Piece No.1: "Australia's richest women seek millions more"
A valid story, yes. But using the gold-digger element was very poor form. Such misogynistic editorialising is simply foul.
It wasn't until the third paragraph that a man was mentioned. And then only so briefly you could almost imagine he was dragged kicking and screaming into the affair by these money-hungry she-devils.
It reinforces, with all the subtlety of a fog horn, the nonsensical yet widely held notion that women are not allowed to ask for more. And that successful women must be brought down a peg or 100 whenever possible.
Would a story of businessmen suing for royalties been given the same treatment? Well, possibly. But I doubt it. Most likely it would have taken a corporate-battle tone; at worst been presented with a fat cats angle.
Piece No.2: "Hawke's women erupt in airport brawl"
Male ding-dongs, for example those between footballers, are generally not reported with such malicious glee. They are usually presented as serious affairs, not indulgent entertainment.
I can't see how this personal dispute even rates as a news story. Certainly not a leading one, with its own spot on the home page. I'm no fan of the gossipy type stories either, but if this story had to run, that's the segment where it should have been.
But guess what? Their cat fight slot in the entertainment pages was booked up. Specifically, with trash story No.3: a piece about Dancing With The Stars, with Lara Bingle and someone else apparently screeching at each other. I can't remember who - I wasn't interested enough to read it, I just noticed the link to it on the home page.
While I'm at it, may I also say I'm jack of these narky, petty stories. They do nothing beyond pander to a vicious, sniping streak and encourage us to be cruel at the expense of someone else.
Now, News Ltd obviously isn't alone in this kind of reporting. It seems to be de rigueur for the majority of news outlets today. And having worked for a News Ltd paper, and having a friend on the news.com.au team, I know there's more to the organisation than tripe (I was pleased to also see this story about Gina Rinehart on a News Ltd site). I even find myself defending at times.
But on this occasion, it lost me.
Do these kinds of reports shit you to tears too? How much trash dressed up as news can you take before switching off in disgust?
