Wow....I think the city of moonbatville has had it's population go up by one.

Trying to claim that there are only 'token lefties' at the Australian is hilarious. Unless you are an extremely left person (being a sociology lecturer [and at Griffith at that] this seems quite likely), and count anyone to the right of you as conservative this sort of comment is ludicrous.

s/oppose/impose

At least these newspapers are not paid for by the taxpayer. Our taxpayer funded national broadcasters are nothing more than propaganda vehicles for the lefties. The sooner the public purse is pulled on these marxist the better. It would be good tp turn them into sporting channels.

Ignoring the claims of post modernists, which are beyond me in their wilful complexity and arguments on reality and claiming that the most important role of the media in a democracy is reporting the news completely and honestly.
I would argue that the electorate gains most of the information on which they base their ‘informed vote’ derives from this. I would agree that the media in general has become a diatribe of opinionated posturing with aims of the owners and commercial success looming larger than their function.
The Iraq war is the latest example of reporting to support an aim just as the leaked ‘Downing Street Memo” claimed.
To be semi informed at the risk of being foolish in the claims one makes requires long hours surfing the web seeking truth and information.
The most recent to come to my attention and whilst I can’t claim diligent search of the media it does seem to be underreported or omitted.
This concerns the view that rapid withdrawal form Iraq, becoming any withdrawal in the politics of the day in the immediate future, certainly no telegraphing of intent. Such it is said would incite the ‘terrorists’ incited by our presence and actions to further efforts.
Withdrawal also involves reduction of effort by the Coalition Provisional Authority. See paper by Christopher Doran entitled ‘A Militarised Neo-Liberalism: Australia’s Economic Politics in Post Saddam Iraq”
Further search leads to Antonia Juhatsz amongst others. The author cites many references which should be checked plus some of the contrary facts , if any a tedious time consuming effort but necessary if the media is not doing its job.
This in turn leads to the pre planning for commercialisation of post invasion Iraq by Bearing Point, formerly KPMG Consulting (Arthur Anderson) turning Iraq over to Betchel, Chevron, Halliburton, Exxon and others.
Gives cause to wonder about the vehemence of no withdrawal. But the current world is so full of disinformation, (Competition) as to require more checking.
Please check!

Christopher writes reasonably well when he remembers to take his little blue pills - and he does ache for an appointment to one of howard's boards.
Whereas Janet just wants to retain her nice little earner as a member (chosen for her "talent" :-) by the 'lying rodent' of course) of the board of the ABC.
Yes that's the ABC that many of those who are a little right of adolf hitler C-O-N-T-I-N-U-A-L-L-Y and never endingly claim that it has views to left of joseph stalin. If the-our- ABC upsets you precious petals then PLEASE! switch to the commercial stations, or get a knowledgeable person to operate your remote, the programmes on these channels would be more in line with your intelligence, I mean you do not have to think. Regards, numbat

Is is just me, oe does anyone else think the Australian print media and radio is overburdened with opinion? I can't comment on TV as I don't watch it. I looked at the SMH this morning and found two broadsheet pages filled with letters, two editorials and three opinion columns. It's enough to make you choke on your Weet Bix.

Aside from the occassional column by Hugh Mackay (which contains useful tidbits drawn from his qualitative research), most of it is fit only to line the budgie cage with.

If I want an opinion on current affairs, I'll form one for myself, thanks all the same.

Here we go again: "Our taxpayer funded national broadcasters are nothing more than propaganda vehicles for the lefties. The sooner the public purse is pulled on these marxist the better." (Runner this time)

Anyone else sick of these comic-strip commentators who haven't had an original (or any) thought for decades? Anyone else noticed how the roses on 'Gardending Australia' always lean to the left?

I see respondents have forgotten that the ABC was and is in large measure at the mercy of the Goverment. Many would fondly remember Senator Alston's attck on the ABC for biass in 2003.
I do not think I gave full reference to Doran. A paper refereed and presented at The Australian Political Studies Association Conference Newcaste Uni 25-7 Sept 05.
In passing though I don't imagine it is part of the raucously proclaimed Australian Values both Juhatsz
www.democracynow.org/print?sid=06/04/25/1343214
and Doran refer to the infringment of Geneva conventions which are quite specific what an occupying power can do.

