Clip description
John Laws had already been ‘outed’ in a previous program for changing his views about Australian banks in return for money. Laws uses the airwaves at Radio 2UE to put his side of the story and rail against his critics at the ABC. He says that he was only persuaded to change his mind and speak more positively after Tony Aveling of the Australian Bankers’ Association explained to him the true situation. This assertion is contradicted by ABA documents revealed on Media Watch. For its investigation of the cash for comment issue, the Media Watch team received the 1999 Gold Walkley Award for excellence in journalism.
Curator’s notes
This is a nice example of Media Watch at its best. Despite the extremely basic techniques, the expertly researched material and clearly told story make it gripping television. The narrator is relatively calm, but communicates a real sense of outrage at what is happening.
The structure of the whole story is masterly. John Laws has spent the previous week answering his critics by explaining that the sharp change in the tenor of his editorial comments about banks was driven by finally understanding the issues involved. Media Watch then presents documents they received from the Australian Bankers’ Association that suggest Laws changed his views because he was offered large sums of money to do so, and that his team had solicited those payments.
The controversial issue of ‘cash for comment’ was first revealed to public scrutiny on Media Watch. The executive producer for this award-winning program is Deb Richards, a former producer and presenter for Four Corners and Lateline.