ‘too little too late’.

Walker should’ve faced the music far earlier than last Monday night.

Don’t blame the media for its insatiable appetite to hear from the Crows mega star.

The problem with the AFL, unlike a once every four-year Olympic games, is the weekly stardom cycle.

Most elite footballers earn more than Olympians can dream about and must be answerable for their actions during good and bad times.

A vast majority of high achieving Olympians barely rate a mention in any medium outside their day of competition, despite being equally committed to the cause.

Elite footballers can run the boundary for television and radio broadcasters on their days off for an hourly fee not enjoyed by many others.

So, when they do mess up the spotlight will be of greater intensity.

Tex wants to step far away from the limelight which is an understandable basic instinct under the circumstances.

Some in the media are already carping at others for not giving him space.

Sadly, for Walker his dark days may persist.

MIKE SMITHSON IS PRESIDENT OF THE SA PRESS CLUB AND ALSO CHANNEL SEVEN’S CHIEF REPORTER AND PRESENTER