29 posts tagged “media”
We used to get a serious approach to news and a bit more depth in coverage of particular stories. There wasn't a competition to be the lead motor cycle in the ambulance chasing set. Rather a more considered opinion was offered and enough background given to expose the simplistic angles offered by commercial channels.
Sadly this "stuffiness" has been eroded by folk who seem to be polishing themselves up for career opportunities at FOX.
One of the things that is pretty annoying is the shallowing of RN Breakfast. Aside from Fran Kelly's desire to be every pollies friend, we are now subjected to half hourly updates of the print media headlines. You know, those sensationalised headlines that are high on emotion and often low on facts.
It's simply not good enough. We never hear when retractions are printed further down the track but worse than that, why should rags like the Australian get access to a wider audience than they can trick into paying for their slant on the news?
A few years back The Honorable Barry Jones (The Pick-a-box champ and Labor pollie) said you should be cautious with your sources of information gathering because you can have trouble remembering where you heard info you want to rely on. It makes sense to me. After sitting through some appalling 60 Minutes (Aussie version) programs years ago I simply stopped watching. Easier on the brain to stick with more reliable sources.
So now I'm wondering if it's time to give up on RN breakfast. Occasionally they cover interesting items in some depth but there is plenty of shallow stuff between the gems. It's no where near the quality of Saturday Extra with the Doogster.
I might just have to listen to AM then wait until after Michelle Grattan's political commentary then go for a walk.
It was a pretty inept effort. Firstly, the drafting of the Laws is unclear and sloppy but worse, it leaves too much to the discretion of politicians who showed a complete lack of morals when elections and foreigners are involved. Children overboard still scars the Liberal party.
The most inept part of the process came about when the new Laws were claimed to be urgently required but nothing happened after they were enacted. When this was bought up we suddenly had police raids flooding our TV screens but this was undermined by the fact that the Press were advised well before the raids and actually had their cameras set up before the cops arrived. It rather highlighted the point that there was more concern about it being a PR exercise than a "life or Death" struggle with terrorists.
Things have been much quieter since then but yesterday we were back to media driven reactions to presumed threats. Apparently there has been some monitoring going on of some shady characters and things were building up to setting up some arrests when the Australian newspaper published details that could have alerted the suspects. This is where it all gets rather murky. There are claims and counter claims between the Police and The Australian about what was cleared and what wasn't. The final wash up is the suspects are now in custody but more questions are now being asked about who "Needs to know".
The lack of self control exhibited by the Aussie media would make them last cab off the rank if I wanted to run a secure operation but first cab off the rank if I wanted a PR campaign and lots of fear mongering. Standby for the frenzy switch to be set to Max.
So what do we want from our counter espionage service?
Me? I want an effective branch of policing that does the job. I'm not interested in risking it's effectiveness so some media folk can run an adventure story. I know it's fun and you can write some exciting material about blowing up the MCG but not at the cost of security.
If we keep the anti-terrorist operations away from the media we get a more secure service but even more importantly, it doesn't become a political football that any self promoting pollie can hijack for their own personal advancement.
Disclaimer: This is an istock photo and in no way reflects the behavior referred to in this feature.
Last week there was an incident with the Aussie Navy in which some male sailors were running a score card on how many female crew they could have sex with. In some cases bets were laid and bonus points awarded for bedding a lesbian. All quite childish and “blokey” but none the less not the first time this has occurred in the land of the ocker.
But things are different now.
- Firstly the Media has a
problem with the Internet so they are desperately seeking to sensationalise
anything they can get their hands on.
- Then we have political parties
desperately trying to stake out the moral high ground.
- Add to this Kevin 07’s fierce defence of his own religious baggage and we have feeding frenzy.
I think it’s time for more than the sailors to have a cold shower.
First of all, why is it the PM’s problem when the Navy play these silly little games? And for that matter why do folk insist a Head of State or a Minister come rushing into the office for minor administration functions? As an ex-Public Servant I can tell you we got a lot more done on our own than when we had Managers hanging over our shoulders asking stupid questions.
That’s why we had training and experts. I hate to think how much trouble the Press caused in the tactical rooms when we had the last big Bushfires in Victoria.
But going beyond pollies trying to micromanage in areas they don’t belong to, where does the line get drawn in this particular case? Do you ban sex outside marriage as the Catholic Church tried so unsuccessfully to do? That’s going to be popular.
Perhaps ban folk having more than one sexual partner? If so over what time period? How about one per week as a starting point? What about the civil rights of the sailors? And who runs the score card (aside from the sailors already running a book)? How do you know if stained sheets are from a solo performance or a joint operation?
Clearly it’s ludicrous to start playing the moral card here.
The Navy has been managing their people for years and no doubt events like this
(and far worse) have occurred forever. It’s their job to train their people and
house them safely. Let them manage the supposed problem.
