★★★★★ 0/5

Nine’s “Deadbeat parents” story breaches Code

A story linking 'deadbeat parents' with footage of Aboriginals on Nine News was unjustified, says ACMA.

6
Leave a comment

9newsTCN9 has breached the Code of Practice in a National Nine News story linking the term ‘deadbeat parents’ with footage of Aboriginals.

The story, broadcast on March 19 last year, looked at changes to the baby bonus scheme proposed for parents with gambling and addiction problems.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has found that the segment used words conveying that Aboriginal people have drinking and gambling problems and showed Aboriginal people less sensitively than other parents in the item.

ACMA ruled there was no public interest justification for such emphasis.

Nine claimed the report was limited to a factual overview of the scheme together with an account of a new payment method similar to that operating in Aboriginal communities.

ACMA disagreed.

TCN9 has advised ACMA it has reviewed the breach finding and has incorporated the findings into its regular program of training for news staff.

Source: ACMA

6 Responses

  1. But where is the punishment for doing wrong.
    Found guilty and they get what – a slap on the wrists.
    I still think, if you are found guilty of misleading stuff, then your network is not allowed to shows any ads for 1 hour in primetime.
    There has to be “some deterrent”

  4. If anyone thinks that’s bad, they should have watched Media Watch last night – ACA had a segment about the young Australian of the Year being misrepresented through dodgy interviews, outright lies, very poor research, and misleading video footage.

    What was that classic quote from Gyngell – was it something like “We won’t cut quality to save costs”?

  5. Yes they should definitely watch their sensationalism, as it turns people off – a fact the ratings are showing continually.

    Seeing that Customs was mentioned above here, the recent ad for that show on 9 said something like “the threat is real” showing a seized DVD on which you can make out the word “Islam”. Its unfortunate to think they have to use that sort of tact to try and attact viewers for that show (which, despite all the complaints about it, is in fact rating well, sometimes attracting more viewers than Border Seciruty on 7).

Leave a Reply