Freo ship blog shames Seven Media

COMMENT: Fremantle Shipping News purports to be the ‘heart of Freo’, its editor Michael Barker the only voice of reason in a sea of media irrelevance.
In a self-inflated rant shared to social media yesterday, the “volunteer-run organisation” which accepts donations from the public took aim at Seven West Media for its lack of Freo content.
SWM rebranded its community newspapers under its PerthNow masthead the South Fremantle retired judge considers shameful: “We can’t quite believe that Mr Stokes’ media empire would circulate an advertising flyer masquerading as a ‘NEW local newspaper’ that brands itself as ‘Perth Now Fremantle’. Do they have No Shame?”
Sadly, FSN saw no shame in the hundreds of thousands of ratepayers’ dollars spent on the City of Fremantle’s ‘advertising brochure’ Freo Story before it was canned as ineffective in attracting visitors to the port city. Biased? Not ‘news’ worthy?
The “usually well balanced Cap’n” obviously missed the memo. SWM/PerthNow is a commercial entity that relies on advertising revenue to pay its bills and, importantly, its journalists.
News doesn’t grow on trees. And you might dislike ADs, but ask local businesses who advertise why it is vital, particularly now, to be visible in print and online at a time when they need to attract more visitors to Fremantle.
The West Australian community newspapers (formerly the ‘Gazettes’) already were in circulation before FSN muscled into ‘Freo territory’ where other local blogs were sharing and caring for Freo long before the online blog docked in the port city. Stokes simply changed the name.
FSN takes its title from US author Annie E. Proulx 1993 novel ‘The Shipping News’, whose story centres on an obese and unloved New York newspaper reporter who moves to Newfoundland. Freo focused? More ‘Freo related’ would have been Proulx’s 1996 ‘Accordion Crimes’ in which a Sicilian immigrant loses his accordion after moving to the US to start a new life. Accordion News?
Unfortunately, FSN is not alone in trying to set itself up as a source of local ‘news’. But all the kumbaya, oohing and ahhring and pompous post-election pontificating that ‘love is in the air’ is just colourful content dressed up as news. Piccies are nice though.
As StreetWise has reported previously at www.streetwisemedia.com.au/opinion-bloggers-vs-journalism-part-1, blogs or weblogs such as FSN are informal pages or sites run by individuals or groups sharing views and opinions on a variety of subjects, film, arts, politics, sporting feats, upcoming events and other community announcements. Blogs are not journalistic pieces of work that require the same reporting rigour applied by most media outlets in Perth, including SWM/PerthNow.
The ethical pursuit of news, now more than ever, demands and deserves factual, informative and unbiased content devoid of personal attacks and prejudices. The challenge for readers is recognising the difference between opinionated blogs such as FSN and journalistic content (www.streetwisemedia.com.au/potty-posts-and-social-kettles-part-2).
FSN clearly does not understand the distinction otherwise its published outrage would have, and should have as credible news outlets will always ensure, included the tag ‘Comment’ or ‘Opinion’ so its ‘paying’ readers know whether they are reading ‘news’ or just opinion presented as news.
FSN also takes its place in the pompous pen of local bloggers who feel entitled to attack news outlets or social media pages they do not agree with or feel offended by. PerthNow is just the latest.
In May, FSN “speaking on behalf of the Fremantle community” asked StreetWise to correct a news report on the old Fremantle traffic bridge. To which StreetWise replied, “No correction is needed, only a distinction between blogging and reporting, of which I have written plenty, and you are welcome to read, at www.streetwisemedia.com.au.)
StreetWise, whose editor has worked as a journalist in WA for more than 30 years, adheres to the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance Code of Ethics: “Respect for truth and the public’s right to information … Journalists search, disclose, record, question, entertain and comment. They scrutinise power, and exercise it with honesty, fairness, independence and respect.”
Importantly, as a fiercely independent publication launched in Fremantle in 2015, StreetWise provides, among other things, a crucial counterpoint to the politically and ideologically-driven ‘news’ content pushed and promoted online by sites including FSN.
Readers would be well advised to steer their craft away from this siren call and stick to the well-charted waters of professional journalism, examples of which you will find in the latest issue of Freo StreetWise at streetwisemedia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Streetwise-Magazine-October-2021-Edition.pdf.