An Unholy Trinity

The Council convened a public forum in Fremantle in May to discuss the relationships between government, business and the media. Deborah Kirkman was there. Cartoon by Alston.

Many political reporters in this town go to work each day to go to war and feel they are up against a significant adversary in the government media office who try as hard as they possibly can to stop us getting to the truth.
Paul Murray, editor of The West Australian, in evidence to the Commission on Government.

What is the relationship between government, business and the media? Is it evenly balanced? Is it lopsided? Are the trio friends one day, enemies the next? The Press Council held a forum at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, late in May, to discuss these questions.

With her usual flair Dorothy Ross, Vice-Chairman of the Press Council, chaired the meeting. Dr Peter Tannock, Vice-Chancellor of the university, opened the proceedings by noting the "long history in this country of a robust press, a press that hasn't been very often cowed by government or by business. Indeed, it has frequently and fortuitously for this country held those powerful interests to account, and long may that be the case".

Prof David Flint, Chairman of the Press Council, agreed. "There is," he believes, "no better description of the role of the press in a democracy than that which emerged in the great American debate during the Vietnam War when the Supreme Court found that 'The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.'" To which Prof Flint would add "in public life generally, in matters of legitimate interest to the public".

The Commissioner

As Chairperson of the Commission on Government, Jack Gregor has a unique perception on the relationship between the press and government. The commission is currently inquiring into the organisation, role and functions of press secretaries and of the government media office. "The government," he said, "is obliged to give the public accurate and timely information about what it is doing. This is a part of the accountability equation. It is feedback on how taxpayer's money is spent. While there are several ways to convey information directly to the public, the main method is through the news media. The information flow begins with a minister or a government department preparing and releasing a Media Statement, and the process is completed by the free media."

"It has been alleged to us that (media secretaries) convert information into propaganda; tell the truth, but not all of it; leave out information harmful to the government and ministers; and act to misdirect or deflect media inquiries....

"Our job is to suggest principles that should be used to prevent corrupt, illegal and improper conduct in government media activities. What the people want to be able to do is to trust the information they receive from government or know the sources of the information so that they can apply their own judgment to their assessment of the veracity of it."

The responsibility of the free media is "a crucial one" Mr Gregor continued. "The media has an obligation to report fully and objectively the activities of government. The media is open to competition not only from within itself, but from the government. If the government can show that its activities are not fairly reported, or at all, this may tend to give it a licence to by-pass the media by approaching the public directly."

On the media's linking role, Jack Gregor expressed the view that "The media's relevance in the chain of communication between the government and the public is in the media's own hands. Only by applying the high standards of journalistic professionalism, finding the correct balance between down-playing or emphasising a government related story and publishing the government information that the public needs or wants to know will the media maintain its central role in the information link with the people."

The banker

"I had a baptism of fire in my dealings with the media." Stirring words from Warwick Kent, Managing Director of BankWest. He didn't find a Garden of Eden on joining the R&I, as BankWest was known. "Like most Australian banks, the R&I was caught up in the unchecked lending boom of the 1980s. Just a few months after joining the bank, I had to announce its first ever loss. About one year later, in August 1991, I had to foreshadow a second loss. It's difficult to describe the way I felt when I made those announcements - walking into a crowded press conference with television lights blazing, cameras rolling, and a group of journalists just itching to ask questions."

Ever since, the Bank has remained in the spotlight and has "always endeavoured to be open with the media. But there are things we do where commercial imperatives do not permit full disclosure. An example was the sale of the BankWest Tower. Journalists argued that disclosure of our plans was in the public interest. I could not accept that argument."

In making a few general observations about the media, Mr Kent noted its "unique position in terms of its access to information. Where journalists explain what is happening and why, that need not be a problem. But often journalists want to talk about the consequences and to pass judgment without providing all of the basic information to their readers or their listeners." And, on the blur between fact and opinion: "By all means offer an opinion - but it should be made clear when an opinion, or a subjective analysis, is being presented."

Mr Kent gave an example of journalism which caused the Bank grief. Back in 1992 the R&I Bank had to raise extra capital when the Reserve Bank changed its rules. "I would have thought this was a fairly routine business matter. Instead, it ran as front page news in one of our newspapers, under the totally misleading headline 'State moves to prop up R&I again'. The accompanying article provided a pretty reasonable account of the issue but the damage was done by the headline and the cartoon in the paper which also suggested the bank was in desperate straits."

"The media does have a very important role to play." Mr Kent also believes that it "needs to be judicious in exercising its power" and looks forward "to the media being informative, enlightening, entertaining and reliable".

The journalist

John McGlue, Business Editor of The West Australian, gave the third side to the story. Anointing Warwick Kent as the saviour of BankWest, Mr McGlue recalled the bank in the mid-80s when it "looked as if it was riding high, burgeoning along with growing profits. But like Rothwells and like the Bond group, the profits and the growth were illusory and BankWest was in fact on its last legs".

Although admitting that "the media were late in reporting the BankWest saga", he pointed to the "obscuration from the bank's commissioners and from the government". Back in the 1980s "we couldn't rely on politicians at all. Journalists were simply lied to by politicians and that was the main reason WA Inc happened and lots of people in the business community were happy to support those lies. So there was a conspiracy."

Mr McGlue was sceptical of cries from government that details of financial support to companies cannot be revealed because of commercial confidentiality. "I think (it) is really the best refuge of somebody who is trying to peddle a dodgy deal." And he defended the criticism by government and by companies of what they see as invasion of privacy and the media see as being in the public interest. "The question", he argued, "is how many companies have failed because of media reports which have been inaccurate about their financial affairs? The answer is none."

The lessons of the past having been learned Mr McGlue informed the forum of the 1990s' financial journalists who "are now more sophisticated than they were a decade ago in terms of that forensic process of tracking down information and then writing about it in the proper commercial context. Chastened by the lies of the 1980s and equipped with those skills, we now make up our own minds about what is in the public interest, we make up our own minds about what is good financial performance".

And he made a promise. "I truly believe that this more educated scrutiny of financial affairs is to the direct benefit of the community. The 1980s were littered with mistakes in public life, politicians, business people and journalists, we have all contributed in some respect. In the 1990s and beyond, we as journalists are determined not to let that happen again."

. . . . . .

Government, business and the media do form an unholy trinity. They need each other. Their relationships, however, do not always run smoothly. Perhaps it is just as well.

. . . . . .

There was a brief question time which amplified many of the issues raised. A full transcript of the meeting will be published and available for purchase from the Council.

Deborah Kirkman

(Original cartoon courtesy of Alston [The West Australian] - with thanks)

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