Scandal-gate (an open letter to the media)

Dear Media,

Over recent years, I have noticed an unfortunate trend that has emerged in reporting the news. This trend rears its ugly head whenever some form of ‘scandal’ makes the news. It appears to be particularly prevalent in political scandals that involve alleged corruption. I am specifically referring to the use of “gate” to somehow denote a scandal.

The most recent use of this phrase relates to the OzCars scandal involving the Australian Prime Minister. These events have regularly been dubbed “ute-gate”. Other examples that come to mind are:

• Shreddergate: Tasmanian political scandal involving appointments of senior public officials and a shredded document.
• Strippergate: A reference to Kevin Rudd’s visit to a strip club in New York.
• Sirengate: The York Park incident where the AFL end of game siren was hard to hear.
• Cheriegate: Didn’t follow this one closely, but relates to Tony Blair’s wife.
• Wheatgate: AWB scandal

The use of gate is obviously a reference to the Watergate scandal involving Richard Nixon. The interesting thing about that scandal is that it was not all about water. Instead, the complex at the centre of the original controversy was called “Watergate”. If one were to employ the current use of the term “gate”, this scandal would now be known as “Watergategate”.

I hereby request that all media outlets cease their use of “gate” to denote a scandal. It is nonsensical and unacceptable.

Yours sincerely,

Matt Bowditch