Chris BeazerTerrific Tabloid Tele Tales
March 13th 2007 04:29
For years now there has been a significant gap in the Australian television market.
From 5pm through to 7.30pm there has only been a mixture of serious news and current affairs, moderately amusing game shows or fictional drama or comedy.
And for a while this mix functioned well. Tony Barber and Baby John Burgess both had full time jobs, Scott and Kylie were household names, low key jokes at Jana Wendt’s unfortunate name were in vogue and Simpsons episodes had only been seen once or maybe twice.
Something had to give and the current affairs market was the segment to take the hit.
Trashy celebrity magazines had been dining out on it for years and with the advent of reality television the radar began to slowly drift away from current affairs towards tabloid journalism, a market yet to be fulfilled on television.
On the basis of the strength of sales from OK and Hello weekly alone the gradual drift away from serious journalism was hardly surprising. Gone were the likes of Ray Martin and in with journos turned celebs like Naomi Robson.
The modern day current affairs shows were born and boy did we know it. Out went interviews with Ministers and leading academics, out went intelligent discussion panels on the social issues of the day and out went any resemblance of seriousness.
The public wanted “he said she said” exchanges, welfare rorts complete with semi violent confrontations with investigative reporters and yes we did want to know how great a mother of 3 from Penrith looks after her life changing plastic surgery, all badged under the banner of serious current affairs thank you very much.
The networks knew it and the public knew it. If they wanted serious current affairs then a combination of the ABC and the newly commercial SBS was going to offer all they wanted but for everybody else it was trash, trash and more trash.
Fast food is generally pilloried as bad for you but does that stop people eating it, no way.
Current Affairs today will probably be proven in a few years to cause cancer (exposed of course on the ABC or SBS) but the public still loves it and let’s face it for the suburban masses it fulfils a need for low key non intelligent viewing as the kids bury their heads in that bucket of KFC because it keeps them quiet during the story on bikini waxing.
From 5pm through to 7.30pm there has only been a mixture of serious news and current affairs, moderately amusing game shows or fictional drama or comedy.
And for a while this mix functioned well. Tony Barber and Baby John Burgess both had full time jobs, Scott and Kylie were household names, low key jokes at Jana Wendt’s unfortunate name were in vogue and Simpsons episodes had only been seen once or maybe twice.
Something had to give and the current affairs market was the segment to take the hit.
Trashy celebrity magazines had been dining out on it for years and with the advent of reality television the radar began to slowly drift away from current affairs towards tabloid journalism, a market yet to be fulfilled on television.
On the basis of the strength of sales from OK and Hello weekly alone the gradual drift away from serious journalism was hardly surprising. Gone were the likes of Ray Martin and in with journos turned celebs like Naomi Robson.
The modern day current affairs shows were born and boy did we know it. Out went interviews with Ministers and leading academics, out went intelligent discussion panels on the social issues of the day and out went any resemblance of seriousness.
The public wanted “he said she said” exchanges, welfare rorts complete with semi violent confrontations with investigative reporters and yes we did want to know how great a mother of 3 from Penrith looks after her life changing plastic surgery, all badged under the banner of serious current affairs thank you very much.
The networks knew it and the public knew it. If they wanted serious current affairs then a combination of the ABC and the newly commercial SBS was going to offer all they wanted but for everybody else it was trash, trash and more trash.
Fast food is generally pilloried as bad for you but does that stop people eating it, no way.
Current Affairs today will probably be proven in a few years to cause cancer (exposed of course on the ABC or SBS) but the public still loves it and let’s face it for the suburban masses it fulfils a need for low key non intelligent viewing as the kids bury their heads in that bucket of KFC because it keeps them quiet during the story on bikini waxing.
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