Do pass a magistrates court front door! Go directly to jail!

That continues to be the attitude of too many of our modern-day journalists who appear totally ignorant of, or couldn’t care less about, that quaint fundamental feature of our legal system, namely a person is innocent until proven guilty.

And, sadly, a frequent culprit of this is Nine News Queensland.

Keen to read some of its latest journalistic blunders?

Firstly, let’s roll the tape on Monday night’s 6pm bulletin and reporter Jacob Chicco’s update on an early Sunday morning crime where four masked men in Townsville broke into an unmarked police car and stole a service revolver.

Here’s Jacob: “This afternoon, a breakthrough; police arresting two men, the hunt continues for their accomplices”.

FOR THEIR ACCOMPLICES!

The two men arrested need to go straight pass the Townsville Magistrates Court door and go directly to jail!

Earlier, Jacob had declared that “two hooded bandits, armed with a stolen police handgun, remain at large”. Jacob has clearly decided that the police have definitely got their men and the two arrested were the other two smashing their criminal way into parked cars early on Sunday.

A journalist assuming the guilt of anyone could very well one day lead to a dreadful miscarriage of justice.

More? You want more?

Here’s the promo for last night’s (Tuesday night’s) bulletin during Tipping Point: “Four arrested after breaking into a police car”.

No doubt there at all after the arrests of two more men. All four need to go straight pass the Townsville Magistrates Court door and go directly to jail!

That rubbish was uttered by some voice-over bloke who should stick to doing outrageous reality TV show promos but when newsreader Melissa Downes weighed in a bit later on Tipping Point, she repeated the four arrested after breaking into a police car line but added “but where is the gun they allegedly stole?”.

The MGH congratulates Ms Downes on throwing in an “allegedly” at some stage to look professional, just not at the right time.

And in the actual bulletin, we heard this: “…the gun could be in the hands of criminals”.
Could be!

Here’s our advice to the reporters and producers at Nine News Queensland. When four hooded men use an angle grinder to break into a police car and steal a service handgun, they are criminals. That’s what your reports have described them as.

Yes, yes, we know. Nine might argue that the gun is no longer in the hands of those criminals!
But guess what? If they’ve handed or sold that stolen gun to someone else, they’re criminals too!

Okay! Maybe these crooks have thrown the gun into the Ross River but let’s not overthink this. Let’s keep it simple, just like Nine News Queensland does.

The MGH has learnt the bitter truth over a long time that basic logic is not a strong suit for many tyros and older scribes now practising their version of journalism in Australia. A lot of silly nonsense is written without a warning bell ringing in what appear to be poorly trained heads.

Much like their total ignorance – or indifference – to the presumption of innocence until proved guilty. Poor training or wilful disregard for one of the basic rules of quality journalism?

***

ABC News Breakfast this morning stated that the two Melbourne lasses who tragically died in Laos after suspected methanol poisoning had been “allegedly” staying at a certain backpackers’ hostel.

As far as the MGH knows, that fact has never, ever, been in dispute. Maybe journalists across all media platforms in Australia need to be sat down and given an urgent refresher course on how and when to use “allegedly”. Well, that and another dozen or two basic fundamentals that have sadly disappeared from our once wonderful craft.

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