SBS Less Tabloid on Meth?

Back in March I complained about current affairs program Four Corners’ tabloid screeching about methamphetamine, and published follow-up comments. This week SBS has a go. Will it be less tabloid?

Tomorrow night at 8.30pm The Cutting Edge, which usually runs imported current affairs material, tackles the same issue. While the title “The Meth Epidemic” pre-supposes it is an epidemic — what is the medical definition anyway? — the review in this morning’s Sydney Morning Herald gives hope.

The review doesn’t seem to be available online, so here’s some choice quotes:

A disturbing, captivating examination of the “meth rampage” in North America, where the impact of methamphetamine — also known as crystal meth, glass or ice — has been devastating. This is a powerful piece of television…

The program provides little in the way of a solution, though a legislative push for controls on the supply of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, both essential ingredients in the making of the drug, signal a promising upturn in the crisis. Unspun, and without the kind of melodrama that dampens the impact of most community-service material, this is unmissable.

Probably perfect viewing in the lead-up to Australia vs Italy in The World Cup! Sorry, wrong date. I mean for the comedown afterwards.