One of the bigger beneficiaries of California’s CJPA and the U.S. Senate’s JCPA is a conglomerate that seems determined to get rid of local news and replace it with right-wing spin produced at a “National Desk.”
National and state-level bills would allow chains like Sinclair to continue to neglect the information needs of the communities they’re supposed to serve.
Source: Opinion | How Lawmakers Are Helping Sinclair Broadcast Group Destroy Local News | Common Dreams
Are we getting the best from the ABC?
It seems the automatic go to for the ABC on matters military is Major-General Mick Ryan. His opinion is usually presented as unbiased fact. Is that the case?
Source: ABC analyst Mick Ryan’s US government funded affiliations – Pearls and Irritations
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One global news network has already extended a welcome: the Russian state television channel RT.
Source: KremlinTV Offers Tucker Carlson A Job | Crooks and Liars
His death could have been a Public Health Warning
Let’s be clearer. Barry Humphries died because he ” fell over” and even hip surgery couldn’t save him. When the elderly fall over and are hospitalised 30% they rarely recover. Lack of balance comes with age and is more often the cause of death. Barry even said ” it was his fault a stupid accident” He tripped and fell over.
If you’re over 65 close your eyes with your hands by your side and try standing on one leg for 12 seconds to test your balance.
Celebrated Australian entertainer Barry Humphries is being celebrated globally after dying aged 89 from complications after hip surgery.
Source: Barry Humphries, ‘greatest ever Australian’, bows out – Michael West
Spectator Australia has repeatedly published far-right white supremacists who are using the popular conservative publication to mainstream and normalise their extreme beliefs.
Source: The far right is using Spectator Australia to spread extreme views
The media frenzy appeared unanimous in its focus on identifying the leaker more than reporting on the newsworthy content of the material.
In contrast, Assange went to the absolute limits of human endurance for the sake of protecting whistleblowing sources.
Journalists are entrusted by the public to reveal truth, not serve the powerful in a witch-hunt for sources of the truth. Instead, The New York Times and its co-conspirators from Bellingcat appear to have been seeking to punish a leaker who exposed the U.S. government and the corporate media’s lies.
The legacy news media is not simply a second-rate form of journalism in comparison with WikiLeaks, but its intentional opposite.
A truly free and independent press is becoming a pipe dream as the mainstream media is increasingly used as a political weapon, writes Dr William Briggs.
There seemed no sorting out the godawful mess amid the incessant waves of mis– and disinformation to which our corporate media subjected us.
Source: Patrick Lawrence: The Disinformation Complex: An Anatomy – scheerpost.com
Murdoch and Trump promoting each other for mutual gain once again. A Circus for America to watch not for news but mutual profit. A grifter’s ethic-less paradise. The real news being Tucker Carlson thinks Trump’s an utter dislikable prick, and Trump thinks the same of Carlson. That’s the true underlying reality being played out on Murdoch media. It’s a wholey personal transactional scam for mutual gain, and money on a Murdochian stage.
Former President Donald Trump rhapsodized over the authoritarian leaders of two of the United States’ biggest foreign adversaries during his appearance on Tuesday’s edition of Tucker Carlson Tonight.
“Never met anybody smarter. How smart is Kim Jong-Un? Top of the line,” Trump said of the North Korean dictator.
Source: ‘Never met anybody smarter’: Trump gushes over Kim and Putin – Alternet.org
The New York Times has reported that a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump for his role in paying hush money to Stormy Daniels, citing four sources. The paper notes that the indictment is currently under seal and will be announced in coming days. Right-wing media had loudly complained about the looming indictment in recent weeks, in particular focusing their ire on Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney. Below are key examples of Fox News and other right-wing media reactions to the report. This report will be continually updated throughout the evening of March 30.
Source: Right-wing media react to report of Trump’s indictment | Media Matters for America
Sydney Morning Herald editor Bevan Shields has published an article titled “We are not above criticism but these attacks go too far” tearfully rending his garments over criticisms his paper’s three-part war-with-China propaganda series “Red Alert” has received from former Prime Minister Paul Keating and from ABC’s Media Watch.
Source: It’s good to be mean to war propagandists – Pearls and Irritations
Australia’s old media is fighting an internal civil war trying to justify their cheerleader style of reporting federal politics. In this case, it’s regarding Australia’s highly questionable $368 billion expenditure on submarines. The Canberra Press Gallery reporters have been exposed for failing dismally in doing their job to keep politicians accountable and they have spent the last few days attacking former Prime Minister Paul Keating to somehow justify their failings.
Peter Hartcher, on of the “Red Alert” journalists said regarding Keating “He made the absurd claim that the government had “no mandate” for the policy. In fact, Albanese took the AUKUS plan in principle to the 2022 election as Labor policy”.
