Wall St was down 94 overnight, its biggest fall in a month, while the local market is down 66.
PM’s media manipulation beyond a joke
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What a Jekyll and Hyde mob this Government is. While John Faulkner is commendably leading the charge toward greater transparency and accountability, the Prime Minister is engaged in a deeply cynical and unashamed process of manipulation. I suggested on Budget Night that Wayne Swan was purposefully avoiding mentioning the deficit figure in order to deprive the Opposition of a grab for future advertising, but foolishly thought that game would end once it became apparent what they were up to. In fact it was merely the start of an ongoing effort by the Prime Minister and Treasurer to avoid saying any numbers that could be used against them, right down to persistently refusing to say “billion” after numbers. Yesterday The Australian’s Matt Franklin asked Joe Hockey at the Press Club if things were reaching the stage where we couldn’t even have a decent public debate if both sides were scared of their words being used against them in election advertising. I suspect the Government also does not want any grabs on nightly news bulletins of them uttering the numbers. It gets more blatant and more cynical, however. Last week Crikey ran a tip that the Prime Minister’s office, which is usually excellent with churning out transcripts, had failed to put out the transcript of the Prime Minister’s rather robust interview with Neil Mitchell the day after the Budget. The transcript remains unavailable. The transcript from Monday’s Lateline interview — one of the Prime Minister’s worst — is also unavailable. Then there’s the Prime Minister’s Office’s predilection for trying to manipulate media coverage. In late April, the PMO changed the way it advised the media of Rudd’s appearances. Instead of stating a time for the commencement of a press conference or media event, which had been the typical approach until then, the time of the event is now advised as “Media please assemble by …”, even for press conferences in the courtyard in Parliament House, meaning the Prime Minister is never late. Last Sunday morning at 6.08am, the PMO issued an alert to the effect that the Prime Minister would be visiting Liddell Power Station in the Hunter Valley. “Media please assemble by 9.40am.” Liddell takes some time to get to, even if you’re in Newcastle. Sydney media wouldn’t have had much hope. Except, one network had already asked the PMO whether Rudd would be in the Hunter Valley on Sunday. One of Rudd’s staff, Sean Kelly, who was the media contact for that weekend, said he wouldn’t be: Rudd had nothing on that day. But the PMO had already arranged with another network to provide a pool cameraman to accompany Rudd, without consulting with other networks. The truth doesn’t seem especially prized in Ruddland. It’s not so long since Rudd’s senior media adviser Lachlan Harris lied about Rudd’s angry encounter with an RAAF stewardess in an effort to contain a negative story. As it turned out, the false denial provoked as much — or more — outrage than Rudd’s temper. Like the failure to post transcripts of interviews that didn’t go well, and refusing to say debt figures, lying is tawdry and counter-productive. It is now assumed within the Press Gallery that the Prime Minister’s staff lie, which means truthful denials aren’t believed. Refusal to say numbers or post transcripts simply draws attention to them all the more. It is also based on the profoundly cynical view that voters aren’t engaged in politics enough to notice this level of blatant manipulation or assume the press reaction to it is mere media whingeing. This Government is quite prepared to wear anger and cynicism toward it from the media as a trade-off for carefully controlling its message. It wants to prevent voters from thinking too much about debt and deficits and the best way to do that is to not mention them. The few seconds a day voters are exposed to politics means the more complicated story of a Prime Minister and a Treasurer trying to avoid giving voice to the numbers will only be appreciated by political tragics. When he stops spinning and starts treating his audience as intelligent adults, Kevin Rudd is a very good communicator, even on complex issues. He could craft an effective message on the need for stimulus spending and a budget deficit. But he prefers the low-risk option of treating voters as disengaged and uninterested. |
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23 Comments
I love it that he gets you the media in a spin Bernard and that Rudd speaks to the mob directly instead. It’s so much more fun watching you all chase your tails.
And now that we have access to more sources for info than just the media we are more aware of what is going on. Lucky us - we can sort the wheat from the chaff.
