Bashing the victim

Whenever journalists want to have a break from serious reporting, there’s always a convenient victim nearby to fill the void. Fiona Hudson’s article regarding public housing damage is a beautiful case study in bashing the victim with no thought to the causes.

My ire was additionally raised by the fact that Long Gully is specifically mentioned. How will this thin attempt at journalism address the problems in my community? It won’t. Ms Hudson may think she is raising an important issue, and by doing so, help to solve the problem. However, many Long Gully residents have internalised the negative media messages about their locality, and Ms Hudson’s will just compound that perception.

From a journalist who won an award for her craft last year (admittedly the field was limited to News Corp), I would expect better. I’d also expect better of the Herald-Sun, who unwisely chose to dignify this piece of journalistic drivel with the byline ‘Special Report’. This journalism has no purpose – it’s simply filler with photos.