Television reporters from Channels Nine and TEN were injured when angry locals turned on members of the media covering a drowning tragedy in New South Wales.
The media were reporting on the the tragic deaths of a man and his two young sons this week at Tathra Wharf (pictured), which has shocked the local community of Bega.
The Daily Telegraph reports a group of about 20 males, believed to be members of a local rugby league team, surrounded a group of journalists and cameramen. The incident allegedly occurred about midnight following a long night of drinking at a hotel in Bega.
Network 10 reporter Daniel Sutton is said to have suffered a cut lip and bumps to the head in the attack, while Channel 9 reporter Denham Hitchcock was taken Bega Hospital for treatment.
A Channel 10 cameraman was also injured in the attack.
Both reporters are understood to have made statements to police.
Source: Daily Telegraph
Interesting article by Jack Marx blog at news.com.au:
“War declared on morbid curiosity”
The media has had this coming for years. They want respect yet they don’t respect victim’s privacy. I’ve got no sympathy.
Well they wouldn’t beat up a woman I suppose.
You can understand their reaction though if the media were being pushy or disrespectful.
Sarah Cummings from Seven was also in attendance but wasn’t involved in the brawl.
kubs, that’s exactly what I was thinking.
What happened to the 7 jurnos, were they not their. Looks like Sevens motto “when news breaks, where in the thick of it” is just bulls***
today tonight could have a field day with this
I need more info before I judge. Some of the media are truly hideous in the way they hassle grieving families and friends when tragedies occur – they cannot accept that people have a right not to be interviewed if they don’t want to be and they go over the top when trying to beat out rival media. However, ganging up on a journo who is legitimately working isn’t on either no matter how much grief you’re going through.
But I this story doesn’t really tell us enough about what happened so I’ll wait for more details.
No matter what your grief you don’t turn on the media who is they doing a job, it just makes them look like a bunch of thugs and not the image the town needs right now. Attention should be on why safety equipment was missing that could have saved them.
I wonder if the 7 journos will make fun of this…
Why were they biffed? For reporting a story? Not enough information