PROFESSIONAL PREDATORS

PROFESSIONAL PREDATORS
by
Perry Blake

I'm sitting at my desk after a phone conversation with my new Editor-in-Chief, contemplating just what I'm getting myself in for in the world of professional writers of various breeds.

I suppose I could just do what every other columnist does, regurgitate the recent stories of the day with a slightly different and even more skewed perspective than what everyone's seen so far. The problem there, though, is that most of them are still relying on the mileage to be gained with the "tragic death of Princess Diana." Nevermind the fact that these so-called professionals can't even get her title correct. Calling her Princess Diana implies royalty in the sense of being a possible heir to the throne, like Prince Charles or Prince William. Her retaining the title of Princess of Wales was a slightly different matter.

Or I could look a little closer to home. Let's see; the politicians are playing politics - no surprises there, our society is getting more violent - that's what you get for trying to make this country a smaller version of America, Crown and Channel Nine are forging the new elite of Melbourne, and the numbers of Millenialists and moralists are gradually, but steadily, rising.

One thing which did leap out at me, though, was a recent hold-up in Springvale, where the assailant was brandishing a spear of all things! I realise that the dangers of city living is often referred to as living in an urban jungle, but that does seem to be stretching it a little far. Still, there is only one kind of creature which thrives in any jungle: the predators.

So in every aspect of this wonderful habitat in which we live the predators are thriving, but unlike most predators we are also cannibals.

Take journalists, for example, a breed of predator quite happy to hunt down anything in pursuit of "a good story." Is it any surprise that a body count would be produced? Not really, yet as soon as one part of the world's media industry puts a notch in its spear, all the other hunters turn on it.

When A Current Affair, in typical predator style, hunted down dodgy tradesmen, did they think about the possible repercussions? Though as soon as one of these people they did a story on commits suicide because he "cannot live with the shame," every other news organisation turned on Ray Martin and company, while they performed some very hasty back-pedalling.

The case of Diana, Princess of Wales, has certainly been done to death, if you'll pardon the pun. Though many journalists do try to draw a line between themselves and the tabloids with their paparazzi parasites. Still, the paparazzi do hunt down celebrities much like any predator, though their parasitic nature does depend on the targeted celebrity's value in the tabloid market.

One could, of course, ask whether or not my own article here would be an example of exactly this kind of behaviour. Am I simply feeding off the obvious mistakes and stupidity of others in the industry or am I merely offering an insight into the society in which we live?

To which my reply is: is there a difference? A great deal of this predation is covered with some kind of moral or socially acceptable cover story and it occurs in every aspect of society, in politics, religion, journalism, the office, and so on. Usually because many people want one simple reason for everything that occurs, even though most things are far more convoluted than that. A single reason, a single answer is what is wanted, so it is dutifully provided. Yet behind these single reasons often lurks a far more complicated tapestry of reasons, woven from the desires, greed, deceptions and corruption of human nature.

"The truth is out there," is a phrase often quoted by seekers of it and fans of the X-Files. There was a time when the role of a journalist, whether that was as a reporter, columnist or editor was to seek out the truth behind the facade. Yet now even these apparently professional seekers of truth are, to one degree or another, involved or enmeshed in the same tapestry of deception as everyone else. The problem is that elusive beast commonly referred to as "the truth" is still out there and not in here.

Wednesday September 17th, 1997

This column originally appeared as the work of a journalist character I played during my short tenure with the Melbourne Camarilla in late 1997 and early 1998, thus the by-line of said character, Perry Blake.

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