Labor warlord Robert Ray has a brutal
response when asked why politicians continue to kick and attack when
the prey is already down: “One dies, but a thousand learn the lesson.”
The Senator says it with tongue in cheek (we think), but it sheds light
on the media feeding frenzy – fuelled by callous, ambitious politicians
– that took down John Brogden.

But come the morning after, there are always regrets. The organ with the guiltiest conscience is The Daily Telegraph,
which today sheds crocodile tears over Brogden’s fate. This
self-serving editorial, which bears the fingerprints of Piers Akerman,
is headlined “An obligation to report the news.” Writes the Tele:

“What we did was our duty – to report matters of incontestable public
interest. So yesterday’s strident critics should ask themselves this
question: What would have been the public response had the media
knowingly suppressed the information in its possession? By what
perceived ‘right’ could such a decision have been taken? The truth is,
the media had to publish the news.”

Really? The Brogden story didn’t grow legs by itself. Remember its
origins: a story that breaks on Sunday in a non-sitting week for
Monday’s print media and talkback cycle. A story leaked to Glenn Milne,
the Howard Government’s semi-official court correspondent. It smacks of
media management. When journalists can be lobbied to publish when no
new facts have emerged, something’s awry.

Following Brogden’s resignation, it appears the big push from Milne and those feeding Tele
editor David Penberthy was to make sure there could be no later federal
parachute for Brogden into Bronwyn Bishop’s seat. Penberthy referred to
this obliquely in his radio interviews as he was trying to justify himself yesterday.

It’s
time for journalists to admit it: once again, our profession has been
used and abused by our political masters. The media’s crocodile tears
weren’t reserved for the Daily Tele. As for Sun-Herald hackette Angela Cuming – she should have re-read Helen Garner’s The First Stone before writing this self-serving puritanical tripe on Tuesday: “I’ve been around long enough to know a proposition.”

The
real test of Cuming’s sincerity is that if Brogden’s boorish behaviour
was such an onerous crime, why didn’t she report it to her readers when
it happened? She should do the decent thing – emulate a real journalist
like Andrew West and resign. She has failed her editors, her readers
and in her professional duty.

The Telegraph pretends
the Brogden story was about “character.” It wasn’t. It was about image
and strategic media management, with the Right pulling the media
strings and Labor using the usual levers. Brogden did the decent thing
and resigned immediately. For his trouble, he got the Robert Ray
treatment.