The telling and selling of Struggle Street

Now that the Struggle Street has aired in all its three part ‘poverty porn’ glory, the ratings are in. The three part series was a winner, but in nabbing such a large audience, tuned in for a voyeuristic peek into the underclass of the Lucky Country, it has caused the media to ponder issues of consent in the documentary genre.

The controversial three documentary series first aired on SBS on 3 May was the focus of outrage even before it was first screened. Objectors launched a petition for SBS to suspend the broadcast.

It is clear that Struggle Street’s phenomenal ratings appeal is the door being kicked open to a new and brutal form of storytelling and marketing when it comes to people’s lives. And one that should force all of us involved in any aspect of the media to pause and question exactly what informed consent really means when we ask people to expose themselves to public scrutiny.

A television series like Struggle Street is aimed at garnering large ratings. To do that, the show must be constructed for audience expectations – tastes that have been weaned on reality television and sensationalism.

In this genre the audience wants to see excess, be it the voyeuristic and aspirational appeal of ostentatious wealth or the suffering and struggle of the underclass.  Participants may willingly let the media into their lives, but remain ignorant of how their stories will be shaped in the editing suite and in the subsequent marketing campaigns.

Yes, Struggle Street was a highly successful documentary. It attracted a large number of viewers. But is it enough to win a ratings war? Media analysis has now rightly focused on the issue of consent – specifically whether it is enough to gain written consent from people who may have no idea what happens once the cameras stop and the story is shaped in the editing suite.

I suggest that consent can only really be given when participants are fully informed of the marketing campaign that will be used to sell their story.

In the communications business, the client understands their story will be used to sell the product. In this case, the telling and the selling of the story are entwined. The client sees the final product and has been briefed on the marketing campaign, and is a part of all different stages of the process. They see the rough cut, the edited version and have the right to veto the story and steer the tone of the marketing campaign.

This is not the case in journalism, where the documentary film maker asserts control, obtains consent to film, and then the subject hands over their life and good will to the film maker, not understanding that this is simply one part of the process. It is in the editing and marketing of that story – the selling of the news- that the damage can be done in the chase for ratings.

According to SBS Chief content officer Helen Kellie, the role of the program-maker was to “make sure we’re not showing the story the participants wish they could tell…We are telling the story as it unfolded through the six months of filming.”

Indeed, the curation of content is contingent on more than just the filming, or collection and compilation of the images. It is in the editing that a political slant can be made, that references, relationships and dialogue are brought into focus. It is in the final ‘package’ of the story that the participants may feel their lives and views have been distorted to conform to an over arching narrative that is not their own.

In a comprehensive look at the issue of consent and Struggle Street, Denis Muller in The Citizen (7 May) asked “Has SBS done over the people of Mount Druitt?” pointing out that the editing and of the series raised “questions about betrayal of trust, fairness of portrayal and the effects of stereotyping. But consent, as a cornerstone of professional ethics, is fundamental.”