ISSUE 34 ISSUE AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION SCREEN AUSTRALIAN ELLEN FANNING WITH ADDITIONAL WRITING BY 1 STUDYGUIDE ROBERT LEWIS THE SERIES WILL BE BROADCAST AT 7.30PM ON SBS-TV ON THE FOLLOWING DATES EPISODE 1: Wednesday 28 April 2004 • EPISODE 2: Wednesday 05 May 2004 EPISODE 3: Wednesday 12 May 2004 • EPISODE 4: Wednesday 19 May 2004 EPISODE 5: Wednesday 02 June 2004 • EPISODE 6: Wednesday 09 June 2004 Fine Line is a Curriculum applicability for that episode, or have students documentary series by print them off at home.) 1 journalist Ellen Fanning Fine Line is an excellent resource for b Students watch the episode that about the ethics of use in: night on SBS. journalism. This series • English c Teachers discuss the program reveals the secret life of • Political studies with students at the first available some of Australia’s best • Australian studies opportunity in class. known journalists—the • Media studies • Discovering democracy This process is repeated for each episode. anguished ethical • Civics and citizenship judgements they make, Fine Line the power they wield and The study guide can be downloaded the fine line they walk for free from the Metro magazine web Produced by Suitcase Films in between privacy, decency site http://www.metromagazine.com.au. association with Colvin Productions. and the public right to Class sets may be printed and given to all Developed and produced in association know. By focusing on students or students can download the with SBS Independent. particular case studies guide at home and print it out. Financed by Film Finance Australia students will be able to Limited. use specific examples to Suggested approaches to using Director & Writer: Ellen Fanning explore the ideas about the Study Guide Producer: Megan McMurchy the presentation of news Associate Producer: Peter Dredge This Study Guide is designed to give Editor: Andrew Arestides and current affairs in the students an overall introduction to the Director of Photography: Paul Ree series. series, with specific issues that can be Sound Recordist: Tim Parratt explored in each of the six episodes. It is Research: Jane Manning & Jacquie suggested that: Harvey ISSUE 34 ISSUE 34 Composer: Peter Dasent a The teacher should start by Sound Editor: Alasdair Macfarlane AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION introducing the key concept for FROM TOP: SALLY LOANE, ABC each episode, and have students Distributed by Marcom Projects RADIO. ALL PHOTOGRAPHS BY start thinking about the concept. Ph: 07 3801 5600 PAUL REE UNLESS OTHERWISE (Teachers should provide students Fax: 07 3801 5622 CREDITED with a copy of the question sheets Web site: www.marcom.com.au 2 3 EXPLORING THE INDIVIDUAL EPISODES OF FINE LINE FINE LINE EPISODE 1 Key Theme Case Study 1.2 What reasons does Walker give for wanting to re-visit the case? Are The key theme here is: how An Australian man is being held on death these good reasons? row in an Asian jail, convicted of trafficking 1.3 Who could be expected to be af- should journalists treat a large quantity of heroin into that country. fected by a follow-up story several people when collecting and years after the original events? transmitting the news. You are a journalist. Your have been try- Does the possibility of harm to ing to interview the condemned man’s these people outweigh the argu- We know that a doctor is mother for some months. After many ments for doing the story? primarily responsible to her conversations with her, you have built 1.4 What tactics did Frank Walker use patient. up a good relationship with her. Finally, on the phone? Describe each one. she grants you an interview, in which she Are they fair? A lawyer must work in the claims her son is an addict who foolishly 1.5 Given how hard Frank Walker has interests of her client. agreed to act as a drug courier to support to work on the phone to persuade his escalating habit. the father of the bully to talk to him, In whose interests should what qualities do you think journal- the journalist act? As you are writing up the story, you con- ists need to do their work? Start a tact a source in the Federal Police, who list—you will be asked to add to it Should they act in the best gives you rock solid information about the later. interests of those people condemned man. There is no doubt that they interview? Should they he has been a major drug courier, a Mr During the making of the series, award- act in the best interests of Big of Crime, for many years. winning journalist Sally Loane was asked about