ABC Four Corners Monday Night 8:30pm

[christodan]

I saw a promo for Monday night's episode of ABC's Four Corners on the Ruby Princess. The promo was very sensationalist. I was actually surprised when it turned out to be Four Corners.

 

[By The Bay]

29 minutes ago, christodan said:

I saw a promo for Monday night's episode of ABC's Four Corners on the Ruby Princess. The promo was very sensationalist. I was actually surprised when it turned out to be Four Corners.

 

I haven't seen the promo yet and will not be watching 4 corners.

[Docker123]

The promo (including everyone’s favourite police commissioner). Sounds more like ACA.

 

It is not clear in this, but one thing that has been noticeable in various ABC things lately is the platform given to ambulance chaser firms. Very disturbing for impartiality.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/outbreak-onboard/12271260

 

 

[possum52]

I don't understand why Four Corners would be doing an 'investigation' of the Ruby Princess at this time when there are already a number of official inquiries happening. It has already been rehashed numerous times by the commercial channels and other media. Unless there is something new  to report there is no point in this episode of Four Corners. 

Leigh

 

[nnps]

4 hours ago, Docker123 said:

The promo (including everyone’s favourite police commissioner). Sounds more like ACA.

 

It is not clear in this, but one thing that has been noticeable in various ABC things lately is the platform given to ambulance chaser firms. Very disturbing for impartiality.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/outbreak-onboard/12271260

 

 

I have to agree, the ABC has regressed in many instances to be very similar to the commercial outlets.

[ilikeanswers]

I personally like 4 corners they put the whole story together in one cohesive piece. It will be good to see how all the bits and pieces I have read about fit into the bigger picture. 

[nnps]

37 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

I personally like 4 corners they put the whole story together in one cohesive piece. It will be good to see how all the bits and pieces I have read about fit into the bigger picture. 

Generally I like 4 Corners and their reporting. I am concerned about the increasing lack of objectivity on the ABC in general; also the OP felt that the promo was "very sensationalist"

[MMDown Under]

I will reserve judgement until I see the episode.  However, I usually appreciate the depth of reporting on Four Corners.  

 

 

[ilikeanswers]

2 hours ago, nnps said:

Generally I like 4 Corners and their reporting. I am concerned about the increasing lack of objectivity on the ABC in general; also the OP felt that the promo was "very sensationalist"

 

I haven't really seen any consistant lack of objectivity. Sometimes I think they try to compete with 60 minutes and that leads them down the wrong path but overall they get more things right than wrong IMO. Either way I would not judge a program on the promo. The promos job is to get eyeballs on the show and that might mean making it more exciting than it is.

[nnps]

1 hour ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I haven't really seen any consistant lack of objectivity. Sometimes I think they try to compete with 60 minutes and that leads them down the wrong path but overall they get more things right than wrong IMO. Either way I would not judge a program on the promo. The promos job is to get eyeballs on the show and that might mean making it more exciting than it is.

I was mostly talking about the ABC website and their reporting. There were some really subjective articles on the Ruby Princess just recently.

[Cruisegroover]

The synopsis says it. I wasn't impressed with their story on White Island a few weeks back so have no expectations of anything in this program saying anything different from ACA, 60 Minutes etc.

 

Outbreak Onboard: How fear and disease spread on the Ruby Princess

“My opinion is that they should put it somewhere out in the middle of the ocean and sink it.  You're not getting me on a cruise ship ever again.”  Passenger infected on the Ruby Princess

On the 19^th of March, thousands of passengers disembarked from the Ruby Princess cruise ship in Sydney harbour.  Their “luxury” cruise holiday had been cut short after authorities announced cruise ships would be banned from Australian ports as part of measures to stop the spread of coronavirus.   Passengers mingled in groups on the shore before dispersing around the country and overseas.

“We thought we were going to go into the problem. We didn't realize we were going to be the problem.”  US passenger infected on the Ruby Princess

Far from protecting people, the release of the Ruby Princess’s passengers instead triggered a public health emergency with the cruise ship now named as the single largest source of Australia’s coronavirus infections.

“I can't think (about) who I infected. I can't.  I just can't do it. I’m sorry if I did and if it caused somebody to get sick or to die.”  Passenger infected on the Ruby Princess

On Monday Four Corners investigates how the Ruby Princess became an incubator for infection, leaving its passengers and staff dangerously exposed.

“As far as I'm concerned, they put the mighty dollar first and they never put our safety first.”  Passenger infected on the Ruby Princess

Owned by the world’s largest cruise company, Carnival Corporation, the Ruby Princess was one of a fleet of cruise ships operating as the pandemic gathered speed.   The company was well aware of the risks.  Only five weeks earlier, a sister ship, the Diamond Princess, created world headlines when its passengers were trapped on board as the virus spread.

“You're enclosed, you're breathing in this air…It could be anywhere, you know? You're hiding from something you don't know and where do you hide?”  Passenger infected on the Diamond Princess

Four Corners examines the crucial decisions made by the cruise operator as they continued to take people to sea.  In interviews with passengers on multiple voyages, an alarming picture emerges.

“Ship life was the same. There was entertainment all throughout the day and the night. Nothing had changed whatsoever.”  Passenger infected on the Ruby Princess

Four Corners also investigates the actions of Australian authorities who allowed the ship to dock and the passengers to disembark, taking the virus with them.

“The Australian authorities should have been put on notice as any other port authority at that particular time that cruise ships coming in were potentially going to be sources of the virus and that steps needed to be taken.”  Lawyer

With the cruise company already busily marketing future cruises once the pandemic restrictions are lifted, some of those infected with the virus say action must be taken.

“Somebody needs to be held accountable…because they have a duty of care, or supposedly a duty of care to look after their passengers…I nearly lost my life.”

