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Assessment of Early Media Coverage: Case of 1878 Murder Of Three Policemen By The Kelly Gang

            There has been a massive development in the media industry over time. One of the key differences that could exist between the current and the earlier years of media is the reporting. This presentation is an opportunity to assess how the early media reporting looked like as far as reporting on sensitive issues is concerned. The key issues addressed by this presentation include the language and tone of the presentation. This covers how the victims and the offender were described by the media. Among other issues covered include the similarity and variation in reporting style among the many papers that reported on the issue. Additionally, the moral lessons implied by the reporting to the general public is also explored. In a way, the presentation could be regarded as a critique of the early media. Consequently, a comparative note about the early and the present media coverage of such an issue marks the end of this paper.

            To begin with, this is a police murder incidence by a terror gang, the Kelly Gang. As many sources can describe, including the Australian newspapers such as The Bacchus Marsh Express, Geelong Advertiser, the Argus Melbourne (local and national) and the online descriptions, the Kelly Gang was a dangerous Gang. Formerly referred to reporting imply that the Kelly Gang was wanted by Police before the incidence day. The sources say that on the incidence date, the police were tipped that the Kelly Gang was lurking at the Mansfield Forest and pursued them. A shootout ensued and three policemen were killed. This review considers total of six Newspapers that reported on the matter although more than 20 papers reported. They include the Argus 29^th Oct 1878, Geelong Express-30^th October 1878, The Bacchus Marsh Express 2^nd Nov 1878, Avoca Mail-1^st Nov 1878, Weekly Times-2^nd Nov 1878, Gippsland Times- 30^th Oct, and the Argus 5^th Nov 1878.

            In terms of character description, the Kelly Gang is described in such a way as to depict them as dangerous and bad people, while the police are depicted as innocent people who were just on their call of duty. This is clearly depicted from headlines such as ‘Police tragedy’, ‘Atrocious murders by bushrangers’, as reported by Geelong advertiser (30^th Oct 1878, P 4) and Argus (29^th Oct 1878, p 5) respectively. Some reporting endeavored to attribute the killing to be a bushranging affair. Such headlines as “bushranging and murders” by the Gippsland Times(30h Oct 1878) creates the impression that bushranging is a murderers affair rather than making it a Kelly Gang affair. Such descriptions generally create a sympathetic tone for the victimized while tarnishing the image of the Kelly Group.

As a matter of reporting style, all the newspapers accord the incidence quite big space, with none sparing less than two columns for the issue. This creates a sense of importance attached to reporting the issue by the police. This issue was covered for quite some time, for example, the Argus is seen to have reported it on the 29^th Oct and 5^th Nov. It does so with equal importance attached to it through, as an example, the equally large space. The kind of coverage thus accorded to the issue, thus depicts killing or threatening the police as a very serious issue. The public is thus warned by the nature of how the media took up the matter.

Surprisingly, some of the sources reported the news as thrilling. More or less creating an entertaining scene out of the whole affair. For example, The Weekly Times, and I quote “The thrilling news that reached Melbourne on Sunday night of the dreadful encounter which four police officers had in the Mansfield District with a party of bushrangers”. This kind of statement is due for wrong interpretations from the public. If not the wrong interpretation of the incidence, then the reporting newspaper can be seen as “rogue” by the public. There is one outstanding difference in the number of policemen killed. For example Weekly Times(1878, p12) says two, Avoca (1^st Nov 1878, p3) reports 4 while the rest report 3. Generally, the incidence was well covered, creating the deserved notion that would be created in today’s coverage. However, the general presentation deserves a bit of critique in comparison to how it would look in today’s presentation of such a case. Below are several points that would be considered with regards to a comparative analysis.

This comparison is mainly considering the fact that this was a very attention seeking incidence and all efforts should be made to accord it the attention. Mainly, the comparison focuses on what could be done today that wasn’t done by the 1878 media in terms of attention attraction to the story and the style of reporting.

Comparing the same story as would be covered today, first, the stories would always appear of the first pages unlike this where none appears on the front page in all the assessed newspapers and some put it as far as 12^th page such that seen on the Weekly Times

The media reach would be as intensive if not more. However, the incidence would not go as far as beyond 10 days with the same attention it was accorded in the 1878 reporting of the incidence.

The attention accorded to this story was only attained through the catchy words but not style. There were no pictographic material to catch attention in any of the newspapers. The headlines were not as flashy and distinct as they would look today.

Looking at today’s newspaper, the content of the reporting, if appears on an inner page would have a styling such that it would be sure to attract the attention of the readers

Among the content, today’s reporting would broadly cover stakeholders and the affected parties. For example, the families would so well be brought into the picture as a way of highlighting the much needed justice. The police would be well represented in the media too.

The public would also be educated and forewarned of how dangerous the gang was and any links with them would attract trouble with the law. The reporting under study mainly considered the incidence and less on the public, thereby assumed to have not forewarned the public to avoid such incidences as where a girl hides the gang as later reported so conspicuously by the table talk Newspaper in 1929 (table talk, 1929)