Is it your ABC or Rupert Murdoch’s?

How are you finding your local ABC’s coverage of local news and issues of late?

Here on the Gold Coast, we wonder who is running our local ABC station - Coast FM - given nearly every day, precious airtime is devoted to parroting propaganda and PR from either the ‘Gold Coast Bulletin’, the ‘Courier-Mail’, or any other News Ltd. outlet.

For instance, the lead segment on the "Drive" program today [16/6/10] was about a nominee for the Pride of Australia™ Medal. – the ‘Courier-Mail’s cover story.

Pride of Australia™ is a commercial venture owned by News Ltd. (who own the vast majority of Australia's so called newspapers), yet the announcer failed to disclose this fact.

This is blatant promotion of a Murdoch corporate PR vehicle, and is surely against the ABC's editorial guidelines?

We also heard about the Dreamworld Bengal Tiger’s dental work [page 3 ‘Courier-Mail’] and Vu Vu horns [page 27 ‘Courier-Mail’].

Since the disappearance of popular and community-minded announcer Trevor Jackson at the end of last year, it’s been getting dumb and dumber at Coast FM.

A woeful state of affairs considering the Gold Coast is a one-paper town.

How hard would it be for a Coast FM reporter to file a weekly Council, Courthouse, police roundup, or actually do some simple community journalism?

Is there a journalist at the station following the current NSW Supreme Court Inquiry into the collapse of Gold Coast financial company Octaviar/MFS?

Now that’s an interesting story with local relevance to Gold Coast residents.

If you're getting as sick of the Murdoch Press’ constant infiltration of the ABC at all levels as we are, contact your Federal MP, and demand that they do something to wrestle back the ABC's independence and strengthen their local, non-Murdoch content.