The stupidity is that statement is both the coalition and Labor have AUKUS as part of their policy so voters had no choice and we never knew it was going to cost $368 billion. So, to say “Labor had a mandate” because they took it to the 2022 election is deceptive at best and dishonest at worst.
Not only have senior Nine journalists Peter Hartcher and Matthew Knott had their reputations trashed writing the Red Alert series but at least 2 other journalists, David Crowe, Malcolm Knox and SMH editor Bevan Shields have written pieces defending them and Nine’s papers which has achieved nothing except throwing their own reputations under a bus.
Peter Costello should resign as chairman of Nine Entertainment before more damage is done on his watch.
“Morton’s journalism has marked him out as a writer of rare compassion and forensic curiosity, and across his memoirs, he’s applied that to questions of his own capacity and incapacity, and his 2019 diagnosis of complex post-traumatic stress …”
Source: Who is this bloke Rick Morton and what makes him tick? – » The Australian Independent Media Network
That’s it exactly, isn’t it? Keating’s big crime was to be “far removed from the political mainstream”, and in so complaining, the editor of the SMH shows he is more interested in supporting that mainstream than in challenging it.
Source: Beating Keating and losing – Pearls and Irritations
In the Canberra press gallery, policy analysis takes second place to ephemeral politics, as highlighted by the response to Paul Keating’s criticisms of the AUKUS submarine deal.
This week 2GB Radio in Sydney got knocked off its number one perch. This right-wing gabfest has been at number one in the Sydney marketplace since 2004. It lost its spot to KIISFM which is an entirely non-serious enterprise. This is an important milestone. It marks a shift in the reading/listening/watching habits of the Australian populace; a change that will become ever more notable in the coming months and years.
Source: Big Media: Perhaps its grip is loosening? – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Nine Entertainment-owned papers have been talking up the prospects of Australia going to war with China while failing to declare that Nine chairman Peter Costello has made $millions in recent years lobbying on behalf of defence companies.
Peter Hartcher has now been into war talk and urging war on China for years courtesy of his stewardship of the Sydney Morning Herald’s Foreign Affairs editorship.
People should get this straight. The Sydney Morning Herald and the Age are editorialising in favour of a war between Australia and China.
The Herald and the Age, unbelievably, are countenancing a war with China. And not just countenancing, urging a war with China.
The editor of the Herald, Bevan Shields, should hang his head in shame for encouraging the publication of this provocative and dangerous rubbish.
As Nine newspapers attempt to spread panic about a Chinese invasion, Professor John Quiggin explains why the logistics of such an event happening are unrealistic.
Source: ‘Red Alert’ is a paper tiger
Costello’s Media wants part of that money and is competing with Murdoch for it.
Two foreign governments, those of the U.S. in particular, but also the U.K., have significant financial inputs into ASPI. ASPI also has extensive links with arms manufacturers, of which just a few are listed on its own site.
Source: Red Alert? Follow the money instead: ASPI is a front for US propaganda – Pearls and Irritations
Today’s Sydney Morning Herald and The Age front page stories on Australia’s supposed war risk with China represents the most egregious and provocative news presentation of any newspaper I have witnessed in over fifty years of active public life.
Source: If only our current PM said this… – Pearls and Irritations
Media Matters has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission regarding Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch providing confidential material to the Trump campaign in 2020. The revelation was included in recently released court filings regarding Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Fox Corp. and Fox News.
The question amounts to ” do we want a fairer Australia or not” Treasurer Jim Chalmers asked that question as history has shown us the rich have got richer and the poor poorer by unbelievable margins. So does this minor change now seem so unreasonable?
The Age and the FSC’s “new analysis” seems to indicate it is. No mention of the fact that the 500k people in some distant future of 50+ years will amount to 3% of some 18M people. Indigenous Australians are 3% of the Australian population and we havent given a fuck what happened to them for over 200 years. No predictions are made about the wage vs profit distribution imbalance currently 8%. If that’s maintained the average Australian family will be living below the poverty line and with zero super just as the unemployed on Job Seeker are today. It seems The Age and the FSC aren’t interested in a fairer outcome for all Australians only for some.
When the analysis is applied to all workers aged 25 and over, it finds the full impact would extend to 526,071 workers over their working lives and into retirement, a period that would cover at least five decades.
Source: Superannuation changes: Super tax could one day hit six times the workers the government claims
The whining in corporate media over Treasurer Jim Chalmers modest changes to superannuation has been at fever pitch all week. What’s the scam?
Source: Media caps off a week of super dishonesty over super. What’s the scam? – Michael West
Th leader of the charge to misinform branded Fox News as Fair and Balanced and even he eventually removed that description.
Polling released Wednesday by Gallup and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation reveals half of American adults “feel most national news organizations intend to mislead, misinform, or persuade the public,” which could impact the future of both the industry and U.S. democracy.
