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SHORT STEPS*
The Sydney Morning Herald is seriously unamused by Media Watch’s investigation of its Earth Hour illumination images (my invoice is in the mail, by the way):
[W]e are…extremely disappointed to receive this…query from Media Watch. It in fact implies a fraud. It is an ugly and baseless inference…we warrant the integrity of those photographs…We appreciate shining some light on the truth.
—Email from Alan Oakley (Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald) and Simon Dulhunty (Editor of the Sun-Herald) to Media Watch
The program also sought comment from the SMH’s managing editor, Sam North, who revealed the following (as summarised by MW):
The before and afters in his paper weren’t taken on the same day … The ‘before’ shots were taken two days before the switch off when weather conditions helped make the whole scene look much lighter.
Whoa! The pictures were taken two days apart? That’s not what Fairfax papers told us the morning after Sydney’s hour of darkness. Here’s the Melbourne Age‘s caption:
Hitting the switch: Sydney’s lights shine with their usual brightness last night before the scheduled Earth Hour and are dimmed between 7.30pm and 8.30pm as lights were turned off to reduce electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Wrong. The “before” shot, we now know, was taken not on Saturday’s Earth Hour night but on the Thursday night prior. Another caption, from the SMH itself:
Bright lights, big city ... Sydney last night, before we pulled the plug.
For reasons unknown, Media Watch - although clearly aware of the captions, presenting one at the top of its story - declined to point out the obvious clash between the captions (asserting the pics were taken on Saturday) and the statement of SMH managing editor North (the pics were taken on Thursday). MW host Monica Attard:
Wouldn’t most readers expect the pictures were taken just ‘before’ and just ‘after’ the lights were switched off?
Yes, they would. Because they’d been told exactly that. The segment ended with a bland non-judgment:
Maybe you’d like to decide for yourself by going to our website ... because the jury’s out on that one.
It might help if the jury was aware of all the available evidence.
*“Short steps” is descriptive of a situation in Australian Rules football when a player headed for a contest reduces his speed in order to avoid the pain of colliding with other players.
UPDATE. Albury’s Border Mail - a Fairfax title - is wise to the SMH’s scam:
Even the lights that remained burning seemed to shine less brightly during Earth Hour in Sydney on Saturday night.
Media Watch’s intro
‘Getting a few million people in Sydney to turn their lights off is a worthy achievement’.
well maybe, but that few million is even more exaggerated than the ‘before’ photos.
who watches the watchers?
Posted by eeniemeenie on 2007 04 10 at 05:26 AM • permalinkThe arts media ALP alliance clanks into gear and sets itself up to charge for the finishing line this year. Work Choices is a death-knell for union power thence ALP funding. Harnessing the GW debate requires this style of storytelling done best by the Fairyfax/ABC collective. Kevin is working the angles by trying to pretend at the same time that he is really, really anti those radicals who would destroy our way of life. He just needs to come hard up against the fact of who ultimately will defend his sandpit against the big bad banksia men when diplomacy fails to intimidate them.
Fine investigative reporting, Tim, but you could have simply concluded that MW chickened out. Or else, that MW was too yellow to put the boot into the Fairfax group. We all appreciate plain language. No need for your fancy footie argot, which then requires an explanatory footnote for those of us north of the Murray.
#4, blogstrop, “The arts media ALP alliance…?” You forgot the circus clowns, jugglers, sideshow carnies and cinema staff. Oh, and musicians (hence the skull of death in the shadow ALP ministry). They ALL belong to the MEAA by virtue of Actors Equity. Thank Hawke, Crean & Kelty for the shambles that used to be the AJA.
Lies, bluster and bullying, pseudo legal language to frighten off inquisitors. That is what passes for editorial integrity within Fairfax these days.
“We appreciate shining some light on the truth”, the editors say, which is what got them into trouble in the first place. They shone way too much light on the subject.Earth Hour was a dismal flop for Fairfax because exposed (over exposed?) it to be a shadow (more light puns) of its once-bright (will they never end?) past.
The best story to come out of it was the Sun-Herald editor Dulhunty telling his staff to do wee-wees before the big event. Priceless.
Perhaps in this case the SMH should be running the defence that global warming causes journalists to act dishonestly?
According to the media, it causes just about everything else. For example: here it’s blamed for crime and drinking in Scotland.
Posted by Art Vandelay on 2007 04 10 at 07:13 AM • permalinkThe SMH (print arm of the labor party) and the ABC (electronic media arm of the labor party) will be accountable to no-one if labor wins the next federal election.
Posted by surfmaster on 2007 04 10 at 07:13 AM • permalinkThese aren’t lies and exaggerations, people. Don’t you remember that when the Left is speaking to a Higher Truth, silly little things like “facts” and “reality” don’t matter?
Earth Hour was a smashing success, everyone the world over flipped the off switch. All the polar bears were saved and now we can go back to our Gaia pillaging ways.
#11 The comments at the bottom of the article are a treasure trove.
Dave from barra had this to say:
It has also been noted that there is more trouble on a full moon too. Seriously, it’s true.
and Thad from Florida said:
There is a silver lining in this for the Scots.
