Today Tonight Vs A Current Affair

[WantDaChronic]

I just emailed both Today Tonight and A Current Affair with the hope one of them will run a story on medicinal marijuana...

 

I basically said what brash said about the trial being long over due and a few things like that + i went on to say not only do i smoke for medicinal purposes, im also forced to grow my medicine because there is no government outlet for me to buy it and stuff bought from dealers can be laced with god knows what :thumbsup

 

Shortly after saying that, i said that not only am i willing to appear on national tv to debate a member of the government over the issue, im also willing to admit to growing for my personal medicinal use and all kinds of stuff like that...

 

I finished off both emails by saying that i had emailed the other party and sent them pretty much the same information as what you just recieved and that they are considering running the story :whistling

 

Lets just hope my plan works and they fight over which one of them will run a medicinal marijuana story first ::

[WantDaChronic]

the media are infamous for changing around peoples stories and making them look bad, honestly if the chance arose where i was to go on tv, i would be very carefull about what i said and also aquire my own video camera and record the whole thing...if they fuck me around to look like a criminal, i release to unedited version and clear my name

[Infinitee]

And then maybe John Howard will come out of the closet as a gay Afghani porn star named Jed who has grown and smoked marijuana for the last forty years...

[Dohmar]

Like wantdachronic said, the media spin things in a way that'll get them the most ratings. Sometimes this means dragging things out but in a simple case as anything controversial, they'll take the do-godders approach, stick their heads in the dirt like an ostrich and then proceed to plan a follow up account.

 

In either case, Today Tonight and ACA are pretty much the lowest of the low when it comes to journalistic integrity. Theyre the television version of a crappy tabloid magazine. Time and time again, I've seen these idiots report only a single side to the story, and not only that, edit it in such a way that it provokes outrage or contempt from the viewer.

 

If you really want to get things changed, you're gonna have to start at the people who have the editorial content, but even then you could be pissing into the wind; part of me thinks that having a bong smoking character on a tv soapie who ISNT a stereotype would be more beneficial than a segment on ACA.

 

Personally, I reckon the documentary is the best way to challenge perceptions. You get a decent time format (2 hrs or so) which makes for some interesting content. Maybe try and find an independant film maker whos willing to do a documentary study on the cannabis culture in Australia...

 

From waht Ive seen so far, we're just a stereotype that's found in Fat Pizza or some other object of ridicule in more mainstream entertainment. Which is of course, the very problem. People who get presented with a stereotype who have know knowledge of a clique will believe it, and not think twice.

 

If you do manage to convince someone to make a documentary, I'd love to help out btw....but I think you'd have to do some serious research into all aspects (Legal, Commercial, Health (Physical, Spiritual, Mental) & Historical). Not just for content, but to cover your own arse...

 

This is a good discussion....everyone should have their input on this...

 

-Doh

[Tom]

Today Tonight and ACA are pretty much the lowest of the low when it comes to journalistic integrity.

I can't stand either program, time spent active in the Greens made their political biases glaringly obvious and going to Wilderness Society protests showed how they always focused on the one or two "ferals" that were there when in reality we usually had people from many walks of life. I would question the reliability of anything I saw on those shows and others like 60 Minutes, I watch the ABC for my news and current affairs, SBS can be pretty informative too.

 

[quizywig]

this is the problem with just about all the main media outlets, is that its there to give the public a particular feeling or a specific opinion, sadly its not there to inform people of the facts and allow them to form there own opinion.

[Brash]

The interview, in which Andrew Katelaris admitted to 'prescribing' cannabis to patients, ended up being the basis for a complaint by the Health Dept. against Katerlaris. They are tring to deregister him for helping patients. He is in a hearing in the morning, I've been asked to testify on his behalf. This is separate to his massive cultivation charge. Wish him luck folks, I suspect he is going to need it.

The up shot of this case is they have now deregistered Katelaris, although he is still offically a doctor as his case is now under appeal.

[sydneyguy]

I agree with others that ACA and Today are shows that will edit the interview and you could end up looking like a arse but if your a person who has NO criminal past and able to withstand misleading questions that are meant to make you look bad than maybe it's worth a shot :whistling !

 

The upside is that at this time of year there's usually not much happening in the news so there always after something that is of interest. I think your story does have a interesting angle where for medicinal purposes you have to grow but the current laws prohibit you to do so etc. I'm sure you know the countries that have laws for medicinal purposes and no doubt you would use that as examples.

 

Ok your up against the editing and as other's have mentioned interviews like this usually make the grower look worse in the public's perception but growing for medicinal purposes will only become a reality if people 'go into bat' for the cause. Sure the situation is 8 wickets down for 100 chasing 200 for a win but you JUST NEVER KNOW your 'innings' just might make a difference :thumbsup -I'll be cheering for you