Rolf Harris is a strange man who spent time at my home but it was inconceivable that he could ever be arrested on and bailed child sex matters. Rolf was firmly embedded in the category of cuddly koala bears and kangaroos but rumours of a nasty pastime had been festering for decades.
Rumours are just that… rumours, and used to belong in defamed British tabloids, The Telegraph and the Courier Mail but hang on, this guy has been arrested, bailed and awaits imminent charges! So, what the hell is going on?
Coppers do not arrest high-profile friends of the monarchy unless on firm ground.
Has this newfound responsibility pendulum of the Press swung too far? Has the Australian Press bestowed upon itself the awesome option of naming or not naming?
An 82 year-old high-profile Australian entertainer living in Berkshire UK has been arrested on child sex …, is a highly irresponsible way to report anything as it can implicate others in a broad net.
It is an irresponsible precedent in the pursuit of appearing to be responsible.
In this case it can be no other person than Rolf Harris as it was reported he was questioned over the same matter late last year.
Ridiculous explanations have been given as to why Harris was not named. Some harebrained solicitor suggested a presumption of innocence should prevail. Crumbs, did that bloke pass his Bar exam at Chloes pub?
Another explanation was that Rolf was so high-profile it would be unfair. Goodness me!
The smarmy Jonathan Holmes of the ABCs Media Watch lambasted the Press for not naming Harris and then promptly omitted to name him himself!
Albanese was recently caught in a Thai massage parlour. The two media groups sneakily eyed each other off and simultaneously decided to spike the story.
Would the same story have been spiked if Albaneses opposite number in the House, Chris Pyne, had been caught in a similar establishment?
We dont know, but we do know that censorship by omission is a far more dangerous weapon to wield than the mere biased reporting we are used to.
Bloggers dragged the mainstream media kicking and screaming to cover the Gillard/AWU fraud. Now the Fraud Squad has told the bloggers to back off, the media have sighed in relief and willingly backed off themselves… and they weren’t even asked to.
Might a Press report in future be: A middle-aged, single, red-headed Canberra resident with an annoying drawl and political connections was today arrested and charged with….? from Larry Pickering