Culture

The Herald Sun Has Doggedly Re-Run A Headline Which Spectacularly Backfired The First Time Around

What could possibly go wrong?

by Meg Watson  2 May 2015

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Last month, The Herald Sun were widely criticised on social media, Reddit, and those in the independent media — ourselves included — for the way they covered the ongoing Indigenous Rights protests taking place across the country.

After 4,000 people carried out a peaceful demonstration outside Flinders Street Station, the newspaper exclusively focused on the delays the protest caused to public transport. The headline dismissed the group as a “selfish rabble” and the fact they were protesting the forced close of remote Aboriginal communities was not mentioned until the second-last paragraph.

After the initial outrage, The Herald Sun soon faced an onslaught of clever criticism as their words effortlessly transformed into a meme.

Since then the organisers of the protests have sarcastically embraced the title. As further demonstrations took place all across the country yesterday and today, supporters declared themselves a selfish rabble and some even wore t-shirts displaying the title.

In Melbourne, an estimated 5,000 of these people converged near Federation Square yesterday afternoon for their second major protest; a move which was described by the Warriors Of the Aboriginal Resistance as “a proud expression of Aboriginal sovereignty and a clear signal to the Government that our resistance is rising”.

And in this way, it was a success. It was staged in peak-hour traffic and posed significant delays for commuters getting home and those heading to a high-profile AFL match at the MCG. These efforts seem to be gaining traction on a national level too as organisers reportedly staging 90 events across the country; in Sydney a group of 2,000 shut down George Street in the CBD.

But, despite the increased number of protesters, or the lack of government action on the issue which is causing these protests, The Herald Sun decided to charge on with the same terribly offensive angle which blew up in their face the last time they tried it.

It was a bold strategy, but one which promised them ultimate redemption.

With this SICK BURN they could get rid of the filthy rabble once and for all.

No one out-zings The Herald Sun.

Of course, because the headline is still as offensive as ever, and The Herald Sun is usually less about wit and more about getting big dicks drawn all over it, it didn’t go as well as they might have hoped.

As a general rule, it’s usually better to take feedback from your readers rather than Aaliyah songs.