Death of MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo sparks frenzy of tabloid intrusion | Weekly Beast

Since chef Jock Zonfrillo died suddenly almost three weeks ago, his grieving family and MasterChef Australia colleagues have been subjected to relentless media intrusion.

Less than an hour after his family broke the news of his death in a Melbourne hotel room, the Daily Mail headline was: “How did Jock Zonfrillo die? MasterChef star’s cause of death revealed.” Spoiler alert: the cause of death was not revealed. An inquest is pending, but that didn’t stop a guessing game among the tabloids and the shock jocks.

As Media Watch host Paul Barry said earlier this month: “When you don’t know the facts about someone’s death, don’t inflict more pain on the grieving family with a grubby guessing game on how they died.”

On Wednesday, just five days after Zonfrillo’s funeral, the Daily Mail claimed MasterChef producers had begun the casting process to replace him.

Ten told Weekly Beast the claim is not true.

“Network Ten is poised to begin the search for Jock Zonfrillo’s replacement on MasterChef Australia, with ‘every well-known chef’ a contender,” the Daily Mail reported. “While the network insist casting has not yet begun, insiders on the hit show say conversations have already started after the beloved judge’s tragic death in the early hours of May 1, one day before the show’s 2023 premiere.”

A Ten spokesperson said: “Casting for the next season of MasterChef Australia has not commenced. To suggest otherwise is completely false and misleading. We’re focused on the current season of MasterChef Australia that’s on air now.”

The Daily Mail Australia says it stands by the story.

But the worst intrusion came last Friday, the day of Zonfrillo’s private funeral, when the Daily Telegraph published multiple photographs online of the event without permission hours after the service. Taken by a freelance paparazzo stationed outside the northern Sydney funeral home, the pictures of the coffin and the grieving family and friends were published hours later. The pictures were published across News Corp mastheads over the following days.

Ten confirmed the family wanted the funeral to be private and the media was not invited, apart from a Ten crew which filmed mourners arriving with the “blessing of the family” for the evening news.

Sources said the News Corp paparazzo was asked by security to stand behind a cordon and continued to shoot through the open door of the chapel during the service. News Corp did not respond to a request for comment.

Snap unhappy

It would seem no one in the news is safe from being photographed – not even in their own homes.

The Australian published a photograph of ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold having a beer in his Canberra driveway on the front page of the paper on Friday. The reporter camped outside Drumgold’s residence took the photo himself.

Drumgold is on leave as an inquiry into the handling of a case against the former Liberal staff member Bruce Lehrmann continues. An ACT government spokesperson said Drumgold had asked to take leave.

“With a beer in his hand but deep in contemplation, ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold spent much of Thursday perched in the sun in the driveway of his Canberra home, aware that his gruelling ordeal on the witness stand of the Sofronoff inquiry is far from over,” the national broadsheet reported.

“The 58-year-old refused on Thursday to comment on his sudden absence but appeared to be in deep thought when spotted, casually dressed in a hoodie and tracksuit pants, outside his Canberra home.”

Without a comment from Drumgold himself, the paper which once called itself “the heart of the nation”, was reduced to describing what the subject was wearing Daily Mail-style.

What climate crisis?

Environment reporters and climate scientists were extremely disappointed by the announcement of changes to the Walkley awards this week which did not include a separate category for the reporting of climate change and the environment.

A new “specialist and beat” category was created but the Walkleys judging board resisted a push for a separate climate and/or environment award, topics which most people agree are the biggest issues facing humanity.

The Walkleys held roundtable discussions with reporters on the beat, and as recently as March was seriously considering introducing separate climate change and/or the environment categories but the talks went nowhere.

The manager of policy and strategy for the Wilderness Society, Tim Beshara, accused the Walkleys of ignoring environmental and climate issues.

“This reflects very poorly on the Australian media industry in how, when acting as a collective, they are either unable or unwilling to give due attention to the most substantive issues of our time,” Beshara told Weekly Beast.

“It’s the Walkleys, as a proxy for the whole media industry, saying that these issues matter to us, but climate and environment don’t. They can go in the miscellaneous or none-of-the-above award category, where we think they belong.”

‘Dole bludger’ scare

There is nothing like a modest increase of $20 a week in welfare payments to set the hares running about “dole bludgers”. And if the media can personalise the issue by finding a scapegoat, they will.

Since the budget was handed down, several welfare recipients have been pursued by sections of the media for daring to stick their hands up and talk about the inadequacy of income support.

One couple in Queensland, who spoke to the ABC’s 7.30 program last week, became the subject of multiple articles in the Daily Mail which dissected their budget and mocked their predicament.

Nine Radio host Ray Hadley questioned why taxpayers should have to fund people who “seemingly didn’t want to work”, the Daily Mail reported.

“He said he found it ‘offensive’ the Sunshine Coast couple were complaining about spending $350-a-week on groceries, a sum of money families with even more children wouldn’t even spend.

“Hadley also revealed that he had found over 230 roles available on the Sunshine Coast for cooks and chefs.

“‘You don’t have the energy to work 60 hours a week, so instead, we pay for it. We pay for your laziness,’ Hadley said.”

But the Mail went even further the next day, sending a paparazzo to follow the family and document their day, criticising the man for sitting in a cafe.

Weekly Beast understands the couple is distressed by being followed by a photographer and is now being supported by the Australian Council of Social Service, which had put them forward as media case studies.

In Sydney, Nine radio’s Ben Fordham has used one welfare recipient as fodder for his morning show all week, giving his listeners live updates on his performative attempt to get the man a job and claiming that “there are jobs everywhere” for anyone who wants to work.

Mauled by a toothless tiger

A ruling by the media watchdog this week is a prime example of why the body is seen as a toothless tiger.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority spent a year investigating Nine’s A Current Affair after a man complained his privacy was breached when the program included his name, part of his residential address and video footage of his face in a neighbourhood dispute story.

Acma agreed the man’s privacy had been invaded because under the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice, broadcasters must not air personal information without consent – unless it is in the public interest.

The consequence for Nine? Staff will be trained in privacy requirements of the code. And what of the A Current Affair story which the man complained of? It’s still live online and has racked up 9m views. Acma told us it doesn’t have the power to order a broadcaster to take down an online copy of the program.