Category: Media

Commentating on the sacking, former MD David Hill says that “no reasonable explanation” has been given as to why. While there’s some truth to that, I think we can begin to sort out why board chairman Justin Milne acted. And here its important to say that it probably largely was Milne, who was the dominant player; the rest of the board seem quite detached. Milne, however, did say that “leadership style” and “relations with government” were important factors in the decision. (more…)

Michelle Guthrie has been badly treated – not by being sacked, but by being hired in the first place. As a former Head of ABC TV News and Current Affairs, I met Guthrie several times at functions in the ABC, and once at a social dinner party. We discussed the state of ABC News and other editorial matters. She was well aware she was on a steep learning curve. (more…)

The unexpected sacking of ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie has raised one big question, among the many. (more…)

The first German chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, said there were two sights the public should not see: the making of laws and the making of sausages. To this list of enduringly nauseating spectacles we should add one more: the political machinations of media moguls. (more…)

The news that billionaires Rupert Murdoch and Kerry Stokes essentially war-gamed the ousting of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull should appal all Australians wanting media diversity and an open and transparent polity. (more…)

Please consider supporting this crowdfunding campaign to enable Dr Lesley Russell to report for Croakey from a landmark global health meeting in Bangladesh from November 15-19 – the 4th Peoples’ Health Assembly – or #PHA4. (more…)

As a form of symbolism, banning a website works much more effectively than conventional expressions of official displeasure such as flexing military muscles, cancelling a trade deal, recalling a country’s ambassador or refusing a foreign correspondent’s visa. (more…)

We are spending an inordinate amount of money on ‘defence’ and ‘security’ to protect ourselves from an enemy without, but it is now clear that we face a far greater threat from the enemy within, revealed through ‘alternative facts and fake news’, the lubricant of conservative politics.  In the disgraceful power struggle between so-called conservatives and liberals in federal politics we have seen a championing of the Trump brand and the heinous connection between evangelical Christianity and individual rights.  A right-wing commentator has revealingly lamented that the trouble with Turnbull is that his natural home is within the ABC not Sky News!  What more needs to be said about the extraordinarily destructive and binary world into which we have fallen.
(more…)

The two overpowering impressions remaining after last week’s political drama are an abuse of media influence correctly identified by Chris Uhlmann and a mistaken view among some Liberal MPs about the nature of their Party’s “base.” (more…)

It is still a battle to extend the perception of the importance of high-speed broadband beyond fast access to the internet or to Netflix. (more…)

Putting aside the anonymous gutlessness of the West Australian Parliamentary Liberals and the colossal arrogance of The West Australian Newspaper, the campaign against Opposition Leader Mike Nahan has raised a useful question. Which is more influential in election campaigning – conventional newspaper and television or the brave new world of Facebook and Twitter? (more…)

The Department of Communications is now reviewing submissions on the issue of Australian Broadcasting Services in the Asia-Pacific region. In my submission, I argue that public diplomacy in the digital era requires not simply a rejigging of the current broadcast transmission model; it also requires a complete paradigm shift. (more…)

When Socceroo defender Aziz Behich put the ball in his own net during the recent World Cup, handing France the win, Australia groaned in collective disappointment. He didn’t mean to, and he is already forgiven. But when CEO Michelle Guthrie launched ABC’s new lifestyle section, it was an own goal for which it is hard to give absolution. (more…)

Apparently, the sale of Fairfax to Nine is the end of journalism in Australia, the triumph of the cheque book as the only arbiter of a good story and the death knell of democracy. Paul Keating – that most eloquent and cerebral of political alley cats – was particularly scathing in his assessment, but he isn’t alone. (more…)

The proposed Nine Entertainment Co’s takeover of Fairfax would be a disaster for journalism and for Australia. Malcolm Turnbull’s changes to the 30 year-old cross- media rule means one owner can control print, radio and television in one market. Of course this will result in serious loss of diversity in information. That it is Nine that will take control of Fairfax is spine chilling. It is a devastating outcome for those Fairfax journalists who have dedicated their careers to accurately informing readers who value objective professional reporting. (more…)

Fresh news for stay-at-homes: The ABC has abandoned spin to reveal its overseas TV service is not aired to showcase the nation, but amuse expats. (more…)