Sam Newman brands media as ‘excrement’ over its coverage of Eddie McGuire drowning remarks
Channel Nine Footy Show host Sam Newman has branded the media which has covered Eddie McGuire’s controversial comments about drowning The Age sports journalist Caroline Wilson as “excrement”.
In a strongly word editorial aired last night Newman accused Wilson of “feigning indignation” over the remarks, which he says essentially come down to “a personality clash between two radio stations” 3AW and TripleM.
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“If you search for a cause to fit a narrative that you are pedalling eventually you will convince yourself that you have stumbled onto something, as most of the cowardly excrement have,” said Newman.
“Those excrement who have weighed into this, I would like to mention their names but as no one reads, watches of listens to them because they are in second tier media outlets I won’t bother.
“But if you spray a piece of excrement with perfume or put aftershave on a piece of excrement at the end of the day it is still a piece of excrement.”
Newman’s remarks related to the ongoing furore around comments made nearly two weeks ago at the Big Freeze fundraiser held at the MCG, when TripleM Hot Breakfast show host Eddie McGuire and other commentators and AFL officials joked on-air that people would pay to see The Age’s Caroline Wilson dunked in cold water, saying: “I reckon we should start the campaign for a one-person slide next year featuring Caroline Wilson and I’ll put in 10 grand straight away – make it 20. And if she stays under – 50. What do you reckon guys?”
McGuire was about to go through the ice slide himself and brought in fellow Triple M host James Brayshaw and former St Kilda captain Danny Frawley, with the latter responding: “I’ll actually jump in and make sure she doesn’t [come up] … I’ll hold her under, Ed.”
McGuire, Brayshaw and TripleM have all now issued apologies, with the radio station yesterday backflipping on previous statements that no action was required and ordering all on-air talent to undergo training from domestic violence charity White Ribbon.
Newman, who started his editorial stating McGuire was a friend of his, took aim at Wilson, accusing her of hypocrisy by stating that she had been on rival Melbourne station 3AW at around the same time where similar comments about dunking her and keeping her under had been made.
The football commentator then accused her of feigning indignation in the days after the audio of McGuire, Brayshaw and Frawley’s remarks had become the centre of public controversy.
“If you want to be treated equally don’t complain when it’s too equal,” he said, before adding “Now finally the jig is up, Caro, honestly and truly you are becoming an embarrassment and even if you were under water you would still be talking.”
Newman’s remarks were met with applause from the audience but James Brayshaw, who was part of the original Triple M broadcast, then piped, in saying: “You are absolutely entitled to your point of view, Sam, but I don’t agree, especially with that last bit.”
Newman then responded: “What? If you are under water? People can still talk under water, Jim. Don’t take that to another level. You’ve heard the phrase ‘you can talk under water’ and she talks plenty.”
The Footy Show host then challenged Brayshaw on why he had continued to apologise, to which he responded: “Some of that language that was used in that 30 seconds that has been discussed so much was off the pace and for that it was absolutely appropriate that we apologise.”
Brayshaw: “It was absolutely appropriate” that we apologise
Rebecca Maddern, Newman’s female co-host, condemned McGuire’s comments but defended his reputation.
“When I heard this exchange it did make me feel uncomfortable, as a women, as a person. If it was said about me I have to admit I would have been upset by it,” said Maddern in her own editorial.
Maddern: These men made a mistake.
“I do agree, in part, with Sam on this, that the men involved are all good men. I know how they feel about violence against women, and it’s exactly how I feel. These men made a mistake.
“They have acknowledged they made a mistake. They have apologised for that mistake, and that apology has been accepted. So we’re at a point now where all we can do is move forward. We need to move forward in a positive way.”
“I think in the media, we have to be reminded that we are in a very privileged position. We have a voice. That voice is listened to by many people, and people absorb what we say. And in turn, because of that, we have a power to change the conversation and shape the public perception about certain issues,” she added.
The original comments made by Eddie were never about gender. Replace Caroline Wilson with say Mark Robinson in those comments and the whole media furore of the past few days would never have happened. It was only brought up because some blogger saw it as an opportunity to push her agenda of violence against women. A worthwhile agenda, don’t get me wrong, but Eddie et al have been hung out to dry by a media desperately trying to generate column inches.
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With friends like Sam Newman, Eddie really doesn’t need enemies
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That Sam Newman and Eddie McGuire still have any voice in the media – and are paid handsomely for it- in itself is extraordinary and negligent by the media owners. Their comments reflect views that are ill-conceived, offensive, irresponsible and downright rude. How many more apologies before they go?
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“If you want to be treated equally…”
Sam thinks equality is dependent on women agreeing to his conditions. He really wants the world to change back to his comfort zone of the 1970’s. But sadly for Sam, those days are long gone and there’s no going back. Nine could demonstrate compassion to an older man wracked with insecurity and intense fear of change by offering him immediate retirement.
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Sam is a desperate man.
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I really feel if Bec Maddern feels uncomfortable and condemns Eddie’s words, she should speak up when Sam Newman makes sexist and derogatory remarks on the Footy Show (which are often flung in her direction). I don’t know how he gets away with some of the things he says on air; I suppose it just speaks to the state of the Footy Show’s captive audience. Good on them for putting a woman on the panel, but until Sam leaves or seriously changes his tune the show will continue to reinforce the toxic masculinity and misogyny which [historically] has been so prevalent in the AFL media sphere.
