King Rupert farts out another decree, and Stop Murdoch says "Farewell"!

'The Guardian' report that the emporer has no clothes [21/10/10]:

... Our new world is one of modern mass communication, phone and text, without limit. Democracy will be from the bottom up, not from the top down. Even so, a free society requires an independent press: turbulent …enquiring…bustling…and free.

That's why our journalism is hard-driving and questioning of authority. And so are our journalists. Often, I have cause to celebrate editorial endeavour. Occasionally, I have had cause for regret.

Let me be clear: We will vigorously pursue the truth – and we will not tolerate wrongdoing. ...

We have nothing more to say about the emporer and his wideranging posse of arselickers, apologists, liars, warmongers, free marketeers, racists, anti-intellectuals, religious bigots and sexists - from his readers and advertisers, to his fascist mates in the establishment and our political leaders.

Just remember it's your taxes that pay for the Government who refuse to curtail his monopoly media control, along with the advertising dollars which keeps his crummy propaganda sheets afloat.

We wish you and yours a nice future.

It's only because of people like Drew Hutton and the refugee advocates who handed out flyers to the ugly rednecks at Adelaide Hills last night that this might be possible!

Take care of yourselves.

Stephen Mayne Tries To Stop Murdoch

News Corporation held its annual shareholders meeting in New York on Friday. The 'New York Times' had an interesting piece about it.

On the subject of their increasingly obvious, embarrassing and unhinged bias, Murdoch and the board were unapologetic:

The shareholder also asked Mr. Murdoch and the chairman of the audit committee, Sir. Roderick I. Eddington, if the company “weighed the reputational risk, given that this is a media company and there are very clear concerns about the objectivity of news reporting and the perception that such sizable contributions” would compromise the company’s news gathering activities.

Mr. Eddington said, “donations of this type are also evaluated and reviewed by our general counsel, to make sure they’re appropriate in that context as well.”

Stephen Mayne was there and has posted about his contribution to the shareholder question and answer session. It's worth checking out the whole thing, especially the parts about the phone hacking scandal and Murdoch's attempts to pretend he's never heard of Jon Stewart, Bruce Guthrie, Bruce Dover or any of their writings.

But our favourite laugh was right at the end when Mayne congratulates Murdoch for firing Glenn Milne:

Mayne: ... Well done for firing Glenn Milne, that, ah, journalist of yours who drunkenly pushed me off the stage at the WalkleyAwards in 2006 live on national television. It was a disgrace. You defended him at that last gathering we had. But you fired him since, and I'd like to say congratulations for finally doing that, and thankyou for your time today.

Murdoch: Thankyou, I'm not responsible for firing him, but that's fine. I didn't know anything about it.

Do Mayne and Murdoch know something we don't? Sure Milne has been spending the last few months as a kind of Murdoch Fifth Column spouting his rubbish at their ABC, but is there something we missed?

Do you know if Milne has really been 'fired'?

The Gold Coast Sun Has A Problem With "The Truth"!

"... In publishing this story, the Sun does so without an accompanying image on our front page, mainly because of the emotion fuelling debate on genuine - and not-so-genuine - asylum seekers in detention. ..."

What is the sound of coffee or beer or some other liquid involuntarily coming out of your mouth when you see something astonishing?

Prrphhsssttt...! (cough, gag, cough splutter...)?

So, Murdoch, "Mr Truth", fabricates a non-story (yet again, ho hum) and screams at no-one in particular that HE DEMANDS THE TRUTH!!!

Bizarro World? Parallel Universe? Inverse Reality?

Is there anything that can be done about these people? Who knows, but we're certainly not going to die wondering. We decided to write to the Minister and ask him:

Chris Bowen MP
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
Parliament House


Dear Minister,

I refer to articles published in this week's 'Gold Coast Sun'.

Appalling journalism and xenophobic fear mongering aside, I think it is the 'Gold Coast Sun' who are not telling the truth.

Could you please confirm if expanded services for refugees are to be placed on the Gold Coast?

Could you also please confirm whether these stories contain any truth at all?

Regards,


Gold Coast citizen.

Maybe you could try it yourself sometime?

Why do academics who claim to be calling for progressive change keep writing for the Murdoch Press?

Today 4ZzZ's 'Anarchy Show' [11/10/10] reported that Professor Ross Fitzgerald wrote something about the Queensland Police force in last weekend's 'Australian'.

Odd.

In any case, no Australian with a brain is reading the Murdoch Press anymore.

Perplexing that academics and other commentators keep writing for it, linking to it (do they know that gives Murdoch money?) and referring to it.

The symptoms are eerily similar to Battered Person Syndrome:

In lay terms, this is a reference to any person who, because of constant and severe domestic violence usually involving physical abuse by a partner, becomes depressed and unable to take any independent action that would allow him or her to escape the abuse. The condition explains why abused people often do not seek assistance from others, fight their abuser, or leave the abusive situation. Sufferers have low self-esteem, and often believe that the abuse is their fault. Such persons usually refuse to press criminal charges against their abuser, and refuse all offers of help, often becoming aggressive or abusive to others who attempt to offer assistance. Often sufferers will even seek out their very abuser for comfort shortly after an incident of abuse.

That seems to be what's going on with these people who, you would think, should know better.

What will it take for Australians to stand up and say "enough is enough"?

'The Age' report [9/10/10]:

Television producer and on-air personality Andrew Denton is on a secret News Limited blacklist of public figures who are not welcome in Rupert Murdoch's national newspaper, The Australian, according to a book being launched this week.

Former Herald Sun editor-in-chief Bruce Guthrie, in his book Man Bites Murdoch, says he first got wind of the Murdoch blacklist when he was editor of the Weekend Australian Magazine in 2005 and Denton was profiled in a regular segment ''Ten things you didn't know about … ''

Guthrie says the deputy editor, Graham Erbacher, approached him and half-whispered: ''You know that Denton is persona non grata around here.'' Guthrie asked why. ''It all goes back to Super League,'' Erbacher replied. ...

In 1999 Denton aired his feelings on the ABC show Australian Story: ''I wish I could take Lachlan Murdoch (and) Ken Cowley by their smug little jowls and sit them down for a while and explain something to them … Tradition in sport is a very, very powerful thing.''

Three weeks after the ''Ten Things'' segment on Denton appeared, the paper's editor-in-chief, Chris Mitchell, phoned Guthrie to ask why he had published it. Guthrie says he replied: ''It was pretty innocuous stuff, Chris. (It) even said nice things about Rupert.''

Mitchell: I've just had Lachlan on the phone from New York and he's not happy. In fact he's very pissed off.

The Age Media Browser column reported in August the existence of a blacklist of Murdoch enemies. In his book, Guthrie says he asked Mitchell who else was on the blacklist. He says Mitchell replied: ''You'll know when it happens.''

A newspaper search of the past two years found 78 stories in The Australian that mentioned Denton, 90 in The Age and 108 in the Herald Sun.

It will be interesting to read the book and see whether it follows the typical style of memoir of ex-Murdoch staff. Hugh Lunn did it with Working For Rupert, and Andrew Neil, who was a senior lieutenant of Murdoch, including as editor of The Sunday Times in London, for 11 years up until 1994, later wrote Full Disclosure. John D’Arcy, who was a senior loyal lieutenant to Murdoch for years before Murdoch cruelly flew him to London at short notice to give him the shaft, wrote Media Mayhem.

There are plenty of others. They all follow the general pattern: "Rupert Murdoch is a cruel, vindictive, shifty, duplicitous despot who rules through fear and anxiety. I knew this and here are some examples. Then, one day he shafted ME! It was so unfair."