Bernard, on the other hand things like News Ltd trying to draw a parallel between pollies’ entitlements in the US and Australia make me realise that the media is deeply cynical - anything as long as it gets a few more clicks/viewers/readers. I have a fair bit of sympathy for any politician trying to make a serious point in a way that doesn’t come back to bite them. One good political advertising reform would be to prohibit parties from using video or audio of their opponents in ads - every example I’ve ever seen of it has been misleading (from both sides). Rudd’s job is to run the Government and try to get re-elected - not to contribute to quality debate, mush as many (including myself) would enjoy watching such debate.
Dear Bernard It does not faze me at all .
What did you think of the press luncheon with Hockey,
I think this would of been a better topic.
I smell a whif of a PMO stooge in BH’s comment!
Thank goodness I and others read Crikey for more comprehensive and independent analysis.
It sounds like the new government has simply taken to the same old ‘spin’ tricks and media manipulation of the previous government. Soon they’ll have ‘imbedded’ correspondents
… and this comes from me, who actually supports Labor!
It all rather strangely brings me back to the very old rhyme … “liar, liar, pants on fire, your nose is longer than a telephone wire.”
Let me get this straight. The media can manipulate speeches, go for “Gotcha ” comments, put the political spin on any result or policy announcement, as directed by Rupert, condense a cogent argument down to a 15 second grab and the Prime Minister cant say or do anything? I agree with BH. Thank God for the internet.
Hell hath no fury like a journo scorned…
Yes, the Tony Jones interview this week was a shocker. His refusal to answer and his long-winded non-reply was like hearing fingernails on a blackboard. And he almost got into a biffo with TJ; narrowly avoided unlike Malcolm Turnbull who did embarass himself the previous week trying to argue with Kerry O’Brien.
BUT, we get the politicians and the politics we deserve. If the mass media were doing their job, if the opposition were anything other than obstructionists and opportunistic dishonest ratbags, but most of all if the Australian public paid more than 5 seconds notice each day to important issues, and better, could come to rational evidence-based conclusions…..
Unfortunately the public and the media are what they are. Remember only a few hundred thousand watch Lateline while 1.4 mil watch 7 News and ditto those trash current affairs shows on the commercial channels. Look at how the News Corp papers twist even straight forward poll results 180 degrees. I wonder what else we could expect from politicians. And remember Mark Latham. Sadly, honesty and directness in politicians is a Darwinian dead-end.
“the Prime Minister is engaged in a deeply cynical and unashamed process of manipulation.”
A more astute political observer would have been deeply concerned before the last election when Rudd refused to release any policy until the week prior.
The uncritical transference of worthwhile Labor principles onto Rudd was a mistake.
I am looking forward to, as the Psychs say, being in a state of “malicious glee”.
The Prime Minister’s Office are amateurs in this regard. The central bankers have broken something, and don’t want to own up to it - the lies and deceit are just rippling out from there.
I still produce a wry chuckle when remembering our philosophy lecturer saying that Utilitarianism isn’t practiced in public policy.
I think it is time to make the “Citizens Parliament” more than an experiment. That little exercise has proven that when you take the deception out of conventional politics, very little else is achieved and by contrast, that an average Australian ideas collective people can come up with productive solutions to Australia’s biggest problems.
Go “we the people”! Take note everybody, if the PM is unashamedly treating the people and the press like cattle now, imagine what would happen under a UN mandated dictatorship.
The Australian Citizens’ Parliament is a world first, but takes us back to the original conception of democracy, which pre-dates elections. The Citizens’ Parliament was an assembly of 150 citizens, one from each federal electorate, selected at random from the electoral roll. The youngest participant was 18 and the oldest 90. The initiators began by sending out letters to around 9,000 people randomly selected asking if they’d be interested in participating if they were selected. An astonishing 30% said they would be despite time demands explained to them.
Rudd’s job isn’t to get re-elected per se, its to make Australia a better place. He can’t do that well if the PMO is having a chilling effect on the discussion and debate of important topics.
Thank you Bernard for reappearing where I was looking for you. Any chance of your name becoming a little darker than the rest of the Crikey Team’s names? A certain green jay bird might disagree.
