The column that has fun with the smaller mistakes and missteps of Australia’s mainstream mediocre; that pays homage to those sweet little fishes that individually don’t amount to a full meal but collectively can cause a tummy upset over the overall state of the once great and noble craft of journalism in this country.

The bitter, washed-up, hacks who compile this column would love a dollar for every time over the years news outfits have inflated the number of charges some poor sap is facing.

The poor sapette in this case is Matildas’ star Sam Kerr, facing ONE charge of  racially aggravated harassment of a police officer in London.

Often, the mainstream mediocre turns one charge into charges. Must come under the old “don’t let the facts spoil a good story” rule. And so, unfortunately, Sam has thus been treated.

Let’s go first to Aunty, who we think should be better than this example (at top and below). Well, there was a time when we had more faith in the old girl.

The exaggeration/error/hyperbole/beatup – call it what you will – was compounded on the ABC’s News Breakfast.

Then we had the promos for Nine News Queensland’s 6pm bulletin on Tuesday night, with “CHARGES” up in lights. Thankfully, the person who often does these highly exaggerated promos for Nine News – especially the ones for which they come across as an LNP publicist – had been put in their box and reality had been restored by news time, with Andrew Lofthouse talking of only of one charge.

So, Nine News is blameless then? No. How about this lead-in the same night: “Tonight, Premier Steven Miles apologises for lying about secret texts exposed by Nine News!”

Texts? Plural. What is this obsession, Nine News Queensland, in showing your viewing audience that accuracy in news reporting is not one of your main concerns.

Oh, and by the way …. Lying? That’s a pretty harsh judgement there, even if it might be true. Even Nine’s state political editor Tim Arvier said this: “The Premier said it wasn’t a deliberate lie; rather a memory lapse.”

Nine News Queensland has only itself to blame for Mediocre Bytes suspecting “lying” may not have come so readily to Melissa Downes’ lips if David Chrisafulli had been in the hot seat? We don’t call Nine News Queensland the LNP’s Mount Coot-Tha branch for nothing

***

No biggie, perhaps but strange nevertheless.

We’re not sure whether this Brad Ryan in the US is an ABC stringer or full-time staffer but here’s some pretty bizarre treatment concerning Joe Biden.

Firstly, Biden did not “seemingly” confuse anything. He misspoke and said the Mexican president when he meant the Egyptian president.

But what the bloody hell was Brad Ryan up to when repeating Biden’s words? He doesn’t use the word “Mexico” but puts “Egypt” in brackets instead? Sloppy, illogical journalism.

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