If you know any young people who are considering working for Murdoch, force them to read some of these books first. Then challenge them to find a single book about what a terriic and honest bloke Murdoch is. Even his authorised biography by Michael Wolff, The Man Who Owns The News, doesn't manage it.

We already know what type of person he is and what type of organisation he runs. What will it take to stop this?

At least in the U.S. he pays them to kiss his arse

In Australia they do it for free!

Imagine reading a piece like this in any Australian media:

A note to Tea Party activists: This is not the movie you think it is. You probably imagine that you’re starring in “The Birth of a Nation,” but you’re actually just extras in a remake of “Citizen Kane.” ...

As the Republican political analyst David Frum put it, “Republicans originally thought that Fox worked for us, and now we are discovering we work for Fox” — literally, in the case of all those non-Mitt-Romney presidential hopefuls. It was days later, by the way, that Mr. Frum was fired by the American Enterprise Institute. Conservatives criticize Fox at their peril.

So the Ministry of Propaganda has, in effect, seized control of the Politburo. What are the implications?

Perhaps the most important thing to realize is that when billionaires put their might behind “grass roots” right-wing action, it’s not just about ideology: it’s also about business. What the Koch brothers have bought with their huge political outlays is, above all, freedom to pollute. What Mr. Murdoch is acquiring with his expanded political role is the kind of influence that lets his media empire make its own rules.

Thus in Britain, a reporter at one of Mr. Murdoch’s papers, News of the World, was caught hacking into the voice mail of prominent citizens, including members of the royal family. But Scotland Yard showed little interest in getting to the bottom of the story. Now the editor who ran the paper when the hacking was taking place is chief of communications for the Conservative government — and that government is talking about slashing the budget of the BBC, which competes with the News Corporation.

Australia is in deep trouble. Both main parties are willing slaves to the neo-liberal free-market fundamentalism which is rotting our country to its core, and they are willing slaves to the Murdoch propaganda arm of that ideological movement.

If you don't do something to raise your voice against that, you are also playing along.

We were wrong about Murdoch!

Sorry everyone, apparently he's NOT a horrible old fascist and his media outlets ARE fair and balanced:

Murdoch, Bloomberg embrace immigration reform

By SUZANNE GAMBOA
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- They weren't as funny as television Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert, but media moguls Rupert Murdoch and Michael Bloomberg made a similar appeal to Congress: Do something about immigration.

Murdoch, the founder of News Corp., urged lawmakers during a hearing Thursday to match attempts to secure the border with efforts to ensure that employers can't hire people illegally. ...

Murdoch and Bloomberg lead a coalition of businesses and mayors to push for immigration reform. The group supports providing a path to legal status for those in the U.S. illegally. Murdoch himself was born in Australia and, while expanding his interests in U.S. media, became an American citizen in 1985. Citizenship allowed him to own U.S. television stations.

"As an immigrant, I chose to live in America because it is one of the freest and most vibrant nations in the world. And as an immigrant, I feel an obligation to speak up for immigration policies that will keep America the most economically robust, creative and freedom-loving nation in the world," he said.

The illegal immigrant population has tripled in the U.S., even as the government has increased enforcement spending almost every year since 1992, Murdoch said. The wave of immigrants only started to crest when the country hit a recession, he said.

Murdoch and Bloomberg said they believe Congress needs to help employers discern between workers authorized to work in the U.S and those who are not. The Obama administration has been auditing employers to find those hiring people illegally.

Rep. Maxine Waters, a Democrat, told Murdoch she thought his support for immigration reform did not match coverage of the immigration issue by Fox News, which is a large part of his News Corp. empire. She said his testimony was contradictory to Fox News "talking about anchor babies." The term, considered derogatory by some, is a reference to children born to at least one illegal immigrant parent.

"Why don't you use your power to help us to promote what you are talking about?" Waters asked.

"I would say that we do," Murdoch said. "We certainly employ a lot of immigrants at Fox ... and we do not take any consistent anti-immigrant line."

Murdoch said he would have no trouble supporting his hearing testimony on Fox News, "nor would a great number of the commentators on Fox News." ...

Well there you go, we've obviously got him all wrong!

Is That True, Or Did The 'ABC' Just Copy It From 'The Australian'?

Shamelessly Cut-n-Pasted from Deltoid:

Is that true, or did you read it in The Australian?

Category: Leakegate

The Australian breathlessly informs us that:

The UN is to appoint an astrophysicist to be the first contact for any aliens ...

Mazlan Othman will describe her potential new role next week at a scientific conference at the Royal Society's Kavli conference centre in Buckinghamshire.

But Matthew Weaver at the Guardian has spoiled the fun by contacting Othman:

Apart from the hilarious picture, the thing about this story is that the ABC was still repeating this as fact, without acknowledging that it came from the hopelessly discredited Murdoch 'press', at least a full day after it had been debunked.

Overwhelming evidence is gradually building up that there is something untoward going on between the inner workings of the ABC (apparently up to the highest levels of the organisation) and the Murdoch machine.

28 September: Boycott Murdoch Day

Tomorrow the new federal parliament sits.

Make a statement.

Don't buy Murdoch's newspapers, don't watch his pay television and don't click on his websites.

Boycott any ABC shows which feature Murdoch employees.

Make a point of sending an email or a letter to your elected representatives letting them know how you feel about Murdoch's dangerously powerful control of our media.

It's only one day, it's not a hard thing to do.

Who would think the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior was a joke?

Tonight [20/9/10], the ABC screened an excellent documentary about the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in 1985:

This week on Four Corners, "Return to the Rainbow Warrior", a story that attempts to finally get to the truth of a murderous attack that New Zealanders describe as an act of state sponsored terrorism. ...

That brought to mind a 'Spring Hill Voice' story from way back in October 2007:

Rupert's Cultural Warriors Hard At Work On The Gold Coast

Cast your mind back to 1985 when Greenpeace was actively campaigning to stop French nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific Ocean….

Every Tuesday, Gold Coast residents are the lucky recipients of a News Ltd. throw-away, 'The Sun'.

It's a useful read if you want to buy a car, are looking to have your prejudices confirmed or enjoy spending your hard earned money on consumer items.

'The Sun' employs that classic News Ltd. strategy of incorporating little columns and articles that convey confusing messages to the reader, amidst the array of advertising and propaganda.

Said messages seem very clear to me:

If you drive down to the shops and buy enviro-lightbulbs to put in your green bags, there will be no global warming, and your grandchildren will live forever in an antipodean wonderland where the car reigns supreme and the rivers will run with desalinated water, bombing Iran is the proper thing to do because people in the Middle East are terrorists, health and education are privileges rather than taxpayer rights, women should fulfil their role of either being a breeder or a prostitute, unions are the devil, and any organic event or artistic experience not sponsored and contrived by a corporation should be viewed with suspicion and disdain.

Take this week's 'By The Way' column by Peter Barnes. It is headed by a photo of the half sunken "Rainbow Warrior" and the caption reads: "HOLED… Greenpeace members should have remembered to put the bungs back in the Rainbow Warrior". That is so funny - oh ba ha ha ha! Next week Barnes could use a photo of the ruins of the "Sari Club" in Bali with a caption like: "Drunken Yob Aussie's have too many Flaming Sambuccas!"

