Thanks to a goof somewhere in the ABC, this week’s Insiders featured a little more must-see footage than usual. Regular viewers would have seen Liberal Senator Jane Hume, last seen on the election trail conjuring George Bush’s rhetorical gifts, announce with admirable candour that the Liberal Party was not really into this whole “policy-making” lark.
When asked by host David Speers about where the Coalition now stands on the fuel excise policy it put in place, she said “we don’t have policies, we are in opposition, not in government”. But the real candour came from Speers himself, captured on a hot mic in uncut footage seemingly uploaded accidentally by the ABC.
In the minute or so leading up to the broadcast, Speers suggested a picture with his guests — Hume and his panel of The Herald Sun’s James Campbell, news.com.au’s Samantha Maiden and Guardian Australia’s Katharine Murphy — “for those lovely folks on social media”, which earned a mild laugh.
However, Speers then continued, unprompted, as if it had perhaps been weighing on him for some time: “No, it’s a horrible, horrible place and after years of copping it, you just have to tell yourself, there are hundreds of thousands watching and a few hundred who tweet mean things, so you just gotta remember…” and then the guests speculate about whether it’s even that many. (Given how vocal people get about News Corp journos or Coalition politicians appearing on the ABC and the supposed bias that represents, I’m sure the response to Speers’ comments will give us some indication of their numbers.)
You’ll be happy to know Speers doesn’t reveal any kind of dark egomania beneath his reassuring air of rigorous and scrupulous decency — he’s unfailingly polite and personable, which leads to our favourite detail in the footage.
Speers, having landed on 15 as the number of people who tweet mean things about Insiders, says in that half-joking-half-not tone that “there are far more who are just loving our work”, and there’s a slightly painful pause before someone says “Yep”. The response is so clipped, space-filling and toneless that we genuinely can’t tell if it’s Hume, Maiden or Murphy.
Personable? Speersy?! U R kidding aren’t u? All SS does is talk over Labor or Green guests on his program. Bring back Kerry O’Brien. U may as well have Greg Pickhaver as Speers.
Spivsy is another one of these rank-amateur, subjective, partisan media clowns that, when the Coalition is caught in flagrante, will rush to the battlements, in mitigation, to toss over recollections of similar Labor embarrassments : but when it’s Labor caught out, will rush those same battlements to rain and pour scorn.
Using their position, trying to influence voter perceptions.
And we saw, in the recent Federal Elections, how unsuccessful that “trying to influence” turned out to be. “Influence” is often a temporary thing, coming to one’s senses tends to last longer. Hence this having also been described as “the first election that News Corpse lost”.
Bring back Kerry O’Brien.
Um Barrie Cassidy?
Either would do, but Cassidy had it down to a fine art. Tanya Plibersek once nailed Speers by apologising for interrupting him. He is better behaved, mostly, since that delightful incident.
You beat me to it with “Either would do“.
As they are both happily retired, anybody competent such as Ms Trioli (if she would lower herself) or even, dare one suggest?, the razor sharp Emma Alberici.
Ms Plibersek’s riposte to Spivsy should be included in all meeja training.
Either would be such a great and very welcome change. Alternate Sundays, perhaps?
Why change?….
The prima donna media, occupying the elite place they do, can use that position and abandon objectivity, to play their politics, indulge their pets and scarify and criticise those they take exception too (with sod all come-back) – but let the public point those shortcomings out to them and it’s “All so unfair”?
…. And, why reflect on that part of their cohort that let’s the side down and call them out for their disservice to society?
‘It’s all right for media elements to criticise the misrepresentation of Murdoch (past and present) media : but it’s not the place of the plebs to take it up’?
‘It’s all right for media elements to criticise the misrepresentation of M-u-r-d-o-c-h (past and present) media : but it’s not the place of the plebs’ to take it up?
Hume was dreadfully overbearing and Speers incompetent
She’s still recovering from the flogging.
I wrongly interpreted the headline to be Speers’ opinion of the ABC. Now that would be a scoop.
Hilarious. Keep telling yourself that David, no doubt you’ve always had nothing but positive affirmation your whole life. Twitter gives your average Joe/Jo a platform that they would never have. And I don’t see many dark tweets
Try looking……………
Why?
Life is too short for such time wasting.