Hoodlum vigilantes
Normally I would not even give the show attention, but last Tuesday it was the talk of the school when I went to tutor. Students were talking about A Current Affair arriving in Bellingen to do a story on “truants” in the town. At that stage I was wondering if, perhaps, the reporters were a bit far south and needed to travel north to Yamba after an incident occurred of arguably more dire consequences. Nope, they were here for a story in Bellingen. Unfortunately they weren’t going for one of the more positive stories that has started to become a common occurrence in recent times, they wanted the drama and to stereotype the youth as thugs with booze and drugs. Maybe instead of a shotgun visit some of the reporters should visit the town to see the more positive activities, initiatives, and pro-active creativity that the youth are actually involved with.
I had to laugh, and several other people did as well, when at the beginning of the story a “gang of youths” were described as calling themselves the “Underbelly of Bellingen”. A lot of people I was asking in the high school today had completely no idea that there was an “underworld” in the town (oh, maybe that’s what they intended to say on ACA!). Come on ACA, in a town with a population of 2200? Was this fact or just a subliminal plug for the new upcoming season of your show on your station? Or perhaps it was falling to the creative prowess of the youth? Who knows...
Apparently some of the youth were “so brazen they bragged about their break-in on the internet”. There’s a quote on the internet these days known as “Screenshot, or it didn’t happen”. This was the quote that the ACA supplied.
They didn’t say which social network site it was from, but have a “Facebook” profile in the background. Even though it is possible to have security that prevents people, not listed as your friend, from being able to see your profile. ACA presented a quote, that could have easily been typed up by one of their staff, rather than highlighting the portion or showing the page in its original state with the quote. This piece of evidence lacks integrity, but could still sufficiently tarnish the image of youth of the town. Then again, there is that other quote... “It must be true! The internet said so!”
It became a “journalistic hero” story, with the investigator stating the police only turned up to patrol Bellingen that night because ACA was in town.
I won’t harp on too much more about the story, because it really was poorly done, but you do have to ask this. Why is it that the youth and police were targeted but questions were never raised about the parents of these “hoodlum vigilantes”?
Are ACA even aware of the creative culture of the town? Arguably Bellingen has established itself as one of the creative and artistic centres of the mid-north coast. A lot of students have been brought through and have established themselves in the areas of music, arts and drama. Now it seems the intent is to drag them through the mud with the few that decided to misbehave.
By no means am I defending the youth, listed in the report, for conducting themselves with criminal acts but is it hardly any different from other towns that have these issues? Especially the much bigger towns with a population greater than 2200 that have a police presence? Yamba anyone? As one of the many tutors that provides opportunities for the youth of this town in an area whether it is the arts, sports, and academics, this “special investigation” was a real kick in the teeth.
1 comment:
I agree with you, this ACA report was a disgrace. Not by their own standards of journalism, because they have none. As a Media Studies student I am especially unimpressed with their subjectivity, insensitivity and disrespect for actual evidence-based reportage. I saw little to no proper comparison between Bellingen and other areas. Contrary to ACA's traditional (read: incompetent) approach, the fact that Bellingen is "a small regional town" doesn't make crime any more or less acceptable here - the fact remains that despite a low Police presence, there is less danger there than in the city. This important detail went unnoticed in the report.
While it is an issue worthy of raising, and we have had an increase in crime reportage in the area, the town still does not compare to anywhere in the city.
The majority of Bellingen's citizens (youth and otherwise) comply with the law and contribute in a very wide way to Australian society. As you said, the town is particularly of note as a cultural centre. The Global Carnival, an amazing event that annually graces the town with brilliant music and performances, is typically carried out with comparatively low instances of the fights seen as normal for festivals elsewhere.
Perhaps one good thing can be said of the ACA piece - the exposure it brought to the town's lack of policing appears to have increased Police attention on the area (if temporarily). On the other hand, this may be seen as a mixed blessing. There is a lot of unimpressed sentiments to be had for anyone who carries a firearm in an ideologically peaceful community like Bellingen, and perhaps justly so. Meanwhile, firearms are part of basic Police equipment. There is a risk of some polarisation between the youth community and the Police if the smear from the ACA report continues in other media outlets.
In any case, I hope we see more outrage regarding ACA's practices in the future. It is always a good thing to question this sorry excuse for journalism.
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