Wayne Carey = Groundhog Day!
I feel like I have been living Groundhog Day lately… Former AFL footballer, Wayne Carey, tells-all AGAIN! The latest spurt of publicity from the Carey stable is all in the aid of publicising his autobiography The Truth Hurts.
Come on! How many times do we need to hear how sorry he is for the all the stuff-ups he has made and that he is trying to face his demons and repent his sins? Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for giving someone a second chance, but how many chances should this guy really get? The Adelaide Advertiser obviously thought the Carey story was newsworthy – splashing him on the paper’s front cover on both Friday (22 October – this was a new low-point for Carey where he used his innocent daughter in a photo shoot for his sob story) and again the very next day (front page of the newspaper, as well as its flagship weekend magazine, SA Weekend).
I can see how the powers-that-be at the ‘Tiser and various other media outlets around the nation came to the decision to run the story – it ticks numerous boxes when it comes to deciding the newsworthiness of a story:
Timeliness – tick – he is releasing his tell-all autobiography.
Prominence – tick – he is an ex-Aussie Rules footballer, need I say more?
Proximity – tick – Australian lad and had particular interest to Adelaide, Melbourne and Gold Coast media especially after living in each of these locations.
Conflict – double tick – this story is full of it (sex, drugs and scandal).
Unusual – tick – or is it? Isn’t it just another elite sportsperson trying to make a buck from airing their dirty laundry?
Impact – no tick here – this really does not impact on our lives – only people’s voyeuristic urges to know all the sordid details of one individual’s life.
But the question is - do we, the public, really care about Carey and do we feel any empathy for him? Is it old news and should be left alone for (a) the sake of all the people being affected by Carey dragging up the past again and (b) the sanity of people like me who just don’t care about Carey’s confessions?
I think last Saturday’s SA Weekend Letter of the Week summed it up nicely:
I couldn’t have said it better myself Sally!
But one could say I am the hypocrite as I have just given him more airtime by writing this blog….
- Alison Michell, Account Manager
The material on this web page comprises the personal views of the author and does not represent the view or opinion of communikate et al. communikate et al accepts no liability for the content of this web page.
Post new comment