WK 3: McCarthy’s investigative campaign a response to abuse media coverage
Joanne McCarthy’s investigative reporting of child sexual abuse followed limited media coverage in Australia of the institutional injustice. Newcastle Herald journalist Joanne McCarthy. Image: ABC McCarthy’s reporting for the Newcastle Herald began when the Pope visited Australia for World Youth Day in 2008. The side story that surrounded the historic visit was the call for an apology from the head of the church to the Australian victims of child sexual abuse. For years leading up to the 2008 event, there had been limited media aiming to expose some of the clergy crimes. A 1992 ABC Compass documentary presented an estimation that up to 15 percent of all clergy had been involved in sexual and professional abuse. At the time, it was branded ‘sensationalist’ and ‘lacking substance’. From then, only a 60 Minutes documentary and a book had provided exposure to the historic and hidden crimes. Sydney newspaper The Daily Telegraph became the official ...