Does News hate Gillard? The reality is worse
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There’s a widely held view within the progressive commentariat that News is running a hard, even virulent, line against Labor in the current election campaign. Perhaps, but maybe the reality is somewhat more banal (although no less disturbing). A more likely scenario is that the blunt and sometimes nasty coverage in News Limited newspapers of the government in general, and Julia Gillard in particular, is the collateral result of dumbed-down editorial values rather than any vitriolic campaign motivated by political or proprietorial preference; of visceral editorial decisions made mainly by middle-aged male editors whose job is to stir up controversy, attack stereotypes, beat-up small incidents, enrage disaffected voters, impinge on priavte lives and incite readers in an age of uncertainty for newspapers and their future. Maybe Rupert Murdoch or John Hartigan will unleash their attack dog editors on to the prime minister over the next 10 days, as they did when they installed and then unseated the Whitlam government in the 1970s. Then again, these days they have their hands full enough just trying to figure out how to make a buck in the modern newspaper game without exercising their prerogative to manipulate elections. |
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28 Comments
A hopelessly naive and complicated view. It’s blind hatred. It always has been.
They can hardly unleash anymore spit and dribble. Its been gushing from day one. Fortunately some of the MSM have decided to revert to being professionals since the Coalition dreary launch last Sunday. Of course for some in the News Ltd stable of donkeys, it is too late. The Shanahans, the Bolts, the Akermans, the Albrechtsens etc are in too deep to ever emerge from the bile.
I have to agree with Mr Squid. If News LTD were acting in self interest they would be backing the govts NBN scheme as this will be one of the enablers for their online content and paywall. That is if they really believe this is the answer to declining revenues.
Unless we take conspiracy a bit further and they can see loss of value in Foxtel as NBN infrastructure will allow IPtv to proliferate.
Oh I am confusing myself now, so many conspiracies.
I always used to believe that the Murdoch Press was scrupulously fair in its allocation of space. The left wing would be favoured between elections and the right wing would catch up at election time. I am not sure how this theory pans out in the current election, though.
And maybe the “dogs of Oz” won’t be released on Gillard if it looks like she might win?
I reckon it looks more like they’re waiting to see a trend they can “bank their reputations on” - like that “Ruddy tsunami”? Heaven knows they’ve done their level subliminal best up to now to persuade the electorate to their way of thinking, without being downRight blatant.
What would it do for one’s reputation, not to mention influence, being all but a “news” monopoly, and you can’t pick the winner of a “two whores” race?
Conspiracy theorists might wonder if it’s more about Labor’s NBN and its likely impact on Rupert’s pay TV interests.
WEll O’Brien last night finally nailed Abbott on the truth of the BER although Klans’ little obsession continues.
Trouble with his latest bollocks is that the building they are talking about is actually 160 m square, for a school with less than 70 kids, it is much higher than normal and the average cost is $200,000 less than the silly woman calling it a shed says.
The average costings are on the Vic gov website - $200,000 is not a small lie now is it?
I can’t work out though what the paper are on about over this.
Do they hate the governments, the workers, the contractors, the architects, the state schools, the principals who are happy - that is almost all of them.
Do they want a state v catholic war?
I don’t understand why Klan keeps banging on even after the ANAO and Orgill both said there was no systematic rorts or rip offs.
I’m with Trevor who is with Mr Squid
Having recently been News polled I now refer to them as the Push Polls.
And now they have Miranda Divine, which supports both possible explanations.
There is & has always been one reason for NEWS’ actions and that is the singleminded pursuit of Rupert’s interests. There is a very good reason why the playwright Dennis Potter named his cancer “Rupert”.
This editorial is rubbish.
Controversy may be stoked from the right or the left, but News Ltd almost always promotes the interests of capitalists and therefore the right wing.
Rundle in yesterday’s Crikey said that the Oz had descended into a right wing political propoganda sheet both ‘obvious’ and ‘crude’.
But today, the dead hand that so often is unleashed on Crikey’s editorial tells us that “News limited isnt waging a vitriolic campaign motivated by political or proprietorial preference.”
It would be polite to call that sentence stupid but it really requires stronger language which I can’t be bothered expressing. Your editorial is so wildly off planet earth that only the truly glazed eyed could see something in it.
There’s a lot of people who subscribe to Crikey in order to avoid this kind of rubbish. You do yourself no favours..
Talking of media related things…Abbott has upset ’ Getup ’ again……..so they have announced today.
Yesterday Tony Abbott sent a campaign email entitled, “We will stop the boats.” , he’s announced that the Pacific Solution will return on day one of an Abbott Government. It seems Tony Abbott has a lot to say on refugees, except to those he promised to meet in June after GetUp members won a charity auction.
GetUp members chipped in more than $16,000 to help secure the winning bid in a charity auction for a surfing lesson and meeting with Tony Abbott. We gave the prize to a group of refugees because we know how powerful human stories are. But his office, having suggested the meeting would occur before the election, have now stopped returning our calls. They are refusing to hold up their end of the deal.
