Has the Peter Leonard thing, perhaps, been slightly over done?

Interesting thread. I think JB asked a fair question and didn’t run down Peter Leonard in any way. Personally, think all the media coverage is driven by media personalities that want to create an atmosphere where they are similarly revered once their time comes to shuffle off the mortal coil.

I’m sure Peter was a nice bloke but DMD is right, Leonard was simply paid to do a job and he did it very well. His profile also allowed him to spend time working with various charities which was great. How much media time will be given though to other people who spend even more time working with charities? When that wonderful little old lady who runs the soup kitchen in town finally goes, what do you think she’ll get in term of remembrance?

While she deserves at least a statue in her honour while she’s still alive, I’d be surprised if news of her (hopefully long into the future) demise willr ate any more than the third of fourth story in the evening news (behind the latest story about Raiders misbehavior of some Hollywood celebrity divorce) and an obit in the CT.

I will rarely defend JB, but it seems the season (and the hour for ranting).

Grahame Potts and all the rest of you, you are frickin douchebags. I’m not a major fan of JB, in fact, I think he can be a prick sometimes too. But he does have a real job, with a website that he needs to generate hits on to buy his coffee. It’s the way this lovely capitalist system that’s about to crash into the ground works. You need people to SEE your stuff and you need people to TALK ABOUT you stuff. He’s not exactly running sweat-shops to do his thing either.

JB’s a lucky guy, he gets to be his own boss, he gets to choose where he can work. Hell, I want that, but I don’t have the tech-savvy or the journo skills to pull off what JB’s doing. I’m damn sure it’s better than putting on a suit and worrying about which level of public c-ck your sucking for the rest of your life. The way you guys seem to lay into him for daring to run a site where you can lay into him makes you sound jealous, and you are never going to win a heated debate if you sound jealous of your opponent.

Lay into him over Peter Leonard, but lay into him about the fact you think Peter Leonard’s corpse needs to be embalmed and paraded through the city walk rather than simply being allowed to rest in peace.

And…seriously dude, charity work aside, all Peter did was read from a auto-cue-thingie and look smart for the camera. At least JB puts a lot of his own material up. Not saying Pete wasn’t a good bloke, but seriously, seriously don’t start awarding him posthumous wakelys.

… with all your imaginary friends.

Thanks for your “imput” potts. Good luck with your alternative venture. At least it means you’ll be more worried about posting there than here.

You can’t understand the English language, but we are the ‘stunted cretins with double digit IQs’?

“For what it’s worth if WMC had any idea about the economics of web publishing he might know that the extra clicks brought to his petulant tantrum might, with $3.50, buy me a coffee.”

Duh ….

Boy, I say, boy! You’d better get yerself a real job, boy, or I’ll whoop yer good, y’understand, boy? Y’hear me, boy? I’ll string yer six feet high ‘n’ whoop yer no good ass, boy!

I think we’re done then…

Man, I need a cigarette.

Fair enough. For mine, it takes away from your argument when it becomes more about the fact that you disagree than why.

Anyway, we’re now even further off the point – and I certainly take my share of responsibility for that.

My position on this topic (and the fact that the topic exists) is clear.

Cameron said :

AH, I would think that anyone who considers themselves an adult would be able to behave as such, irrespective of whether anyone else is or not.

Look man I consider myself just as much an adult as anyone else on here.

If I see what I consider bullsh*t then I’m not gonna mince around. I call it bullsh*t, as is my right to do so.

Maybe you should have a go at moderating???

I love it when WMC changes the point of attack completely.

This from the guy who started out talking about a collective ‘we’ overdoing things, then hitting out at the ‘local media’, then finally revealing his true paranoia-fueled political agenda? I suppose we should expect nothing less from a guy with a history of getting hysterical about non-existent hysteria and who drags a dead man through the mud so he can accuse somebody else of dragging a dead man through the mud.

The only sorry you’ll get from me is “HACK! Hackhackhack. Sorry, there’s something stuck in my throat”.

AH, I would think that anyone who considers themselves an adult would be able to behave as such, irrespective of whether anyone else is or not.

Granny said :

I have already said I believe you can tell a lot about a person from the number of people attending their funeral. All of the comments here have supported the conclusion that he was a well-loved and respected member of the community.

I am sorry that a nice person died in a horrible way also. Nobody deserves that. I think your concern for the man shows that you are a kind person with a good heart.

Aww thanks Granny! I really am once you get to know me.

Cameron said :

AngryHenry said :

You can exercise your right of reply without describing opposing views as ‘bullsh*t’.

No, no I can’t.

It’s kind of like calling the media coverage over Peter Leonard’s death a ‘circle -jerk’.

AngryHenry said :

Fact is, that’s my opinion.

And appropriate something I think went out the window when this was handled the way it was.

It’s ‘right of reply’ and I will excercise that right.

You can exercise your right of reply without describing opposing views as ‘bullsh*t’.

I wasn’t denigrating newsreaders in general or Peter Leonard specifically at all, AH. I was merely rebutting RS’ comment:

realityskin said :

surely you jest in stating that you work longer hours than him (or any 9 to 5er for that matter ) ?

I have already said I believe you can tell a lot about a person from the number of people attending their funeral. All of the comments here have supported the conclusion that he was a well-loved and respected member of the community.

I am sorry that a nice person died in a horrible way also. Nobody deserves that. I think your concern for the man shows that you are a kind person with a good heart.

Cameron said :

AH – your points 1 and 2 are, like all other posts in this thread and indeed on the site, statements of opinion. Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t speak of your opinion as if it were fact?

I think everyone else has been very clear – and whilst you obviously continue to take issue with what JB has said, I don’t know how respectful it is to characterise everyone elses opinion as ‘bullsh*t’ and ‘disrespectful’. It is clear that for the most part we’re discussing the appropriateness of treating high profile deaths differently than low profile deaths. The only thing taking this off topic is your continued engagement of Johnboy over his comments.

