Media bias
Dylan Taylor writes: Re. “ABC boss fires back over The Oz’s out-of-date claims” (yesterday). In view of News Ltd’s constant carping about the ABC (second only to its hatred of the Prime Minister), perhaps Mark Scott should take a look at the number of News Ltd journalists who appear regularly on ABC programs (both TV and radio) as panellists, commentators and even occasionally as presenters.
These people owe their living to Murdoch, who is about as anti-ABC as you can get. Very few are first-rate contributors. The majority are there to reiterate the views of their lord and master. Why does the ABC give them air time to do so?
Can the ABC not find any number of experts or commentators in the general community — be they academics, business or social entrepreneurs and others with no particular axe to grind?
It is particularly galling to have to listen to or see the same old complaining voices one tries to avoid in the Daily Telegraph and The Australian, turning up on ABC TV, Local Radio and even Radio National. It’s the best reason for turning off.
John Shailer writes: In an election year the continuing anti-Coalition bias of Fairfax and the ABC is a disgrace. Peter Costello’s fortnightly column in the Age and SMH has been discontinued. Julia Gillard has provided an extra $10 million for her cheer squad at the ABC. However the inevitable result is their declining circulation and ratings, and growing irrelevance.
John Shailer talks of anti Coalition bias in the ABC and from Fairfax. From my point of view this is breathtaking nonsense. There is little favourable comment in either organisation’s media of the government and equally little critical analysis of the Coalition’s policies (such as they are), their claims to economic competence (pretty dubious) and the manner in which they have gone about regaining government (appalling). I can only assume that Mr Shailer expects the media to provide the equivalent to full page advertising promoting the Coalition as a required demonstration of their fairness to the Abbott and his crew.
Yeah, cause that Communist Bastion, The Australian, is the worst of Australia’s newspapers, profit-wise!
If you tell the truth, you are “biased” against people who tell lies.
These days, if someone disagrees with your reporting or analysis, the first retort is “bias”.
The – mostly false – left/right narrative is causing serious damage to some of our most valuable institutions.
Get over your self inflicted perceptions of “BIAS” and seek the truth.
Matt
I agree with Dylan in relation to the limited range of ‘experts’ invited to appear on the ABC. For example, for a while Gerard Henderson was a regular on AM (at which point I would turn the radio off) and at the same time he was getting a regular guernsey with Fairfax.
Then the private sector financial experts, none of whom predicted the crash, continue to be given air time, and rarely if ever to do you have a critical left view put. Not on the “free” commercial networks because they beholden to the corporate dollar, and not on the ABC because of so-called “balance”.
In my view there is a sustained right wing bias across all Australian media, and if you disagree, tell me the last time you heard, read, or listened to rational moderate and critical commentators giving capitalism a sustained bagging?
Valid points made by Dylan Taylor and Exactly! The ABC’s dependence on the same recycled financial ‘experts’ is extraordinary – they are being rewarded with exposure and enhanced high profiles despite having no clue the world’s economic bus was about to careen into a ditch. Neville Norman, Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne, is an example of an articulate academic with no vested interest in his commentary – I appreciate his far-too-brief stints on ABC Breakfast.
While I’m at it… surely the ABC can permanently remove commentators/presenters who consistently ‘um’, ‘er’ and ‘ah’. These verbally handicapped folk should stick solely to print media – not TV, nor radio. There’s a plethora of them on The (g0dawful) Drum panels.