A Current Affair breached rules in parking ranger story

Tim Burrowes

June 17, 2009 3:17

A Current Affair has been told off by Australia’s media watchdog after suggesting that a council parking ranger was hiding from motorists as he photographed cars in a no stopping zone.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has found that the report – shown in an episode of Nine’s ACA in January last year – breached the TV code of practice by failing to present material accurately.

The council – which is anonymised in today’s ACMA finding – complained that the suggestion that the ranger was “hiding” in a nearby bus shelter from motorists was unfair.

After a discussion about dictionary definitions of the words “hiding” and “conceal”, ACMA concluded that a breach had occurred.

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Tim Burrowes

Tim Burrowes is the publisher of Mumbrella and Unmade. He co-founded Mumbrella in 2008 and sister title Unmade in 2021. He's worked in the UK, Middle East, Asia & Australia and has specialised in writing about the communications world for the last 25 years. He wrote the book Media Unmade, published in 2021, and became the presenter of MediaLand on ABC Radio National in 2025.