Comments on: Beecher: Rudd’s spruikers in the media on shaky ground

By: JamesK

JamesK — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

The relationship of the media to our leaders is nearly always closer than we would care to believe. Glen Milne jumps to mind but I agree with Eric Beecher. The Ruddmaster(PR) has taken it to quite another level. This 2020 gabfest is a particular horror and case in point. It is actually quite sad to hear Geraldine Doogue’s gushing words. It harms her wonderful reputation.

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Without doubt nearly all the Canberra Press Gallery acts as if they are the PM’s Press Secretaries. and not independent and questioning scribes. Journalists are human but like “body language” there is a “spoken and written language” that lets out their true feelings and inclinations. An example would be to follow Agenda Sky News for a while and see how the contributing journos perform with leading questions and laudatory remarks about the PM and poor old Brendan gets a snicker. And to an earlier submission let us not forget the “little johnny” that was put on by the gallery. John Howard had a host of vitrolic haters. The PM has a couple of anti journos but they cannot be called haters but that may come. The same thing happened in the US with Hilary getting broadsides and Obama just love from the media. Then it was a comedy programme “Saturday Night Live” that put the record straight.

By: Tom McLoughlin

Tom McLoughlin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Yes, it’s been a horror 2 days for real democracy. Why did Rudd snub Button’s funeral? Since when did a blancmange of ideas out of a conference from a dubiously narrow selection, no costings, no govt imprimatur per se, justify blanket free media coverage? Not even Rio 92, Bali 2007 got that. Is there any editorial sense left in this country or is the centre now reformed into ALP Inc? How very stupid of them.God knows I’m into public intellectual life, having infested about every ANU libary getting 2 degrees but this is not real policy development. It might just be the Right like Downer, and the odd Green voter like me, picking holes but it can’t sustain a democracy regardless. The official Green Party themselves have really failed to front the co-option process either and get involved in active critique. Dropped the ball really having been totally ignored themselves.