Women’s Lib went to a lot of trouble to give women control of their sex lives. Do we really want to go back to the bad old days and have the Press and the Pollies (Saints that they are) and even the newly reformed Germaine Greer start dictating how we lead our own lives?
Personally I don’t care how the sailors lead their sex lives though I am impressed the opposite sex is in vogue these days.
Last night apparently the Aussie media was running hard on the so called Swine Flu situation. I say apparently, because I tend to avoid the local news in preference to getting my news from the Net. However Mrs Mc tells me there is still a bit of fear mongering going on in spite of the item from New Scientist on May the 1st.
H1N1 is barely able to keep going
Now I have a real problem with this approach by our media. At the end of this spot of trouble, folk will be dismissive of future scares because of the beat up and next time it will be that much easier for a virus to spread. And it may well be serious next time.
There is not much of a penalty for the media taking this approach aside from folk switching off the TV and turning to the Net. They already have lost viewers this way but I suspect they think pressing the panic button can hold what is left of their market share. But their bottom line should not take precedence over the public health and that is exactly what they are playing with here.
Last week’s blog on the
recalcitrant SA AG has not gone without comment from the very man himself. By
email no less. And pleased to say the email is a beautiful example of the
practice of politics when you want to run a smoke screen.
He has requested it be published in full but I think it’s only fair to give him a chance to clean up the content (not swearing I hasten to mention. Just logic). I sure as hell wouldn’t want something so disjointed to be published in my name without having a chance to think it through properly and perhaps rephrase it, but I’m not sure he thinks the same way.
Personally, I hope he leaves it pretty much intact because it explains so much about the man’s character. Besides, if he really is “into the technology” he can post the thing himself without it looking like a set piece to damage him in his absence.
I’m going to leave it till next week but if no further communication is forth coming I’ll publish it in full as per his request and we can pick it apart as a guide to what you should look out for when dealing with politicians who have their own agenda come hell or high water.
Somehow I don’t think it will be as enlightening as Senator Andrew Bartlett but it should be educational all the same.
Meet Michael Atkinson the South Australian AG. Young Michael comes from that tired old school that think that sticking your head in the sand can make the problem go away. In this case R 18+ classifications for games.
According to Michael, if you don't have the rating, the games don't get into the country and thus don't get played by kids.
Luckily history has given us a few examples of this sort of thinking. Does anyone remember the US experiment with Prohibition? That worked. Well, the Mafia reckon is was a good idea at any rate.
Recently this character appeared on Good Game which gets a run on ABC2 TV and I was looking forward to the piece expecting at least some reasonable defence of his position. No such luck. Every ones else's data was attacked as industry inspired even though further examination showed it to be independent. Meanwhile, his first attempt and seeking public opinion was withdrawn when he realised the Public wasn't with him on the matter.
His reason? "Only minor changes really. Nothing major." Well why bother with the change? Was there a misplaced comma or something?
To say the AG did his case no end of damage is an understatement. He appeared to be more focused on revenge against some hostile emails he had received rather than being a bloke weighing up the pros and cons of the situation. He also made the comment that if he let it pass one of the other AG's would stop it.
Yeah?
Which one?
Looks like another tired old bull dust story to defend the indefensible.
And here comes the clincher. I dropped an email to him about his poor performance on Good Game. The response from his office was to request my postal address to get a reply.
Wonderful. Another pollie who doesn't use email. So Daryl Williams (Federal AG some years back) was not alone in his technophobia. How can a man who doesn't use the technology (nor study history for that matter) be allowed to block progress?
I hope the Voters in his Electorate are a bit more switched on than young Michael. South Oz must be due for an Election some time soon.
That good news is the creation of a new magazine that reviews the week's news from the viewpoint of several different media outlets both in Oz and internationally. Most articles have several Pro and Con views and the paper (or outlet) they report appeared in. Not only do you get to catchup on things you missed, you can see how it was played by different outlets in different states.
Something that is viewed favorably in, say, the Melb Age can be viewed entirely differently in the West Australian.
Apparently this format exists in both the US and UK where it is well established so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it can reach critical mass to continue in Oz.
The Editor-in-chief is David Salter who made a name for himself with MediaWatch on ABC TV in it's early days. Somewhere I heard him say how much nicer it is to be presenting the best of the media instead of the worst. I can imagine that. Having to listen to Shock Jocks every week would have to wear you down after time.
So here's hoping the sales are good. As soon as I gain meaningful employment I will be going the subscription route. Quality like this doesn't surface every day.
No. I haven't taken leave of my senses. There is a need to kill off a recently agreed piece of legislation for forest protection in Australia due to some pretty lax drafting of legislation.
In an effort to encourage the planting of more forests for carbon storage, a piece of legislation has slipped through both houses of parliament without due consideration of its phrasing.
As is stands, a tax incentive can be earned by replacing existing native forests with imported trees that are less effective at the task of carbon capture. I can excuse this part of the problem because the effectiveness report has only just been published.