I fear no single writer we all have a right to our own views.
I however question how sections of the NSW press can sleep at night.
After the state election in March and the return of the goverment, it will be clear such press is no help to a floundering conservative movent.
Some NSW press has done its best, clearly in my view its very worst to spin the election, even lies have been used.
Given the state of the nations state goverments I think more could be gained by medea questioning conservatives who over and over again have lost elections that they should have won.
Once conservatives return to the path they once followed elections will be won.
Not however useing increaseingly wayward medea news manufactoring methods.

Yep Frank, i hear you.

if it werent for the ABC, i doubt i would bother owning a television. the 'runners' of this world are quite happy to be spoon fed corporate pre-packaged news and current affairs based around australian idol.

funny how a broadcaster that doesnt have to pander to sponsors and can get on with the job of reporting real news gets accused of constant bias! oh well, we can leave the tripe of the commercial stations for the right wing-nuts to lap up...

Criticism of the ABC/SAB is like a throwing out a red rag at a bull. No one could seriously think the ABC or SBS has given us balanced Middle East reporting over the last 20 years. Thats as silly as declaring that Phillip Adams has become interested in facts.

runner, Dis someone tell you that you knew something about the subjects you post on, or did you just assume you did? Frankly your commentary reeks of ignorance, not a personal criticism half the country accepts what it's told.

Could you please share with us the traits of a "leftie" runner, I'm beside myself, waiting to hear your explanation?

The indespensible role the mass media play is to vet the news and suppress the truth. Important events and newsworthy items are examined only sporadically and superficially and in a sensational matter. Events handled this way tend to desensitize the population. As well, regularly with-holding the critical political issues from the population. For instance, when have the newspapers ever revealed parliament is a fraud run by demagogic scoundrels? In reality, doesn't the media tyrants promote all the treacherous and devious politicians? Don't they promote and imply the Labor Party is a party for workers when it is another party for big money. Let us not forget the newsmedia reported all the lies, uncritically, about the non existent weapons of mass destruction and the colonial aspirations involved to steal the oil. Then there are the media tyrants trying to privatise (steal?) the ABC so the programs and content is being gutted or dumbed down. All very democratic of course. What about when the media is in feeding frenzy, the shark attack mode. Or when the press is judge jury and hangman and no aspect is too sensational. There is no presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial in the media; just ask Mr. Hicks, oh he is not available for comment - he is tied up doing 5 years of torture without charge! When do the media ever come out and explain clearly that it is Bush and Howard that should be charged with war crimes. The media are not babes in the woods, they certainly know what constitutes war crimes! The media is monopolised and owned by billionaires to suppress democracy, they have the media in an iron grip. For instance, in the US one person owns 600 radio stations. Democracy is just some bombast, a swear word the media throw around when it is convenient.

I find it interesting that no one appears to have picked up on what to me is a central point of the article - the tendancy in political debate to assume those who see issues differently have bad motives or are evil.

My own experience in many cases has been that when when you take the time to listen you find that those who see things differently have some similar goals but see a different means to achieving those goals.

There are self serving manipulators on all sides of politics, but many on both sides care about the same goals, they just have different views on how those goals can be achieved.

We learn most by listening to those who see things differently rather than on focussing on the words of those who think like ourselves.

R0bert

Robert,
I couldn't agree more, someone on another thread was complaining about Gillard being a fan of Swedish socialism, so what it is a different system to ours, but Sweden hasn't disappeared from the globe, after 25 years of that system. I'm not saying that's the system we should have, I agree with you we have had a good look at extreme right wing politics, and come election time the population can vote for a change, or more of the same. All systems have plus and minus points our current one no different, well said Robert.

'I find it interesting that no one appears to have picked up on what to me is a central point of the article ..'

Too much thinking involved R0bert, cant you see these people just want to dumb it down into another right v left war?

Re the book, the title: "The War on Democracy: Conservative Opinion in the Australian Press" is all we need to detect the irony and hypocrisy.

