TV taboos at home on Insight

What makes a psychopath? What makes a good funeral? Inside violent families. Drinking when pregnant. Transgender children. Sex addiction. Male cosmetic surgery -they could be the subject of American talk shows, but they are all recent topics on SBS’ Insight programme.

With host Jenny Brockie at the centre of sensitive discussions, there can be no doubt this is no Jerry Springer Show.

Insight has been airing since 2001 and in its current forum format since 2004 and invariably tackles topics the others won’t.

“In this era an hour on a single topic is pretty rare,” Brockie insists. “We’re probably the one show that devotes the most time to any single topic. Four Corners does too, but I’m not sure how many minutes they are. I think we pip them slightly in terms of the number of minutes on air.

“So we need a topic with a lot of layers and argument and people with contrasting perspectives to make it work.

“For me the most successful programs are the ones where you might change your mind three or four times during the course of the hour about a given topic. That’s good, that’s getting people thinking and engaged.

“It’s quite heartening when everybody says ‘The media is all about short grabs and no attention spa’ and I think it’s great we’ve managed to create something that defies that a bit and is still interesting and engaging to watch.”

Executive Producer Angus Llewellyn and Supervising Producers Amy Wheelahan, Ross Scheepers lead a team who all contribute to the show’s weekly topic.

“It is a group with diverse views. The Insight staff are not a monoculture, people are very different from one to another and have very different perspectives on things,” she says.

“The ideas come from everywhere, from the most junior or the most recently-arrived person in the office right through to someone in the editorial team. Anyone can walk through the door with an idea at Insight.”

Yet the topics aren’t always the obvious ones in the headlines, such as a recent discussion on ‘Shame’ to another on inter-racial marriage.

“We like to talk about taboo topics,” says Brockie.

“It was something we found fascinating but wasn’t necessarily in the media. ‘Forced marriages’ were (in the media) but what we were interested in was everything from arranged marriages where people were really happy, right through to others (that weren’t).”

“Every now and then we do a concept show that isn’t connected directly with the news but might have a ‘newsy’ element that has been in the news. But again we pull back and do a broader issue which enables us to bring in a whole lot of other elements that may not be part of the daily news coverage.”

Most shows are planned 4-5 weeks before broadcast, with around 10-20 key speakers. While the show had previously used casting agencies to help source additional forum members, the internet has now aided greatly in this role.

“The question I am most asked is ‘Where do you find those people?’” Brockie explains.

“Of course it’s the fabulous researchers and producers, and it takes time. It’s a lot of talking, a lot of phone calls. But there’s also the event management of getting 50 plus people in a room on the one night.

“We use social media a lot with shout-outs on Facebook and Twitter, asking for people who have experience of whatever we’re looking at.”

Central to it all is Brockie’s experience as a moderator, ensuring everyone gets a fair go and the opportunity to express their views in a supportive environment -whilst still meeting the needs of a television programme.

“I always walk in with a plan and I’m always prepared to throw it away. If the programme takes on its own dynamic or the discussion moves off into a different direction, I’m more than happy to chuck the plan away and go with what’s happening,” she says.

“My role is to get the very best out of people that I can. I see my role as to enable people to tell their stories well and the best way that I can do that is to be really well prepared –to know exactly what that person has to say.

“There’s a lot of content I have to get my head around before I walk in, so I have to have a sense of where the gems are and try to get them.

“That said, it’s really important to be flexible. If you stick too closely to a plan you can miss things.

“When the programme is at its best is kind of when we chuck it away.”

Some shows, such as a 2012 episode on Syria, generated such debate that recording had to be stopped.

“It just got out of hand,” she concedes.

“And we did a programme on Turkey that similarly got very heated and we had to eject someone, which is really unusual.

“It’s usually topics that are about political conflict where there is life and death involved. It’s understandable that Australians would get upset about Syria in a way that is really intense, because they have family that are dying.

“The stakes are very high in a discussion like that and people’s experiences are very raw.”

Another interviewee being broadcast live from Greece walked out on air. Brockie didn’t learn until the next morning, thanks to an SBS colleague, what he had actually said on air.

“He said ‘Jenny, this man was very rude to you last night.’ I won’t say what he said but it was pretty over the top!”

But Brockie says the show’s greatest achievement is its sense of inclusion

“People now know the kind of space it is to bring us a story. They know that whatever the topic is or however taboo or controversial it may be, I think people do feel they will get a decent hearing and a chance to tell their story.

“They also understand they will be expected to listen to other peoples’ stories even if they don’t like them. That’s something I’m really pleased that we have achieved.

“We’ve created a space where people will listen to one another, even if they passionately disagree, and that’s a very valuable thing.’

Insight airs 8:30pm Tuesdays on SBS ONE.