Tip of the Iceberg or Moral Panic?

Abstract

The most contentious issues in news coverage of scandals concern issues of proportion and prevalence. In New South Wales, the issue of police corruption has been on political and media agendas for more than three decades. The media reporting has included some landmark pieces of investigative reporting and dramatic revelations in trials and royal commissions but also sensationalism and rhetorical extravagance. Despite the prolonged attention and prolific coverage, serious questions remain about how well the extent and nature of corruption were reported and whether the media has conveyed the degree of reform in police practices.