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Gain rare insights into the competitive media industry as ordinary Australians reveal what it’s like to become an accidental celebrity after a traumatic, newsworthy event.
Imagine your trauma leads the news. Your private life is then public property. Your anonymity is lost. That’s what it’s like to become an accidental celebrity.
Now, the spotlight is turned around. Each episode offers rare media insights from an ordinary Australian who faced an extraordinary event. They expose the tricks of a competitive trade – the relentless pursuits, the manipulation and misrepresentation, and the betrayals of truth and trust. Learn too why they participated in media coverage.
This is the inside story on a shrewd industry that plucks unknowns from obscurity to feed our fascination with adversity and the strength of the human spirit.
Episode One – The Dingo Baby
1 February 2021
Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton became recognisable to millions of Australians after a dingo took her precious baby Azaria in 1980. The young mother found her privacy invaded and portrayal twisted as her story and identity became commodities to the media.
Episode Two – The Iceman
8 February 2021
James Scott was rescued in 1992 after 43 days alone, without food, in the freezing Himalayan mountains. The medical student defied all expectations of what a human could endure, only to face media speculation about whether he’d staged a hoax.
Episode Three – The Sole Survivor
15 February 2021
Stuart Diver was emotionally shattered, physically weak, and vulnerable to demands from a media pack when he was pulled from the rubble of the Thredbo landslide in 1997. The ski instructor relied on professional help to protect his personal interests.
Episode Four – The Missing Schoolboy
22 February 2021
Bruce and Denise Morcombe would do anything to get their 13-year-old son Daniel back after he disappeared in 2003, including sacrificing their privacy to appeal for public help. The couple learnt how the media operates, to secure ongoing coverage.
Episode Five – The Great Escape
1 March 2021
Todd Russell was stripped of his anonymity before he’d even emerged after 14 days trapped underground by the 2006 Beaconsfield mine rockfall. Elation was quickly replaced by frustration as the media pursuit and public attention became overwhelming.
Episode Six – The Face of Family Violence
8 March 2021
Rosie Batty let the media into her life when her ex-partner killed their 11-year-old son Luke in 2014. She chose to turn a personal tragedy into a catalyst for change, learning to play the game to galvanise support for a national campaign against family violence.
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