Something more appropriate for conversation via email perhaps.

Fact is, that’s my opinion.

And appropriate something I think went out the window when this was handled the way it was.

It’s ‘right of reply’ and I will excercise that right.

Granny said :

So what I was saying, obviously, was in my observation the editor does work long hours. Are you agreeing or disagreeing with this?

Well I wouldn’t know about the extent of the hours he worked and given I have only your observations to go on and don’t know you from a bar of soap, I can neither agree nor disagree.

I’m saying everyone works hard at what they do (JB included judging by the amount of content posted and moderaton that takes place), it’s unfair to even compare reading the news and being the face of a local media outlet to his job when he has no idea as to what goes into it.

AH – your points 1 and 2 are, like all other posts in this thread and indeed on the site, statements of opinion. Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t speak of your opinion as if it were fact?

I think everyone else has been very clear – and whilst you obviously continue to take issue with what JB has said, I don’t know how respectful it is to characterise everyone elses opinion as ‘bullsh*t’ and ‘disrespectful’. It is clear that for the most part we’re discussing the appropriateness of treating high profile deaths differently than low profile deaths. The only thing taking this off topic is your continued engagement of Johnboy over his comments.

Something more appropriate for conversation via email perhaps.

Granny said :

So what I was saying, obviously, was in my observation the editor does work long hours. Are you agreeing or disagreeing with this?

Monkeys work long hours picking fleas off each other…………

So what I was saying, obviously, was in my observation the editor does work long hours. Are you agreeing or disagreeing with this?

Granny said :

Obviously RA is a past-time for me and a job for its editor. Because I spend a lot of time engaged in the past-time I happen to notice the hours worked by the editor. What is your point?

Like I said before, engaging in a past-time where you set your own hours doesn’t qualify as hard work unless you are the organiser or manager of the activity or indeed this case the editor.

Off the back of said editors comment ‘I doubt running this site will ever give me the sort of leisure time for other community work that he enjoyed’, i said ‘strike up the violins’ later clarifying ‘we all work hard at what we do’.

This is getting off topic and I have already stated what my point about the subject matter in previous posts. I think I have been very clear.

1. This has only contributed to the ‘circle-jerk’ JB so eloquently described that the media has engaged in and…

2. It’s really bloody disrespectful to drag the name of a nice guy who passed away through all this bullsh*t.

Obviously RA is a past-time for me and a job for its editor. Because I spend a lot of time engaged in the past-time I happen to notice the hours worked by the editor. What is your point?

Probably better off getting an entry level AS04 😀

Granny said :

I can attest to the sort of hours worked, as I am online long hours also at the moment. Between RA and Facebook I have often noticed that there is only one other ‘Duracell bunny’ still burning the midnight oil long after all the ‘Eveready’ people are tucked up into bed.

The point I was trying to make is that we all work hard at what we do.

But, now that you mention it. RA and Facebook? I would describe that as a past-time, one where you set your own hours, unless you’re running the thing.

I can attest to the sort of hours worked, as I am online long hours also at the moment. Between RA and Facebook I have often noticed that there is only one other ‘Duracell bunny’ still burning the midnight oil long after all the ‘Eveready’ people are tucked up into bed.

Do you ever tire of being so hopelessly wrong RS?

johnboy said :

I doubt running this site will ever give me the sort of leisure time for other community work that he enjoyed.

*this* is your full time job ? surely you jest in stating that you work longer hours than him (or any 9 to 5er for that matter ) ?

johnboy said :

AH I’m accountable to my shareholders and answerable to the law. Just like any other publisher.

I did not invite comparisons between myself and Peter Leonard, I responded to them (perhaps unwisely).

I doubt running this site will ever give me the sort of leisure time for other community work that he enjoyed.

My beef was never with Leonard, but with the media/political circle-jerk that followed.

You seem to be mostly upset that I didn’t join the circle-jerk with sufficient vigour due to being insufficiently like the other media outlets.

Well I’m sorry if that upsets you. But I’m not going to change anything.

JB You seem to have misunderstood me altogether, I am not upset with the fact that you didn’t join the circle-jerk because (wether or not it was inadverted does not matter) you have contributed to it anyway. The term ‘circle -jerk’ is disgusting by the way.

What upsets me is the disrespect levelled at the deceased, while you say you don’t invite comparisons you go on to say things like ‘I doubt running this site will ever give me the sort of leisure time for other community work that he enjoyed’, I mean strike up the violins!!! Yet another snide comment about someone you barely know that pollutes the message.

The message of course being, the Canberra media’s over-the-top handling of Peter Leonard’s passing from what I can gather once I put my bullsh*t filter on.

RiotACT isn’t all that seperated from the Canberra media anyway!?!?! I mean you ran a poll on the damn thing for god’s sake!!!!

AH I’m accountable to my shareholders and answerable to the law. Just like any other publisher.

I did not invite comparisons between myself and Peter Leonard, I responded to them (perhaps unwisely).

I doubt running this site will ever give me the sort of leisure time for other community work that he enjoyed.

My beef was never with Leonard, but with the media/political circle-jerk that followed.

You seem to be mostly upset that I didn’t join the circle-jerk with sufficient vigour due to being insufficiently like the other media outlets.

Well I’m sorry if that upsets you. But I’m not going to change anything.

If my information is correct, the proposal for a scholarship in Peter Leonard’s name originiated from a current Chief of Staff from Channel 9 in Sydney. I’m not sure if people realise (or care) that Peter Leonard’s influence stretches further than the ACT border. Focusing soley on his television work, he has been a mentor for a great number of people who have gone on to be high profile journalists themselves (obvious names like Melissa Doyle, Samantha Armytage and Peter Stefanovic blah blah blah) as well as top media advisors at both a federal and local level.

