The Murdoch/Fox press stooping to new lows.

Outbackjack
Outbackjack: The Australian announces that it wants to “destroy” the Greens
September 9, 2010 – 6:00 pm, by Jeremy Sear

Until today, I’d never seen a national broadsheet with pretensions to fair and balanced reporting actually admit that it wasn’t just biased against a party supported by 14% of the country, it wanted to “destroy” it. But that’s just what The Australian did in its editorial today:

Greens leader Bob Brown has accused The Australian of trying to wreck the alliance between the Greens and Labor. We wear Senator Brown’s criticism with pride. We believe he and his Green colleagues are hypocrites; that they are bad for the nation; and that they should be destroyed at the ballot box. The Greens voted against Mr Rudd’s emissions trading scheme because they wanted a tougher regime, then used the lack of action on climate change to damage Labor at the election. Their flakey economics should have no place in the national debate.

Well, there you are. You can take pretty much everything The Australian says about the Greens in that context: they are not interested in giving them a fair hearing, or listening to what they have to say, or presenting their arguments for public assessment: they want them “destroyed”.

Everything you read about The Greens in that paper can now be almost completely discounted by that fact. You can only conclude that if there’s a smear, they’ll run it. If there’s a positive story, they won’t. If there’s a way of presenting the Greens’ policies in the most damaging, least accurate light, that’s how they’ll be presented. The Greens will not be given fair opportunity to respond to critics’ claims about them (including the asinine ones made in that editorial). It will be relentless, one-sided, hostile propaganda.

Anyone who seeks to rely on The Australian for information should be aware that whatever they’re told about the Greens will be subject to the most extraordinary, deliberate bias, with the express purpose of having them “destroyed at the ballot box”.

I know it’s hardly news that Hardly News has an axe to grind against the left in general and the Greens in particular: but this admission, this defiant declaration today is extraordinary. They genuinely think the right so victorious that they can without commercial consequence announce their utter contempt for anyone who believes otherwise. Screw you, progressives who believe in public services, civil liberties, a social democratic Australia. You’re the fringe, and the country’s biggest media empire is working to make sure you are no longer represented in parliament.

This is The Australian openly eschewing reporting for advocacy; nearing the completion of its transition into the Fox News of Australian media.

UPDATE: Maybe the Australian’s editors are right: maybe their readers won’t in any way be concerned about being openly led around by the nose. After all, many of them voted Liberal even after Tony told them that you couldn’t believe what he said – something they bizarrely cheered as being “refreshing honesty”. Maybe they will , without irony, applaud the Australian promising to dedicate its reporting about the Greens to telling them what they already – because they believe what the Australian tells them about the Greens – believe about the Greens.
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davidk14
davidk14: What does The Australian have to do with Murdock?
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davidk14
davidk14: .


Oh...I get it now. You are again smearing Fox News even thought they have notheing to do with "The Australian" newspaper. Makes absolutely perfect sense coming from you.

"This is The Australian openly eschewing reporting for advocacy; nearing the completion of its transition into the Fox News of Australian media."

Fail and balanced you definately are not.


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chronology
chronology: 'nearing the completion of it's transition into.....' Mr David have you been taking sips from the alcohol cabinet.
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IamEggman
IamEggman: the News Of The World, one of Murdoch's newspapers here in the UK is being investigated for hacking into the mobile phones of thousands of people, many of them members of parliament.
Murdoch cares nothing about journalism, it is simply the commodity he deals in, so making false allegations means nothing to him or the muppets he hires.
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chronology
chronology: Mr Eggman. In fairness to Mr Murdock and his Newspaper, The News of the World has never been found culpable of hacking into peoples Cell Phones. Two journalists who work for TNoTW were found to be Cell Phone Hacking, their Editor said he knew nothing about this.

Some of Mr Murdoch's employees may enjoy bear knuckle boxing, but that hardly qualifies a statement like, 'Murdock cares nothing for the Queensbury rules'. Hardly sporting Old Chap.
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Outbackjack
Outbackjack: Are you that thick David,that you have absolutely no idea of the Murdoch/Fox News Corporate structure?

You preach how good Fox is.
Yet have little idea who the bastards are who spread this disinformation to you.

Dont forget to check under your bed.........................
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davidk14
davidk14: .

Outback,
You are delusional. Really you are. You spend way too much time out in the sun.

I have never preached how good FOX is. You keep saying I preach this and that and that I get my reference materials from them. They like most news outlets reprint stories from AP, Reuters, AOL News, Wall Street Journal, NY Post, New York Times and other news outlets which does not mean that they contributed to the story.

I go out of my way NOT to quote FOX News BECAUSE of you…yes you! In a way, I should thank you because I do spend a lot of time researching my materials to make sure the information can be traced back to an original source. I’ve learned a lot over the last year. So, in the future, don’t get your panties all twisted.

Instead of using that lame FOX talking point over and over and over as an excuse for not answering questions or not responding, perhaps you should be the one who should do research more carefully. That would be a pleasant surprise.

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Outbackjack
Outbackjack: I am glad to hear that I have educated you into finally understanding how Fox are a bunch of corporate arseholes.
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davidk14
davidk14: .

There are a number of corrupt corporate news organizations out there as well as non-news corporations. That's why 'everyone' needs to scrutinize, examine and analyze their information before posting.

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chronology
chronology: Mr Outback. Do you think there is any difference between Fox News U.S.A. and the rest of Mr Murdocks Empire in Australia?
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IamEggman
IamEggman: Further developments in the phone hacking scandal at the News Of The World, MP's who were supposed to investigate the allegations are now admitting to being 'talked out' of looking in the practices of News International because they were told that Murdoch's people would target them and start digging into their private lives.
Chrono,
Maybe Murdoch himself wasnt involved in this episode, but it is his company and it isnt the the first time his newspapers have been involved in anything like this.
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Outbackjack
Outbackjack: Very little Chrono.
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