Thoraiya DyerHow to back a winning horse by flogging a dead one
November 30th 2007 04:03
In Victoria, Australia, there is a man. He is an opinionated man. He is a provocative man. He is an employed man. He is a columnist in the state’s most widely read newspaper. His name is Andrew Bolt.
Theories about journalism suggest that media is the cornerstone of democracy (as in free press), this sometimes coming into conflict with the ethical heart of journalism - objectivity. Free speech requires saying whatever one feels, whilst objectivity necessarily requires restraint. Now, where does an opinionate columnist fit into this tricky little conundrum?
The Herald Sun is an absolute disgrace. There goes any chance of me getting a job there, but I don’t care. It is so obviously biased, and its pin-up boy Bolt is the personification of the paper’s general prejudice. Of course, this is hardly surprising given the ownership of the newspaper. Any communications theorist will espouse ‘synergies’ of multinational corporations as being partially responsible for the dilapidation of journalisms objective role. Nobody is contending that old Rupert ‘I’m an American’ Murdoch has no vested interests in the politics of his homeland, that’s for sure.
The absolute unimportant minutiae that this newspaper reports on are embarrassing. Front page stuff: Delta Goodrem and her boyfriend – they’re getting married! Hoorah! Hoorah! Break open the Jacob’s Creek and have a drink to celebrate the most boring woman in the world shacking up with the most boring man! And by god, Katie Holmes has a new hairdo! What will Tom say?
One would think that this country hasn’t just had an election that changed the government for the first time in 12 years. Oh but of course. Right-wing conservative media have no care for a Labor government! Although some, interestingly enough, do…
Bolt earlier this week claimed that conservatism is not dead because Labor had to shift to conservatism in order to win some votes. Now, I agree in parts. There was a shift away from the left, but this is an election. They do what they do to get votes. They went with what they knew had worked in previous elections. I’m pretty damn sure they ain’t gonna stay conservative. Not with Peter Garrett in the cabinet. Come on! He’ll be apologizing to the indigenous all over the place. God love him. The point is, Bolt’s conservatism remained intact if he could demonstrate his support for the new government’s ostensibly conservative ticker (though, support for the new government in general is out of the question).
However, post-election Bolt opinions demonstrate the diabolically misleading comments he was making pre-election. He deigns to inform his readers that the Liberal party is in shambles. Its arrogance and lack of true leadership made them lose the election.
Hmm I wonder what Bolt had to say before the election. Oh on November 7, he said that ‘since it's wrong to say working families have never had it so good, I have a question for Rudd: What year exactly did they have it better? No, I can't remember, either’. I reckon that sounds like a pretty fair endorsement for the government of the day? No room for mentioning the Liberal’s lack of talent or ideas in this opinion piece, anyway.
One day before the election, he basically gave up hope, but condemned Labor voters (not afraid to alienate some of his audience) as weird. ‘How strange this election is,’ he wrote, ‘It's not just that voters seem ready to sack a government that's left them richer than ever. That's weird enough…’
Meanwhile, on November 26, two days after the election, he stated that ‘the Liberals' problems are simple but deadly: at every level they lack talent, ideas, power, money and idealism. Worse, just when many people are searching for a moral purpose, the federal party seems tainted by racism and the meanest opportunism’.
Mind you, this is the complete opposite of what he was saying before they lost. Before they lost, he was encouraging us to vote for them and slagging out the opposition! Despite all the bad qualities he perceived in the Liberal party, he only bothered to divulge them after the election. He held back on the perceived faults of the Liberal party throughout the campaign. He certainly didn’t hold back on Labors faults though, before and after! It’s all so deceptive.
The media is so powerful. As Spiderman said, with great power comes great responsibility. Opinion writers can be dangerous if they are not balanced with an opposing view of an equally talented writer and debater. Bolt is clearly talented, his arguments can be so circuitous at times that he confounds his readers by baffling them with bullshit. Another trick he employs is ferociously debating narrow trivialities, shifting attention away from the wider argument and its pertinence and significance. But if you look at the Herald Sun, Jill Singer is the only one who comes close to being able to represent the lefties, and she is given nowhere near the amount of column inches that their conservative puppet receives.
I don’t see him defending his beloved Liberals now, after they got a total shellacking. I must say I’m disappointed in him. There is an old saying if you mud wrestle a pig, you’re both going to get dirty but the pigs going to love it. I thought Bolt was that pig. He is as weak as the politicians he comments on. It’s all a bit gutless, don’t you think?
Ok and that is the end of this rant. I will leave the Bolt bashing to the secondary school students across the state studying ‘issues’.