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Are you saying that a small vocal crowd of social media groups are just waiting to pounce with their daily hammers? Because you are right.
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Eddie and Sam are straight up flogs. Why are they still a part of network furniture? They’re bullies, throwbacks to an era of chauvinistic tolerance that for some reason is still pertinent to Australia.
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Sally Arnold….. Can you please give your thoughts on whether or not you believe LJ’s statement above — “The original comments made by Eddie were never about gender. Replace Caroline Wilson with say Mark Robinson in those comments and the whole media furore of the past few days would never have happened.” — is correct or incorrect?
Also, if Penny Wong made a similar comment about Tony Abbott would you be jumping on your high horse and leading the charge of The Outrage Brigade?
Of course you wouldn’t because this whole beatup is about selective outrage and has nothing whatsoever to do with violence against women, which, IS A VERY SERIOUS ISSUE THAT NEEDS MORE TO BE DONE, including harsher penalties for men who violate AVOs in any manner.
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Sure LH
A pack of men talking about forcibly drowning a woman, along with calling her a black widow. Why would women think of that as a gendered insult? Except for the fact that women live in fear of this kind of scenario and men don’t…
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Excellent commentary from Steve Biddulph regarding this: http://www.businessinsider.com.....ire-2016-6
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Great call LH…..women seem to only want to be defined by gender when it suits them. Why wasn’t the headline “Eddie makes offensive joke about journalist”? Mainly because then it’s not a headline.
Women have been campaigning to be not defined by their gender, so issues like this put their cause back a few steps.
And linking this with domestic violence? Please…..does Eddie live with Caro?
You can’t have it both ways guys….er, i mean girls….er, can’t say that either…..all too hard.
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The one question that should be asked, if this is deemed as violence against women, the people running these fundraisers should get out in the real world and see first hand what the word violence means so 100% of all money donated and all the time and effort is directed to the right people they should not get involved in this sort Ms Wilson power struggle crap
GP Magpie
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That’s the whole point of this recent campaign though, physical violence against women starts with this sort of casual misogyny that permeates Australian society. This is not about a power struggle it’s about setting a standard of discourse in Australia that doesn’t consistently look down on women as inferior or weak in comparison to men. That sort of attitude is what breeds physical violence against women and that sort of attitude is exactly what needs to be stamped out to help stem the tide of domestic violence against women.
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Are you condoning Sam Newman saying things to Bec like “I’ll be on top and you can be on bottom” with a childish grin on his face when talking about a seemingly innocuous situation, to the greasy smiles of appreciation from misinformed male and female members of the crowd whilst Bec Maddern laughs it of uncomfortably? That sort of behavior then gets transferred into schools, workplaces and general society and leads to the kind of emotional and domestic abuse that we see in Australia today. This is about more than “pinko’s having a whinge from their high horses” or “lefty bike-riding liberals needing to grow a pair” or whatever straw man rhetoric you want to call it – this is about the systematic propagation of hatred and disrespect towards women being fostered in this country.
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Get a life, there is far more important issues in the world to discuss which we completely ignore.
Freedom of speech, that’s what makes life interesting but unfortunately people are scarred to use it.
Get rid of political correctness
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‘of’ instead of ‘or’ in second paragraph.
also something something pot kettle black sam newman excrement you see where i’m going with this.
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There are some big boys who don’t like being challenged or questioned by strong women in what they see as ‘their domain’.
To those who insist this isn’t about gender. Eddie was involved in the Footy Show. He knows all about the Caro manequin skit disgrace Newman pulled. It is well-documented that Eddie is the number one ‘big man on campus’ in the AFL, an expert at threatening throwing his weight around. And it ha been shown again and again he does not appreciate or handle criticism, and hates to ever admit when he is at fault. Caro does her job – no more no less. She has been critical of Ed when he has overstepped – Goodes King Kong. Making a mess of the Malthouse deal etc. And the latest – daring to suggest that after 18 years, maybe the woods should begin to talk about transitonong to the next president in the not-too-distant future. Oh the nerve? Because of this, Ed is pissed. So his response, a ‘joke’ about holding Caroline under water because she is a ‘Black Widow’ – it is just so magnificently reminincent of medieval witch drowning! Caro did not initiate the media response that Sam has gone off about. It came from broad female media sources. She ultimately responded in a measured way. No threats of drownings. Or calling people excrement. In fact, can someone give me some examples of female journo’s jokingly suggesting voilence against male public figure? It just does not happen..
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Well said from Maddern and Sam had a good point.
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“Get rid of political correctness” = can we go back to the days where we could be racist and sexist without consequences?
That would be a no Lilian.
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Who the fuck is Sam Newman and why should his opinion be worth more than a turd?
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I was reading these posts and thought to myself, what a great example of tempered and intelligent debate… then I read Groucho’s remarks and it brought me back to Earth with a thud… but it also made me have a laugh.
Sometimes the shortest path to a single point is often the best.
Well said Groucho.
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Amen to that^^
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