The column is oh so chatty and light, with its sidesplitting local anecdotes. This week, the first is about a corporate 'green' marketing promotion by 'The Sun"' (the last is about some locals who forgot to put the bungs back in their tinny, which then sank) - but why use a photo of the Rainbow Warrior? Rupert's cultural warriors are as hard to turn around as a battleship, so Barnes has to grudgingly acknowledge his master's edict with a cynical plug for consumer environmentalism while snidely mocking the very real and very dead victims of the same enviro-wars he is now cashing in on, with a joke about dedicated people killed by the illegal French bombing in New Zealand.

And News Ltd's hacks have the gall to accuse this site of being "horse-shit"! Their hypocrisy is staggering.

UPDATE!! Peter Barnes writes his usual lightweight column this week [17/10/07] but, after the 'Sun' had a few letters making the same point as we have, finishes with:

"Several readers questioned the use of a picture of the ship Rainbow Warrior to illustrate an item last week. Well, they were absolutely right and I salute those alert readers who take the trouble to comment when they see something they believe to be wrong."

It's typical of a Murdoch "correction" or "apology" isn't it? You know: 'Well sooorrrrryyy, then!' With a veiled hint that whingey wimps can't take a joke.

Fuckwits.

A Great Idea

Journalism Warning Labels:


From Tom Scott's 'Making Stuff Happen' blog:

It seems a bit strange to me that the media carefully warn about and label any content that involves sex, violence or strong language — but there's no similar labelling system for, say, sloppy journalism and other questionable content.

I figured it was time to fix that, so I made some stickers. I've been putting them on copies of the free papers that I find on the London Underground. You might want to as well.

Go to his website and print some for yourself.

We bought a box of 6,500 labels for $25 from Officeworks.

Do something before the momentum fades

The hung parliament presents ordinary Australians with a unique opportunity to call for changes that will make this country a more equitable, inclusive and nicer place to live.

As the political lobby group 'GetUp!' have said in an email to supporters [10/9/10]:

... In this new political climate, GetUp members have an unprecedented opportunity to clean up politics, shape the way this new Parliament works and determine the direction of our country. ...

'GetUp!' are also asking members and supporters to undertake a survey to assist them in mapping their next steps to keep the momentum going.

So if like us, you feel our democracy is threatened by the Murdoch machine, we encourage you to complete their survey and/or write to your elected representative and let them know that the most urgent step is to reign in the divisive influence of the Murdoch Press:

The move to a progressive Australia can only be achieved if the problem of media ownership, which has reached saturation point as evidenced by News Ltd.'s hysterical attacks on the democratic outcome of the federal election, is urgently corrected.

To begin with, we suggest:

1. Dismantling the virtual monopoly of the Murdoch Press;

2. Purging the ABC of all News Ltd. influence and think tank influence;

3. Immediately ceasing all Government advertising in the Murdoch Press (GetUp! should do this too)

The Tide Is Turning

Who would ever have imagined that Laura Tingle would be able to say this on tonight's [10/09/10] Lateline?

... Leigh Sales: Laura Tingle in your regular Friday column today you wrote that the Labor minority government is trying to figure out whether to respond to what it sees as a ferocious and continuing campaign against its legitimacy by News Ltd. newspapers. Elaborate on that for us.

Laura Tingle, AFR: Leigh, I think that there has been a long history of tension particularly with the Australian with Kevin Rudd. And it was always seen as an issue with the Australian rather than News Ltd.

The News Ltd. tabloids seem to have escalated their aggression towards the Labor party during the election campaign, but I think it's really been the post campaign push against/ attacks on the credibility of a minority government as an idea, the attacks on the independents and The Greens, which has made people think "this isn't going to go away. We're not quite sure why this is happening, but we've got to decide whether we actually confront this, or whether we just let it go through to the keeper."

I suppose the interesting thing is, I think there are interesting issues here for both News Ltd. and for the government because there are all these commercial decisions, that the government will have to take which will have a direct impact on News.

It's a very big elephant in the room, and I think we don't really know how that's going to play out. And it's also not just Labor, it's the Greens and the independents and we've got Bob Brown now, talking about how he's had enough of the way News Ltd has been behaving and he's not going to cop it anymore.

Leigh Sales: George Megalogenis, I don't want to put you in an awkward position, I'm sorry, but you are a News Ltd. journalist ....

Who wouldn't be "sorry" for anyone who ends up being a News Ltd "journalist"?

A new Australian media/journalism blog

The Failed Estate

The tyranny of constant publication

... At some point, though, the ability to publish instantly must start to work against comprehension. While there's nothing wrong with journalists providing running commentary on breaking news events, you wonder sometimes whether we're at risk of losing the benefit of the long view - or even the middle view that used to rest somewhere between the immediacy of wire service snaps and the pampered perspective of magazine journalism.

The more the merrier!

It woz News wot lost it

Matthew "Rupert says you've got it wrong" Franklin

The independents have come out swinging against Murdoch's crude bullying attempts to tell them what to do.

In essence, what swayed Oakeshott and Windsor to back Labor rather than the Coalition was the relentless hammering by Murdoch's hacks of the talking point that Australians really wanted an Abbott government.

Sucked in you losers.

If you're scared of Murdoch, you don't deserve to call yourself a journalist

The 'New York Times' report [1/9/10]:

In November 2005, three senior aides to Britain’s royal family noticed odd things happening on their mobile phones. Messages they had never listened to were somehow appearing in their mailboxes as if heard and saved. Equally peculiar were stories that began appearing about Prince William in one of the country’s biggest tabloids, News of the World.

The stories were banal enough (Prince William pulled a tendon in his knee, one revealed). But the royal aides were puzzled as to how News of the World had gotten the information, which was known among only a small, discreet circle. They began to suspect that someone was eavesdropping on their private conversations.

By early January 2006, Scotland Yard had confirmed their suspicions. An unambiguous trail led to Clive Goodman, the News of the World reporter who covered the royal family, and to a private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, who also worked for the paper. The two men had somehow obtained the PIN codes needed to access the voice mail of the royal aides. ...

Goodman and Mulcaire ended up in jail. But don't worry, they both sued for unfair dismissal and settled for hundreds of thousands of pounds. Murdoch's other crooks got off scot free even though subsequent civil litigation cost him a nice chunk of cash. Of course, these crooks don't care about that. It hasn't stopped them from their usual low-life dishonesty.

Read the whole 'NY Times' article, it's a cracker. And for those of you who care about things here in Australia, the ABC or possible motives behind Murdoch's local outlets disgracefully rubbish journalism:

"An avalanche of unforgiving coverage culminated on April 8, one month before the general election, in a Sun story headlined “Brown’s a Clown.” Brown’s strategists assumed that Murdoch’s motives were not purely ideological. They drew up a campaign document conjuring Murdoch’s wish list should David Cameron become prime minister. Among the top items they identified was the weakening of the government-financed BBC, one of Murdoch’s biggest competitors and long a target of criticism from News International executives. On May 11, David Cameron officially assumed the position and elevated Coulson to the head of communications. Within the week, Rupert Murdoch arrived at 10 Downing Street for a private meeting with the new prime minister. Cameron’s administration criticized the BBC in July for “extraordinary and outrageous waste” during difficult financial times and proposed cutting its budget."

What are you doing to Stop Murdoch? We suggest reading this great article and giving it to everyone you know.

Murdoch press reckon they, not Fred Nile, are God's police

What's the real story behind this?

That's what your ABC should be finding out for you.

...The Daily Telegraph reports a parliamentary internet audit shows that Reverend Nile's computer has been used to access internet pornography. ...

Australians are sick of this rubbish instead of real journalism. Tony Windsor MP summed it up nicely a week or so ago:

... “I wouldn’t give that paper the time of day,” he said, referring to the Daily Telegraph.

