Mitch McTaggart on TV insiders, clickbait copy and beef wellingtons. | Television tonight

Every year, writer/performer Mitch McTaggart looks back on twelve months of Australian TV for his cult comedy special The last year of television.

It’s a must-see for those who want a reminder of the worst and best of local television, usually in that order. McTaggart’s take on the small screen output is a biting and spot-on commentary on what we’ve consumed and what we’ve missed.

Referring to television media articles (including from this site) he also has a lot to say about the reporting, especially that of the clickbait type.

You know the type, a loud headline for an article filled with comments on social media, often by people with next to no followers, if that helps justify the headline.

“It’s become a little hobby of mine. Every time I see more and more articles based entirely on obscure comments on social media, it’s so frustrating,” he says. Television tonight.

‘When I click on a journalist’s article, I still have the expectation that I expect to see journalism. Time and time again there is just click-baiting nonsense that has absolutely no impact on anything.

“I really, really want to meet some of these people who write these articles and just ask, ‘Are you happy? Are you okay?'”

McTaggart is already bracing for negative coverage of ABC’s annual New Year’s Eve event with outbursts on social media and a particularly frequent word for the public broadcaster.

“’ABC News Year Eve Woke Up!’ Every damn year. It actually gives the term “media cycle” its name, doesn’t it? Because it just repeats itself.”

Exhibit A follows…

An example of this this year is that the press is quick to defame itself 10 News+ with clickbait stories, which McTaggart summarizes as ‘lazy journalism’ aimed at ‘serious journalism’. Considering the network is dropping The Project due to its low rating 10 News+ it’s not the angle many expected. But there is a method to it is madness.

“All year round we saw everyone bashing, so we thought, ‘What will the atmosphere be like at the end of the year?’ We just can’t suddenly start bashing them too, because it would make everyone sick. So it kind of steered the story for us. What more can we say about it? What hasn’t really been discussed?” he asks.

“What really messed me up was literally after a week 10 News+ there were rumors of its abolition.

McTaggart found similar press targeting in the area Sam Pang tonight after its debut, despite the clear need for more variety on television. The conclusion? Shows are under pressure to be ‘flawless from the start’.

“This idea that we have of just bashing everything that’s new and not really giving it a moment to get used to it, no matter how much airtime it earns or whatever. It’s like no one has the patience to get used to anything right now.”

He also has little time for press that is built around anonymously quoted ‘TV Insiders’.

“What a shame to say. It actually gives the article the validity it otherwise wouldn’t have. It could just be a man on the street?”

They are also up for discussion this year The project, Q+A, Neighbors, The Block, Big Brother, Crime Night!, Liz Hayes leaves Nine, Alex Cullen’s $50,000 windfall for a TV plug, news promos and Scott Cam hosting Australia’s most identical twins.

There are two deep dives, one nearby Married at first sight‘s treatment of a domestic violence topic after a participant punched a wall. There are concerns that reality content creates situations that are then morally cited as airtime for an important topic. As if the end justifies the means?

“That position really frustrates me, and I’ve seen quite a bit of that in the reactions of people who produce the show. But I do think they really think they’re making a difference,” he suggests.

“I don’t think they see the problem. I don’t think anyone is telling lies about it. I think they really think they’re making a difference, which, I think, is a bigger problem. Because no one is really saying them consistently, except of course you and me and a few articles in The Conversation of Media view. It’s frustrating that we keep traveling on the same path and not really doing much.

“It’s amazing what you can get away with when things do well and things make money.”

Because the inciting incident was never shown by Nine, it was all made clear by media watchdog ACMA.

“Once again the conclusion is that ACMA is absolutely toothless,” he notes.

Another deep dive surrounds how news and current affairs gave airtime to neo-Nazi groups, exactly what they were looking for. McTaggart’s special masks are faces, but he refuses to name them, so as not to add fuel to the fire.

In his analysis of competing Mushroom Murder documentaries, McTaggart notes the appearance and reappearance of overused talking heads, and then compares reenactments of beef Wellington dinners, including the stock footage used by 7News in the spotlight.

“I don’t want to go into nerd territory, but I can really tell a 30 frame video clip from a 25 frame video. The colors are way too saturated to have been shot in Australia… I really enjoyed the description of it on Shutterstock… ‘It’s a masterpiece.'”

But how often does the host broadcaster come under scrutiny, given its specials screen on Binge/Foxtel? Not much.

The acquisition of Foxtel by DAZN is more a business story than a substantive one.

“Our scope is mainly Free to Air TV, because with SKY you can just get lost in the swamp… I don’t have the energy to do that. I’m glad that self-imposed limit exists, because I think it would be boring if I kept referring to SKY. I think Media view do that a little too, and The Weekly”, he insists.

‘I already said it The last anniversary very short and I really liked that.”

Which brings us to the year in Drama.

McTaggart is a fan of RFDS, Invisible Boys, The Family Next Door, Mystery Road: Origin (he admits he doesn’t say anything about it The narrow road to the deep north or Playing Gracie Darling) And Apple cider vinegar -although it had to be won.

“I watched the first 20 minutes and I wasn’t impressed. There’s something I think streaming does, or maybe even just Netflix, where they make this energetic jingling-keys-for-you thing to try to captivate you at the expense of actual artistic expression and filmmaking. It was just colors and shapes and that really frustrated me. But once that was out of the way, it really drew me in, absolutely honestly. By the time I got to episode two or three came, I just had to sit down and watch it all,” he recalls.

“It took me a little bit to get used to jumping around, but then it hit me. I can’t remember exactly where it was.”

McTaggart even makes room to discuss ABC’s Antoinette Lattouf problem, even if it was radio, because it shone a light on the broadcasters’ management.

“As much as I bash the ABC, I’m really bitterly disappointed in them and for them that this is the biggest story of the year for them. Come on guys, I know we can do better.”

I’d be remiss not to mention that the special, directed by Ryan Thomas and produced by James Westland, is also full of jokes.

Oh and then there is Stranded on Honeymoon Island. Enjoy!

The Last Year of Television Monday, December 29 on Binge / 8:30 PM on FOX8