Blokey attitudes shift, kicking and screaming
- Published by David Knox
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“Can you understand though, and this is where it gets to the issue, can you understand that someone – in this case Caroline – would look at that and feel degraded by it?” asked Gary Lyon.
In the fifteen years The Footy Show has been in existence, one of the long-held criticisms of the show has been its attitude towards women.
The show, like the game of AFL itself, is a bastion of male testosterone, and in many ways has come to represent a perception (warranted or not) that the Nine Network itself has a less than glowing record of embracing its feminine side. Despite this, it should be noted the show has a solid audience of female viewers.
So it was with some interest tonight I watched a debate between the show’s three principal hosts Gary Lyon, James Brayshaw and the outspoken and media savvy John ‘Sam’ Newman. The latter is an expert at concocting controversy, and I suspect often pushes a line for effect, contrary to a personality many privately acknowledge as generous and caring. Except that doesn’t fit with the Newman “act.”
In fifteen years of intermittently watching the show it was hard to recall a moment where blokey men were struggling to come to terms with change, and the revelation that the media’s treatment of women has arguably moved from where it was fifteen years ago. Triggered by the ‘Caroline Wilson mannequin’ and the subsequent storm, tonight marked a watershed moment for the show: men forced to re-think conduct, and indeed, grasp a female point of view, however fleetingly. Watching them articulate it was drama in itself.
Here was a seemingly immovable culture that wasn’t going down without a fight. It was like the past arguing with the present.
“No. I can’t understand that,” Newman said to Lyon. “But she says she was and that’s what we did. I think you apologised for me.”
“I apologised for myself I never mentioned you,” said Lyon.
“And that’s why I resigned… offered my resignation, because you’re uncomfortable,” said Newman.
Newman claims he offered to resign to GTV boss Jeffery Browne, which was declined. “He said ‘thanks very much, Sam. I will determine, seeing you’re under contract, when we dispense with your services.”
Lyon sought to have Newman see the incident from Wilson’s point of view. “The issue is if someone else feels uncomfortable about it and we’ve upset them then it is an issue.”
“I’d say we’ve been doing that for 15 years, Gary,” defended Newman.
“Yeah well I guess things change, I s’pose.”
“Well not with me they don’t,” Newman insisted.
During an extensive debate (around 14 minutes) Lyon also apologised for the incident but hit out at a letter sent by women who serve on AFL boards.
“They (the signatories) included Sally Capp, who is a board member of the Collingwood Footy Club, on their letter of complainants.”
Lyon said Capp had no idea about the letter. “She didn’t agree with the letter, said that she didn’t want to be a party to the letter, yet the letter went out with Sally Capp’s name on it. So, we look at that and think `what sort of credibility has this letter got?'”
Newman, who branded the signatories ‘liars and hypocrites,’ then turned on the role of women in the AFL.
“They serve very little purpose at board level. What do they do?
“For very little input they demand a lot of clout. They’ve got to be very careful it’s not just a token thing.”
But North Melbourne boss James Brayshaw disagreed. “We have a lady called Jenny Luffman who virtually runs the footy department under Donald McDonald at North Melbourne and she is one of the most capable people I’ve ever met and she’s a woman.”
With this the audience broke into spontaneous applause.
Yes it seems, kicking (pardon the pun) and screaming, even the The Footy Show audience has moved on from fifteen years ago too.
The question now is whether Newman, or indeed Newman’s “act”, will be the last to budge…
6 Responses
hlod
I never said his method was proper, read again. And if you expect everyone to be young-educated handsome Sydney post graduates on TV, then your playing into the stereotype I was talking about.
You should watch the footy show a bit more rather than two minutes during an lost ad break, they do stunts like this every single show, because its usually aimed at men with the same depravity its deemed okay.
And be it fiction or non fiction, the role of men on TV is largely metrosexual/submissive and usually the “dumb male” character, especially concerning Australian TV Just take a look at the character roles in most of our commercials. I don’t expect you to see anything wrong with it because its targeted at and for ladies. Network research knows that the remote in the home is mostly controlled by the female members of the household and are more prone to buying things, hence why the large portion of it is aimed at that demographic. Doesn’t matter if its fiction or not, its all influential.