“It just shows the role of some within the media in terms of the election process that we’ve just gone through.

“I won’t be taking the Telegraph as one of my political advisers.

“I don’t give the article or the paper any credibility at all.” ...

It's time we ran these crooks and liars out of town.

John Cusack joins Stop Murdoch!

John Cusack has shared his opinion of Murdoch's Fox News:

“I AM FOR A SATANIC DEATH CULT CENTER AT FOX NEWS HQ AND OUTSIDE THE OFFICES [of] DICK ARMEY AND NEWT GINGRICH-and all the GOP WELFARE FREAKS,”

Welcome aboard Mr Cusack!

Only an absolute bastard would kick a man when he's down

Remember this?:

Footage of the 'Sunday Times'' entrapment of the National Director of Fisheries for the Republic of Guinea, broadcast on the ABC's 'Lateline'

And this?:

SBS World News Australia's 6.30 PM news bulletin [24/5/10]

Well bear these disgraces in mind before you give any credence to anything arising from a 'report' or 'sting' originated in a Murdoch rag.

They are, literally, proven crooks and liars. Not to mention, bastards.

Shame your ABC again sees fit to report this discredited rubbish as news.

Why do the ethics of these "stings" go unquestioned?

And aren't millions of people in Pakistan still displaced at the moment?

Absolute bastards.

All Around The World People Are Stopping Murdoch

The latest is from "Color Of Change" where they are telling businesses to Stop Murdoch by turning off 'Fox' in public places.

"Color Of Change" in the USA is running a campaign against Glenn Beck.

Join in!

Murdoch continues takeover of your ABC

If Australians wanted to know what Rupert Murdoch thinks, they can buy any of his publications.

They can also look at his websites, like 'The Punch'.

Many Australians deliberately avoid doing that because of his blatantly biased, ill-informed, inflammatory and divisive propaganda.

For those Australians there are very few alternative places for news and commentary. The ABC is supposed to be one of those places. It's disgraceful enough that we have shows like 'The Insiders' and Murdoch columnists as announcers on local ABC radio, as well as commercial arrangements.

For a man who has very publicly and frequently expressed his hatred for public broadcasting, he seems extremely keen for his hacks and shills to get spots on the ABC.

Today [27/8/10] we have Glenn Milne given a plum spot on the ABC's online discussion forum 'The Drum'.

Murdoch's takeover of the ABC is almost complete.

If you're not OK with this let the ABC know.

*UPDATE*

In his desperation to present himself as some kind of human, the man himself has somehow inveigled his way back onto your ABC yet again! This time he is introducing 'Australian Story' on Monday night [30/8/10]. Creepy old fascist.

News Ltd: "Nothing But Propaganda"!

Fiji. Military dictatorship. Home to Murdoch's "Fiji Times".

After the military coup Murdoch's 'Fiji Times' allowed itself to be censored while real newspapers were closed for defying the military rulers. Murdoch loves military rulers and anything anti-democratic as long as it delivers power to his acceptable ruling elite.

Rupert Murdoch is a neo-con.

The dictatorship's propaganda mouthpiece, Australian born Sharon Smith-Johns ("permanent secretary for information"), has a problem with Murdoch. She said:

"...articles published recently in News Ltd owned newspapers directly slammed the country's tourism industry and economy.

'It begs the question that most in Fiji are asking, is the Australian government using News Ltd as a tool to punish Fiji and cripple our economy?' said Ms Smith-Johns, who was born in Australia.

'These stories are so unbalanced it boils down to nothing but propaganda.'"

No Ms Smith-Johns, News Ltd is using the Australian government as a tool to further Murdoch's neo-con agenda. Fiji just happens to displease him at the moment.

You stick to your guns!

Hopefully our three independent members of the House of Representatives will also demand a ban on Murdoch-controlled media before agreeing to form government with either of the major parties.

Storm Fan Jason Koo vs. News Ltd

Congratulations to Melbourne Storm fan Jason Koo for taking action against Murdoch's destructive stranglehold on Australia.

From Fairfax:

Jason Koo, who has been following the Storm since their admission to the NRL in 1998, was ordered to leave the News Ltd-owned club's home ground during Saturday night's match against Cronulla after unfurling a number of banners protesting against the media company's stance on the salary cap scandal that resulted in the club being stripped of two premierships and forced to play for no competition points.

One banner called for the reinstatement of the four independent directors sacked by News Ltd after they took court action against the penalties. Others read: ''News enriched while Storm left to die'' and ''We support our players, coach and staff - not News Ltd''.

Koo said stadium security staff told him the banners were offensive to News Ltd. He has since made a video defending his actions that was posted online yesterday, along with another video bearing footage of the banners and his eviction from the ground.

''We must be really hitting News Ltd where it hurts; they know that what we are doing is getting to them and this is their way of trying to silence us,'' Koo said.

Watch his video about the incident at "madfan".

Congratulations, Jason. The more people take direct action in standing up against Rupert Murdoch the sooner his power will be reduced to some level safe for our democracy, planet and sport!

To work for Murdoch do you have to prove you have the ability to make shit up?

The small number of corflutes on display around the Gold Coast are mostly LNP

Over the past month, from Paradise Point to the Tweed we have seen corflutes at only six locations. One was for the Fishing Shooting Party and the rest were LNP.

Yet the Gold Coast's only daily newspaper report [20/8/10]:

Signs displaying the smiling faces of campaigning pollies have cropped up all over town, and they are annoying Gold Coast traders. ...

See? It's false. Not true. "Lies", if you like.

It's typical Murdoch fabricated bullshit in the place of news.

Murdoch is Biased. The Rest of The Media Seem OK with This.

Anyone with their critical faculties intact is aware of the Murdoch bias on a range of topics.

The bogus staged 'town hall' events recently are quite obviously nothing more than Murdoch trying to privatise the democratic process (and take it within his realm as a virtual monopoly).

The fact that these bogus events enter the 'news cycle' and are uncritically reported by the rest of the media enables that goal and gives it legitimacy. Bad for democracy, bad for journalism.

In June he donated $1 million to the US Republican Party. It is as if he has made a deliberate effort to formalise News Ltd's institutional bias. If you have ever had the misfortune to engage with a Murdoch hack, you would have heard them trying to claim that they are somehow virtuous independent voices despite their owner's obvious bias and hatred of objectivity.

Time to wheel out this old piece about an Australian 'journalist':

Anguished Shill Wrestles With Inner Hypocrite

Gee, it must be so hard for you poor dears out there in shameless-shill land. We never realised your inner torment while we pure types sit about on our high moral horses atop the high moral ground, hurling hatred and abuse at your glass houses without ever a concern for how you must suffer.

Let us explain: http://www.medialens.org is an excellent website. They are UK based but their "media alerts" are well argued, of universal relevance and supported by links and references and they seem to avoid getting shrill, hyperbolic or hysterical. A true example of reason and logic used against the "MSM" spin and rhetoric in the service of "true journalism", it is hard to fault this team of media observers.

One of the founders, David Edwards, has a dusty old blog. We had a look, and it seems that they did a piece a few years ago disagreeing with the thrust of an article by Robert Fisk. As a result they received a fiery response (which was lacking in reason and heavy on emotion, such as accusing them of 'Stalinism'!) from an Australian going by the name of "Comrade Jack". Edwards reproduced the exchange on the blog and, as we read it, the following was an enlightening revelation into the mind of Murdoch-Type employees:

"…I don't know if you're old enough to remember The Pop Group's song 'We Are All Prostitutes' but that's what most of us wage-earners are.

