Quoroom Forum (15 Dec 2008)

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We have many talented writers here and we all enjoy getting passionate about some of our pet peeves (eg, Derryn Hinch, reality TV shows, Australians behaving badly, McDonald's food ... anything). Just remember: "what ye shall sow, so shall ye reap" - in other words, be prepared to take lots of criticism! What better title could one give this than ... the Soapbox?

Is the Australian community served well by its media?

  • sozzled
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13 years 2 months ago #1967 by sozzled

The independent inquiry into the Australian media is looking at a range of issues affecting how the media operates in this country.  Australian Labor politicians' complaints about the Murdoch-owned media are, of course, a constant source of news.  They are, perhaps too, an expression of fears regarding the disproportionate influence of News Limited (owned by Rupert Murdoch) in how news and information are presented to the Australian public via its newspapers and other media holdings.

Whatever your view, we should question the sincerity of the media in presenting information to the public and whether opinions expressed by journalists are an abuse of the power of the press and actually constitute an attack on Australian democracy.

This is a huge subject, and I will only touch on a few aspects of it, but I hope to show that there are clear indications of undue influence by the Australian media on the way we think and how we exercise our democratic rights.  I've addressed this topic in the outline below:

  1. A comparison between the media in Australia and overseas
  2. Is Australia truly a democracy?  What are the threats to Australia remaining a free, enlightened democracy?
  3. The War on Democracy
  4. Freedom of the press vs "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"
  5. Is socialism bad?  Is conservatism good?  What's all the kerfuffle about anyway?

On the whole I think Australia's media is of a better quality than what we've seen first-hand elsewhere but I'm concerned that, unless we keep an eye on our media, Australia could find itself in as bad a situation as what we're seeing elsewhere around the world.

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  • ConcertForGeorgeNut
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13 years 2 months ago #1969 by ConcertForGeorgeNut
Replied by ConcertForGeorgeNut on topic Is the Australian community served well by its media?
Hi all,

Sozz asks whether the Australian community is served well by its media. An excellent topic for discussion.

My response, in a word, is NO.

More from me on this later.

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13 years 2 months ago #1973 by SweetNess
The news isn't the news anymore. People are more likely to quote topics from Today Tonight and A Current Affair. Those aren't real news! The more sensational the article, the more people will believe it. I don't know whether to be insulted that the media thinks they can feed me this crap and I'll swallow it, or to despair over the fact that so many out there do swallow it.

*•.¸¸ζẃεε†Йεςς¸¸.•*

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13 years 3 weeks ago - 13 years 3 weeks ago #1982 by sozzled
I saw this on the TV a couple of days ago. Very interesting interview with Ray Martin who offers his own opinions about the quality of Australian media journalism today: www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-30/one-plus-...ecember-2011/3752942

If you think I'm wrong then say "I think you're wrong". If you say, "You're wrong", how do you know?
Last edit: 13 years 3 weeks ago by sozzled.

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