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The media cannot be trusted to tell the truth

Collection of newspaper headlines.

4 August 2009

Newspapers, radio, television and now the internet are the means by which countless millions engage with information about the world in which we live.

For much of the time, the principal purpose of the media is to entertain.

However, there are critical moments in our lives when the truth really matters … when disaster strikes, when powers contend, when the decisions that shape our lives are in the balance.

Can the media be trusted at these moments? Are commercial imperatives overwhelming considerations of public interest that once defined the role of democracy’s fourth estate?

Discuss this topic

Speakers

For:

  • Jonathan Holmes is the presenter of ABC's Media Watch and a former executive producer of ABC's Four Corners.
  • Professor Catharine Lumby is the Director of the Journalism and Media Research Centre at the University of NSW. She is a former journalist and columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Bulletin magazine. She is the author of seven books, including Gotcha an examination of the tabloid press.
  • Stephen Mayne is founder and business commentator at crikey.com.au. He is also a former senior advisor to Victorian Premier, Jeff Kennett.

Against:

  • Julian Burnside QC is a human rights barrister, author and president of Liberty Victoria.
  • John B Fairfax AM is a member of the board of directors for Fairfax Media, former Chairman of Rural Press and former Chairman of the Media Council of Australia.
  • Mark Scott is Managing Director of the ABC. He was former Editor-in-Chief of Metropolitan, Regional and Community newspapers at Fairfax Media.

Chair:

Dr Simon Longstaff is Executive Director of St James Ethics Centre. Simon spent five years studying and working as a member of Magdalene College, Cambridge. Having won scholarships to study at Cambridge, he read for the degrees of Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy. He was inaugural President of The Australian Association for Professional & Applied Ethics and is a Director of a number of companies. He is a Fellow of the World Economic Forum and a member of the International Advisory Committee of the Foreign Policy Association, based in New York. Simon has been Executive Director of St James Ethics Centre since shortly after it was founded.