And the miserly $3.57 a day rise in JobSeeker was ‘fair and affordable’, ‘pragmatic’, and ‘fiscally responsible’. The mainstream media tripped over themselves to support the government’s line in the face of widespread condemnation from eminent economists that the huge cut to the unemployment payment rate would cost jobs and hit the recovery.
The mainstream media and the government were incensed when Facebook did exactly what it had explicitly said it would do: block the sharing of news content.
The Australian
The Australian
The Australian
The Australian
The Australian
Still, when Facebook restored news – after the government gave Facebook most of what it wanted – only Michael Pascoe at The New Daily and Bernard Keane at Crikey called it what it was: a win for Facebook.
The New Daily
Crikey
Beyond the tech giant escaping the “final-offer arbitration” it desperately wanted to avoid, Facebook retained the power to decide whether or not news appears on Facebook in future; and the code will only apply to content it chooses to host.
Facebook 1, Australian government 0.
Though you’d be hard-pressed to see the major mastheads run that line.
The Australian
The Australian
The Australian
The Sydney Morning Herald
JobSeeker
Despite widespread outrage among welfare groups and economists, the media nearly tripped over themselves in the attempt to sell the nation on the idea that a rise in JobSeeker from 30% below the poverty line to merely 25% below the poverty line was “balanced”.
Philip Coorey at the Australian Financial Review called it balanced, but didn’t deign to mention the actual number it represented: $3.57 extra a day.
News.com.au was also hesitant to state the actual number, only going so far as to say “less than $50 a week”. Not $3.57 per day, not just $25 a week, “less than $50 a week”. Might as well have said “less than $200 a week”.
Nonetheless, it was “fair and affordable”, it was the “middle ground”, “pragmatic”. It was “fair, affordable and fiscally responsible”.
Financial Review
The Australian
The Australian Financial Review
The Australian sold it as a “boost” that marks the “largest year-on-year increase to the dole since 1986”, which definitely shouldn’t be seen as a good thing.
The Age/Sydney Morning Herald at least gave it the semblance of accurate coverage.
It is peculiar that so many in the media and government are more concerned about an extra $3 billion a year to be going to Australia’s neediest than they are to a $90 billion deal for old submarines that seems to be going down the toilet.
Australian Financial Review
IR reform (again….)
There must be concerns about getting the proposed Industrial Relations Omnibus bill through parliament because it continues to receive copious coverage.
However, the tack has apparently changed from trying to persuade readers that the industrial relations reform involved “mild” changes to gaslighting workers into thinking they would be better off with them.
Innes Willox at the Australian Financial Review and Nick Bonyhady at The Age/SMH peddled the myth that 2.5 million casuals get a “25% loading” – in reality, half of casuals get no loading, and the average difference in pay ranges from 4% less to 5% more, compared to a permanent worker (and that’s without leave entitlements) – and instilling fears of pay cuts and higher prices.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Jennifer Westacott, head of the Business Council of Australia, accurately described the decline in Enterprise Bargaining Agreements as a “disaster”, but given the destruction that would be wrought on EBAs should the omnibus bill pass – as described by economists – using the disastrous decline as a reason to vote for the reform is, well, a little far-fetched.
The Australian
Michael Tanner is completing a Doctor of Medicine/Doctor of Philosophy. His writing explores the intersection of economics, the media and public health. His writing has also been published in The Age. Michael’s Twitter handle is @MichaelTanner_
Comments
4 responses to “Tamed Estate: Facebook 1, Australian government 0 but no mainstream media mastheads ran that line”
If one ever wanted evidence that our mainstream legacy media has become increasingly narrow, shallow, irrelevant and mirroring our monocultural political/corporate elites, it’s evidenced by their consolidated support for a NewsCorp inspired shake down of BigTech (based upon arrogance masking ignorance).
Result? Monopoly legacy media becomes even more entrenched, while quality journalism and/or regional media still suffer; relatively paltry (mooted) compensation celebrated as a victory to save face for NewsCorp, 9Fairfax, 7West and their legal arm, the LNP government.
Fact is, 9Fairfax, 7West and LNP are significant powers in Australia, NewsCorp too in the trinational Anglosphere of Australia, US and UK, but they are minnows compared to Google/Facebook global influence and the EU’s regulatory frameworks; just the latter’s competition laws are an existential threat to NewsCorp.
The timing of yet another Coalition “announcement” is curious or blatant as the case may be, coming as it did in the midst of a growing maelstrom around who did know about Brittany Higgins and lied about it and those who, allegedly, didn’t know and could well be lying about it and Morrison’s own nonsensical, if not utterly nauseating “I spoke to Jen…” and “I must be compassionate, because I’m a husband and father of daughters” drivel. I think Morrison planned to hold out on an increase until Labor had come out with a number, but the current furore meant a major diversion was needed and given President Morrison could rely on his trusty sycophants in the mainstream media to devote an unending amount of media coverage to how generous and wonderful the increase is, a token $25 increase looked like a win-win – for him at least.
Jacqui Lambie has seen through the media bargain/tax flowing without strings to its proponents https://cutt.ly/XlYyDle. Appeasing the bully that brought us Trump, Brexit and the invasion of Iraq is not likely to end well.
Mr Tanner: good post.
$3.57 wont buy a copy of the AFR. Astute observation from Mr Coorey: balanced. Everyone is a winner.
Keep at it!