Political stunt? I don’t think so. The scholarship would’ve been implemented by either party whether or not there was an election. Especially when the money for it will be fuelled by one of (if not the) biggest media organisations in the country.

He was an influential person in the industry who did a lot of good deeds and was a genuinely nice person.

A journalism scholarship was created in his honour. Big fucking deal.

As for flags at half mast? I don’t know he deserved it or not, but it didn’t effect my day at all.

He’s been copping it pretty hard from some posters here, which indicates he’s not abusing his power in this thread. Then again, we can’t see who’s in moderation.

Granny said :

I think it shows a certain immaturity that people are prepared to personally attack the OP because they are unhappy with the ideas expressed.

The authors will sometimes be right and sometimes be wrong. Sometimes they’ll make a good call and sometimes they won’t. Sometimes you’ll love it and other times not.

Nevertheless, we all choose to post on this site. A service is provided that we value to some degree or another. I don’t see too many of the critics producing much of a volume of material for others to interact with.

If the site owners said, “To hell with it! I’ve had enough crap,” I for one would miss what we’ve had. They don’t have to do this. They might easily enjoy a better life if they didn’t.

Freedom of speech is only truly possible when it is safe to express an opinion. If you want stories that won’t offend you, go and read the local rags. If you are intelligent enough to debate an issue without resorting to name calling and personal insults, try addressing the issues instead.

Well I think we all feel pretty ‘safe’ about expressing our opinions here.

My point Granny is that the issue hasn’t been addressed and instead polluted by snide comments about an individual…

For example:

“And having built my own soap box rather than having it gifted to me, and written my own words rather than have them displayed on a tele-prompter, I’m comfortable with any comparisons anyone wants to make.”

I mean that is a bit of a dog act, especially in the wake of the persons death. If someone attacked what I did for a living, words would be my second choice for settling the debate…

I’m not attacking anyone’s self worth as a human being, JB you’ve obviously gotta have thick skin to perform the role you chose to undertake but when you respond in that kind of way it alters my perception of you from being a ‘fair’ moderator to just another opinionated contributor or a-hole, pending on how you look at it…

If that’s my misunderstanding, perhaps it could be cleared up?

Like I said earlier – grief is universal.

Every instance of death is mirrored with someone losing one of the most important individuals in their life – regardless of race, religion, creed etc.

Making one persons death more of an issue trivialises the death of anyone else, as, even though it may not be in the public scope, the grief of friends and family of someone who is not a public figure is as manifestly strong as those mourning teh death of a public figure.

Right on the money (yet again) Granny.

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

JB made it personal when he insinuated that somebody (somewhere, maybe, do you think, a little?) had used a dead man as a political stunt.

Are you really interested in what I think?

Because what I really believe is that the OP simply posed a question to which others were free to:

a. agree
b. disagree
c. take a position somewhere in between

The OPs opinion was simply that. Nowhere did he express any disrespect or contempt for the man himself.

In a free society people should be entitled to ask these questions. The OP is certainly not alone in this view, as demonstrated by this very thread.

Should we insult everyone else on “that side”?

As for the motive, that is only your opinion (one which I find completely unsavoury, but you will notice that I haven’t insulted you or attacked the very core of your self worth as a human being) which may or may not be true but certainly can’t be proven by either of you. Only the OP will ever know for certain.

I understand that you are upset. I do care about that, and I do believe you are a far more complex individual than I first thought when you insulted me on the haunted house thread, which actually really hurt and shut me down.

You have made this personal, and you should accept responsibility for that. You are certainly eloquent and intelligent enough to defend your position without resorting to tactics that are more suited to the playground.

we should all have a read of the Trevor van Wensveen death notice in todays CT. Puts things into perspective for me.

Too true – that has to be one of the most touching things I’ve read in a while. Really beautiful!

Well it’s at the bottom at the moment… will obviously change when more death notices are added.

wishuwell said :

Having been visited by death too often this year already I’ve kept comments on this and other similar threads to a bare minimum, but scoring points over other peoples misery is getting to me.

The idea of this website is to debate issues with relatively relaxed moderation. JB as the editor has raised and issue (what a shock) and it’s being discussed. The only point scoring I see are people trying to claim moral high ground by accusing others of trying to score points, political or otherwise, through debating the merits of public reaction to the death of popular personalities.

Having said that maybe we should all have a read of the Trevor van Wensveen death notice in todays CT. Puts things into perspective for me. I’d post it but I’m too I.T. challenged.

Link to the Death Notice

It’s the one at the bottom of that page.

If Laurie Daley died today you’d find me making similar comments about how that would be overdone – and I’m a mad Raiders (and Daley) fan.

Too true Cameron. I’m a fan of Laurie Daily – the alarming plastic work he’s had done to his head and thick black dye job amuses me to no end! If only they’d update the statue to match, I’d go there at lunchtimes and chuckle to my self Bevis & Butthead style.

@Cameron Good on him. I know plenty of people who are more involved in the community and have no public profile whatsoever, and certainly wouldn’t generate as much of a reaction upon their death simply as a result of not having read the news as well

Couldnt agree more.

Maybe when I die jumping a fence into a culvert, flags will be at half mast because I have served the public in various forms for +40 hours a week for the last 13 years.

JB – Would you do my eulogy ?
Play “Throw your arms (Around me)” (Unplugged version by hunters and collectors) at my funeral.

Having been visited by death too often this year already I’ve kept comments on this and other similar threads to a bare minimum, but scoring points over other peoples misery is getting to me. Having said that maybe we should all have a read of the Trevor van Wensveen death notice in todays CT. Puts things into perspective for me. I’d post it but I’m too I.T. challenged.

