Cash gets 60 Minutes out of jail, for now

Lebanon has been the battle ground for extremists such as the PLO, Hamas and the Israeli Army for some years. Yet for all of their travails, the Lebanese people are some of the most welcoming and kindest people on earth.

What have they done to deserve the ridiculous and dangerous antics of an Australian 60 Minutes crew?

Channel Nine has bought the freedom of 60 Minutes reporter Tara Brown, the TV crew and Ms Faulkner, who, as part of a massive payout, must divorce her Lebanese husband and hand custody of her children to him. That's not exactly the result she was after.

According to Fairfax media, it was the personal anguish of Nine Network cameraman Benjamin Williamson and sound recordist David Ballment at not seeing their children, which led the father to drop the charges against his wife and the 60 Minutes crew.

He felt pity on a pack of idiots who would have served up to 20 years if found guilty of kidnapping, physical assault, hiding information and criminal conspiracy charges. Of course, a Channel Nine bagman rolling up with the dosh helps.

Yet they are not completely out of the woods yet. Judge Rami Abdullah said the 60 Minutes crew and Ms Faulkner are still facing public prosecution charges of kidnapping and being members of a criminal gang and may be required to return to Lebanon if the state decides to go ahead with the prosecution.

It's extraordinary that Channel Nine would fund a half-baked scheme to kidnap children in broad daylight in a battle torn country. Anyone could have got killed. As the father said "This is Lebanon". Why attempt it? Ratings.

Video footage shows the moment the children were taken, as three men lunged for the two young children as they walked along the street. A female guardian was knocked to the ground and the children were rushed into a waiting car. Why? Ratings.

It might come as a surprise to readers that Australia's TV media of the calibre of A Current Affair and 60 Minutes is not well regarded abroad because of these 'cowboy' style antics.

After the convictions for sexual assault on women in western Sydney, sections of the media, including 60 Minutes, did a 'shock horror' tabloid job on the convicted men, which smoldered in to racial profiling of all Lebanese men. The Lebanese have long memories but better ethics than Channel Nine.

The local media were outraged that two Lebanese children were kidnapped from their grandmother in the middle of a Hezbollah area.

Had the children's Lebanese father brought a crew of Lebanese journalists to Australia and pulled the same stunt when the children lived here with their mother, it would have been met with a fury so all-encompassing, it would have ensnared the entire Lebanese community. I can picture the Daily Telegraph headlines now.

There would then follow wall-to-wall coverage of the Lebanese men convicted of the rape of women in Sydney some years ago and a tidal wave of unsourced stories linking Lebanese Australians to any sort of dubious practice which could be concocted as terrorist in nature. Filleting fish for example. He's got a knife!

Once upon the time the media broke stories and exposed corruption. Now the Australian media – especially TV current affairs shows – is morally bankrupt. It's no wonder kids have turned off. It's a turn off. If you're looking for authenticity and factual coverage, you won't find it here.

To add a bizarre element to the story, game show host, Andrew O'Keefe, was in Lebanon recently covering a story on the plight of Syrian refugees. Dada is alive and well.

The Lebanese authorities claim one of the agents Adam Whittington said he was paid $115K for the operation directly by Channel Nine and says he has the receipts to prove it. Had the kidnapping succeeded, it would have been a ratings winner and relatively cheap at $115,000 minus accommodation and airfares for the crew and Ms Faulkner.

As one commentator wrote, "the West has a habit of seeing itself as fundamentally and inherently good. Indeed, 60 Minutes claimed they were on a "humanitarian mission" to cover the story of "a desperate Australian mum trying to get her two Australian children home".

This was a desperate and unsuccessful attempt to boost ratings – to sell the spot to advertisers at a premium rate and make a bucket load of money. The Lebanese judge let them go because he realised he was dealing with a pack of idiots.

Less clear is the fate of child recovery specialist Adam Whittington and his Lebanese associates who carried out the operation on April 6, and provided a safe house for Ms Faulkner and her children Noah and Lahela, until they were arrested and detained. They have been cut lose by 60 Minutes.

Ask yourself for one brief moment, as you plant your bum in a comfy chair and flick on A Current Affair or 60 Minutes, whether what you're watching is closer to a snuff movie than TV journalism.