Media owe Dustin Martin an apology: Andy MaherJustin Talent
SEN
23 Mar 2016, 05:09PMRichmond star Dustin Martin’s unfair treatment after his drunken incident in a Chapel Street restaurant last December is something the media industry needs to apologise for, says Andy Maher.
The host of SEN Afternoons says the media’s behaviour in the wake of the incident, which led many notable figures including Tigers legend Kevin Bartlett to call for large fines and season-long suspensions, did not take into account Martin’s position at all and instead assumed guilt before any details were released.
The Richmond midfielder was eventually cleared of any wrong doing after Victoria Police investigated the incident.
“I reckon we should, as an industry offer Dustin Martin an apology because at the core of this is an individual who we don’t take into account at all,” Maher said.
“The immediate assumption is that Dustin Martin has done something wrong so let’s tear him to pieces.
“Now that the details and the facts of the matter certainly bring us a whole lot closer to the truth which is not the position that a lot of people took to begin with, I think he probably does deserve an apology.”
The Age footy writer Rohan Connolly agreed with Maher, however said that he believes the current “immediate” state of the media makes it likely a similar situation will happen again.
“What we should learn is not to jump too quickly. Will we learn that? Sadly I doubt it,” he said.
“We all know the media is an immediate industry now more than ever with the internet and Twitter and social media and that race to be first, breaking news is at a premium like I’ve never seen in my whole career.
“Plus you’ve got that coupled with a decrease in resources, the various checks and balances that apply to journalism are removed. There’s not as much of a safety net.
Connolly also believes the Martin story in particular only gained a lot of attention due to it occurring in the AFL off-season.
“Had it happened in May or June or July, I think there would have been less of a furore because there’s a heap of footy news around and the news cycle changes so quickly now, within 24 hours something is forgotten,” he said.
“What was a massive story that lasted over a week in December gets done and dusted within 24 hours in the middle of the season.”
http://www.sen.com.au/news/afl/03-16/media-owe-dustin-martin-an-apology-andy-maher#ue3rGYlPIzRXwIpi.97
