A journalist strives to seek the
truth in searching and gathering information about anything that will capture
the audience’s attention while also distributing news to the public. Well known
Australian convicted criminal, Schapelle Corby has been the highlight of many
media companies. Guilty until proven innocent, Schapelle was sentenced 20 years
in an Indonesian jail due to drug trafficking charges. Certain mediums used are
Schapelle Corby’s autobiography, “My Story”, television interviews with 60
minutes, official website and print newspaper article. These mediums portray
similar and different opinions about Corby to create and built a larger viewing
audience while gaining profits.
Bonella, Kathryn “My
Story” Schapelle Corby, Sydney, Australia, Pan Macmillan, 2006, pg. 65, print.
Although the book, “My Story” is
authored by Kathryn Bonella it also includes excerpts of Schapelle’s diary.
Kathryn Bonella worked as a producer for 60 minutes for many years while living
in England and Australia. When she heard about Schapelle’s case, Kathryn was
determined to help, therefore she moved to Bali and wrote a book with Schapelle
about her experience. Chapter 6, “The ‘Celebrity’ Prisoner” explains how fast
the Indonesian and Australian media reacted when Schapelle Corby was arrested
and how the media exposed and exploited her situation. “The Bali press were the worst, making up pungent and ridiculous lies.
Three big ones in the first week were: I had a drug factory in Bali that
converted marijuana into heroin; I’d claimed in my interrogation that I fed
marijuana to cattle in Australia; and I was known as the ‘Ganja Queen’ and used
the code word ‘lemon juice’”. (Bonella, K., 2006) This style of writing is
used to persuade the audience’s thoughts and opinions about the victim. The
Balinese news press constantly exploited Schapelle by creating lies in the
headlines. This event holds great
newsworthiness to all travellers around the world and especially to Australian
citizens. There are 3 other different mediums relating to Schapelle Corby’s
case that express their opinions through differences and similarities.
Howard Sacre, Kathryn
Bonella, 60 minutes “The inside story”, resource creation: 28/05/12, Television,
accessed: 17/04/13
60 minutes journalist, Liz Hayes
interviewed Schapelle’s sister Mercedes Corby 8 years after Schapelle’s arrest.
60 minutes, owned by Win which is a form of commercial media where audiences
are portrayed as customers. This interview was on a high public demand,
Australians and many others around the world were intrigued to see what
Schapelle Corby was experiencing. The video shows footage of Schapelle in her
court trial, her everyday living and Liz Hayes interview with Schapelle and
Mercedes. The audience is shown only the most important and intriguing details
unlike Schapelle’s book “My Story” which exposes the truth and the whole story.
The video shows Schapelle walking freely around the prison while according to
“My Story” Schapelle was hardly allowed out of her cell and when she was, she
was always accompanied by guards. Although the 60 minutes interview represented
Schapelle as a desperate, in need of help, innocent Australian, this video did
not express the whole truth and was minimally dramatized to captivate
customers.
Over the years, Schapelle has
gained a large amount of believers and also a fair amount of sceptics. Some
kind human beings who have no relationship and have never met Schapelle, have
organized and created a website to help free her. The official website of “Schapelle
Corby: Please don’t walk away” shares information on how to help, details about
Schapelle’s former life and present life. This website is a public media site
so therefore it doesn’t strive to receive money although they have options to
donate and they suggest buying Schapelle’s books. Even though the Schapelle
Corby official website doesn’t attract a large audience, people who are
interested in her case will come across this website. It holds some
newsworthiness with regular updates about anything Schapelle related. In
contrast to widely known commercial media television show 60 minutes, the
official website provides more in depth information compared to the edited
videos that contain the most intriguing news.
Corby must admit her
guilt to win parole, The West Australian, 15/04/13, web, accessed: 19/04/13
Newspapers were the world’s
primary source of information until technology was born but newspapers have not
faded away, they still produce important, updated news. The West Australian
newspaper distributed a piece about Schapelle Corby with the interesting
headline, “Corby must admit her guilt to win parole.” “The 35-year-old, who has maintained her innocence, would have to admit
to attempting to smuggle four kilograms of marijuana into Indonesia in 2004.”
(AAP, 2013) Commercial media player, The West Australian used this
captivating headline to catch the customer’s eye so that they gain more
profits. Schapelle Corby is an ongoing story, any news piece containing
information about the Corby’s holds a great deal of newsworthiness due the huge
impact on Australians. This news article contains useful information and
explains but doesn’t exploit the truth similar to the official Schapelle Corby
website and the book “My Story.”
Journalism is constantly feeding
the world new, interesting information through different or similar mediums.
Some mediums are not as newsworthy as others and similarly some don’t receive a
major audience. Auto biography “My Story”, 60 minutes, official website
Schapelle Corby: Please don’t walk away and The West Australian has presented
different views, opinions and persuasive techniques on Schapelle Corby’s case.
Bonella, Kathryn “My
Story” Schapelle Corby, Sydney, Australia, Pan Macmillan, 2006, pg. 65, print.
Howard Sacre, Kathryn
Bonella, 60 minutes “The inside story”, resource creation: 28/05/12,
Television, accessed: 17/04/13
http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/8473217/the-inside-story
Morpheus, Schapelle
Corby: Don’t walk away, 2008, web, accessed: 19/04/13 http://www.schapelle.net/
“Corby must admit her
guilt to win parole”, The West Australian, 15/04/13, web, accessed: 19/04/13 http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/16379448/corby-must-admit-her-guilt-to-win-parole/
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