This quote attributed to various “unnamed government ministers” in response to the resignation of Jamie Briggs following behaviour he admits was inappropriate says far more about their own deplorably low bar settings for ministerial conduct, ackshually. They no doubt see nothing wrong with the surprisingly un-paywalled article on the Australian which oh-so-coyly refused to name the female public servant involved while publishing a pixelated photo alongside plenty of identifiable details for anyone with access to the DFAT database either,.
The assistant national secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union, Michael Tull, said circulating the picture after a complaint had been lodged was a violation of the public servant’s privacy.
“If this kind of gross breach of privacy had come from a senior departmental official, or any other public sector worker for that matter, that person would be facing serious repercussions,” he said.
“People should feel safe to raise their concerns without this kind of blowback.
“It’s never easy for a person who works in the public sector to raise inappropriate behaviour, especially when a politician is involved. All Australian workers should feel they are safe from this sort of unreasonable treatment,” he said.
In other news of highly paid professionals in positions with above-average levels of public interaction, neither should it be considered as setting the bar for professional conduct impossibly high to expect a veteran elite athlete with plenty of experience of on-field interviews to interact responsively with a female sports reporter rather than cockily disrupt her interview questions with flirty banter.
It’s Chris Gayle’s workplace, it’s also Mel McLaughlin’s workplace and those sorts of comments border on harassment and completely inappropriate in cricket and inappropriate in the workplace.
~ Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland via SMH
It would not have been inappropriate for Gayle to attempt some flirtation once the cameras stopped rolling, and he damn well knew that, and he decided to cross the line and display a total lack of professional respect for McLaughlin as a journalist anyway. I loved this photo of the line of female sports journalists leaning their bodies as far away as possible while recording Gayle making his public apology yesterday.
What’s piqued your media interests lately?
As usual for media circus threads, please share your bouquets and brickbats for particular items in the mass media, or highlight cogent analysis elsewhere, on any current sociopolitical issue (the theme of each edition is merely for discussion-starter purposes – all current news items are on topic!).
Categories: Culture, ethics & philosophy, media, Politics
Media Circus: ASIO chief slammed for expert advice edition 
Speaking as a bitch who has read some macroeconomics 
It’s time. 
David Bowie😦
Watching news story teasers this morning and one of them is about a police press conference where they are apparently apologising for not being “timely” enough in informing the public about the details of an infant homicide.
I’m perplexed. Unless there is a clear and present danger to other infants in other families, why should the public require “timely” details about this particular family’s tragedy?
It was one of their own. I think the issue is that it took them a month to put him on leave (paid leave) and didn’t tell anyone about it. Presumably it’s about the police needing to be seen to be above such crime.