If Laurie Daley died today you’d find me making similar comments about how that would be overdone – and I’m a mad Raiders (and Daley) fan.

JB, perhaps if you had stuck to your point about the media overdoing it rather than throwing in comments about the man himself your point would have been taken a little better and perhaps agreed with.

Yeah he read the news, Laurie Daley played footy and they built a statue in his honour!

Just leave it man. You are seriously coming across as a know-all, arrogant d*ck.

I’d like to think you’re actually not, maybe just misunderstood.

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

“From 1970 to 1988 he was also the media director for the National Capital Development Commission. He was an active participant in several charitable organisations. From 1989 to 1998 he was on the board of the ACT Cancer Council and also served on the board of the ACT Multiple Sclerosis Society. He became Honorary Ambassador for Canberra and the Canberra Citizen of the Year for 1991 in recognition of his community service and charity work. In December 2007 he won the Chief Minister-Public Relations Institute of Australia (ACT Division) Award for Community Media. He was the first individual to receive the award.”

Good on him. I know plenty of people who are more involved in the community and have no public profile whatsoever, and certainly wouldn’t generate as much of a reaction upon their death simply as a result of not having read the news as well.

Yeah, he read the news. He also made a difference to his community. Ask yourself if you can say the same thing about yourselves. Maybe all this snarking stems from deep-seated insecurities about your own lack of worth and the fact that when you die all there’ll be is a tacky ad in the classifieds, if you’re lucky.

Or maybe these are just our opinions? You continue to find it difficult to argue the point without resorting to name calling and insults.

Yet, wasn’t it you, who wanted a memorial made for that vagrant drug user that wandering aimlessly in civic pushing his supposed art onto people ?

ahahaha

johnboy said :

But local media, in my own opinion, have over-indulged and been pandered to by a politician desperately clawing on to power and I for one question the value of that as a legacy for anyone.

Yet, wasn’t it you, who wanted a memorial made for that vagrant drug user that wandering aimlessly in civic pushing his supposed art onto people ?

I love it when WMC changes the point of attack completely. It’s as close as he ever comes to saying sorry.

Apology accepted WMC.

But local media, in my own opinion, have over-indulged and been pandered to by a politician desperately clawing on to power and I for one question the value of that as a legacy for anyone.

And now the truth comes out. Why all the weasel-worded double-talk in the OP about whether, maybe, it could be possible, do you think, that somebody, somewhere, may have perhaps, possibly overdone some aspects of this, a little bit? If you were looking to kick Stanhope, why not come right on out and do it? You’ve drawn some long bows in the past, but I think we could use the line from this one for a space elevator. “The MEDIA is in CAHOOTS with STANHOPE about LEONARD!11! pass it on ftw” Way to hitch your adolescent political ramblings to a good man’s funeral.

And as for Granny:

I think it shows a certain immaturity that people are prepared to personally attack the OP because they are unhappy with the ideas expressed.

JB made it personal when he insinuated that somebody (somewhere, maybe, do you think, a little?) had used a dead man as a political stunt. In so doing, he had no qualms about using that same dead man for the purposes of his own political stunt. In other words, he’s done exactly what he can only allege Stanhope did. If allegations were enough to make Stanhope the subject of personal insults, then why isn’t JB doing it for real enough to warrant a pile of scorn?

And for the rest of you claiming he didn’t do anything for the community, try using Google:

“From 1970 to 1988 he was also the media director for the National Capital Development Commission. He was an active participant in several charitable organisations. From 1989 to 1998 he was on the board of the ACT Cancer Council and also served on the board of the ACT Multiple Sclerosis Society. He became Honorary Ambassador for Canberra and the Canberra Citizen of the Year for 1991 in recognition of his community service and charity work. In December 2007 he won the Chief Minister-Public Relations Institute of Australia (ACT Division) Award for Community Media. He was the first individual to receive the award.”

Yeah, he read the news. He also made a difference to his community. Ask yourself if you can say the same thing about yourselves. Maybe all this snarking stems from deep-seated insecurities about your own lack of worth and the fact that when you die all there’ll be is a tacky ad in the classifieds, if you’re lucky.

Cameron,
Exactly. He read the news. He didn’t cure the lame or make it rain. He read the news. He might have been a top bloke. But prominence does not make one great.
If it did, Ian (the windscreen washer dude at Antill & Northbourne in Dickson) would be pushing sainthood.

cranky said :

We seem to have been able to name a suburb after the late Jim Fraser, a local politician, and commission a statue to another politician of unsavoury comment.

Yet we are questioning the attention paid to an obviously extremely popular local media identity, who served us well for about 45 years?

Every western society honours those that spend their time in public service. I think most people would agree that as much as we might disagree with politicians, they’re spending their time on trying to make the community/country/world better. That is certainly worth the level of recognition we’ve given them since our nation was founded.

Peter Leonard was, by all accounts, a great bloke. But he read the news. He didn’t shape it in any way, shape or form – he read it out in front of a camera or a microphone. Simply having a high profile doesn’t mean you’re making / have made a substantive contribution to the community.

I received a text from my father in law on Monday asking why flags were at half mast. Slightly worried I’d missed something, I got myself to ‘puter to check the news fearing we’d lost more lives in Afghanistan or Bobbie Hawke had had his last beer. It wasnt until this thread appeared that it was finally explained to me.
Are the flags lowered for every Canberran of the Year and do they all get a scholarship named after themselves?
I agree with Cring that this seems more like a political stunt and unfortunately, not a very relevant one. This scholarship idea is about as relevant as the public art gracing our roads. Great for the 5 people involved in it but the rest of us?? Id rather have a park named after him or a bikeriding trail?
I have no doubt Peter Leonard was a lovely man and I admit I never had the pleasure of meeting him. It is a shame his memory has been used as part of some bizarre elitest stunt by Stanhope.
JB, thanks for this thread. I understand its about as popular as the Chasers’ ‘Eulogy Song’ but I still believe it does have’ a point and has managed to keep most people on topic.

