Possibly the best, most hard-hitting episode of the series, and a beautifully on-point deconstruction of the trashy, notoriously-manipulative 'current affairs' shows of the era.
Of course, the dominance of TV journalism portrayed in the show is a thing of the past today, with the internet dramatically changing the journalistic landscape. But while the specifics may have altered in the last few decades, the general theme, the manipulation, the ethical bankruptcy, and the cynically dishonest, self-serving nature of the majority of the "journalism" industry, is just as relevant today, as ever.
And the other thing that hasn't changed, is the intellectual lazyness of the audience that has fueled terrible "journalism", from the 90s til today- It's easy to just blame the TV stations and websites selling this trash, but ultimate responsibility lies with US, the consumers/viewers who support bad journalism, because it plays to our emotional biases; Channel 9, or Fox News, or Huffpo, or Breitbart would all go bankrupt within a year or two, if viewers actually stoped watching the news/current affairs, which virtually everyone accepts as dishonest ...until we see a story that plays to OUR OWN emotional biases...)
Of course, the dominance of TV journalism portrayed in the show is a thing of the past today, with the internet dramatically changing the journalistic landscape. But while the specifics may have altered in the last few decades, the general theme, the manipulation, the ethical bankruptcy, and the cynically dishonest, self-serving nature of the majority of the "journalism" industry, is just as relevant today, as ever.
And the other thing that hasn't changed, is the intellectual lazyness of the audience that has fueled terrible "journalism", from the 90s til today- It's easy to just blame the TV stations and websites selling this trash, but ultimate responsibility lies with US, the consumers/viewers who support bad journalism, because it plays to our emotional biases; Channel 9, or Fox News, or Huffpo, or Breitbart would all go bankrupt within a year or two, if viewers actually stoped watching the news/current affairs, which virtually everyone accepts as dishonest ...until we see a story that plays to OUR OWN emotional biases...)