I'm a journalist working for a crappy, rightwing corporate Australian newspaper. I do what I do because I cannot do anything else. Nothing I do makes one iota of a difference but there are millions of people like me in the world who need the money and will do whatever it takes to
support our families.

We aren't bad people -- even though I suspect you think we lack your ideological purity and revolutionary zeal and have, therefore, sided with the "dark side" and probably deserve to die the death capitalism has invented for us.

Let's face it, man, most of us humans live in a f*cked world and we get f*cked every day. Whingeing about it has never worked to our advantage. In fact, it's made matters worse.

People like me don't like the "dark side" anymore than we like the "right side" -- simply because both sides can be found on the same coin.

Yours Comrade Jack"

[From: http://www.medialens.org/blogs/david-edwards-blog.php 18 January, 2006]

News for "Comrade Jack": you ARE bad people. Who is "Comrade Jack"? Is he real? "Millions of people like me in the world who need the money and will do whatever it takes…", maybe he is Graham Richardson? Is he Glen Milne? Probably not, too much insight and angst about being a "disgrace" as Milne eloquently puts it.

Ditto? Rupert's Rooty Hill Meets Brisbane Gets Sideswiped?

Apparently Julia Gillard has agreed to debate Tony Abbott in Brisbane this Wednesday...

on a special episode of the ABC's Q&A!

Oh dear, David and Madonna and Rupert will not be pleased.

Remember that guy "Muldoon" from 'Jurassic Park' who got killed by that giant killer reptile, the velociraptor? We've looked it up for you:

Muldoon: They show extraordinary intelligence, even problem-solving. Especially the big one. We bred eight originally, but when she came in she took over the pride and killed all but two of the others. That one... when she looks at you, you can tell she's working things out.

And then later...

Muldoon: They should all be destroyed.

Muldoon: Shoot her! Shoot her!

[Just before he gets attacked by a raptor]



Muldoon: Clever girl.

Rupert Murdoch summons Gillard and Abbott to Rooty Hill

If you live in Western Sydney and think this debate is about you. You're wrong.

You didn't know that the whole fabricated "debate" at Rooty Hill RSL on Wednesday was a Murdoch construct? Why didn't you know that?

Surely it wouldn't be because the ABC has failed to tell you that it is a charade invented by the discredited crooks at News Ltd. The ABC must have been too busy to point out that it is nothing more than a crude and ugly exercise in Murdochracy, that must be it.

The 'Daily Telegraph' is not a newspaper. It looks like one, but it is simply an instrument of Murdoch neo-con propaganda.

Ask your local candidates when they will prohibit old Americans from owning 70% of Australia's news media and controlling close to 100% of the news agenda.

Dogwhistling II

The Hon. Warren Truss MP addressed the National Press Club today [4/8/10]

What would you ask if you were a journalist attending Nationals Leader Warren Truss' address at the National Press Club today?

You might ask about the Mining Tax, the CPRS, the Murray Darling, mining vs agriculture, parental leave or other policies.

Perhaps. But if you were writing for News Ltd., your priority would be to dogwhistle:

"Do you find burkas confronting?"

Truss responded by asserting that people should be able to wear what they choose.

How can any sane person think that this man should have this power?

'Yahoo! News' report:

The White House Correspondents Association is moving Fox News up to the front row in the briefing room, according to sources familiar with the process. The WHCA board's decision was unanimous. [It's now confirmed; see update below.]

Since the retirement of veteran journalist Helen Thomas, three news organizations — Fox News, Bloomberg News and NPR — each argued that it should move to the front row. Fox News will join the broadcast networks and CNN up front. ...

"Discredited", "Shameless", "Despicable" and "Chutzpah" will all be re-defined in dictionaries in the near future.

Dogwhistling

... My Saturday morning paper tells me I should run away ...

'Run Away', Drawn From Bees [2010]

The Saturday edition [31/7/10] of the 'Gold Coast Bulletin' asks:

Why are there so many Indian cabbies on the Gold Coast?

When the real question is:

How can Murdoch's rags continue to get away with this shit?

How? Easy, it's because everyone lets him get away with it. You are responsible every time you buy a product from him.

You are reading this because you have a brain.

It is YOUR fault that this is happening to our country and to democracy all over the Murdoch-controlled world. You are to blame if you are not criticising the garbage his shills spout. You are responsible if you let people tell you something is a fact "because I read it in the paper".

Murdoch only gets away with this crap because YOU allow it.

Why is the Federal Government's Asia-Pacific television service going to tender?

'Crikey!' report [27/7/10]:

... As The Australian itself pointed out yesterday in a separate article: "The battle of Australia Network comes at a particularly tense time for the ABC and Sky, which is owned by Seven, Nine and and BSkyB (part-owned by News Corporation, publisher of the Australian). The two broadcasters are now direct competitors following the launch of the ABC's 24-hour news channel."

The Weekend Australian's editorial went on to sledge the ABC and its managing director Mark Scott over everything from Q&A host Tony Jones' interviewing style to the various agendas of morning radio hosts ...

(Isn't it interesting that although they have commercial arrangements with each other, the Murdoch media continually attack the ABC, while the ABC never criticise the Murdoch media?)

Surely if taxpayer dollars are involved, this network should be run by the national broadcaster?

Do you really want an American corporation running the Australia Network? Because that's what will happen.

Demand that your local candidate will keep this service in the public's hands.

More proof Brisbane needs another newspaper

Ask your candidates how they will tackle the lack of media diversity in this country.

'Brisbane Times' report [27/7/10]:

Queensland Health's most senior bureaucrat has condemned a newspaper for going into a hospital room to interview a grieving injured father without seeking permission.

Jade Quilligan, 22, died last month after allegedly shooting her ex-husband Lenny Comollatti, 36, and killing their eight-month-old son Anthony in central Queensland.

Queensland Health director Michael Reid argues The Courier-Mail breached "moral standards" by interviewing Mr Comollatti while he was recovering from gunshot wounds.

In a letter to Queensland Newspapers editor-in-chief David Fagan, seen by brisbanetimes.com.au, Mr Reid says he is concerned about the episode.

"The Courier-Mail holds itself up to the public of Queensland as a champion of the people - an establishment that goes into battle for those who can not fight for themselves," he writes in the letter, dated July 14.

"Yet your newspaper had a journalist enter a Queensland Health hospital at Rockhampton, without permission, to talk with a patient, without his consent, less than two days after his eight month old child was allegedly shot to death by his former wife, who was later found dead at the scene of a car accident."

Mr Reid says other media organisations had contacted Queensland Health public affairs staffers to request an interview, but the man "made it very clear he wanted time to grieve, time to understand what had happened".

"The Courier-Mail sells the article resulting from this interview with a grieving and injured man as an exclusive - exclusive because other media had the compassion to follow the known protocols," he writes.

"Your own article says the patient appealed for privacy, but he was offered none."

In the article, headlined Shot dad tells of horror and published on July 9, Mr Comollatti said he was "not up to saying much" and was still in shock.

"Everybody's talking about it too much already," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

"I'm just trying to get over it myself."

At the time, Mr Comollatti was reported to be awaiting surgery for gunshot wounds to the stomach.

Mr Fagan last night defended the journalist who visited the hospital.

"Queensland Health has peddled this letter everywhere," he said.

"We stand by our reporter who identified himself to the person he was interviewing.

"That's what journalism is.

"We don't need the approval of a government authority to speak to a citizen in this country."

Mr Reid declined to speak about the matter yesterday.