It’s less a matter of the thoughts expressed than the timing. Making that post less than 24 hours after Peter Leonard’s funeral showed a lack of judgement methought. That said, it’s done, and nothing can be done about any hurtful consequences now.

We seem to have been able to name a suburb after the late Jim Fraser, a local politician, and commission a statue to another politician of unsavoury comment.

Yet we are questioning the attention paid to an obviously extremely popular local media identity, who served us well for about 45 years?

I for one will always hold Peter Leonard in the highest regard.

The only post in this entire thread I can 100% agree with is Granny’s latest.

I feel very sad for Mr. Leonard’s passing, especially at the very early age of 66. My sympathies for his family, friends and the lives he touched through his charity work.

With a public figure, it is natural for there to be a lot of coverage. I think the scholarship is a bit odd; Personally, if I were to have a scholarship named after me, I’d rather it be named after the work I did and the effect on the community I had while I was alive to congratulate the recipient of the scholarship. Seems like a bit of a political stunt on Stanhope’s behalf to hold the purse strings tight on something as important as tertiary education until a public figure passes away.

Other than that, I was actually quite surprised to see the WIN flags returned to full mast when I was driving home from work yesterday; I was expecting them to be half mast for a full week!

AngryHenry said :

which begs the question, who moderates the moderator JB?

I do, but in this instance you lot are doing a fair go at offering a counter opinion.

I think it shows a certain immaturity that people are prepared to personally attack the OP because they are unhappy with the ideas expressed.

The authors will sometimes be right and sometimes be wrong. Sometimes they’ll make a good call and sometimes they won’t. Sometimes you’ll love it and other times not.

Nevertheless, we all choose to post on this site. A service is provided that we value to some degree or another. I don’t see too many of the critics producing much of a volume of material for others to interact with.

If the site owners said, “To hell with it! I’ve had enough crap,” I for one would miss what we’ve had. They don’t have to do this. They might easily enjoy a better life if they didn’t.

Freedom of speech is only truly possible when it is safe to express an opinion. If you want stories that won’t offend you, go and read the local rags. If you are intelligent enough to debate an issue without resorting to name calling and personal insults, try addressing the issues instead.

I don’t see how it’s been overdone, the news he read for 15 odd years obviously paid tribute to him and covered his funeral, there’s been a couple of small articles in the CT about his death and funeral and finally there’s been a journalism scholarship been made to honour him.

IF they dedecated a whole bulletin, whole pages of the newspaper or built large statues of him I may have agreed, but it hasn’t been anywhere close to that.

Gosh, Andrew Olley, Robert Fisk, Seymour Hersh won’t want to have dinner with me? Weep now I shall.

My professional standards are different from the traditional media in Canberra, oh noes.

For what it’s worth if WMC had any idea about the economics of web publishing he might know that the extra clicks brought to his petulant tantrum might, with $3.50, buy me a coffee.

If I were to only express views popular with everyone there wouldn’t be much point writing them.

Oh what’s that? This one time I’ve written something which displeases you? Oh lord above forgive me.

realityskin said :

I think johnboy would like himself to be more important than he really is …

Important enough for you to be concerned about my self opinion? That’s really more than important enough for me.

You’re all free to feel your grief in your own way. But local media, in my own opinion, have over-indulged and been pandered to by a politician desperately clawing on to power and I for one question the value of that as a legacy for anyone.

And having built my own soap box rather than having it gifted to me, and written my own words rather than have them displayed on a tele-prompter, I’m comfortable with any comparisons anyone wants to make. Even though that was never my intention with this post.

And if don’t like it, well I’m not forcing you to read it.

Indeed Woody Mann-C. I don’t think we need ask whether Andrew Olley, Robert Fisk, Seymour Hersh or Richard Carleton would ever have chosen to dine with a dinner-table trio composed of Germaine Greer, John-Boy and Lee Lin Chin, over Peter Leonard. Who can say? They might – on certain days – even prefer to dine Jessica W.

I’ll say. He’d have to hold down a real job, adhere to a code of conduct and make a difference, rather than kicking a good man’s legacy to sell advertising. Maybe there’s some bitterness there – you know, what with Peter Leonard being a real journalist and all.

Mean post, JB. A Germaine Greer moment best forgotten quickly.
I worked with Peter Leonard nightly for more than two years at the ABC. He was a simply wonderful person. Kind, a wee bit vain. Wicked sense of humour. Totally self-effacing professional on the job. No Lee Lin Chin moments from Peter.
No, the ‘fuss’ has not been in the least bit OTT. David Branson’s death provoked a similar reaction in a younger age group, seven years ago, and an equally unexpected turnout to his simple funeral in the Inner North. This is the real Canberra in action, so please don’t do the Kate Carnell/Katie Bender thing, Johnboy, and refer to our, what Kate’s advisers would have called, ’emotional baggage’. Wear your emotional baggage with smalltown pride, Canberrans.
That said, I’m not sure a journalism scholarship as such is what Peter would have suggested. He would have gone for something much broader, anything involving the humanities. Or a scholarship for a promising comedian.

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

You really are a sad man in need of a life aren’t you?

Ouch. You totally got me there, until I remembered who you aren’t.

At least he can take a great deal of comfort from the fact he isn’t you…..

tylersmayhem said :

Barrel, bottom, scrape

Hence my comment of “In fact, I’m still trying to work out the motivation for this post actually?”

I think johnboy would like himself to be more important than he really is …

You really are a sad man in need of a life aren’t you?

Ouch. You totally got me there, until I remembered who you aren’t.

Blessings on your head, John. You talked about Leonard’s “death”. Not passing. Death.