I'll 3rd Robert. Anyone who uses ANY means to try to discourage debate is anti-democratic. And these people can be found across the political spectrum and across all groups that humans have ever belonged to. All voices need to be heard & illogical or misguided comments need to be criticised based on logic without all sorts of other things being attached, eg. abuse & categorisations (ie your opinion means that you are x, y, z). Of course we have all done it at times, but we need to remember the old adage, "opinions are like * * * * *'s....everyone has one". Any tactics other than logic simply weaken the argument. If an opinion really is The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But The Truth (and with all issues I believe there is no such thing), then it wouldn't be opinion, it would be fact. So by definition all debate on Online Opinion really is just opinion. Of course, some opinions are more reasonable & therefore more persuasive than others.

I've been on OLO only a short time but it's easy to tell the democratic posters from the anti-dem ones. And the former are usually more intelligent & certainly more persuasive than the latter by a long shot.

"They contend that right wing columnists are not just participants in a culture war, but are also anti-democratic"

There have been government finance cuts to all the artistic-cultural events, theaters, art galleries very similar to the starving of funding in the schools and universities. In the universities, the Arts and Social Sciences have been severely gutted. The TAFE has had funding cuts and courses reduced in the arts. In the art galleries and theaters the criteria in conjunction with the blockbuster is 'bums on seats' - 'making money, money, money.' There is a procedure taking place to hose down art from peoples lives particularly limiting or attacking any creative aesthetic sensitivity in peoples understanding towards life; the exclusion of vast masses of people and their lives from artistic consideration, replaced by the fantasized, trivial treatment of the lives of ‘beautiful’ people without financial problems, people who don’t exist, and the systematic degradation of popular culture, the calculated effort to brutalize and render humanity indifferent to suffering and social ills. To desensitize and break up any considerations of genuine international solidarity replaced by a national narrow mindedness and 'whats it got to do with me.' Society must be prepared and debased mentally by the press in order to implement Bush's "one war following another." As well, driving masses of people into the most wretched poverty. None of it possible without the press dictating the course and whipping the politicians into line!

Is the a lack of respect for the peoples right to think and vote for themselves amongst our right winger's in politics and journalism? Yes, but they are also common amongst the left.

Up until today, it has always been the left that wanted to rid of freedoms as the right fought to defend freedoms. Now, we see the right tossing it all away as they grapple for me control away from the people. All done with permission of the baby boomer generation yet again.

We are seeing from all sides of the political fence in Australian political parties, their arguement for freedoms but only when one's opinion is inline to theirs.

Perhaps the author of this article could stop writing in jargon and use simple English. In other words, say what you mean. What is written is garble really.

When will people get the real picture. There is no left or right. That's history.

Name the differences in the modus operani between the two majors. Just one will do.

Runner. Newspapers not paid for by the taxpayer? Ever heard of company tax, decuctions, write offs, tax evasion? Study is in order.

You have hit the Nail on the Head Spendocrat

Although I am wasting my time Shonga; But here is a link that will educate you and bring you to reality in the right/Left Ideological battle; http://jonjayray.tripod.com/menu.html

Become a soul of purpose not a parasite of demand.
You can take it as Religious or Philosophical advice.

You see, in turn , it is a war to see who cane become the dumbest, and who can recruit the most Idiots for their cause; Excluding the Elitist-Idiot-sphere of course.
If you know your history in other places, then you will know they are of the same Mold but driven by Possessed Ego to control.
Stalin V Hitler- or Stalin V Trotsky right and left for a start. There many other examples;
Nothing to do with Conservative Ideals – That was an Adorno red herring when he wrote the Useless Idiots Qur’an in Psychology; Just think about it for a moment.

Nowhere near civilization and Epistemology, but being the antipathy of it.
It is not the question of what you believe, the answers lay in what you know.

All,
This may surprise you, I don't argue left v right, I argue right v wrong, sense v nonsense, and try to provide examples when possible.

I don't like Howard's conservatism [look up conservative in your dictionary] I believe we should as individuals and collectively be progressive, e.g. if something comes up like climate change, tackle it don't look after vested interests just get on with doing the right thing.

Shonga,

So what's right and what's wrong? You only have X words to respond.

Who decides which is right and which is wrong? Yourself? How Hard? God? Who? Actually I agree WHO should decide on things medical.