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National Film and Sound Archive of AustraliaNational Film and Sound Archive
National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
National Film and Sound Archive
National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
National Film and Sound Archive

A Current Affair: Palm Beach Angel

1989

A Current Affair: Palm Beach Angel

1989

  • NFSA IDSJGV5B7N
  • TypeTelevision
  • MediumMoving Image
  • FormSeries
  • GenresCurrent affairs
  • Year1989

This story from a 1989 episode of the Nine Network program A Current Affair (ACA) focuses on Violet Dorothy Pryor, an elderly woman who convinced parishioners of a Sydney church that she was a living deity to extract money and services from them. In the segment, disillusioned members of her flock doorstep her Palm Beach mansion to demand explanations.

It’s classic ACA. The program attracted a steady stream of criticism (and lawsuits) for a sensationalist brand of journalism built on confrontation, corruption and recrimination. In the late '80s, 60 Minutes journalist Jana Wendt stepped in as host. Her cool-eyed, slightly stern affect added gravitas to a story like this one; she left in 1992 after an ACA story featured topless women.

This story from a 1989 episode of the Nine Network program A Current Affair (ACA) focuses on Violet Dorothy Pryor, an elderly woman who convinced parishioners of a Sydney church that she was a living deity to extract money and services from them. In the segment, disillusioned members of her flock doorstep her Palm Beach mansion to demand explanations.

It’s classic ACA. The program attracted a steady stream of criticism (and lawsuits) for a sensationalist brand of journalism built on confrontation, corruption and recrimination. In the late '80s, 60 Minutes journalist Jana Wendt stepped in as host. Her cool-eyed, slightly stern affect added gravitas to a story like this one; she left in 1992 after an ACA story featured topless women.

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