Media Working Together

We've seen two occurrences of Australian media stations making one-off alliances today, and they couldn't be more different.

Let's begin with the images that have been flooding news-reels since yesterday when a baby girl was pulled from the rubble of the Haitian earthquake by ... well ... which channel's news team depended on which station you were watching.

As The Australian reported, it was Walkley award winning channel 9 cameraman Richard Moran who supposedly dug through the rubble with his bare hands to free the child. Yet it was channel 7 reporter Mike Amor who conveniently positioned himself to take the scared child into his arms for the money shot.

This was the footage that was played over and over on channel 7;

Not only does he seem to show no regard for the child's physical health (was the water insensitively poured over her head intended to scare the hell out of her or pretty her up for the camera?) but Amor's repetitive "here baby", "here baby" attempts to coax the child to suckle from a seemingly empty bottle was simply bizarre. Once the all-important footage was caught he was happy to hand the child over to a man who could barely recall her name.

Here was channel 9's story;

Unsurprisingly no Mike-Amor-as-Saviour shots here. Both channels hail Deiby Celestino as the hero though. Channel 7 claim him as a member of their security team. Channel 9 describe him as their interpreter.

This looked less like an actual rescue story and more like two rival networks fighting for the best shot, the best quote, the most heartbreaking/heartwarming soundbite. Mike Amor's earnest involvement seemed less than sincere and all the while the scared little girl is passed from hand to hand in a state of shock.

Contrast this with another media collaboration happening today.

Melbournians are tonight saying farewell to one of our iconic music venues, The Tote in Collingwood. Current owner Bruce Milne is unable to pay new liquor-licensing fees and has been forced to close the venue. Crikey today has reported a potential rising from the ashes for the venue but for tonight, there is no tomorrow for The Tote.

In a fitting farewell a long list of bands, most of them regulars at the venue, are playing a final super-gig tonight which is being simulcast live on community radio stations Triple R, PBS and 3CR. Not only is this an unprecedented occurrence for the three stations but the hard work and organisation that would have had to take place to get the operation underway at such short notice proves the immense collaborative abilities of all those involved.

Triple R announcer Richard Watts asking patrons and workers at The Tote what the venue meant to them was powerful stuff. As breakfast host Fee B Squared tweeted;

Looking at these two situations, one a begrudging lending of a hand (involving a child's life no less), and the other a peaceful coming together of like-minded people with equal intent - you can't help but feel the warm-and-fuzzies for community media.

Commercial stations have the equipment to give you, the viewer, a story that is polished to within an inch of its life, digital, wide-screen, dramatically re-enacted, botox injected, special effected.

- But what community stations can give you is simple; the real story - Never Mind the Bollocks.