[ilikeanswers]

36 minutes ago, Cruisegroover said:

The synopsis says it. I wasn't impressed with their story on White Island a few weeks back so have no expectations of anything in this program saying anything different from ACA, 60 Minutes etc.

 

I quite liked the White Island report, it filled a lot of blanks in the timetable for me. The synopsis does sound, sensationalised but again it is like a promo so it could be overloaded. I will still wait for the finished product and reserve judgement till then. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

47 minutes ago, nnps said:

I was mostly talking about the ABC website and their reporting. There were some really subjective articles on the Ruby Princess just recently.

I agree. They were blowing the same trumpet as the rest of the media. Very disappointing.

[nnps]

WOW! Just saw the promo for this show and it's even worse than I was imagining. 

[mr walker]

20 hours ago, nnps said:

I have to agree, the ABC has regressed in many instances to be very similar to the commercial outlets.

and is paid for from the public purse.

 

The ABC struggles for relevance in the modern world & so to justify it's existence, and the taxpayers dollars, has moved to position similar to the  commercial media, albeit with a holier than thou attitude.

[MicCanberra]

I am a ABC tragic, but that doesn't mean I enjoy every show or agree with everything they program. 

I will watch the show, if it is crap, I will flick onto something else. If good, I will watch the lot.

[The_Big_M]

Doesn't sound promising.

 

 

[pully8]

We like the ABC but not all the shows. Sometimes with Q and A and 4 corners there is an agenda pushed in the background, however sometimes the investigative/expose stuff is good.

Particularly around the state of the aged care industry. 

Will watch but if it gets tiresome will go to something else.

Think they might be critical about the way the state authorities handled it and the communication from the cruise line, but time will tell.

Sadly it was not the only cruise ship with infections and deaths but it is getting a lot of media attention. Huge costs in lives and money to resolve.

 

[Pushka]

7 hours ago, pully8 said:

We like the ABC but not all the shows. Sometimes with Q and A and 4 corners there is an agenda pushed in the background, however sometimes the investigative/expose stuff is good.

Particularly around the state of the aged care industry. 

Will watch but if it gets tiresome will go to something else.

Think they might be critical about the way the state authorities handled it and the communication from the cruise line, but time will tell.

Sadly it was not the only cruise ship with infections and deaths but it is getting a lot of media attention. Huge costs in lives and money to resolve.

 

Given the devastation that resulted just from this one cruise I think it's reasonable for the Ruby to become the focus of the investigations of cruise ships. Yes of course there were deaths from other ships, Artania in WA being the other one where a couple of lives were lost but what happened after this cruise with the infection rate was unimaginable back then.
 

Just late last week in SA a passenger from Ruby left our Covid Hospital (the last Covid patient we had here) having spent a month in a coma and another 3 weeks in ICU then on a ward. He was a healthy 67 year old. He managed to walk part the way out then left in a wheelchair.  He looked so frail and aged. His life and his family will never be the same. 

[Docker123]

On the ABC News site, there is a longer article that goes with the Four Corners program. While Ruby is the headline, it appears Princess more broadly gets scrutiny.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-25/four-corners-ruby-princess-coronavirus-investigation/12266884

 

[christodan]

From the linked article:

"I panicked and went and tried to find somebody from the cruise ship."

Alarmed, she found a crew member.

"I said to her, 'I would like to ask you a question. I am a kidney and pancreas transplant patient. I want to know if it's safe for myself and my mother to get onto this cruise?'

"She said that the cruise ship would not let one passenger, let alone all passengers, be put at risk if it wasn't safe to sail," Ms Temple said."

 

In the words, of Basil Fawtly, "you might as well ask the cat".

If I had complex health problems, I think I might ask someone with you know, some kind of medical background. 

The "crew member" could be have been the cook for all we know. No sympathy here. Nevertheless, who knew at that stage? They're all talking from hindsight.

[Pushka]

From the same article, the passengers noted above said they were showing symptoms of respiratory illness (cough and stomach issues) prior to entry to Napier but didn't go to the Doctors because their charges were excessive. If others were thinking that as well then NZ didn't stand a chance of having infected passengers. 
 

How many of us would arrive to the Port and then not board because the crew were deep cleaning the ship? I know we boarded a ship in Barcelona where the crew cleaning were dressed in hazmats and boarding was delayed by 5 hours. There is no point in blaming the passengers in this. 
 

It also mentions the Ship Doctor had forgotten to update the number of infected passengers prior to berthing/disembarkation. And that would have changed the ships classification. I find that difficult to believe. 
 

There is also the telephone conversation where the Princess official said the ambulances were not required for suspect  Covid patients yet those two patients were two of the very few who had been tested for it. And one sadly later died. Many discrepancies in the stories here. 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Pushka

[christodan]

40 minutes ago, Pushka said:

It also mentions the Ship Doctor had forgotten to update the number of infected passengers prior to berthing/disembarkation. And that would have changed the ships classification. I find that difficult to believe. 

 What do you mean? Why?

[possum52]

1 hour ago, Docker123 said:

On the ABC News site, there is a longer article that goes with the Four Corners program. While Ruby is the headline, it appears Princess more broadly gets scrutiny.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-25/four-corners-ruby-princess-coronavirus-investigation/12266884

 

Yes you are correct. Watching ABC News this morning, they spoke to the reporter who does the story on Four Corners this evening and she stated they dug into Princess and in turn Carnival. 

 

Leigh

[Pushka]

13 minutes ago, christodan said:

 What do you mean? Why?

If that media report of  that evidence is true that she simply forgot to update the numbers of people with a respiratory illness at a time when a pandemic had been declared for a respiratory illness and Australia was closing its ports and Princess had shut down operations? A couple of red flags?