Posted on 02/18/2015 12:29:43 PM PST by naturalman1975
THE ABC is trying to destroy Tony Abbott. Its bias — actually unlawful — has never been so ruthless.
Even the ABC’s hand-picked reviewer had to admit this week that the ABC’s coverage of the Abbott Government’s first Budget was marred by anti-Liberal bias — and she hadn’t even looked hard.
Colleen Ryan, a former Fairfax editor, had been asked by the ABC to check its reporting of the Budget in the week after it was delivered.
This Budget was the country’s first and best hope of reining in Labor’s massive deficits.
If it wasn’t a make-or-break moment for the country, it sure was for Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
And he got smashed, especially by the ABC, our biggest media organisation, with four TV stations, five radio stations, an online newspaper and a publishing house.
Ryan singled out four examples of ABC reporting that suggested bias — each time a bias against the Liberals.
Most dramatic was the flagship 7.30 program’s hostile interview of Treasurer Joe Hockey.
Host Sarah Ferguson kicked it off with a contemptuous statement lightly disguised as a question: “Is it liberating for a politician to decide election promises don’t matter?”
Then there was Lateline host Emma Alberici, who asked a Coalition MP: “Do you think voters are really stupid and can’t recognise a lie when they see one?”
Ryan also criticised Tasmania’s 7.30 edition for pulling the ABC stunt of giving the microphone to a parade of Leftist critics, while The Drum copped it for another old trick — stacking its panel with two pro-Labor panellists against one lone conservative.
The ABC might argue that four examples of bias in a week of coverage isn’t much, but Ryan clearly wasn’t wearing her glasses.
(Excerpt) Read more at heraldsun.com.au ...
Now, in general, the press is free to be biased in the sense of having a particular agenda. That's part of freedom of the press. But a big issue here in Australia is the existence of the ABC - the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The ABC was modelled to begin with on the BBC, and is a nationwide network of television and radio stations, making it one of the most pervasive media outlets in Australia. The thing that sets it apart from nearly all other media organisations is that it is government owned, and government funded - paid for by the Australian taxpayers. It's slogan for many years was "It's your ABC".
Because it is funded by the taxpayer, it has a specific requirement in law and under its codes to aim towards balance and impartiality. From its 'Codes of Conduct':
The ABC has a statutory duty to ensure that the gathering and presentation of news and information is impartial according to the recognised standards of objective journalism.
Aiming to equip audiences to make up their own minds is consistent with the public service character of the ABC. A democratic society depends on diverse sources of reliable information and contending opinions. A broadcaster operating under statute with public funds is legitimately expected to contribute in ways that may differ from commercial media, which are free to be partial to private interests.
The ABC is supposed to be impartial - but it was captured by the left a long time ago. And left wing bias has become ingrained in all that they do.
Governments, historically, have avoided interfering with the operations of the ABC, seeking to avoid any risk of it simply becoming a mouthpiece for government propaganda. But it's wound up favouring the left and that is an issue.
ABC News 24 is the only 'free' 24 hour news service on Australian television. Sky News Australia, BBC World News, CNN, FOX, Al Jazeera are all available via pay-TV (along with a number of business news channels) but ABC has a reach that they don't because it's 'free'. ABC radio is everywhere as well - where I live we have 12 ABC radio stations including ABC News Radio, Radio National, and 774 ABC Melbourne - all stations with a large amount of news/current affairs programming, and all with a heavily left wing bias.
The worst thing about it, in some ways, is the ABC does factual news reporting very well - if they could avoid putting their spin on it, it'd really be very impressive. But they don't, they won't, they can't.
I'm assuming Liberals has a different meaning there than here.
Labor Party media shills attack Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party, and d*** the law!
The Liberal Party of Australia is Australia’s major conservative party - the name was chosen back in the 1940s in reference to the classical liberal traditions formed in the 18th and 19th century.
What was formed in the 18th and 19th centuries is to me what true liberalism is. What we have today is just plain old leftism.
I hope it includes lampposts and lots of rope.
So why doesn’t the Abbott government (in argument that it would save tax payers money) to cut funding to ABC and let it sink or swim on it’s own.
In the 21st century people have access to a free and open web when no local station is available anyway.
It works for USA to not have a national news station (baring NPR/PBS which are mostly private these days anyway..), why can’t competition and free-markets work for Australia in mass media??
A couple of reasons. First of all, it's politically impossible. The ABC is an absolutely beloved institution in Australia. Making even tiny cuts to it is political suicide. Even people like myself who don't like it's news coverage, like a lot of what it does in terms of its coverage of the arts, and culture, of educational programs. My car radio is tuned to ABC Classical, and the radio in my bedroom is tuned to ABC's Radio National. Out of our free to air TV networks, I probably watch more ABC television than any of the other broadcast channels because it shows most of the dramas and comedies I want, and which the commercial stations often won't touch. Maybe if the ABC wasn't there, something commercial would form to replace it, but that isn't guaranteed and would take a long time anyway.
Secondly, there are some essential services that the ABC provides brilliantly. During natural disasters, especially bushfires, the ABC can keep people alive. Part of the reason the ABC developed is because we're such a large spread out country.
But the big problem is political - a government that shut down the ABC would be committing political suicide. As the bias gets more and more blatant and obvious, that might eventually change - but it hasn't changed yet.
I wish I could edit that apostrophe...
People love their socialism!
Ok then here’s another question: is it possible to introduce competition into the local media markets that could compete with ABC?
And it is the same with PBS in the US BBC in the UK and CBC in Canada. All subsidized and all left wing shills and all but impossible to defund.
Not my field, so I don't really know, but my impression is it does have a lot of competition in many areas - but in some it has almost a monopoly power that makes it difficult to compete with.
One criticism that has been made recently (which I think is probably valid, but I'm not an expert, it just makes sense to me) is that the resources it has behind it does sometimes make for a very uneven playing field.
Like the American PBS (Public Broadcasting System) which is purportedly for all Americans but is run by far leftists. PBS at times puts on some interesting shows, but it's political leanings are decidedly leftist.
It’s muscle memory I think - your fingers get used to including the apostrophe.
(Checking I got it right this time!)
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