Theories about journalism suggest that media is the cornerstone of democracy (as in free press), this sometimes coming into conflict with the ethical heart of journalism - objectivity. Free speech requires saying whatever one feels, whilst objectivity necessarily requires restraint. Now, where does an opinionate columnist fit into this tricky little conundrum?
The Herald Sun is an absolute disgrace. There goes any chance of me getting a job there, but I don’t care. It is so obviously biased, and its pin-up boy Bolt is the personification of the paper’s general prejudice. Of course, this is hardly surprising given the ownership of the newspaper. Any communications theorist will espouse ‘synergies’ of multinational corporations as being partially responsible for the dilapidation of journalisms objective role. Nobody is contending that old Rupert ‘I’m an American’ Murdoch has no vested interests in the politics of his homeland, that’s for sure.
The absolute unimportant minutiae that this newspaper reports on are embarrassing. Front page stuff: Delta Goodrem and her boyfriend – they’re getting married! Hoorah! Hoorah! Break open the Jacob’s Creek and have a drink to celebrate the most boring woman in the world shacking up with the most boring man! And by god, Katie Holmes has a new hairdo! What will Tom say?
One would think that this country hasn’t just had an election that changed the government for the first time in 12 years. Oh but of course. Right-wing conservative media have no care for a Labor government! Although some, interestingly enough, do…
Bolt earlier this week claimed that conservatism is not dead because Labor had to shift to conservatism in order to win some votes. Now, I agree in parts. There was a shift away from the left, but this is an election. They do what they do to get votes. They went with what they knew had worked in previous elections. I’m pretty damn sure they ain’t gonna stay conservative. Not with Peter Garrett in the cabinet. Come on! He’ll be apologizing to the indigenous all over the place. God love him. The point is, Bolt’s conservatism remained intact if he could demonstrate his support for the new government’s ostensibly conservative ticker (though, support for the new government in general is out of the question).
However, post-election Bolt opinions demonstrate the diabolically misleading comments he was making pre-election. He deigns to inform his readers that the Liberal party is in shambles. Its arrogance and lack of true leadership made them lose the election.
Hmm I wonder what Bolt had to say before the election. Oh on November 7, he said that ‘since it's wrong to say working families have never had it so good, I have a question for Rudd: What year exactly did they have it better? No, I can't remember, either’. I reckon that sounds like a pretty fair endorsement for the government of the day? No room for mentioning the Liberal’s lack of talent or ideas in this opinion piece, anyway.
One day before the election, he basically gave up hope, but condemned Labor voters (not afraid to alienate some of his audience) as weird. ‘How strange this election is,’ he wrote, ‘It's not just that voters seem ready to sack a government that's left them richer than ever. That's weird enough…’
Meanwhile, on November 26, two days after the election, he stated that ‘the Liberals' problems are simple but deadly: at every level they lack talent, ideas, power, money and idealism. Worse, just when many people are searching for a moral purpose, the federal party seems tainted by racism and the meanest opportunism’.
Mind you, this is the complete opposite of what he was saying before they lost. Before they lost, he was encouraging us to vote for them and slagging out the opposition! Despite all the bad qualities he perceived in the Liberal party, he only bothered to divulge them after the election. He held back on the perceived faults of the Liberal party throughout the campaign. He certainly didn’t hold back on Labors faults though, before and after! It’s all so deceptive.
The media is so powerful. As Spiderman said, with great power comes great responsibility. Opinion writers can be dangerous if they are not balanced with an opposing view of an equally talented writer and debater. Bolt is clearly talented, his arguments can be so circuitous at times that he confounds his readers by baffling them with bullshit. Another trick he employs is ferociously debating narrow trivialities, shifting attention away from the wider argument and its pertinence and significance. But if you look at the Herald Sun, Jill Singer is the only one who comes close to being able to represent the lefties, and she is given nowhere near the amount of column inches that their conservative puppet receives.
I don’t see him defending his beloved Liberals now, after they got a total shellacking. I must say I’m disappointed in him. There is an old saying if you mud wrestle a pig, you’re both going to get dirty but the pigs going to love it. I thought Bolt was that pig. He is as weak as the politicians he comments on. It’s all a bit gutless, don’t you think?
Ok and that is the end of this rant. I will leave the Bolt bashing to the secondary school students across the state studying ‘issues’.
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Comment by Damo
Good post.
Comment by bec cameron
Terrifying, really.
Comment by Harry
Sydney Diary
Personals
Brisbane Diarystar
What a great quote!
I don't think that Labor will swing to the left now it's in power. Look at Labor in the UK, they are still well to the right (New Labor!) of where 15 years ago and have been in power for a long time as a result. Even Gordan Brown who was meant to be a lefty compared to Blair has stayed the course of conservative policy.
I think the entire political spectrum has permanently moved to the right.