I suppose our mainstream media in Australia is an easy target. However, in recent times I’ve reached the point where I can no longer stand watching it. When I talk about mainstream media, I mean radio, television, and online news outlets. This frustration has been building for several years.

I’ve long held the view that many media organisations have become lazy and no longer bother reporting factual news. Almost everything is presented with a spin—one usually designed to provoke fear, retribution, or outrage, whipping audiences into a frenzy that resembles a pack of vigilantes.

I’ll give a few examples. There was a time when radio, television, and later online reporting was handled by senior journalists with years of experience. They would attend events, conduct proper investigative journalism, speak to relevant sources, and explain what happened, why it happened, and who was involved—delivering facts rather than theatre.

Over time, however, media organisations have evolved into something else entirely. Now we often see fresh-faced recruits—newly graduated male and female journalism students—thrust in front of cameras, particularly on commercial television. They are heavily styled, dressed in designer clothing, and made up to perfection, yet some struggle to pronounce the names of organisations, people, or even locations correctly.

These young reporters are sent live to crime scenes or tragedies and expected to perform like seasoned professionals. Even the once-reliable ABC has adopted this approach. Inexperienced journalists are now asked to analyse complex political developments from our parliaments or report from tragic scenes, such as the recent Bondi shootings, while being expected to deliver an accurate and coherent account of events.

It’s embarrassing—not only for these young reporters, but also for the networks responsible. Inevitably, the segment collapses and is handed back to the studio host, who must rescue the story and attempt to add some context as it goes live to air.

If you watch different television networks covering Brisbane and South East Queensland on the same day, you’ll often see three or four variations of the same story. Each version reflects a different editorial spin, depending on what management believes will generate the most outrage or engagement. To make matters worse, these networks repeatedly replay the same footage on a continuous loop while reporting the story, creating the illusion of new information where none exists.

For me, this has been a slippery slope. I gave up on commercial television and radio years ago. Another major turning point was the way networks promoted their news desk “stars” as the story, rather than focusing on the news itself. For years, these presenters have been marketed as trustworthy community icons. For goodness’ sake, they sit behind a desk and read from a teleprompter—hardly a praiseworthy act.

Like thousands of others, I’ve now abandoned mainstream media altogether, but occasionally I’ll tune in to surprise myself & to see if the scenario has changed. Not to be, unfortunately. Sadly, the one thing the ABC still does reasonably well is live reporting during extreme weather events and bushfire disasters. In those moments, they tend to provide factual, useful information. Meanwhile, commercial television and radio networks dispatch their so-called star presenters to report from luxury hotel balconies, usually miles from the storm or fire fronts.

Perhaps I’m behind the times. When we look at the state of media in America and the UK, maybe Australia is simply catching up to the sensationalised, editorial & personality-driven model that has existed overseas for years.

As far as I’m concerned, I now prefer to cherry-pick my news from a range of online sources—although, sadly, even these still require careful fact-checking.