Why? She has her own page now!

Shhhhhhhhh, don’t mention the name.

Jessica Wright was it?

Who’s She Who Cannot Be Named? 😉

johnboy said :

What on earth is the community benefit of a journalism scholarship?

Better Journos than Jessica Goode and She Who Cannot Be Named.

If we lowered the flags for every good guy that passed, they’d never be raised.

I heard a lot on the day his death was made public and there were a couple of subsequent items in the media. I don’t think it was over done. A few news articles and news stories that together may only take 15 minutes to view/read seems fine to celebrate the life of a local who served the community for 40 years or so.

Thumper, maybe a little disrespect with your comments there mate.

He may have been just a newsreader to you but I’m sure he was more than that to those who were close to him are missing him. I mean are you just a blogger? I’m sure there’s more to you than that, just as there was to Mr Leonard.

Johnboy sems to have copped a bit of a caning from some of us over here which begs the question, who moderates the moderator JB?

Miracles by St Peter. Beatification must be close to hand!

Now I’m agreeing with Ozhair. And I’m not even sure who the f-k they are!

A sure sign of the Apocalypse

Everyone’s agreeing with everyone.
So Peter’s lasting gift to RiotACT has been an overwhelming feeling of goodwill between adversaries?

Now I’m agreeing with Thumper.

Johnboy, I’m sorry, but like some of the others here, I feel that you’re taking a slightly unfair potshot at the Peter Leonard coverage here.

I agree, I was slightly surprised by the flags at half-mast thing, but that’s not uncommon for a prominent citizen. And I cannot see how you can possible have an objection to the scholarship. Yes, half of it is being paid for by the ACT Gov (the other half is being paid for by WIN TV if what I read is correct). So what? If this scholarship had been slipped in without the Peter Leonard attachment, I doubt it would have raised a squawk from you.

Then there’s this statement from you:
“If recent reportage is to be believed he also did a fair line in walking on water and healing the sick with the laying on of hands.”

Which to me really does just go to show a certain level of bitchiness in your post. Peter was heavily involved in charity work. He was, as has been stated, a good bloke. And calling him a “perfect gentleman” in this case is code for something which is all too rare in this day and age, an actual perfect gentleman.

I worked with Peter almost every day for more than four years, and in all that time I can honestly say that I never once saw anything that would make me think otherwise.

Was he perfect? Probably not. But he was definitely a person who, by today’s poor standards, was head and shoulders above most.

Have the coverage and accolades been over the top? Maybe a little. But put that down to the media farewelling one of their own.

peterh said :

Deadmandrinking said :

*disclaimer*

I’m not saying do it though.

I meant when you get caught.

2 hours to go till the invoicing nightmare ends. End of Financial year, how I hate you….

Try moving house. Where is my home internet?

Deadmandrinking said :

*disclaimer*

I’m not saying do it though.

I meant when you get caught.

2 hours to go till the invoicing nightmare ends. End of Financial year, how I hate you….

Hello…thread? Where did I throw you?

Yeah, Charlie, it’ll be an adventure. We’re going on an adventure, Charlie.

*disclaimer*

I’m not saying do it though.

Stab the visiting justice?

Deadmandrinking said :

Dooooo it.

Nothing will happen to you.

unless you get the visiting justice…

Dooooo it.

Nothing will happen to you.

I’d love to. But I’m not going to.

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy said :

Definitely a slow news day…

Go and stab someone. We’re bored.

Definitely a slow news day…

No disrespect to the deceased, but if Johnboy wanted to bump up hits on this site then I hardly see a Peter Leonard story being a traffic oil-strike.

tylersmayhem said :

@Cameron: several people (including myself) had the opportunity to meet Peter on more than one occasion (I’m not sure why I’m repeating this again), so I think it’s not right, nor amusing to sum up all positive comments as from people who knew him as a “talking head”.

That would be why I described the people that know of him as a talking head as “most people”, not “all people” – so yes, I’m not sure why you’re repeating that either.

As for the “flags at half mast” comment – eh_steve’s comments of it actually being National Police Remembrance Day seem to have been completely disregarded.

Yes, they were – because whether the flags were at half mast for Peter or National Police Remembrance Day isn’t really what we’re debating here. Thanks to eh_steve for the clarification nonetheless.

I agree that it’s nice to see a Canberran with over 40 years of high profile service remembered as a top bloke and someone who many of us will remember fondly.

The thing here is that the main reason Peter Leonard is generating this reaction isn’t his forty years of *service*, it’s his forty years of *high profile*. Sure, his longevity in his industry and passion for Canberra is admirable, but let’s call it what it is – it was his job.

I think it’s in bad taste of JB to use this slant in order to spark off debate, gain more coverage and hit counts on this site.

An opinion you’re entitled to.

Firstly WIN announced the flags were going to be at half-mast for Leonard. Other timings were coincidental.

Secondly I don’t need a handful of you calling me names to generate traffic to this site.

@Granny: I take your points, and I encourage anyone who knows of any “funny anecdotes” to come forward on this post and share them with us. But, as I previously said, since the general public have not been invited (quite rightly) to the funeral to share in some of these, those who think he’s a good bloke have posted such comments on here. I have also not said Peter is faultless.

@Cameron: several people (including myself) had the opportunity to meet Peter on more than one occasion (I’m not sure why I’m repeating this again), so I think it’s not right, nor amusing to sum up all positive comments as from people who knew him as a “talking head”.

As for the “flags at half mast” comment – eh_steve’s comments of it actually being National Police Remembrance Day seem to have been completely disregarded.

I agree that it’s nice to see a Canberran with over 40 years of high profile service remembered as a top bloke and someone who many of us will remember fondly. I think it’s in bad taste of JB to use this slant in order to spark off debate, gain more coverage and hit counts on this site.