"The letter was intended to be a private communication to the editor of The Courier-Mail and as such I will not make any comment," he said in a short emailed statement.

London health authorities complained in 2005 after Australian journalists were caught "sneaking into hospitals" carrying bunches of flowers to interview bomb blast victims, ABC's Media Watch program reported.

Many Queenslanders would agree this is certainly not the worst thing the 'Courier-Mail' has done, but it's typical.

The Murdoch Press are not about journalism, they are thugs and propagandists for the neoliberal cause.

News Ltd. has a long, well documented criminal history. For Fagan to keep hiding behind the excuse of journalism when he is defending these kind of unethical acts is unacceptable.

Keep speaking out against this immoral, undemocratic organisation.

"The ABC does not have a policy regarding Murdoch press"

That's the response we received to our recent question about why negative stories about News Ltd. never mention it by name.

They are at it again, with the story about Shirley Sherrod ('World Today' 22/7/10):

... LISA MILLAR: But it was only the first part of that speech that was posted on a website by a conservative blogger. And it sent the right wing hosts and cable networks into a spin.

The agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack demanded her resignation....

The Fairfax press managed to name "Fox" as the culprit [23/7/10]:

A black public servant, whose father was murdered by a white man in 1965 and who has spent four decades working against injustice, has found herself at the centre of a storm exposing America's fragile race relations.

Shirley Sherrod was sacked on Monday as the Department of Agriculture's director of rural development in Georgia after a conservative website accused her of making racists remarks captured in a video.

The 2½-minute clip taken from a speech Ms Sherrod gave in March went viral, drawing the attention of the White House and department officials, who apparently feared an attack from a right-wing commentator.

Ms Sherrod had referred to an incident 24 years earlier when she had been working for a farm assistance group, admitting she had not done all that she could do to help a white farmer, whom she described as ''acting superior''. The website, BigGovernment.com, said this was ''evidence of racism coming from a federal employee''.

An Agriculture under-secretary ordered Ms Sherrod to resign and apparently referred to the prospect of the incident appearing on Fox News.

Even the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People condemned her comments.

With Fox News running the story ''Racism Caught on Tape'', Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak said he required ''zero tolerance'' on discrimination.

But the rush to judgment had overlooked one thing: Ms Sherrod's words had been taken out of context, plucked from her 43-minute speech in which she went on to say that meeting that white farmer in 1986 had actually changed her views.

''Working with him made me see that it's really about those who have versus those who don't,'' she told her audience. ''You know, and they could be black, they could be white, they could be Hispanic.''

The white farmer and his wife also came forward. ''She's a good friend,'' said Eloise Spooner. ''She helped us save our farm.'' And by Wednesday evening, once the full speech had been reviewed, Ms Sherrod had received apologies from the White House and from Mr Vilsak, who immediately offered her a new job.

''This is a good woman,'' he said. ''She's been put through hell, and I could have done, and should have done, a better job … The decision should have been [taken] with more thought and with far less haste.''

Ms Sherrod's father was shot dead by a white farmer in 1965, but an all-white grand jury refused to charge the killer. ...

Maybe it's time the ABC got itself a policy about the Murdoch Press.

"Save Our Spit!"

Save Our Broadwater!
Save Our Gold Coast!
Save Our State!
Save Our Country!
Save The Planet!

Stop Murdoch!

Like most cities and towns around Australia, the Gold Coast is cursed with Murdoch newspapers.

On the Northern end of the Gold Coast there is no alternative.

Overwhelmingly united and strong local opposition to a proposed cruise ship terminal, headed by the "Save Our Spit" group, killed the idea dead a few years ago. It was a stupid idea and was roundly rejected by the local community. So where does a desperate development crazy group turn when the local people have sent them packing?

Over the past few weeks, the Murdoch Press have dug up and begun flogging the rotted carcass of the dead horse known as the Gold Coast Cruise Ship Terminal on the Southport Spit.

A genuine, honest, trusted local newspaper would send this lot packing, again. Or at least pretend to acknowledge the local opposition to their plans to takeover and destroy our public paradise by the sea.

That's why these ruthless developers love Rupert Murdoch's rags. They are not genuine, not actually local, and are demonstrably untrustworthy.

If you want to stop this madness, again, and send a powerful message to that old American who thinks he can run your country: Boycott Rupert Murdoch's 'Gold Coast Bulletin'.

Don't buy it.

Tell your local business friends that you will be forced to stop doing business with them if they give him their advertising dollars.

You'll help save the spit, but you might also help save our democracy and 'journalism' from destruction.

FOXTEL is not the real thing

They are trying everything they can to get you to spend your hard earned dollars on their propaganda.

The latest desperate advertisement (on free to air television) uses this old Australian hit:

'The Real Thing', recorded by Russell Morris, produced by Ian "Molly" Meldrum and written by Johnny Young [1969]:

Come and see the real thing, come and see the real thing, come and see
Come and see the real thing, come and see the real thing, come and see
There’s a meaning there, but the meaning there doesn’t really mean a thing
Come and see the real thing, come and see the real thing, come and see
I am the real thing!

Oo mama mow-mow (repeat x 4)

Oo mama mama mama mama mama mama mow
Tryin’ hard to understand the meaning that you’ll see in me
Tryin’ hard to understand the meaning that you’ll see in me
There’s a meaning there, but the meaning there doesn’t really mean a thing
Come and see the real thing, come and see the real thing, come and see
I am the real thing!

Oo mama mow-mow (repeat x 4)

I am not seeing you
I am not seeing you
Ahhhhh!

I am the real thing!
(ad-lib fade-out)

The children's choir singing toward the end is the Hitler Youth singing "Die Jugend Marschiert" (Youth on the March)

How appropriate.

What's wrong with this page?

If this page appears normal, you need to detox.

Avoid Murdoch publications for a week

It's your ABC, so don't be afraid to question them

We've contacted them many times. Usually we get ignored, but sometimes we get an answer.

Here's our latest effort:

Re: Deaths in custody in Queensland

I refer to your 'Deaths in custody in Queensland' story of [9/7/10], and particularly the following:

"...KATHY MCLEISH: They were devastated and media headlines added to the horror but it turned out there had been no car-jacking. The coroner found a communication error had led to that report, but the Kealtons say the police didn't return to straighten out the mistake and it was days before a witness contacted them to tell them there was no car-jacking.

LEIGH KEALTON: The police knew that didn't happen so there was really no excuse for them to put out that sort of story first to us under those tragic circumstances and secondly to the media because all of our friends and family both here and overseas were aware of that report in the newspaper. So it was a pretty hard pill to swallow. ..."

Is there an ABC editorial policy that dictates when the ABC mentions the Murdoch press they don't mention them by name, unless it's putting them in a positive light?

UK campaign to Stop Murdoch

From '38 Degrees':

Rupert Murdoch has his sights set on gaining complete control of BSkyB and increasing his stranglehold on a free and independent media in the UK. He currently owns 40% of the company but wants to increase his stake to 100%.

This would be a disaster. It would give Murdoch even more political influence and it could open the door to biased, right-wing news like Fox News in the US.

A free and diverse media is a huge part of what makes democracy work. We can't rely on big business to make the right decisions about Murdoch's plan to buy BSkyB. It needs full and proper scrutiny by government. Vince Cable, the Lib Dem Business Secretary, has the power tell regulators to investigate the purchase before it goes ahead.

If thousands of us e-mail Vince Cable, we can persuade him to make the right decision and oppose Murdoch’s master plan.

Please sign the petition now, then ask your friends to get involved too.