If Tony Abbott won’t come to meet us, we’ve got to go and meet him. That’s why today, with your help, we’ll begin rolling out (literally - they’re mobile!) massive billboards to follow him around on the campaign trail and remind him of his broken promise to go surfing for charity with a group of refugees.
We know it is only fair that Tony Abbott meet with Riz Wakil. After all, he promised to do so. When Mr Abbott’s Press Secretary told us that Mr Abbott would like to have the meeting before the election, and that he would ring back to confirm a date, we took him at his word. But after repeated phone calls from us - that his office have now stopped returning - its time for us to up the ante.
With a week and a half left there’s still time for Mr Abbott to meet his commitment before the election. That’s why with your help we’ll take a message to him that he can’t miss: massive mobile billboards asking him to honour his commitment and meet with Riz.
So Abbott and his minders stuff up yet again, got to give it to Getup, they are a determined bunch…this will hurt Abbott.
Sean, you have hit the nail on the head. I now regret giving Crikey the benefit of my growing doubt by renewing my subscription.
I agree with both GAVIN MOODIE and SEAN. News Limited represents the interests of big capitalism, especially neo-conservative capitalism (or neo-capitalism, if you like), and in particular New Ltd itself. It always has. Anyone or anything that gets in the way gets “the treatment”. News Ltd was instrumental in getting rid of Tony Blair, then Gordon Brown. Then it was Kevin Rudd; now it’s Julia Gillard’s turn. Next will be Barack Obama (it’s already started).
When the Rudd Federal government in early February announced licence-fee rebates to the three commercial television networks to support local content, the News Ltd media “went ballistic”. Overnight, they lost all semblance of political balance and began a campaign of lopsided and/or misleading journalism, and unrelenting vitriol against the ALP and Kevin Rudd. They helped oust Rudd, but they won’t be satisfied until they oust Labour altogether.
New Ltd owns most major-city and national newspapers in this country, and is a major player in (pay) television news. News Ltd - and its autocratic owner, Rupert Murdoch - have far too much power.
“The Australian”????…do you mean the B.E.R. daily? Haven’t they read the Interim Report? They’re still beefing on about it. If only we had had such “scrutiny” when Howard was running the show.
“To date, the Taskforce has received complaints in respect of 254 schools; approximately 2.7% of all schools involved in the BER program, and of these over half relate to value for money. NSW Government schools accounted for 56% of complaints and Victorian Government schools for 20%.
The preliminary data available to the Taskforce suggests that some Government systems are
delivering P21 projects at costs broadly comparable to non-government schools including those that self manage projects. Centralised delivery models do not necessarily deliver poorer project outcomes. Moreover, given the size of the larger government systems and the scale of the P21 program, the Taskforce view is that systemwide school level self management of BER P21 would not have achieved the implementation timetable required by the program in those larger states and that such an approach would have required resolution of a number of risk issues.
Over the past three months the Taskforce has visited 110 schools across five states to meet with school principals and school community representatives. The Taskforce has also met with a further 90 key stakeholder groups. Notwithstanding the validity of issues raised in the complaints, our overall observation is that this Australia wide program is delivering much needed infrastructure to school communities while achieving the primary goal of economic activity across the nation. There has clearly also been an added benefit of construction industry up-skilling, beyond just sustaining employment, as detailed in Appendix 8.”
This election is about the Australian people wresting back controlof their democracy from the media, particularly News Ltd and of late Channel Nine. They have become unelected political players in their own right.
The BER daily? Fabulous.
Re B.E.R. …..now is the time for all good honest principals to come to the aid of the party and give voice in support of the schools programme…..the Libs are beating up about sweet F A
Same difference really. People full of sh#te are right wing bastards and vice versa.
The Australian “the colon of the nation” spent twelve months
rat rooting Rudd and then crowned him Australian of the year
for his strategy through the Global Financial Crisis.
Go figure………
I’m with FirstDog (who is with Trevor (who is with Mr Squid))
“Dirty Laundry” by the Eagles sums it up.
I’m with Oscar, Trevor and First Dog, who are all with Mr Squid, who I disagree with.
” … middle-aged male … whose job is to stir up controversy, attack stereotypes, beat-up small incidents, enrage disaffected voters, impinge on priavte (sic) lives and incite readers in an age of uncertainty …”. Sure its News editors and not Alan Jones you’re talking about? Only difference is he doesn’t attack stereotypes, he reinforces them.
Noam Chomsky nailed it long ago.
As Rupert Murdoch only employs third-rate political writers, the Oz=Piers Ackerman and Janet Albrechtsen, and the Hun=Andrew Bolt, even without their boss’ making sure the “Hate Labor” message permeates every sheet of newspaper.
The three writers concerned are not the youngest or the brightest of today’s reportage talent. So I dare say it’s easier to keep repeating one’s self, than it is to coe up with something original.
DAVID: I wrote a counter-piece in First Dog as irony. Seems as if some people took it seriously. I addressed it to you. I promise you it was meant to be irony. Please David?
@ VENICE..