It’s the show journalists never want to be on. Each week it holds the media to account for breaches of various codes of conduct and reporting on things that are dubious or simply untrue.
The notorious “cash for comment” revelations are a case in point. Shock Jocks were found to be taking money to endorse products on air under the guise of editorial commentary. Legendary broadcaster John Laws, known as "The Golden Tonsils" was spruiking Sydney's Star City casino for kickbacks while Alan Jones was singing the praises of Optus.
Media Watch had a field day.
The year was 1999, a decade after the first program launched. I was working at Radio National for programs like Arts Today and Breakfast and provided a handy voice around ABC Ultimo. It was at this time that I was invited to join presenter Simon Marie to recite all sorts of scandalous stuff about this and other cases for insertion into the long-running show.
These days, after more than two decades with the show, I still fly down to Sydney to record voice-overs and head over to the ABC North Coast Studios in Lismore to connect with Master Control.
As director Julie Adams says; "You're part of the Media Watch family!".