Today Tonight

I found a brilliant article which basically outlines the show "Today Tonight". We could substitute the show for "60 Minutes", "A Current Affair", or any other trashy show that calls it's self a current affairs show.
Anyone who watches these shows and takes them seriously as news really must have a gullability problem. I personally find their recurring "reports" on car hoons quite a laugh. They normally find a group of idiots playing around in a car park on a Saturday night, find some stupid teenagers and ask them provicative questions that will produce the right answers. I have even heard a story of one of these groups of reporters asking drivers to do burnouts so they can get it on camera.
They then slice and dice the footage, use selective quotes, along with old footage, similar stories that they know their brain-dead audience will have forgotten about, to create a headline like "car hoons take over Sydney".
They then wheel out "experts" like Fred Nile and Harold Scruby, who really should have full time jobs on the the show, as they have just as much credibility.
Personally I couldn't care less if TV stations air this rubbish. The scary thing is that so many Australians actually watch and believe it as truth. This is obvious. If it were not the case, these shows would not still be on TV.
It would be an interesting study to see if watching shows like Today Tonight and A Current Affair actually have an impact on brain function and critical thinking ability.

- Here is another link pointing to some intelligent public criticism of trashy shows that pose as "news" such as Today Tonight.

- Yet another public forum, with some discussion of Today Tonight and A Current Affair

- Here's a great article on the way these programs exploit young people.