Hmmmm… where to start. I was going to write something a few weeks ago after the Current Affair story. Now I have two reasons to write something. If you are going to comment, then read it all, then comment. If you don’t read it, please don’t comment. Yesterday with the release of Woman’s Day, and a couple of weeks ago after the A Current Affair story, I just spent my day shaking my head in disbelief. Disbelief in how the media continually mislead the public, make up stories, distort the truth and focus on the negative, the controversial, the gossip, the sensationalism, and taking stories out of context. I think I understand why they do it…. Apparently it sells. Today, I’m laughing. It is all so ridiculous. People say to me… “You have to rise above it, be bigger than them, let it go”… Oh yes, I understand why you say that, and I have, I do and I am… But I have been letting it go for the past 32 years since I first held hands with Grant. And from that moment, it hasn’t stopped. And it never will. Apparently, I’m news…. Or an easy target… either way, most of the time, and after some time, I end up laughing about it. No scrappy, so called “journalist” sitting in a box in an office will ever have lived, or do or achieve what I have, but they are quite happy thinking they know all about me and writing about it. I actually feel sorry for them sitting there making up stories out of a few lines they may have read on social media or old articles, interpreting the photos in a way that can make a story seem real without being sued. They dig up old photos that make people think they were taken yesterday, changing the colour of my clothes, even changing my hair (seriously, that has been done for the cover of a magazine years ago…I was horrified that they could do that) We’ve tried suing the magazines…several times, spent thousands of dollars, only to be told there is nothing we can do. The “exclusive” (!!) WD story made me laugh because - * Our “family friend” said we live at Maroochydore….which we don’t. * Joel was “recently” by my side on a motorhome “holiday” around Australia…Yes, recently for the last 18 months as we “work” our way around Australia conducting health and wellness seminars, visiting schools, conducting swimming and fitness sessions. Currently we have visited 83 regional and rural towns promoting wellness and prevention of heart disease. We spend between 1 and 5 days in each town. We’ve tried to get media interested in doing stories on our Roadtrip….. very few are interested. We don’t care, we know what we do and how many people we have inspired and helped. We love reading the messages from the people who contact me months later and tell me they have lost 10, 20 and even 30 kilos…. or their kids will now eat their veges and have stopped drinking soft drinks because “Lisa said”. Write about those success stories? Nope, not sensational enough. (oneroadtrip.au) • “Cooked breakfast for Grant in the morning” confirms the “family friend” ….. Grant doesn’t even eat cooked breakfasts at home and besides that, he makes his own. • Joel is banned from the property reports “another family friend” (gee we have lots of family friends). Of course Joel doesn’t go to the house, there is no need. • I “march” into the house and tell the kids to clean their rooms (ummm, they are not kids anymore, and marching has never been my style.) There were some things in the story that was pretty much on the mark. • Grant and I are good friends and are very close, and always will be. • Our priority is our children. The headlines “Back on! Their surprising family news” (what was the surprising news anyway?), and “We’re back together” is totally misleading to the Australian public. I understand that headlines attract sales, but this time WD, you’ve gone too far. It’s so ridiculous, it’s laughable. You need to apologise to your readers. A Current Affair As for ACA… firstly they promoted the story as the reason Grant and I broke up (not true, who cares and it’s none of anyone’s business) and then they conveniently mixed a couple of stories into one and made it seem like Rushing Woman’s Syndrome was something I made up, only to be slammed by doctors and even the Black Dog Institute. For the LAST time people, RWS has nothing to do with me, it was coined by another doctor. I was talking about HORMONAL IMBALANCE which affects teens right through to menopause and is a really big issue for women (and men). When I flew to Sydney to do an interview with Weekend Sunrise, I spoke to the shows’ regular psychiatrist about what I was going on the show to talk about (Hormonal Imbalance) and he said “doctors don’t know much about it”…. Wow! If I had said that on National TV, every doctor would have my throat. I just wish HE could have said that on National TV. If anyone, or any journalist wants to read up on the real reason I was on ACA, you can read about it here happyhormones.au Oh and for the record ACA, don’t bother calling me for any comment…. ever again. Social media trolls. Social media has given people the opportunity to have their say and as I watched the comments come up on FB before the ACA show had even started, I realised how powerful it is. Interestingly, and some people probably don’t know this, but someone who works for ACA sits and watches the comments, allows the disgusting comments to be loaded, then someone writes a positive comment and it is