The death of News Corp
Peter Matters writes: Re. “News Corp phone hacking: never forget” (Wednesday). Rupert Murdoch — like another very well-known personality — has been driven all his life to prove that he could outdo his very successful father. He has achieved his aim at the cost of two very high prices. 1.) The grief of his mother. 2.) By turning into a demagogue.
He founded The Australian as a national newspaper of quality and he deserves praise for his decision. Yet, in his drive to brainwash his readers with lies, malice and personal attacks to achieve his personal aim of power — with a billion or two of profit thrown in for good measure — he allowed The Australian to degenerate until it is now indistinguishable from his gutter press and his shock jocks.
Today, his influence is greatly overrated — even if he can still cause damage by bluffing. Frankly, he is now a has-been. In fact, I feel sorry for him, for he cannot take his money and influence with him, his print media are dying and his sons will not be able to keep the name News Corp on everybody’s tongue.
On the Senate
Niall Clugston writes: So Malcolm Turnbull’s master plan to cut the fringe of the Senate has failed. But the pundits have also failed. They claimed the make-up of the previous Senate was due to “preference whispering” and so on. No, fundamentally, the odd squad got into the Senate because people voted for them. And because the Senate, with proportional representation, actually reflects how people voted.
I am not surprised that Hanson, Hinch, and Lambie were elected. Face facts: there are as least as many rednecks in Australia as “white necks”.
Niall,
The odd lot got elected under the previous senate election system because anyone voting for a microparty above the line had subsequent preferences allocated automatically usually without the knowledge of the elector.
Now if an elector wants to allocate preferences to microparties above the line it has to be done explicitly.
Peter Matters, you are not correct.
“his influence is greatly overrated”, “he is now a has-been”.
I am amazed how gullible many Australian are; despite the evidence of his “lies, malice and [unjustified]personal attacks”, very many Aussies still believe “his gutter press”.
I can’t explain why, but they do!
The legacy of poor Milly Dowler, 13, and it is a great one, is that she finished Murdoch.