Excellent article, naturally, but as this stupid clown (moi) who is a Labor voter…which brings me to ask: anyone here remember the days when Labor was a little left-wing; had a little idealism; a tad of philosophy-not much but some; the days which extended up to the Kym Beazley era; the days when Labor stood for the high moral ground; the days when one felt them to be helping the less well off in the community? Gone with the Advent of Kevin Rudd.
I knew-I’ve got the articles to prove it-that our Kevin was a fatally flawed person to become PM. I’m sure everyone else did too. Let me remind you HE IS A LITTLE MAN, who suffers from the LMS Little Man Syndrome. HE IS BLINDINGLY AMBITIOUS. And most fatal of all syndromes HE REALLY BELIEVES GOD HAD A HAND IN IT. He is a PRISSY LITTLE MAN. And the only high ground he believes in is the KEVIN RUDD high ground.
So, why did I vote for Labor? Well, only because I am a Greens voter and the first preferences went to Labor. Why didn’t I physically alter the voting card and direct my prefs to Liberal? Because I felt the coalition led by that most corrupt of all politicians in Australian history, John Winston Howard, and the wretched people who surrounded him, people like PHILLIP RUDDOCK…No I can’t go on and on. Fill in your own names. I actually felt the re-election of John Howard meant the absolute tyranny and corruption would destroy what we laughingly refer to as a nation(?) We can never call ourselves a nation whilst we are an outpost of Imperial Britain.
I felt it better to vote Labor and pray they would be better than the coalition. Silly me!
There was another factor to the equation. I happen to live in the electorate of Higgins and I would be happier losing my life than to vote for the mendacious, Pious, Peter the Putrid, Costello.
Kevin Rudd is hardly a good communicator, he may be a good spinner with the good news, but when it comes to bad news, he sputters.
@Gilchrist “Thank goodness I and others read Crikey for more comprehensive and independent analysis.”
Not having a go at you in particular D., but BH was/is quite literally in love with Kevin Rudd. Rudd could do no wrong. His fits and tantrums, refusing to answer any question in less than 140,000,000 characters…
Forgotten:
GroceryWatch (a piece of sh*t if every there was one)
FuelWatch (as above)
Sorry (OK, but Kev forgot to do his promised 1year report)
No Chinese security for Olympic Torch (who were those tracksuited people?
Inability to say “billion”, maybe he was hoping we think it was million?
Defense White Paper (hopelessly out of touch with modern defense)
Infrastructure=Primary Schools (what ?)
Internet Filter (bizarre)
AU$43,000,000,000 Fibre to the home (offset by filter to slow down any speed increase)
And that list is the short one…
PS in the above “BH” was meant to be “Bernard Keane”
My apologies.
Janet Albrechtsen will be mighty jealous of you for scooping her on this (conspiracy) story Bernard.
Dear Bernard - I think you are reflecting a growing disquiet that we have elected a PM even more clever than the last one. If this sense begins to get momentum the approach the PM (and its almost certainly him pulling the levers) is taking could well and truly backfire. As for me I’ve already come to the conclusion that the only group with any sense of purpose (other than staying/getting into power) is the Greens.
So… demarcation dispute, then?
As long as the masses via substandard mainstream media swallow his narrative Kevin Rudd will continue as Howard and Beattie. Gullible acquiescent followers of parties selling them out by the electorate. It’s politics.
Really, Rudd is just following the same path (albeit a decade later) trodden by Tony Blair in the UK (to that their detriment I think) — form over substance, spin over reality
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6638231.stm
Unfortunately I don’t have any particular faith in the opposition to be any better (they may in fact be worse), I think it will be the greens for me next election…
Journalists of Australia - I am throwing down the gauntlet!
I will donate $100 to the chosen charity of the journalist who gets Kevin Rudd to say the words “deficit of $300 billion”. I will require audio proof.
I’m a registered crikey user, so they can verify.
Marsh
When are Australian’s going to realise that the Government/main media are owned by the corporations? There is no truth in what the Government or media (except independant media) have to say. They are all full of sh..t! I don’t trust anything that the main stream media say.
There is no Democracy and if u think your free, have a look around, open your eyes…
“freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose”.
The Lateline interview is available again! Wow, the PM really did cop a pasting!!!
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2008/s2574225.htm