Source: Half of Americans Think National News Media Mislead, Misinform the Public
Show us your money and favour.
The evidence is damning: many outlets in the mainstream media worked in support of the former Coalition government’s establishment of its illegal Robodebt scheme, writes Dr Victoria Fielding.
Source: ‘Friendly’ media and Coalition colluded to silence Robodebt victims
55 journalists have been killed and hundreds more injured or detained by Israel since 2000. Yet for many Palestinian, the physical harm they face pales in comparison to the constant delegitimization of their work by in the media.
Only Palestinian voices can convey the emotions of highly charged stories about Palestine, stories that never make it to mainstream media coverage. When they do, these stories are often missing context, prioritize Israeli views – if not outright lies – and sometimes omit Palestinians altogether. But as the work of Abu Akleh, al-Samoudi, Alnaouq and Shalash, and hundreds more, continues to demonstrate, Palestinians are qualified to produce high-quality journalism with integrity and professionalism.
Source: Palestinians Are Not Liars: Confronting the Violence of Media Delegitimization – scheerpost.com
It’s all about the numbers, Fake News continues to dominate REAL News and the ALP is just as much an ally as the LNP. In that regard, they are Trumpist-rating chasers. Murdoch destroyed News in the UK for ratings and when busted fled to the US. He destroyed News in the US and they live with the consequence today. He struggled in Australia because we had the ABC so he called on the LNP to dilute and weaken what was a bulwark to democracy that kept the bastards honest. With every successive LNP government that safety net to REAL trusted News and information has been broken.
(Image by Dan Jensen) Following the Coalition’s example, News Corp and Nine have been prioritised over small independent publishers in the Albanese Government’s “media roundtable” initiative. Michelle Pini reports.
Individuals Harry and Megan battle “The Firm” and the Corporation what chance do they have in a long-lasting war? Murdoch knows he can’t lose no matter what happens. Let the millions roll in.
King Charles has been colluding with Rupert Murdoch, via his wife Camilla, to destroy the reputation of his son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle. Prince Harry has strongly alluded to this without expressly stating it in numerous interviews he has given to promote his new book.
This article entitled the “Housing Crisis” is in Costello’s and the CH9 Age yesterday. The Statistic above is what Ardern achieved for NZ in housing and if you note an all-time high. Amazing how Ch9 is so intent on preferring bullshit to the facts in order to run Jacinda Ardern down. If this had been the past 5 years of an Australian or NZ Conservative government The Age opinionators would be all praises.
Here’s another statistic that The Age “OPINIONISTS” seemed to have missed or avoided telling Australia and why they are more Murdoch today than they are news and information..
Despite her celebrity status, outgoing New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern failed to resolve the country’s housing crisis.
The Washington Post’s coverage of a January 2023 study arguing that the post-2016 coverage of Russia election meddling may have been overblown, reveals a corrosive trend in legacy news media where the personalities and outlets that perpetuate inaccurate or false news are rewarded, and the truth-tellers who expose legacy media lies are marginalized and ostracized
Source: Promoting Falsehoods and Marginalizing Truth-Tellers – scheerpost.com
If taste may be characterised as a capacity for self-restraint, this is a virtue neither visible here nor generally associated with AJOA who, among other singular achievements was in 2007 deemed to have encouraged the Cronulla riots and engaged in the vilification of Lebanese people. Like a boxed set, AJOA’s racism has been consistently accompanied by a relentless misogyny (some memorable instances being that in his opinion women leaders were “destroying the joint”, recommending Julia Gillard be taken out to sea in a chaff bag, and that New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern have a sock shoved down her throat for her public views on climate), a characterological explanation for which remains elusive despite the grovelling walk-backs and apologies.
Source: Up For Auction: The Contents of an Inconsequential Mind – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Let be clear
One of the empire’s strongest assets is the widespread assumption that propaganda is something that only happens to other people. Another is the widespread assumption that propaganda only comes from other countries and other political ideologies.
Source: Propaganda isn’t something that only happens to others. – Pearls and Irritations
Consortium News has been on the leading edge of Ukraine coverage, beginning with Robert Parry’s work in 2014 to identify U.S. involvement.
Source: For a different angle on Ukraine – Pearls and Irritations
If you’re thinking, ‘well he lost his job, that’s great, let’s move on’, sadly, we can’t just move on until we unpack all the shit that happened along the way.
Source: Chris Smith and the way people downplay, excuse and protect predatory scum | The Shot
The countdown is over! In proving that satire and a good laugh can lift our spirits in the darkest of political times, Number 1 goes to Rossleigh for this article from February.Media
In defence of reporting facts and critical thinking for the benefit of a Nation mislead
NewsGuard is a government-affiliated organization judging Consortium News, which is totally independent of government or corporations. NewsGuard acknowledges CN‘s independence in its judgment.
