CH7: Terror in Sydney. Australia's biggest police raids across a dozen suburbs ... — Channel Seven News Preview, 18th September, 2014

CH 10: This is the sword police claim they were planning to use ... — Channel Ten News, 18th September, 2014

CH 9: The Sydney man accused of plotting the gruesome execution on a random victim ... — Channel Nine News, 18th September, 2014

Hello I'm Paul Barry, welcome to Media Watch.

And Australia's biggest ever anti-terror operation was massive for the media, with wall to wall coverage on TV and online last Thursday, followed by a print extravaganza.

Friday's Australian gave it four full pages and an editorial.

The Sydney Morning Herald a special eight page wrap around.

And the Daily Tele trumped them both with the first nine pages of the paper.

And it was much the same across the country.

The Courier Mail in Brisbane, where 70 police officers carried out raids, had seven pages.

Melbourne's Herald Sun also had seven.

The Age had eight.

And Adelaide's Advertiser had six with both cracking the same clever headline:

TERROR AUSTRALIS — The Age, 19th September, 2014

Almost all these papers had multiple images of suspects being arrested, handcuffed and detained.

But where did they come from?

In almost all cases they were taken by NSW Police, who not only carried out the Sydney raids with 800 officers, but also filmed them as they went.

Images were supplied by our multi-media team which consists of three video and one stills operator... Each was deployed with the officers in the field... The AFP also supplied one camera and one still photographer. — Strath Gordon, Director Public Affairs, NSW Police, 18th September, 2014

Police photos, videos and accounts of the operation provided much of the TV and online coverage as well.

But it was also the NSW Police who kicked it off.

No need to listen to the scanner or get a hot tip from the public, because the cops put out a call on Twitter at 5.32am.

Joint AFP/NSWPF operation underway - a number of arrests — Twitter, @nswpolice, 18th September, 2014

This is the first time NSW Police have used Twitter to launch an operation.

But it surely won't be the last.

As its director of public affairs told Media Watch ...

Twitter is the fastest, cleanest way to communicate. If we tweet it first, that is re-tweeted by journalists and that becomes the official version of events ... and it avoids speculative reports. — Strath Gordon, Director Public Affairs, NSW Police, 19th September, 2014

Pictures and video were attached to police tweets. And these were backed up with more on the police Facebook and YouTube pages.

So is it healthy for the media to let the cops do their job like this?

Some think not. Guardian columnist Richard Ackland argues it makes the media:

... willing pawns in the politics of terror drama ... — The Guardian, 19th September, 2014

And claims it shows

... a readiness to be used by the very governments which go to extraordinary lengths to deprive journalists and the public of information. — The Guardian, 19th September, 2014

Ackland also argues the media should be more curious about the need for such dramatic action

If a little scepticism was applied, questions would be asked as to why we had this sudden splash of commando bombast when this particular group in Sydney had been under surveillance since May. — The Guardian, 19th September, 2014

Friday's Sydney Morning Herald also questioned whether the huge police operation was really justified

800 police, but only one man charged with an act of evil — Sydney Morning Herald, 19th September, 2014

But there were no such doubts in The Weekend Australian's editorial , which opted instead to scold those who raised them.

Terror denial is dangerous when vigilance is needed If the deployment of more than 800 police in raiding 25 premises seems like an overwhelming show of force, that is because it is. Where the terror deniers see some complex (and, by the way, impossible) political conspiracy, most reasonable people can see a timely and wise demonstration of intent by our security agencies — The Weekend Australian, 20-21st September, 2014

There were no doubts at the Daily Telegraph either, which was far too busy pumping it up.

Police and prosecutors have alleged a plot by one man-Omarjan Azari-to kidnap and kill a random member of the public, by unspecified means, yet Friday's Tele was claiming it was a group of

BLOODTHIRSTY fanatics ... planning multiple beheadings — Daily Telegraph, 19th September, 2014

And informing us that one of these decapitations was to have taken place

in Sydney's Martin Place. — Daily Telegraph, 19th September, 2014

A Tele exclusive also uncovered a

Plan to attack our Parliament — Daily Telegraph, 19th September, 2014

Amid fears that

the Prime Minister and other senior government officials were prime targets — Daily Telegraph, 19th September, 2014

But that wasn't all. The Tele also claimed

POLICE are investigating if terrorists could be plotting to target the Shell refinery near Parramatta. — Daily Telegraph, 19th September, 2014

And finally that

Police believe members of the group also discussed copying the terror attack on Nairobi's Westgate shopping centre... — Daily Telegraph, 19th September, 2014

Now the Prime Minister has already confirmed there's been chatter about attacking Parliament.

And who knows, the rest could turn out to be genuine. But Fairfax's Peter Hartcher warned at the weekend that media reporting got way ahead of the facts :

Half-truths, hyperventilation and hyperbole run amok ... fear-mongering magnifies a real threat. — Sydney Morning Herald, 20th September, 2014

IF all these plots cited in the Tele were really credible one might ask why only one of the 16 people arrested in last week's raids is still in custody.

And also why we were given given assurances by ASIO and the PM just ten days ago that nothing specific was being planned

Tony Abbott lifts terror alert level to high, but says no attack is imminent "We have no specific intelligence of particular plots," he told reporters in Melbourne. — The Australian, 12th September, 2014

There's an old saying that truth is the first casualty of war.

And when the media report terror threats they'd do well to remember it.

You can ask questions and still be part of Team Australia.