Murdoch's Staff Are Directly Responsible For This Country's Xenophobia

The Prime Minister's suggestion that Australia needs to freely and openly debate the issue of asylum seekers got us wondering where she thinks this debate is going to take place?

Which of our lily livered commentators will dare point out how the xenophobia in this country has been cultivated by the Murdoch Press, and is being painted as a general national feeling rather than a minority point of view?

Reminds us of a couple of 'Spring Hill Voice' posts from three years ago:

Media Miss The Boat

Last week's Walkley Media Forum at the Regatta Hotel marked World Refugee Day by considering the topic, 'Missing the Boat? Reporting on asylum seekers and refugees'. The forum was moderated by Cathy Border from Channel Ten, and included presentations by Dr Angela Romano, Senior Lecturer In Journalism at QUT, David Costello, Foreign Editor of the 'Courier-Mail', Peter McCutcheon from the ABC's '7.30 Report' and John Murungi from the Refugee Claimants' Support Centre.

Dr Romano emphasised that the public is reliant on the media for information on this issue. Yet her studies on the media's reportage of asylum seekers revealed a disturbing use of biased and inflammatory language in news media stories. Examples included, 'Boatload of illegal refugees seized' (from the 'Courier-Mail'), and another in
'The Australian', about "refugees" in the New Orleans superbowl in the aftermath
of Hurricane Katrina, which was juxtaposed with a report about Jesse Jackson pointing out the inaccuracy of describing people in their own country as refugees.

As for who dominates the agenda, she found that in 2003, 61% of the 'Courier-Mail's' stories were based on government sources, while in 2007, this has dropped to 22%. Dr Romano said the negative stereotypes and common and simple concerns that people had about refugees and asylum seekers could be easily addressed by the media.

"Antipathy comes about because people don't know who they are," she said.

Dr Romano explained that the Federal Government are sophisticated in understanding people's prejudices, and that journalists are being left behind in
the wash.

"Journalists are missing the boat because governments have the resources
and journalists don't," she said.

Referring to the years between 1999 and 2001 as a "wild period" encompassing the riots at Woomera and Port Hedland, David Costello said that now is a good time to be talking about refugees, given we are experiencing a period of calm.

"We don't lock up kids anymore," he said.

Mr Costello defended the 'Courier-Mail's' coverage of refugee and asylum seeker stories. Singling out a particular "hard-working" 'Courier-Mail' journalist, he said, "If you're looking for demonization of asylum seekers, you won't find it in Margaret Wenham's stories, or in the rest of the 'Courier-Mail's' pages."

Mr Costello undertook "newstext" searches, which he said showed that the 'Courier-Mail' was "out of step" between 2001 and 2002. But he pointed out that a 1999 editorial stated that most refugees are genuinely seeking refuge. He later added that the coalition government have overreacted. "We are not faced with a full scale invasion," he said.

"The media should work to dispel myths about boat people."

Citing the "children overboard" example as a "moral lowpoint" for Australia, Peter McCutcheon expressed concern at the manner in which governments can affect and distort items of public interest.

"Why are journalists still talking about it?" he asked, later explaining that the "children overboard" affair highlights a "broader systemic problem" which has resulted in the diminished quality of public debate.

He said he has experienced "stonewalling and obfuscation" when attempting to obtain straightforward information about various operational matters. He made it clear that this is evident at all levels of government.

Reflecting on the past eleven years, and Australia's inhumane treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, John Murungi said, "I've come to realise it's not personal."

As for what it means to be a refugee, "We are talking about human lives," he said.

"And nobody ever chooses to leave their home."

And

Haneef - News Ltd disgraces itself, as usual!

The Sunday Murdoch papers would lead a fool to the conclusion that Dr Haneef was going to blow up the Q1 tower on the Gold Coast.

Today's [22/7/07] 'Sunday Mail' (and its inbred cousins) gives the impression that there could possibly be some kind of justification for the undemocratic and extra-judicial treatment of Dr Haneef. Their police reporter invokes innuendo as journalism without shame or remorse to vilify and demonise "them".

There has been a great deal of unexpected support for Dr Haneef from all quarters. This is possibly because of the blatantly political motivation behind the whole episode. When the AFP shamelessly becomes a tool of the Federal Executive, as has happened with the behaviour of Australia's (your) Federal Commissioner with Dr Haneef, it is time to wonder how the concentration of media power in the hands of Mr Rupert Murdoch could possibly benefit Australia, we Queenslanders, or our general security and well-being.

The Sunday Murdoch rags were at it again from dawn today (i.e. Saturdayafternoon's policy planning sessions) and it took until all the feathers had been spread to the four winds before the AFP called the lie at 4pm. The AFP only bothered to call that lie AFTER the doctor's Solicitor appeared at the very public Forum at Griffith University. You could assume the lie would have been left out there but for SBS and other non-mouthpiece outlets.

The Murdoch article was, as is their fashion, based on anonymous (but very senior!!) "sources" and conjecture. So, a "source" says the AFP is wondering whether there may have been a plan and if there was a plan whether people may be involved in that plan etc...... You know how it works. If this is the best the Feds can do, I want my money back!

If only Mr Murdoch's operatives had been so judgmental of the flaky evidence that ended up in the illegal invasion and failed occupation of Iraq, instead of concentrating
on religious differences within Australia.

Since Mr Murdoch is not even an Australian, why do all our politicians care so much about his opinions, you may ask.

Make a point of publicly rubbishing the Murdoch Press at least once a day, and don't allow anyone who refers to the Murdoch press as if it were credible source go unchallenged.

Dear Mr Adams, It's a Matter of Principles...

Broadcaster, writer and film-maker, Phillip Adams, was one of a cast of characters who appeared in Murdoch's advertisement's for 'The Australian' which were screened on SBS Television last September

Mr Adams writes in his weekly column in 'The Australian' [3/7/10], that he has resigned from the ALP (emphasis added):

... Rudd and I talked regularly. The last time we spoke he was urging me to resign from The Australian to protest its editorial line, advice I declined to accept. And we argued about his climate change strategy. I by no means agreed with other policies and tactics. But nothing would have persuaded me to support a move against the leader who'd defeated Howard, made that superb "sorry" speech and handled the GFC with such skill. The right to dismiss a PM belongs to the electorate at an election, not to a drunken governor-general or factional bullies drunk with power. Rudd goes, so I go too. Seems the lethal Latham was right.

So, as a matter of principle, you resign from the ALP after 50 years because: "thugs now dismiss leaders at their whim. In cowardly conspiracies."

But you happily continue to work for the Murdoch machine despite the "thugs" and "cowardly conspiracies" at every level of his machine doing everything to appoint, dismiss and control the leaders of your country (and the rest of the world for that matter). Despite the inestimable damage they are constantly doing to this country's democratic process and media.

Why is that? What's the difference?

Principles?

[Thanks to public libraries for free access to the unprincipled rag used as the source for this piece.]

Geoff wants to help

Geoff Provest MP has made it easy for his constituents to contact him with a full page "Geoff-o-gram" in this four-page "Community Newsletter" which appeared in this week's 'Tweed Border Mail [1/7/10]

Australians need to reclaim their democracy. This involves holding our elected representatives to account, and getting them to represent OUR interests rather than those of multi-national corporations.

An important aspect of this will require big changes to our media.

So whenever you get the opportunity, let your politicians know that you are unhappy with the current state of media ownership in Australia, and would like them to do something about the Murdoch media's unhealthy stranglehold.

First Murdoch Ignores You, Then Murdoch Ridicules You, Then Murdoch Buys You - Then You Lose

Another one bites the dust!