But what I can't accept is the "other" problem in which transfer of ownership of the property does not carry any obligation to retain the plantation. This is inexcusable. A tax benefit allowed "up front" on an expectation of a 20 year lifespan, can be trashed the very next year by a con artist.
Standby for the rush of less honorable investors if this is allowed to stand.
All is not lost though. The Greens, some Independents, and even at least 1 Liberal, have indicated they want to withdraw the legislation before it is enacted. I certainly hope so, otherwise it brings the supporters of the existing legislation into disrepute.
Addressing Global Warming is going to require some clever ideas applied in a timely manner. Allowing $$$ to be wasted on potential scams like this is not the way forward, and worse, shows a naivety not acceptable from adults. To keep everyone motivated, we need to show the Government is working cleverly and effectively.
To hear the audio go here.
Congratulations to Peter Mares too. This program consistently delivers a deeper level of information for those who take the time to listen.
Last night I watched Lateline on ABC TV and towards the end of the program Professor Garnaut was interviewed about the soft targets he has set for Australia to battle Climate Change.
He was closely questioned by Tony Jones who managed to blow through the tactic of "lots of words but bugger all content" and pinned him down on the future of some of Australia's biggest tourist attractions. Basically he has written off the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef, the Kakadu Wetlands, Alpine regions, and the Murray Darling Basin.
To say I was staggered is an understatement, but this morning I was even more surprised to find no outrage on the News services. For the commercial stations this is understandable. Low attention spans and a good nights' sleep probably mean they have already forgotten it, but the ABC programs should certainly be aware of what runs on their flagship program and it can't be too hard to work out that this is going to go down like the lead balloon.
Before the Election the Libs stupidly tried to claim the country can't afford to tackle Climate Change, immediately preferring to dig coal than support the tourist industry. It killed their claims of good economic managers and was very unpopular with the Voters precisely because we love our tourist attractions and it carries a lot of jobs.
Surrendering some of our best attractions can't be allowed to pass without one hell of a fight. Regardless of how long it takes other countries to get their shit together. By getting ourselves in shape first we can maximise our efforts while it is cheaper to do so and squeeze every possible process to try and minimise the damage caused by ourselves.
Doing nothing, or very little, is just not good enough. Planning to fail is a defeatist approach and takes the pressure off the slackers. Let's get the pressure on and bloody well go for it.
The matter is way more important than a solitary dam in Tasmania so I expect the outcry to surpass the Franklin Dam response. If it isn't then we don't deserve this fine country we live in.
To see the astonishing claims and watch Tony Jones's excellent style go here. Video clip to the right of the transcript
But these are desperate times for a party that is short of a good leader and they clearly have not got their collective heads around being a good Opposition.
The last two days have seen young Andrew attacking a difference between two different departments' projected growth rates for Australia.
I kid you not. Obviously not a man with much business acumen or a man who watched Sesame Street as a kid. (Remember the song "Think what happens next")
Projecting growth rates is a black art especially in the current economic times and in fact you could probably get better value out of the horoscope section of the paper at the moment. They will be able to tell a lot more after the crisis is over. Not a whole lot of good now though.
Andrew should know this if his party is supposed to have the "business smarts". Any good businessman should understand projections are simply that. A guess. Be it a clever one or otherwise.
The two different departments have, predictably, different ways of arriving at their projections. Otherwise they may as well use one set of figures and who can imagine any Department egos putting up with that?
If I was Andrew, I would be more suspicious if the figures were actually the same.
But this isn't the end of the problems. This is where the "Think what happens next" clicks in and it shows an appalling lack of knowledge of how our system works. If you claim the figures are doctored, you automatically challenge the honesty of Treasury. You simply can't have it both ways.
A couple of weeks ago another Opposition member fell into the same trap at Senate Estimates and managed to get beaten up by the Department Head in front of the media. It was so interesting it even made the news on the commercial channels. Young Andrew might be well advised to pull a sickie to avoid the same.
Here is the open letter.
Come on Andrew.
You (and Malcolm) were touted as stars in the remaining Liberal parliamentary party and look at what we are getting. Challenging a difference in projected growth rates is a clear indication of someone who doesn't understand the projections but even worse, has given Labor a free kick at the "smarter at business party" theory.
It's bad enough that you should open up your own credibility for examination but when you add it to Malcolm Turnbull changing his mind every other day (and taking it to the media) you make the party look desperate and inept.
I think you chaps should start thinking about presenting yourselves as a viable party for government. You certainly aren't doing that at the moment.
Take a leaf from Kevin 07's book. Don't oppose everything and in your own case, get some business training and especially some help in the projections area. Otherwise the Voters will start to think we will be getting what we are seeing at the moment if they vote Liberal
Peter Mc
My Groups
-
Separation of Church and State Updated: 7 minutes ago
-
Freethinkers Updated: 7 minutes ago
-
United for Peace Updated: 46 minutes ago
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
