'Senior Victorian' - well *everyone* makes a typo every now and then...

re: Media diversity and pluralism, see this quote at Wikipedia:

"According to Reporters Without Borders in 2004, Australia is in 41st position on a list of countries ranked by Press Freedom; well behind New Zealand (9th) and United Kingdom (28th). This ranking is primarily due to the limited diversity in media ownership." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentration_of_media_ownership

re: growth of online media, I'd suggest that the existing media interests have shifted to the online sphere - and dominate that sphere because they are established brands. The internet provides opportunities, yes - But there are issues of bandwdith, ability to gather original primary material, capability to promote alternatives, inability to pay a regular array of journalists...

There are some great blogs our there that get several hundred hits - maybe sometimes over a thousand - every week... But the Herald-Sun *alone* has a readership of 1,500,000...

Curmudgeon

You are spot on. I was going to comment earlier, but you are right to indicate how newspapers are just one (albeit important) avenue for news.

There are now so many alternatives out there (mainly online).

Tristan, blaming the messenger for Labor's woes, is poor commentary.
Just because Labor is not winning the debates does not mean they cannot be won. Then what will you have to say. The media turned around to support Labor?

There are also so many aspects of Aust society today that are much better than two decades ago.

You really need to move beyond partisan politics. It almost sounds stupid.

Tristan;you have to come to terms with the reality that many of us now realise the scam of AGW.IPCC "We have hide the decline."

There are thousands of scientists who have been silenced.The IPCC is a Maurice Strong creation who wants to see a New World Order spurred on by environmentalism,under the guise of saving the planet.They won't tax carbon as it comes out of the ground because the large corps will have to pay.They want an ETS because it will let only an elite few have the means of production since only they can afford to buy the carbon credits.

Their scam is falling apart and they are getting very desperate.

Tristan, your case remains flawed. You have failed to show any correlation between the range and diversity of views available in Australia, on any topic, and the number media owners.

This is fundamental to the case you seek to make, without it we must draw the conclusion that you have fabricated the “problem” in order to offer your “solution”. The Wikipedia link you provided provides nothing in respect of this.

I have no problem with a comparison of media ownership but unless you can present an “effect” associated with this limitation you are just proselytizing ideological dogma.

It is also critical that we leave a market driven industry to be just that, market driven. If you don’t like “the market” then you are at odds with those who support it. It matters not if you agree because quite frankly, it is none of your business what the market chooses to support. Unless of course, you wish to see legislation imposed upon those who like the democratic principle of choice?

In which case, many Australians might suggest you to stick it where the Sun doesn’t shine.

Do you imagine for one moment that those trying to extricate themselves from the grip of despotic dictatorships would warm to your proposals? If so, we can arrange for a whip round for you and as many of your friends as possible, to have an all expenses paid, one way trip to say, Syria, Libya,Tunisia, Morocco, UAE, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Sudan, Central Africa and almost anywhere in South America, where you can do a muti-media presentation extravaganza to their populations.

You won’t because they would stone you. You do it here in Oz because we won’t. Yet!

PS. Your application to join “Get It” has again been rejected on the basis of non compliance.

Thanks, Tristen. It's good to see a truly canonical example of preaching to the converted. No half-measures here.

Seriously, the biggest handicap for climate action supporters seems to be an irresistible urge to chant slogans that impress like-minded mates. Calling the unconverted 'Right WIng' or 'Populist' might be popular at a Wilderness Society picnic, but it's unlikely to morph the doubtful into true believers. Would you reconsider your opinion if I called you a left-wing useful idiot? I hope not.

This should be easy. There's no downside to reducing emissions per se. When the AGW crowd stop predicting apocalypse and start discussing the relative merits of sequestration vs. geothermal, MSR vs. solar thermal, you'll be half-way there. If you really want to exclude nuclear, fine, but you need to offer superior alternatives: not outrage, not hyperbole, and definitely not sanctimony.

Consider your AGW bona fides established. Now, can we move on to discussing solutions to the problem, please?

You continually are getting muddled up with your political spectrums Tristan, Right and Left are the same, but with one subtle difference in the measures they deploy in regards to any Economic activity and how it is administered under The Collectivist Mentality – and with a Demagogic followers support;
Monopoly can only exist because of Government; Government is the Biggest Monopoly Control over the Population and Society, and can only grant Monopoly to a selected few;

And it is a fallacy to claim that Oxygen starved Leftists and Rightists will control the Media – Education – or any other public institution –For Governments have the monopoly on the Education system for a great many years , and has produced Automatons who cannot function with a thought to reason, or deploy any rational factual argument, or construct Ideas based on Rational Utilitarian Ratiocination to form working Theories; Instead they deploy Empirical Utilitarian theories that are false – misleading and detrimental to society- therefore are antisocial and Unjust- Quite the opposite of your intended point.
So the point must be it is not for the Social reasons you aspire . It is not hard, So what is the point?