The Matthew Johns Sex Scandal

The Matthew Johns group sex scandal was covered by a vast range of mediums over the course of a two week period. The revealing interview on the culture of group sex within rugby league was initiated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and aired on their 'Four Corners' television program. What ensured was a desperate competition between rival mediums for the public's attention. In looking at just two of the mediums, the television and the newspaper, it is clear that many journalists will go as far as possible to sell a story, regardless of whose life it destroys. Johns' career is over and his marriage in a precarious position, whilst the victim identified as 'Clare' on the ABC, has gone into hiding from the media. The reasons for Johns' sacking as a television personality and assistant-coach of rugby league team Melbourne were mainly political. It was a message for equality to be shown to women and the media's role in having the public turn against him cannot be underestimated. The television and newspapers, two of the most popular sources of information and entertainment, were the biggest culprits in Johns' unceremonious fall from grace.

TELEVISION'S ROLE IN THE GROUP SEX SCANDAL

Structure of television in Australia

Television in Australia is currently structured around five networks. They include the ABC, the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), Seven, Nine and Ten. Of these, only the ABC and SBS are publicly owned (controlled by the government) whilst the other three (Seven, Nine and Ten) are privately owned. Thus, the ABC and SBS both work within a yearly budget which is allocated by the government whilst the other networks rely mostly on advertisements for funding. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is the regulatory body for the Seven, Nine and Ten networks. It “makes announcements on key activities and issues, conducts major investigations, calls for public comment, submissions and tenders and hosts and participates in training programs and conferences.” Of the three private networks, Channel Seven is currently owned by civil engineering equipment czar Kerry Stokes. Furthermore, PBL Media, “a joint venture between CVC Asia Pacific Limited and Consolidated Media Holdings”, has now taken 100% ownership of Channel Nine. Lastly, Canadian company CanWest owns a majority sharehold in Channel Ten.

Whilst these networks are organised by ACMA through the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005, the ABC and SBS have their own act of Parliament and charter due to government ownership. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 gives the network the responsibility of being an independent news service. However, Posetti argues that the election of the Howard Government in 1996 encouraged the ‘dumbing down’ of programming, “resulting in the undermining of political reporting and the erosion of journalistic standards.”Posetti continues by arguing that the “ABC Radio and Television Current Affairs – which traditionally produced influential, hard-hitting, agenda-setting programs – have been singled out for the harshest criticism from conservative political forces.” Judging on the recent ‘Four Corners’ program relating to the group-sex culture within rugby league, it appears as if the Howard Government’s criticisms of bias reporting by the ABC were founded. Public outrage over the unfair exposure of Johns is certainly an indication that some of the community believes the ABC and Ferguson have overstepped the boundaries of professional journalism.

Agenda-setting, Ferguson and the ABC

A theory known as agenda-setting, in which the mass media sets an agenda or focus issue for an extended period of time, was clearly evident during the Matthew Johns sex scandal. The sheer amount of publicity generated not only on television, but throughout all the mediums, resulted in a substantial response from the public, with everyone having their personal opinion on the issue. Kuypers points out that communication and mass media researchers during the 1980s “postulated that the media do more than tell the public what to think about; they also tell the public how to think about any given topic." This process is known as agenda-extension, in which the media goes beyond a neutral reporting of events. The ‘Four Corners’ interview by journalist Sarah Ferguson is a clear example of going beyond neutral reporting of events, in which she attempted to influence public opinion on Johns’ actions.

Ferguson failed to introduce Johns’ version of events, consult former work-colleagues of the victim and she even included details of the incident which police warned were still vague. This all points to the fact that she was attempting to use the issue to create public outrage over the treatment of women. Tania Boyd, one such former work-colleague of the victim, ‘Clare’, told the Nine network after the release of the program that she was initially bragging about the incident and did not contact police until five days later. It was hardly a coincidence that Channel Nine sought Boyd’s version of events, in an obvious attempt to shame and embarrass Ferguson and the ABC, whilst also promoting an image of trustworthiness and respectability.

The Nine Networks response

Fierce competition for ratings and income has led to politics becoming an integral aspect of the medium. Many conspiracy theories have been circulating that relate to the ABC’s possible involvement in having a major asset of a competing network (Channel Nine) stood down indefinitely. Whilst such theories are unfounded, Channel Nine responded to ‘Four Corners’ by using the public attention on the issue for their own financial benefits. Twenty-two out of the thirty minute time slot for program 'A Current Affair', was devoted to the Matthew Johns issue. Hosted by Tracy Grimshaw, the program achieved its highest ratings of 2009 to date, with 1.372 million viewers. The following day, ‘The Footy Show’ enticed 1.101 million viewers to watch the first episode since Johns’ departure.