Truth, Lies and Media

Trauma and journalism live side-by-side.Journalists often find themselves having to interview people who have been through a traumatic experience because traumatizing events are often matters of serious public interest.That’s because they raise questions of public safety and, sometimes, questions about causation and about the adequacy of the official response.The people who lived through these experiences are important witnesses because they can give first-hand accounts of what happened.How media crews treat these people can affect the traumatized person’s psychological welfare.But exposure to traumatized people and to the events that caused their trauma can also have a psychological effect on the journalists, camera crew and photographers who cover these stories.So there are two sides to this issue:How media crews treat the traumatized people they cover, and how covering these events affects the media crews.Dr Cait McMahon, OAM, is a psychologist who was the founding managing director of the Dart Center for Trauma and Journalism, Asia-Pacific, from its inception in 2003 until her retirement in 2021.In 2016 she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for her work with journalists and trauma.This special episode is the first of a new series of Deep-Dive conversations, released alongside the weekly Truth, Lies and Media Podcast episodes. Join us each Wednesday for chats with Nicole and Denis, and keep an eye on this RSS feed for future deep dive episodes.

Anti-semitism envoy or propagandist?Jillian Segal puts those favourite whipping boys the ABC, SBS, universities and the arts straight into the firing line by suggesting they be stripped of funding if they fail to address anti semitism - but cannot identify any smoking gun failings to would justify such draconian action.Denis Muller has condemned the sweeping review as an authoritarian overreach which should be pulped immediately.Plus .. the Image Consultants go to town in the remaking of Sussan Ley. Are this weeks media characterisations of her as a plucky gun-toting bushgirl who warded off an attacker in her youth, or the Womens Weekly soft lens treatment, really going to cut through to the Liberals intractable "women problem?"Thank you to our amazing supporters! You can help us here: https://buymeacoffee.com/truthliesandmedia

A Leongatha mother of two Erin Patterson is declared a triple murderer who killed her in laws with a lunch of beef wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms, and newsrooms in Australia and around the world go into overdrive.It's the biggest international story to come out of Australia since Cardinal George Pell was convicted according to Denis Muller, and it's not over yet.Plus ex ABC broadcaster Antoinette Lattouf tells why she fought on through the courts after being illegally sacked, despite anonymous death threats and potential financial ruin. Thank you to our amazing supporters! You can help us here: https://buymeacoffee.com/truthliesandmedia

The Federal Court has found that the ABC breached the Fair Work Act when it sacked casual broadcaster Antoinette Latouf, ordering it to pay her $70,000.Senior ABC managers fell into “a state of panic” after an orchestrated campaign by pro Israel lobbyists to have Latouf taken off air, and pressure form The Australian newspaper. Thank you to our amazing supporters! You can help us here: https://buymeacoffee.com/truthliesandmedia

Ancient enemies Iran and the United States lock horns as Donald Trump unleashes his GBU57 bunker buster bombs and Tomahawk cruise missiles on Iranian nuclear sites which he claims were "obliterated", and then paints himself as a great world peacemaker.If truth is the first casualty of war how can consumers of media drill down into what is true amid blizzards of disinformation?And, he was a respected foreign correspondent, a war correspondent, a political reporter and an ABC star. But after a storied 40 year career in the media Stan Grant tells "Compass" why he walked away from a profession he now describes as "poison".Thank you to our amazing supporters! You can help us here: https://buymeacoffee.com/truthliesandmedia

Israel hits an Iranian television station - the missile attack is broadcast live to air as the presenter runs for cover and the studio fills with choking smoke and debris.Denis Muller unpacks why the media are regarded as high value targets in war zones.Plus a US Sheriff brazenly tells reporters his police will execute protesters and contact family to find out where the remains should be sent, if those protesters throw a brick or brandish a weapon. How does hold-the-powerful-to-account journalism function under this emerging fascist regime?And in Australia it's the end of the road for the ABC's once firebrand panel debate show Q&A.Thank you to our amazing supporters! You can help us here: https://buymeacoffee.com/truthliesandmedia

Updated audio - National Guard soldiers have been ordered into LA to quell violent riots with a Channel 9 journalist hit by a rubber bullet fired by a police officer while she was reporting live to air. Footage appears to show one police officer deliberately moving his aim in her direction.When billionaire gorillas - one in the White House - start hurling excrement at each other it's a train wreck the global media can't look away from. We'll take a look at the unfolding coverage of the Trump-Musk feud that's breaking the internet.  And after 16 years, "doing news differently" is coming to an end for Channel 10's The Project.  Denis Muller was an advisor to The Project team when it started out .. and warns a replacement news-current affairs show on Network 10 will face an uphill battle.  Thank you to our amazing supporters! You can help us here: https://buymeacoffee.com/truthliesandmedia

Journalists aren't supposed to be the propaganda department of political parties... now The Saturday Paper has lifted the lid on the Abbott-Credlin-News Corp alliance that controls the Liberal Party.Their expose reveals the wrecking ball of a bizarre shadow government-in-exile that, with its media mates, still shapes messaging and wages war on dissenters.Plus a top CBS News boss quits as Donald Trump ratchets up his legal war on journalists who hold him accountable. Thank you to our amazing supporters! You can help us here: https://buymeacoffee.com/truthliesandmedia