[GhostUser]

I was the one who started the "smacking" thread... (sorry!)

I just wanted to let you know that I wrote to 60 Minutes about this story and the comment that "we all smack our children" and I think they have retracted it! The comment that is, not the entire story.

I saw the ad this morning and it has changed - now the voiceover says "smacking - the cold truth". And they seem to have turned the story around from 'the nasty government telling us we can't hit our kids anymore' to 'isn't it terrible when parents smack their children'. Very interesting how spin can completely change the appearance of a story.

Maybe I'm not the only person who wrote to them about that ridiculous generalisation.

Cool huh!

 

[Iria]

If you happen to see this episode, please let us know if there's any bias in either direction in the show. I'm curious now.

 

[GhostUser]

That's really interesting! I bet others wrote in, too. It looks like you and anyone else who did really made a difference!

 

[Dirty Martini]

Are you talking about this:

http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/s...story_1810.asp

?

 

[Gita]

I doubt it is anything any of you here did. The proximity of the election can shift the conservitive/ liberal message. (Conservative=to smack)/ (Liberal=not to smack)

 

[GhostUser]

Quote:

Are you talking about this:

http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/s...story_1810.asp

Yes that's exactly what I'm talking about. It's just weird that the story started out so pro-smacking/anti-government and now seems to have gone completely the other way! (I love a good conspiracy theory)

Oh well - that's popular journalism for you - why am I shocked?

 

[GhostUser]

Just saw the ad again (I think I watch too much TV) and they've put the offending line back in again!

How naive of me...

 

[Tame]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vegmumma

Yes that's exactly what I'm talking about. It's just weird that the story started out so pro-smacking/anti-government and now seems to have gone completely the other way! (I love a good conspiracy theory)

Oh well - that's popular journalism for you - why am I shocked?

Wait - isn't it true you haven't seen the story? Just the ads?

Then how can you claim the "story" has ever changed? Did you honestly think they changed the entire thing because a couple of people complained about the ads? Really?

 

[GhostUser]

Oh.. hmm. Well it seemed like it could've been possible. Wishful thinking, I guess.

 

[jeneticallymodified]

or they might just be running two ads to appeal to veiwers from both sides of the debate?

 

[GhostUser]

Quote:

Then how can you claim the "story" has ever changed?

In my defence - I did actually say the "appearance" of the story seemed to have changed.

Quote:

Did you honestly think they changed the entire thing because a couple of people complained about the ads? Really?

That's why I said "how naive of me" - I AM a wishful thinker!

Quote:

or they might just be running two ads to appeal to veiwers from both sides of the debate?

Hoodedclawjen - I think you are SPOT ON!

 

[GhostUser]

For anyone who's interested - just wanted to let you know I watched the story lastnight and it was actually anti-smacking. Not severely anti-smacking but there was quite a lot of gratuitous examples of mums smacking their kids with spatulas (!!) and spoons, for the flimsiest reasons (little boy didn't stop drinking his milk the second his mum told him to, etc).

They had a psychologist who helped teach parents other methods of punishment and discipline and she had quite a bit of success in getting through to parents because I think, in general, most people do not enjoy smacking their kids. But there was this one woman - the one with the spatula - who smacked them so often that the kids were actually starting to smack her back.

There was also a guy from a child protection agency in Australia, almost in tears, explaining why smacking should be banned in Australia and that it simply does not work.

I don't usually watch 60 Minutes because I don't appreciate that kind of sensational journalism but they didn't do too badly with this one, in my opinion. So... there you go!