Fangera101, I can completely understand Caroline’s reporting has been inaccurate, wrong and often controversial – that’s fine, have a go at her because of that all you like, more than happy for that. I’m not defending Caroline’s job performance in any way.
How though is dressing a mannequin in panties and then flicking the underwear and making unrelated sexual innuendo, have anything to do with her job performance? Really?
The Chaser Boy’s manage to critique Anna Coren all the time without resorting to un-related sexualisation of her. If Sam is the satrical genius he seems to think he is, then really this comedy shouldn’t be too far out of his reach.
I also wonder which chick’s shows you mean when you refer to men being money making Pitts? Just curious as I don’t recall any of these shows being news/entertainment coverage of sport. I believe fictionalized TV shows to be a completely different world to non-fiction news coverage and discussion, with real people involved.
wrong hlod.
The point is that Caroline Wilson can dish out so much about players and coaches without it being 100% accurate and as soon as she gets something back its deemed sexist. The point was poorly executed and not at all clever, but Sam didn’t wake up and just decided to poke fun at Wilson, it was a reaction to an article that the majority of people deemed inaccurate and full of lies. If people call her work inaccurate they are labeled sexist.
You should read some of the articles she has published in the past about players personal lives that were not entirely true, some of it was, like Sam, designed to create controversy and like you said, the apologies are tucked away on a show no one watches.
People make mistakes regardless of gender.
If I watch a show that’s aimed at the female audience, men are made out to be un-intelligent freaks that should do nothing but shut their mouths and make money as well as all attempt to look like Pitt. Doesn’t matter if a guy finds it offensive.
If a male says he is offended by something he sees on a “chicks” show he automatically gets labeled a women hater. If a female stands up against offensive male behavior, its deemed liberating and progressive. I believe in the womens movement, but it should strive for equality, not just reverse the trends of the past.
As a non watching female, who happened upon the original Caroline Wilson incident in an ad-break from Lost, what still makes me irate is not Sam – I agree with everyone else, it was a ploy, nothing more. It’s Garry’s indignation at the negative attention. I can’t stand that he feels he’s late night, Footy Classified apology to Caroline was deemed enough. The majority of The Footy Show audience don’t watch Classified and to bury an apology like that is cowardly.
What also infuriates me as a woman, is the notion that in the Footy Show’s eyes, it was comedy stepping over the line, not grossly offensive to women. And sure Caroline may be saying she’s fine now because people like Garry, James and Sam are suggesting that if you can’t be mocked then get out of the game. She has a career and wants to continue on that role, if she were to raise hell about this then the football fraternity would shut her out, thereby ending her career.
My other massive problem is that if the mannequin had been black or a racial incident, then people would have been fired for sure. And rightly so. However, the fact that women feel the need speak about their being offended means that we’re not tough enough, or we’re in man’s game.
And finally, the original incident occured in a week where Wayne Carey was confessing to have anger issues, particularly with women, the AFL had also recently admitted it’s desire to attract more women. How can these men think this is appropriate?
The producers of the show over the years have swayed Newman down the path of controversy so much so he believes his stand (no matter what) is the right one. IT’S ALL ABOUT RATINGS AT ANY COST! Eddie set this culture from day one and it continues to thrive today.
The run down of the show from start to finish is planned, Gary and James constantly trying to distance themselves from parts of the banter is wearing thin.
However, the Footy Show will continue to prosper and rate. Fine tuning occured last year by introducing new hosts, which has been a success. Thought now needs to be given to finding a replacement for Sam, say at end of 2009, have an extended good bye and groom someone new along the way.
They won’t fire Sam. He causes controversy which keeps people watching. Even if you hate the guy (which a lot of people do), Sam keeps the show in the public eye where The NRL show has to resort to “lite entertainment”.
I think they’ll come to a point where Same will cross a line and will be forced by management to either apologise or behave more and he’ll quit himself.