Goodbye Canberra’s rose…

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

questioning collective hysterias

Coming from a guy who lives in a world filled with Muslims ready to commit jihad over the title of a newsletter and in which the streets are littered with the bodies of displaced school children, this is rich.

What on earth is the community benefit of a journalism scholarship?

Maybe you could apply and learn how to use apostrophes properly.

No arguing over grammar or punctuation, that just destroys the debate. Also, just because Jimmy Jihad is blowing himself up over a newspaper, doesn’t mean lesser hysteria isn’t a stupid thing.

You really are a sad man in need of a life aren’t you?

questioning collective hysterias

Coming from a guy who lives in a world filled with Muslims ready to commit jihad over the title of a newsletter and in which the streets are littered with the bodies of displaced school children, this is rich.

What on earth is the community benefit of a journalism scholarship?

Maybe you could apply and learn how to use apostrophes properly.

I suspect a lot of the tributes have come from those mistakingly believing the golfer Peter Lonard had died.

Indeed, Granny.

What amuses me is that most of the people who would be up in arms over any discussion of Peter Leonard mourning being over-the-top don’t know Peter as anything other than a talking head.

We need local heroes, yes, and I’m certain that Peter was a hero to many Canberrans – but not all of them. Anyone who knows Peter simply by virtue of watching WIN news or listening to him earlier in his career that wants to designate him a hero and would advocate a street naming or a flag at half mast (or whatever) in his name is simply carrying on.

We all have faults, Tylers. I don’t want my family to remember me as some sort of saint (highly unlikely actually! *guffaw*).

I want the eulogies to include some of the embarrassing and stupid and funny things I’ve done, and I want my grandchildren and great-grandchildren to be told those stories as well. Like Quackers’ embarrassment that I was singing in the school toilets the other day. Or the frustration of my friends that I have been late for everything in the last thirty-nine years. That’s a lot of sitting around waiting ….

; )

As long as they’re laughing with me and not at me, I’m all for keeping it real.

If I have hurt my kids, I would like them to say something like, “It was hard being different from everybody else, but we understand that you were just a kid yourself. You loved us and you did the best you could”.

I think L’s point is what’s the point in honouring somebody if you don’t honour all of them … if you’re not honouring who they really are?

But I am in favour of the scholarship, however.

Also Canberra being quite new is fairly short of genuine local heroes. Growing up in the region, making good, and being well known by all and a genuinely nice guy, and then having many friends amongst the media, it is no suprise that Peter Leonard is widely eulogised.

I think it is well deserved – for once we are not celebrating a footballer.

Sorry Loquaciousness, I can’t draw ANY similarity to the bloke you are talking about, and Peter Leonard. I see the point you are trying to make, but it’s pretty way off the mark.

I see this posting topic for what it is.

Flags at half mast? No.

well, to be fair, someone who is designated the most outstanding citizen in a community probably deserves the flags to be flown half mast – at least ACT flags…

i didn’t know him, didn’t watch him and only vaguely really know who he is. that said, my choice of media don’t fawn over him now, so i have not had a sense of anything being over the top for jb to latch on to. but he seemed a decent bloke – let the punters grieve as they will: what’s it to you, really, when all is said and done..?

It has only been six days since it was announced he passed away, and logistically it would take at least a few days to set up something like this.

Scholarships are hardly uncommon, and anything that helps quality journos come out of UC is a good thing.

I’m pretty sure the flags at half mast point is moot, as it was for National Police Remembrance Day.

This is actually something I’ve noticed often, and it’s rarely spoken about because of social taboos (as evidenced by the comments on this thread).

My sister- and brother-in-law were one of those couples who were always on-again/off-again. In fact, it was while they were in an off-again period – he had been kicked out of the house, and was temporarily living with his mother around the corner – when he died in a single-vehicle truck accident. The accident was caused by a mechanical fault on the truck he was driving. What makes this story interesting is how all of a sudden, he had never been kicked out of home (either then or in the past) and he was the “great love of her life”. Now I don’t doubt that they loved each other, they wouldn’t have stuck at it through the rough times otherwise, but to completely deny that they had ever had troubles, when we all had been there and seen it, was nothing less than bizarre. The thing that really made me reel, was that no one said “hold on a second, that’s not how it was”. Why couldn’t the family just focus on the good things, without having to also re-write the bad things to suit?

It’s not that I think we shouldn’t eulogise, and not that we shouldn’t remember the good things that people did during their lives. I’m merely asking why it is that people (good, bad and mediocre) become saints upon death? Why do we choose to re-write their lives so that they become an “unsung hero” or a “model citizen”, or even a “perfect gentleman”? Everyone mourns in their own way, and of course no one wants to remember the bad things – a funeral is a celebration of life, after all – but why elaborate to such an extent that the person described in death is no longer recognisable as the person they were in life?

As for Mr Leonard, I’m not a television watcher, but regardless I knew of him as a newsreader and as part of Canberra’s more recent history and identity. I have no wish to denigrate him as a person, and have no doubt that his eulogies are deserved. I am asking a hypothetical question only, and can certainly understand if it touches a nerve due to social norms and taboos.

L

I agree JB, definitely overdone. People were wanting streets named after him in the original thread reporting his death.

There’s no question he commands mourning and reverence from a wider audience than the average person, but some of this stuff is just over the top.

Having said that, a journalism scholarship seems like a decent way of paying tribute – particularly as it is within that industry that he did his thing.

Flags at half mast? No.

I haven’t heard anyone say a bad thing about him. I don’t know of many people like that. He was obviously a person that others aspire to be like. And that’s a powerful legacy.

I think it’s fantastic that we can celebrate the life of a “nice guy”. It behoves the ACT to establish a scholarship in his memory. In this instance dollars should be a secondary concern.