Now that Rupert Murdoch owns him outright this should provide an interesting tinge to his the outcome of his The changing relationship between federal politicians and the media in the internet age project.

How did working for Murdoch work out for people like Tim Dunlop? For FFFFS, why do you town bikes think Murdoch is going to finally 'Luuurve' you when he has tossed over so, so, so, many of your kind before you? Do you really think that you are the 'one', somehow different? That maybe he'll leave those nasty tarts like Glenn and Andrew and Dennis and Piers and move in with you and start an honest life putting his powers to good instead of evil?

"This time it's different, babe. I've never felt this way about any writer ever before. Babe, I promise I'll never interfere in your work. I want you for your mind...I want you for your freedom to say exactly what you feel without any fear or favour."

"Hmmmm, brains! Yummy!"

Fucking idiots.

Do some homework before you sell your credibility to Rupert. Read one of the many books written by your predecessors who also thought they were 'the one' for Rupert.

Remember, he's about 100 years old and despite the myths, he can't live forever. One day he'll be dead and you will be alive. And a lot of very, very, very pissed off people are going to be wandering around with pitchforks looking for the people who allowed people like him to do this to our world.

Arsehats!

Does Mark Scott want Australians to turn off their local ABC?

If you disrespect anybody that you run in to
How in the world do you think anybody's s'posed to respect you?

‘Respect Yourself’, The Staple Singers [1971]

Self-respect must be proving increasingly elusive to announcers at the national broadcaster who care about their professional reputations as well as the integrity of the ABC.

Treating their listeners like idiots by devoting more and more airtime to the promotion of Murdoch products, interviewing his properties, and constantly referencing the propaganda in his so called news outlets – without any kind of disclosure or questioning of the legitimacy of his thoroughly discredited organisation.

Last week, precious Coast FM airtime was used to promote Rupert Murdoch’s dinnertime suggestions.

This week, the ‘Gold Coast Weekend Bulletin’s’ Arts Editor Marina Saint Martin was interviewed on the afternoon show [30/6/10].

Are there no other art experts on the Gold Coast who could inform listeners about current exhibitions and local artists?

If Gold Coast residents wanted to know what art exhibitions Rupert Murdoch deems to be worthy of checking out, we would read the ‘Gold Coast Bulletin’.

Wasting precious airtime on the promotion of Rupert Murdoch’s business interests is transforming Coast FM's broadcasts into a monocultural, listless drone that increases the likelihood of listeners switching off and missing out on really interesting segments - such as the interview with Tara Simmons.

And how has it come about that taxpayer funded shows are to be broadcast on Pay TV for us to purchase?

Is the future for our taxpayer funded national broadcasters to be nothing more than vehicles to promote Rupert Murdoch’s publications and Pay TV?

If you care about the ABC and the future of journalism and cultural discourse in this country, perhaps you might want to contact your candidates in the upcoming federal election and ask them what they’re going to do about it.

Barbarians not just at the gate - they're bloody everywhere!

There are two political sides running Australia as one. They both need to suck up to Murdoch's press for favour. Here is some more proof of this:

... CHRISTINE WALLACE [journalist and Julia Gillard biographer]: Well, you see,
Janet is the problem for Barnaby [Joyce], because Janet Albrechtsen, Alan Jones,
Andrew Bolt, the absolutely rolled gold, right wing political commentators of
Australia, all love Julia and this is why you guys are...

So there you go Australia.

Rupert has decided.

It remains a puzzle in Australia that while almost everyone can agree that the Murdoch press is rubbish, they apparently hold so much power over our elected politicians.

Action: Vote for the first person or party to tell Rupert and his operatives to go get fucked!

The Murdoch press are NOT on your side

Rupert Murdoch and his properties don't represent the interests of ordinary Australians.

They stand for no-one except Rupert Murdoch.

Don't kid yourself that the 'Gold Coast Sun' actually cares about working people, just because they do a page 23 about a couple of Ashmore lollipop ladies in this week's edition [23/6/10]

Murdoch's publications are about reinforcing outdated stereotypes and normalising injustice.

Like this bizarrity in the July issue of Murdoch's Woolworths' 'Fresh' magazine:

... With nutrition and obesity reaching epidemic proportions and the work-life balance tipping in favour of employers, enjoying dinner together has never been more important. ...

Did you get that? No, you didn't because you are stupid. You must be stupid, otherwise you would refuse to accept this shit without question. But because you are, in fact, stupid, you accept that employers have the upper hand, and that's cool. It's the natural order of things, so you just go along to get along.

You pay taxes so Rupert Murdoch can tell you what to cook for dinner

As well as the ABC's 'delicious.' magazine, News Magazines publish Woolworth's 'Fresh' magazine

Here's how it works.

Your ABC has a commercial partnership with Harper Collins Publishers Australia to publish and distribute ABC Books.

Substantial airtime and internet space courtesy the national broadcaster is devoted to promoting these publications, such as this week's endorsement of Valli Little's 'Quick Smart Cook' book - along with 'delicious.' magazine - on Coast FM.

Airtime that could be spent informing and inspiring listeners on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts about local markets, community gardens, restaurants, providores and emerging food trends.

Such as the rise of Southport's vibrant "Little Korea" restaurant (and hairdressing) precinct.


Boycott these books and magazines.

Contact ABC and let them know what you think.

Demand the details of these deals (i.e. who's profiting) be disclosed.

Murdoch press fabricate another controversy

The Currumbin Beach pathway has clearly been a public thoroughfare for years. Currently, the Gold Coast City Council are undertaking dune revegetation adjacent to the path.

First it was the psycho pee wee, now the 'Gold Coast Bulletin' reckon [24/6/10]:

Pet dogs have been killed, syringes and beer bottles hurled over fences and houses robbed after a controversial pathway was extended along Currumbin beach.

Residents say they no longer feel safe in their unit homes after the beach walk, which is not part of the Coast's Oceanway project, was built within metres of their homes about 12 months ago.

Some beachfront properties do not have front fences and the city council has refused to pay half the cost to install barriers to keep the public out of private yards. ...

How can you tell when a Murdoch scribe is telling lies? Their fingers are typing!

Kevin Rudd kisses Rupert Murdoch's arse, again

'Brisbane Times' reports [21/6/10]:

...Today Rudd will focus on counting how his government kept recession at bay when he launches Shitstorm, a book by the Lenore Taylor of the Herald and David Uren of The Australian, which looks back at that mad and frightening period which greeted a new government and so tested it....

The Murdoch press are not about journalism. They operate as Murdoch's voice in the power structure. Without exception, everyone who works for Murdoch is tainted. They have no defence to charges of being complicit in this subversion of democracy by their role in removing the "Fourth Estate" from its vital position as a check on government and corporate power.

By being a huge unaccountable corporation and the, apparently, prime source of 'News' in Australia's journalism and news scene, the "Murdia" is patently disqualified from pretending to any place of importance in our democracy. It is just another multi-national corporation selling widgets for power, profit, influence, joy and fun. In short: it hates you.

By shamelessly kissing Murdoch's arse at every opportunity, by smugly treating all Australians as mugs, by lending his full support to the Murdia takeover of our public broadcaster (and apparently doing so with some relish and glee - cf. "7:30 report land"), your Rudd is expressing his pleasure with this corporation's undermining of our Australian democracy and his loving adoration for the power of its owner, Rupert Murdoch.

Yuck.

Murdoch's propagandists get book deals, they spread their hate and lies, Rudd sups with these devils and you go out and buy a giant 3-D telly because you are nothing more than a mindless slug to these people.