conveniently deleted. It’s so obvious what they are doing. They love discussion, they love people getting all hot under the collar and being revolting. It snowballs. And all those trolls, keyboard warriors, whatever you want to call them, feel important, for a minute or two. If you watch the comments on the next story, the same revolting people make the same revolting comments. There are people who cop the brunt of these comments and feel so hurt or humiliated from nasty comments and death threats, or from presenters trying to be funny (and they’re not), that they actually feel suicidal. Who helps them? But that’s where we are in society today. Everyone can have a say. Anywhere, anytime, about anything. Nicely, or not. When someone says something nasty about me or anyone else, or when people treat others poorly, we have to remember not to take it personally. What they say and write says nothing about me or the person….but a lot about them, the person writing it. People have asked, “How are they allowed to write these things that are clearly made up”? I wonder too. Very clever. Can’t sue them, can’t touch them. Here’s a tip though. Those “close friends”, a “family member”, a “source”, “locals say”………nope, none of them say anything, that’s the writer finding the loophole to say whatever they damn well like. If you ask them to reveal their sources, they won’t because they CAN’T, because it’s the clever, small minded journo sitting in his / her booth writing these misleading stories week after week. Oh dear, did I let the secret out? That “close friends and sources” are not real people? What a surprise. If it says “Lisa said”…then I said it. Sometimes, these stories go too far. People get upset, people get hurt, reputations get damaged, perceptions of people go down the drain. I saw it first hand on a reality TV show I did. The way people were portrayed by the producers was disgraceful. It actually ruins people’s lives, and then the next show starts and the people whose lives were ruined have to try and pick up the pieces themselves. The TV, radio, media people involved, they don’t care, they just move onto the next victim, the next easy target, the next vulnerable person. PR – Perception is Reality I like how Hunter Pryor explains this on FB (his full message below) “Where PR is supposed to mean public relations, those in the industry know its real meaning is Perception is Reality and its not about making sure people know the truth, but knowing that even reporting stuff that is based on accurate information can be twisted and spun to create a perception that is not actually correct. Yet what is left is the left over perception the public had of the people that completely can be defamatory and destroy and tarnish a persons reputation they have worked so hard to build up. I have always tried to push a belief that media should have some social responsibility to the people and the community they are a part of. Where we believe that the media reports the news and the opinion of the people, the real fact is that the media creates the news and the opinions of the people by how it chooses to report matters.” Media often ask for my opinion, and depending on the situation I will either give it or decline and I always have a choice to be truthful or tactful. I was recently called by a radio station to give a pre-recorded interview and because it was pre-recorded, I declined, as I would have given them an opportunity to cut and paste it as they wish to make the story THEY want, not the story I give. Whew, I’m glad I’ve finally worked that one out! This is important… The most frustrating part of all of this is that ANY story that is reported, either correctly or incorrectly, gets repeated DIRECTLY onto every news report, social media site, internet news, gossip columns, talkback radio, and any local or regional paper. From there, people are able to comment on “what they read or hear”. Why is it that NOT ONE journalist has the guts to read misleading stories and actually write a NEW story on the truthful facts? It’s like chinese whispers…. A little bit added here or there to make it their own story and sooner or later, the whole story is just rubbish…with an added opinion from someone who has done NO research. To the journalists… What are you taught when studying to be a journalist? Research? Quoting sources? Referencing your information? Do you start your job with good intentions following the lessons learnt with your degree? At what point does that change and you lose your morals and decide to write disgraceful articles that end up having an impact on the person or people or company that you are so intent on embarrassing, humiliating or bringing down? Is your pathetic life of bringing people down and misleading your readers really you…or what your boss demands? When journalists start standing up for their right to report truthfully, two things may happen. 1. They will feel good about being true to themselves. 