Scholarships don’t cost a lot anyway. There’s no need to be curmudgeonly here.

johnboy said :

Fiona said :

*wonders what the mourning of jb will be like when the time comes*

Well that’s one thing which won’t be my problem.

Since I am older I would suspect the same would apply to me!

; )

I think it’s the Princess Diana factor. You see somebody often enough in the media and you feel you know them. For some reason you almost expect them to know you as well. “Santa, it’s me!”

So when they die you tend to feel similar emotions to what you would if a friend died. It’s not that anybody is less important or more important, it’s just that people feel that they knew Peter Leonard.

I don’t watch tv, however, so I don’t feel that way. I’m sure he was a very nice man, though. I think you can tell a lot about a person by how many turn up for the funeral.

Fair enough, but can you shush about him, honestly! Election-time…shhhhh

Deadmandrinking said :

Look, I understand he was a great guy and everything and he did deserve the *first* eulogy he got. But Canberra is a bigger place than you might think. There is a lot going on here. We are in the midst of an election period. When people die, it’s best to let them rest in peace after the initial reporting, ‘this is your life’ stuff. Out of respect, if anything.

I would prefer that a scholarship was created, instead of a big piece of art that is all about the CM, not the memory of a good man.

And God dammit, I fell for it again. Polarising gutter journalism from JB = page hits for the RA as everybody piles on board to have their say = JB wins.

Yes WMC, everything you personally disagree with is “gutter journalism”.

No no, I think that WMC is not alone on this one, me included. Perhaps JB, this is one to honorably admit poor judgment on and let it dissolve itself as a post. I agree completely – using Angry’s statement “I think you’ve sold him way too short maybe to counter-balance all of the positive media”.

Look, I understand he was a great guy and everything and he did deserve the *first* eulogy he got. But Canberra is a bigger place than you might think. There is a lot going on here. We are in the midst of an election period. When people die, it’s best to let them rest in peace after the initial reporting, ‘this is your life’ stuff. Out of respect, if anything.

Barrel, bottom, scrape

Hence my comment of “In fact, I’m still trying to work out the motivation for this post actually?”

Would hardly call this ‘collective hysteria’ JB. C’mon dude!!!

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

And God dammit, I fell for it again. Polarising gutter journalism from JB = page hits for the RA as everybody piles on board to have their say = JB wins.

Yes WMC, everything you personally disagree with is “gutter journalism”.

And obviously in your world there’s no place for questioning collective hysterias, because they’re never bad.

No WE haven’t, MAYBE the media has, but the Canberra media is a small community and Peter was around it for a long, long time.

He was a top bloke and I think it’s great that an up and coming potential journalist will benefit from a scholarship.

I had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with him on several occaisions and he was a really geat guy, in fact ‘perfect gentleman’ sums him up very well.

Danman, the only reason it’s making you feel like someone is trying to say that any death you have encountered was not as traumatic or tragic and does not deserve note is because you let it. Not everything that happens in society needs to be tied back directly to the individual.

JB – I appreciate the need for content and sparking public debate and sure the media do tend to beat this stuff up but I think that for a man like Peter Leonard it’s recognition deserved, he was a good bloke who did a lot more in the community than just read an autocue.

I think you’ve sold him way too short maybe to counter-balance all of the positive media around him and I don’t really think that it’s fair. Just because the devil’s advocate is there to be played, doesn’t mean you need to pick up the ball every time.

He died. It’s sad. I wish his family well. I respect what he did.

Now f-k off!

Well we’re all Canberran of the Year if we were here during the 2003 bushfires, although that makes Leonard a dual canberran of the year perhaps?

Nice guys who had time to talk to anyone and everyone pass away every single day.

What on earth is the community benefit of a journalism scholarship?

And God dammit, I fell for it again. Polarising gutter journalism from JB = page hits for the RA as everybody piles on board to have their say = JB wins.

If being a part of people’s daily lives for 45 years in multiple media and being a former Canberran of the Year as well as being a top bloke overall isn’t enough for people to make bit of a big deal about it when you die, what is?

Fiona said :

*wonders what the mourning of jb will be like when the time comes*

Well that’s one thing which won’t be my problem.

if there is a journalism scholarship in memory of a really nice man who always took the time to chat to absolutely everyone, I am all for it.

I just hope the recipients appreciate it.

No, it isn’t going too far. He was a member of the community who was respected and well known. if his memorial is of benefit to the community, not just a statue or plaque, it is money well spent.

Barrel, bottom, scrape

Sure trivialises the death of everyone else huh ?

No matter your standing in the community (Or lack thereof) grief is universal and I guarantee that at every occasion of death, someone is feeling the loss of one of the most important people in the world.

To have such fanfare over any death, as tragic as it is, makes me feel like someone is trying to say that any death I have encountered was not as traumatic or tragic and does not deserve note.

I’d suggest that all the positive comments came from people like myself, who had the opportunity to meet him personally on more than one occasion. He truly was a gentleman from all accounts, and yes, a loss in the land of local newsreaders who seem to bare no real quality (IMO).

I wonder if this comment would be applied by JB at someones wake. “Yeah, Bob was a really great guy, but it’s a bit over the top with all the nice comments isn’t it”?! I’d duck for the flying glass or fist on that one.

I think the point is that we came together as a community becuase many of us grew up with Peter’s face and voice on TV, and has been delivering the important local news for years. Indeed, many of us feel like we know him well after all this time. Without the opportunity to attend the service (quite rightly requested by the family), we all deserve the right to put up our posts honoring a good bloke who we’ve “known” for years.

In fact, I’m still trying to work out the motivation for this post actually?

I am sure Jon Stanhope wouldn’t have done as much if it weren’t for an election.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lucky you don’t live in LA. They’re changing the name to Paul Newman World over there.

*wonders what the mourning of jb will be like when the time comes*