NewsGuard’s ties to the U.S. government suggests that its role is to uphold government narratives and to fend off evidence that challenges it, at the risk of undermining its own position.
If CN were really an “anti-U.S.” website it would be happy to let things in the U.S. run its course towards steep decline. It would welcome rather than criticize foreign and domestic policy decisions by U.S. leaders that are harming the nation.
Because CN argues for a more equitable society and an end to U.S. aggression in pursuit of dominating the world, it wants the U.S. to improve the treatment of its citizens and to become a more responsible citizen abroad. Performing journalism’s supreme function of critically analyzing government does not make one “anti-U.S.”
This submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Regional Newspapers by Broome journalist Andrew Chambers was rejected by the Committee for containing content “adverse” to another party so we published it here.
This contentious February story on the Ukraine War by one of IA’s biggest stars was extremely popular with readers.
Source: #9 TOP IA STORY OF 2022: John Pilger – War in Europe and the rise of raw propaganda
Here’s the thing about sexual assault: it is usually a dirty little secret. A dirty little secret that emboldens perpetrators, disempowers victims and allows the whole sordid business to continue on repeat. And so it goes.
Source: #10 TOP IA STORY OF 2022: Dirty little secrets exposed in Higgins’ case against Lehrmann
Soundproofing the Twitter
I got suspended from Twitter yesterday. I’m one of at least eight journalists who were casualties of Elon Musk’s “Thursday Night Massacre,” after the billionaire went on a power-hungry suspension spree. Twitter didn’t explain what rules I allegedly broke — but that’s to be expected under the new management, whose transparency has mostly consisted of Musk personally replying to tweets explaining his decision-making. My suspension is likely temporary, or it could be permanent. Who knows?
Source: Elon Musk Is Taking Aim at Journalists. I’m One of Them.
Australia’s news media is demonstrably worse than every other developed democracy but can it be fixed? Founder and publisher Dave Donovan reports.
Laughing at you America.. What’s the Scam
Fox News contributor Kellyanne Conway repeatedly went out of her way to praise the efforts of the Republican National Committee around the midterm elections, saying the organization did a “great job” and touting its voter contact program. Neither Fox nor Conway disclosed that the RNC has paid Conway’s firm more than $800,000 since last year.
The Herald Sun and The Age went further than just “dramatic reporting” they became what they’ve always been. Murdoch is an LNP .IPA paid political activist and Costello the new wanna-be-paid Ch9 kid on the block. To say they missed the point is to have missed the point.
For the best part of two weeks, Victorian voters were told by the media that the election on November 26 might result in either a hung parliament or a minority Labor government.
Source: Media go for drama on Victorian election – and miss the story – Pearls and Irritations
A comment from an editor at the Associated Press epitomizes the danger mainstream media creates with its routine deference to intelligence sources, writes Caitlin Johnstone.
Australia created the ABC as an Independent Statuary Body yet the LNP has censured, beaten, and financially bruised the ABC to become a shadow of itself over the past ten years. They did it to gain the quid pro quo support of dominant private media and other corporately controlled sectors in this country and they will continue to do so should they regain power.
“In the First Amendment the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors. The Government’s power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the Government.”
Kerry Stokes, and Lachlan Murdoch both regard the “press” as scumbags” Peter Costello remains behind the curtain. Isn’t that the “pot calling the kettle…”
Why is billionaire Kerry Stokes funding the media defamation action of Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith against Nine Newspapers? He gave the reason to Callum Foote, directly and in person at today’s Seven annual meeting.
The mainstream media was quick to chastise PM Albanese for illustrating Peter Dutton’s ignorance in Parliament. Dr Victoria Fielding reports.
The trial has become a national scandal and Justice Lucy McCallum needs to take action for contempt of court against Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer Steve Whybrow, Lachlan Murdoch, his attack dogs at News Corp and Senator Linda Reynolds. If Justice McCallum fails to do so her reputation and the reputation of the court will be trashed for many years to come and will likely become an example used at law schools on how not to run a court case.
A well-informed electorate is a prerequisite to democracy. Yet, on China, Australians are being misled by our mainstream media.
Source: The Australian electorate is being misled by its media – Pearls and Irritations
Informed or Uninformed Opinion? Is this what Russian Propaganda in English looks like or is this the real cutting-edge reporting? Who are we to believe?
Media Wars
How a humiliated western Empire can possibly raise the stakes now, short of going nuclear, remains a key question. Moscow has shown admirable restraint for too long. No one should ever forget that in the real Great Game – how to coordinate the emergence of the multipolar world – Ukraine is just a mere sideshow. But now the sideshow runners better run for cover, because General Armageddon is on the loose.
Source: Terror on Crimea Bridge and Russia unleashing shock’n awe – Pearls and Irritations
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