2. They will probable lose their job. There are plenty of publications out there looking for good quality writers where you can have a positive influence on society and are able to sleep at night knowing you did a good job. Having a positive impact on the people who read your stories and influencing and changing lives is one of the best things you will ever do. Be strong and brave to stand up for the truth and be true to yourself. Make your mum and dad proud. If your boss threatens to fire you…so be it. You will be a happier, healthier person for it. Honestly, I don’t know how some journalists sleep at night. Oh, and by the way, I KNOW who wrote the WD story, even though there was no name attached to it. Isn’t it funny no one puts their name to a made up story?? Hmmmm… There are however some really good writers and journalists in Australia who write beautiful stories that we all love to read. You are the ones who should be demanding fair journalism, having your stories printed so that others may read, learn and benefit from them. A few things to finish off… I totally get it. I know the game the media play. I can play too…and I’m very competitive. Lucky for me, I’ve been around a long time, and I have thick skin and big shoulders. I can handle it, most of the time. And when I don’t cope, my close family and friends are there to help me. My life is not perfect, no ones is. We are all just doing what we do and trying to live a productive, happy life. Everyone has issues, problems and challenges, makes mistakes and have drama and grief in their life – no one is immune to it. We are all doing our best. I hope we all make it. Grant, our children, Joel and I know the truth, our closest friends and family know the truth, but the constant misleading stories leave a perception in people’s minds… and there is nothing we can do about that. What we do in OUR house is none of anyone’s business. If media are hanging out for Grant to make a comment…about anything… ever… you’ll be waiting a long time. He’s not interested in talking to you. He’s a private person, let him be. I am a public person. I always have been. I always will be. I love my life, I love my job, I love what I do and I love working with and helping others. I will comment and have an opinion about anything I choose…as all people are entitled to. If people dont like me or are sick of reading or hearing about me, then tune out….Because I’m not going anywhere. You wait and see what I have up my sleeve! Have a great week. Lisa x lisacurry.au happyhormones.au oneroadtrip.au PS. I would like to see new laws brought in to keep journalism fair and truthful and be accountable to naming their sources. What do you think? Read this FB message from Hunter. Thank you Hunter. Hunter Pryor I used to run a PR company for many years where we provided press material for businesses like Toyota, Lexus, Caltex and BlueScope Steel. Part of the preparation of the material was STRICT processes of ensuring complete accuracy down to the last comments. However, during that time I became very disheartened and annoyed at realising that magazines and newspapers have shameful ethics all done in the name of selling editions. Where PR is supposed to mean public relations, those in the industry know its real meaning is Perception is Reality and its not about making sure people know the truth, but knowing that even reporting stuff that is based on accurate information can be twisted and spun to create a perception that is not actually correct. Fortunately for my industry we didnt report a lot about people individually, but it ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED me the way the media will report something as a big story about something someone has allegedly done, but then when the truth comes out that the person is innocent that the media give it about an inch of copy on page 28. Yet what is left is the left over perception the public had of the people that completely can be defamatory and destroy and tarnish a persons reputation they have worked so hard to build up. I have always tried to push a belief that media should have some social responsibility to the people and the community they are a part of. Where we believe that the media reports the news and the opinion of the people, the real fact is that the media creates the news and the opinions of the people by how it choses to report matters. I have said that I wanted an equal ink and position policy that if the media write something about someone and a claim against them that if it is discovered that these claims are false then the media must too report the claim being found as false in the exact same number of square cm of ink they made the initial reports in. When I say that the media should have certain guidelines as to how they report matters I hear the people in the industry say this cant be done because the media promotes freedom of speech. That is just crap and it is a cowardly way for assholes in papers and magazines to get away with reporting stuff they know is false or taken out of context and they know completely that the perception people will have is not in fact the truth of the matter. When I hear about a story surfacing like this one on Lisa Curry it just makes me furious as there is always part of the damage done that can never be reversed. Pass my empathy on to Lisa please Mel and let her know that stories like the one in Womans Day incite complete anger in me because I know just how damaging they can be and most likely the reporter knew exactly that there was not any truth to it. They should be fired from their job for either professional defamation or gross failure of authenticating the accuracy of the sources of their material. H
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 11:30:13 +0000
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