How does the criminal justice system cope with the information revolution of the Internet?
In the first week of February 2008 the big boys at Channel 9 were virtually leaping out of their skin with excitement. The network’s highly-anticipated “true-crime” drama series Underbelly, based on the sensational underworld war that saw 36 criminal identities slaughtered on the streets of Melbourne between January 1998 and August 2010, was about to hit the small screen, and predictions were it was going to go gang-busters. The viewing public was beside itself with frenzied anticipation, and Nine’s executives were boldly predicting a spectacular resurrection from the ashes of the network’s recent ratings slump.
