Splashing the Cash
Described by some as a necessary evil and others as a scourge on journalistic integrity, chequebook journalism is a practice that can be traced back to Europe and Britain since at least the 1850’s. The practice can take many forms, there’s the straight up payment for an exclusive or the arguably more deceptive backdoor payment such as expensive lunches, covering of road tolls or in the case of Michael Jackson, $1 million dollars worth of advertising to promote his new album in exchange for an interview he did with American network ABC.
The issue most people have with chequebook journalism is that the exclusive nature of the interview can compromise a story or even a court case. For example, a source may be prone to only disclosing some of the information in the hope they can extract more money in the future. There are numerous times in the UK where court cases were thrown out after it was discovered key witnesses had sold their stories with the promise of receiving even more money if the accused was convicted.
Exclusivity arrangements can also interrupt the entire news cycle, when only one outlet has access to a historically significant event. This was the case in July 1978 when the world’s first ‘test tube baby’ was born. The Daily Mail in England paid the parents of Louise Brown $600,000 for the exclusive first photos of her. Louise was delivered by caesarean section under torchlight - to avoid tipping off the media - in Oldham General Hospital shortly before midnight, just in time for the photos to make the morning edition of the Daily Mail.
Australia has a long history of chequebook journalism and every time someone is paid a large sum of money for a story it brings up the debate over whether it’s ethical. One of Australia’s most recognisable journalists Ray Martin (who famously interviewed Lindy Chamberlain in 1986 after 60 Minutes won a bidding war) admitted to ABC’s 7:30 in 2016 that he didn’t think anyone liked paying for a story,
“There’s a taint when you’ve got to pay for any aspect of the story, but that’s the real world … There are stories that television stations, unfortunately, and magazines pay for. It doesn’t mean the story’s going to be ethically wrong or soft or anything else. It’s got nothing to do with the story itself, it’s the access to the story.”
Industry insiders argue that there is one type of chequebook journalism that is acceptable, when everyday people have undergone trauma and they’re being paid to tell their story. Our most recent example? Cleo Smith’s parents signing a $2 million deal for the rights to speak exclusively with 60 Minutes. The cash splash doesn’t just cover the interview it also gives Nine the exclusive rights to a documentary, television drama, podcast, radio program or book in the coming years. The deal outraged parts of the industry and members of the public sighting concerns over Cleo’s welfare. There was also criticism that the interview would compromise the yet to be completed court case against the accused.
These concerns aside, let’s consider how $2 million could impact a family that has been through an unimaginable trauma. That money might allow them to be mortgage free, provide Cleo and her sister with a first-rate education, a much-needed holiday and most importantly it could pay for psychology services for their family. The Daily Mail paying for the IVF exclusive would have certainly enabled that family to set themselves up nicely, likewise Lindy Chamberlain, Stuart Diver, the Beaconsfield miners and countless others who have been paid to tell their story.
The MEAA (Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance) journalist code of ethics doesn’t ban the practice of chequebook journalism either, it simply has standards a journalist should apply. Australian law prevents criminals from profiting from interviews, but celebrities and politicians can still be remunerated for their stories. Perhaps this is where the big apprehension towards chequebook journalism lies, it doesn’t sit well with your average Joe to know Barnaby Joyce was paid $150,000 to talk about his affair with Vikki Campion. What sort of public interest did that serve other than satisfying a salacious appetite?
Luckily it’s increasingly evident that media outlets are disclosing when they have paid for content in fact for most it is standard practice. At MyMedia we often see stories in the Business and other sections of the West Australian with notes saying, ‘this journalist was flown as a guest by this company’, this practice at least allows the reader or viewer to make up their own minds about whether content has been compromised by cash.
Ray Martin discusses how he approached the Lindy Chamberlain interview.