the extent to which journalists need 1 their boss and their publi- 1.1 Do you include this piece of infor- to be ‘brave’ to approach people who are cation? No, they should act mation in your story. If you do, the of public interest, even when the circum- always in the public inter- convict’s mother will feel deeply stances are difficult or delicate. She says: est. betrayed by you. If you don’t, you will be leaving out critical informa- I think there’s a lot of theory in journalism In this episode we will tion. What do you do? these days. You’ve got to know your inves- consider what this means tigative journalism. You’ve got to have the Exploring the Case ability to read balance sheets. All of those in terms of how journalists Studies are really important. But it boils down to then treat their interview- just picking up the phone. Actually making ees and sources – and why Frank Walker and the Trinity College the call to somebody who might be in the acting in the public interest case news. For whatever reason. You’ve got to cross that line and that takes some- sometimes leaves those in- In 2001 Sydney’s The Sun-Herald ran a thing extra. It takes a little bit of mongrel, dividuals feeling betrayed. series of stories about abuse of student I suppose, in a human being. And if I was boarders by other students at Trinity looking for a journalist cadet, I wouldn’t College. Those stories showed that there go for the one who’s got the Princeton was abuse that greatly affected the lives degree. I’d go for some young person who BELOW: FOUR CORNERS of student victims, and that the school can just go, ‘yeah, I can go up and talk to REPORTER LIZ JACKSON had not sufficiently controlled students’ that person.’ ‘I can cross the road, or [go] INTERVIEWS SALIM MALIK, actions. The school had, however, apolo- across a room at a cocktail party and I can PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC gised to the victims. go up and ask that person a question.’ CONTENT SALES Doesn’t matter who they are. And that’s In 2003 journalist Frank Walker wanted to the thing that I think defines good journal- ISSUE 34 ISSUE 34 follow up the story, to see whether any- ism. Just having that extra bit of front, to thing has really changed at the school and use a good Australian word. To pick up the AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION whether adequate steps have been taken phone or to walk up to that person and ask to stamp out this type of vicious bullying. them that question. Look at the way he goes about this, and It is interesting to note how journalistic consider these questions. behaviour and language differs markedly 2 3 from polite social intercourse. In ordinary, made the documentary Cop it Sweet. polite interactions people don’t tend to ask each other direct questions like ‘Are 1.12 Why do you think the police would you cheating on your tax return?’ or ‘Why have allowed her to film them? should the Australian people vote for you 1.13 In the end, Brockie had a huge given you broke a taxi driver’s arm?’. amount of footage from which to fashion her story. Which of the fol- 1.6 Discuss the ways in which a jour- lowing responsibilities do you think nalist’s conversation with an inter- she had in the way she selected the viewee differs from ordinary ‘polite’ material to be used? 1 conversation? • To show a fair representation of 1 FROM TOP: JOURNALIST JENNY 1.7 Why is it important for journalists what she had filmed. BROCKIE; DR JIM CAIRNS to ask direct questions on behalf of • To focus on the most significant AND JUNIE MOROSI, PHOTO the public? elements. COURTESY OF NINE NETWORK; 1.8 Do you think Frank Walker showed • To show the most sensational REPORTER LIZ JACKSON this willingness to ask tough ques- elements. tions? • To protect the police with whom 1.9 A journalist’s skill involves gain- she had worked and whose ing the trust and cooperation of confidence she had gained. interviewees. In what way did Frank • To protect the poor public image Walker seek to gain the trust and of the Aboriginal community. cooperation of the father? • To protect the image of the 1.10 Frank Walker was clearly very pas- police. sionate about the subject of board- • Some other responsibility. ing school bullying. Did his genuine Discuss these, and decide which, if passion about the story give him an any, she had to consider. edge when speaking to the father? 1.14 Her final program emphasized many How did it help? instances of police racism and in- 1.11 What other qualities do you think tolerance of local Aboriginal people.