Kilts are cooler than pants and provide more opportunity to hide a purse.not much support for global warming in the comments. Perhaps AGW has finally jumped the shark?
“Short steps” is descriptive of a situation in Australian Rules football when a player headed for a contest reduces his speed in order to avoid the pain of colliding with other players.
What is the penalty for short steps?
Posted by Andy Freeman on 2007 04 10 at 12:24 PM • permalinkWell, we can’t argue with that can we?
The after shot was definately taken after the before shot. All’s on the up-and-up here.
Posted by Wimpy Canadian on 2007 04 10 at 12:56 PM • permalink#aaron
the photo was not natural*, therefore it was enhanced. It has been suggested that the exposure was longer to increase the brightness; the outside of the buildings were in bright light.
I wonder how long the exposure was in the first photo compared to the second photo.
*it was changed/taken to make it look brighter
tim Blair
The program also sought comment from the SMH’s managing editor, Sam North, who revealed the following (as summarised by MW):
The before and afters in his paper weren’t taken on the same day … The ‘before’ shots were taken two days before the switch off when weather conditions helped make the whole scene look much lighter.In theory, the images should have been taken with a different film ie real film and it should have been this one!
Electronic Thermography etc etc….
Or black white version….
Sorry SMH, you’ve bought into fake digital imagery…... It’s documentation and brightness is due to cloud and cloud coverage in combo with exposure…
dumb dumbs~!!
Digital photography is becoming the new non reality.
Film is an accurate documentation in combination with standardised testing etc..
lens, film subject etc…So 1.618 recommends KODAK EKTACHROME Professional Infrared EIR Film and the SMH should have prepared for this shoot, and not produce some dumb dumb image that looked pretty!!
Flicks blonde hair (woosh)
10% of 5 million is 500,000 - can you buy my car for a few thousand? ;)
The photo was taken on a Friday because that is when there is more lighting - so wouldn’t it have made more sense to have the big switch off on a Friday?
Having it on a Sunday was far less meaningful, if someone can even find a meaning in any event!
OT but not. My local paper ran a story today from the UN climate report, sourced from AAP. The first paragraph says the Murray-Darling Basin is doomed, definitely, although the scientist quoted always says “might”.
It prompted me to look into the scientist, a Jim Salinger, who did the Australia and NZ chapter of the UN report. Doesn’t take much to find out that Salinger, a New Zealander, is another Tim Flannery who blames everything from a heavy downpour to mismatched socks on global warming. A NZ meteorologist described one of Salinger’s recent claims as “just plain silly” and called for the organisation Salinger works for, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, to be abolished. This institute is not the NZ weather service. But it is an organisation that’s very existence depends on global warming. The more alarm it can create, the more funds that flow into the pockets of its staff.Haven’t been a big fan of the impartiality NZ science since one of their scientists found fire blight in Melbourne’s botanical gardens within hours of arriving in Australia. Strange discovery at a time when NZ was trying to overturn Australia’s ban on NZ apples because of the risk of fire blight. The Kiwi scientist just happened to work for the very same organisation that was trying to overturn the ban. Hmmmmmmmmmm.
God damn, I’m beginning to really think 1.618’s going to get her man one day, through sheer force of will if nothing else. Tim continues to be very professional (ie: stoic and silent) about it all, but one wonders about the curiosity factor…
As for the SMH photos, I’ve nothing new to say. Obvious crank job. Maybe SMH editors aren’t aware cataracts can be treated these days.
#33 peter m, to arrive at your figure of 500,000 you seem to have made these two assumptions:
All of the 10% drop in the load was caused by people taking part in Earth Hour.
Ten percent of the population each turned off one light.I read somewhere that 65000 people ‘signed up’ for Earth Hour and that might be a better indicator of numbers. So ‘a few thousand’ is still a more scientific estimate than ‘a few million’.
#35 Contrail:
But it is an organisation that’s very existence depends on global warming. The more alarm it can create, the more funds that flow into the pockets of its staff.
Sounds like all the other “sky is falling”, doom and gloom theorists for the last 50 plus years.
More hysteria, more money generated for their pet man-made disaster.
Dminor…..says
God damn, I’m beginning to really think 1.618’s going to get her man one day, through sheer force of will if nothing else. Tim continues to be very professional (ie: stoic and silent) about it all, but one wonders about the curiosity factor…
Tim, there are too many coincidences. I’m gorgous, your handsome. I’m female you’re male.
I’m sure if I ran into you in Bondi J, I’d firstly, be stunned then probably say “Hey, it’s me 1.618, then give you a great big hug. (phew) Then offer you to come and have a quick drink!!!” Then go from there….
I’m beginning to think the sliding doors movie is true, when it comes to love.
#40 - 1.618
If you love someone, set them free. If they come back it was meant to be. If they dont,
hunt them downOh well, live and learn.Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2007 04 10 at 11:20 PM • permalink
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Thank you Tim for defining Short Steps. In Texas, we’d simply apply the phrase They’re lying like a sissy with a sack full of dicks to a situation like this, but hey, Short Steps works too.