MH17 victims deserve a lot better than childish media

PM chose the wrong word but the right approach to Russia

“THERE is of course a serious side to this story,” said the host of the national broadcaster’s premier current affairs program on Tuesday night. Leigh Sales then went on to tell her 7.30 audience that Tony Abbott had confronted Vladimir Putin about evidence of Russian complicity in the downing of MH17, demanded Russian co-operation with the investigation and suggested an apology would be in order. That these words were squeezed in only at the end of the program and that the ABC found it necessary to remind viewers this was a serious issue speaks volumes about the deterioration in standards of national debate. Malaysia Airlines flight 17 was shot down over Ukraine by Russian-backed rebels in July. The Boeing 777 was carrying 298 innocent passengers and crew, including 38 from Australia, and they were all killed. Yet the ABC needs to remind us of a serious side to the story. This was because 7.30 had devoted its time and resources — and a reporter recruited from a comedy stable — to covering the “showdown of the century” between Mr Abbott and Mr Putin. Attempting to mock the Prime Minister over his pledge to “shirt-front” the Russian President, this inane satire miscued its attempted jokes about men with a “phobia of fabric and a penchant for pectoral promenading”. Lacking insight, cleverness or a funny line, the piece succeeded only in offending anyone who cared about the 298 lives lost, and tearing yet another strip from the ABC’s cloth of credibility. Yet this wasn’t just a single example of poor judgment; rather, it showed how the tone of public discussion, particularly in politics, is on the slide.

Politicians share some blame but, it must be said, the media shoulders the bulk of the responsibility and, almost incomprehensibly, it is the publicly funded national broadcaster that is the worst offender. Another concentration of culprits gathers, strangely enough, in the rarefied atmosphere of Canberra’s press gallery, supposedly the cream of the media crop. Former Labor finance minister Lindsay Tanner wrote about this process in his book Sideshow: Dumbing Down Democracy. He argued the 24/7 media cycle reduced political debate to the pursuit of superficiality; and based on recent evidence, he must have a point. While Mr Tanner, perhaps too easily, excused politicians for wilfully playing along, there is no excuse for the media, which sets its own agenda. It has more avenues than ever to discuss and analyse issues yet, instead, we get the Abbott-Putin diplomacy dressed up as pantomime.

Mr Abbott’s “shirt-front” comment was not his finest moment, with the deliberate phrasing and mangled qualifier — “you bet you are” — smacking of a rehearsed line. The Prime Minister deserved some criticism for this misjudgment. Yet the clearly intended sentiment — that he would have strong words with Mr Putin over the MH17 atrocity — was no less than most voters would expect, nay, demand. That the so-called quality media, led by the ABC, would persistently suggest a literal intention to physically confront the Russian leader, then fuel the story by putting that spin to Moscow for reaction, speaks of a strangely juvenile approach. Yet we saw this play out right up to this week when Mr Abbott did, as expected, put his serious concerns directly to the President.

Some journalists are obsessed with fulfilling their own prediction that Mr Abbott would embarrass the nation abroad, many journalists have little grip on foreign affairs, and we know they often follow each other like so many lemmings, but it cannot be beyond the wit of adults in responsible jobs to see that the victims of MH17 deserve some consideration and justice. The childish pursuit of gaffes, gotcha journalism and partisanship is, in the end, an insult to the audience. It suggests journalists and their editors have no sense of what might concern mainstream Australians. Instead of engaging with the public or applying a common sense test, the ABC and Fairfax Media allow themselves to be led around by social media trends. This is where an inexperienced, ill-informed and unaccountable cohort of young journalists, political staff and university students spend their days confirming each other’s biases. Studies confirm the left-leaning bent of social media (the latest reported yesterday in this paper from Pew Research). Twitter is so introspective that subjects of interest only to journalists, such as the announcement of Walkley Awards finalists, generate strong trends. So a small, young and left-leaning group of people misread political issues, and the ABC and Fairfax Media follow their digital lead, even to the point of making a mockery of a human tragedy.

From the earliest hours of the MH17 tragedy it was clear Russian-backed rebels were at fault. Mr Abbott and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop led efforts to gain access to the site and secure an investigation. That pressure needs to be applied to win Mr Putin’s support speaks to his recalcitrance. Intelligence and public reports suggest Russian complicity. Call it a shirt-front, buttonhole or pull-aside, Mr Abbott’s determination to talk directly to Mr Putin was not only right but necessary for a political leader of substance.