I made the startling discovery one day when reading about a story in the media that you can not beleive everything which the media prints or publishes.

The story that was published by the media was very different to the facts that I knew, when reading the story in the media the only reason I knew it was the same story as the one I knew about, was the names were the same, all the 'details' the media published were very different to what I know to have been fact.

Since that time the media have been caught telling 'porkies' on number of occasions, that it really makes me wonder how many more porkies go unrevealed.

I equate the newspapers and current affairs programs to very little more than 'pulp fiction' these days.

Newspapers are little more than entertainment value.

Having read 'Spin Sisters' by Myrna Blythe this opened my eyes further the the manipulation by the media, and love him or hate him Andrew Bolt exposed the ambulance scam in Palestine.

When I first started reading other articles which varied from the political line, I found it difficult to believe them at first and I now strongly resent the media for trying to manipulate my beliefs and understanding on many subjects.

Yes James it really is that bad due to labor and liberal. This is what they wanted get the people who dont care and they will vote as they always have as they cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Then you get people like me who are here to shake things up with the truth,i know a dirty word but when you mean it, well in my case anyway thats my word.
And breathing new life well I think I am doing more than that.
People can either take it or leave.

Just like the following.

The money makers ,big business and pollies are not going to like The Australian Peoples Party

The pollies entitlements will be under the chop and supperanuation no more to 69% public funding for pollies

now that will be better used for the people.
These pollie entitlements have no value in the interests of the people but these pollies themselves.

Get the idea
Time to come on board or you can always have
LABOR
LIBERAL

www.tapp.org.au

This deliberative polling method sounds really interesting, more like the direct democracy of antiquity. I'd certainly be interested in attending one in Melbourne.

However, it presupposes a few things:

1. Politicians (of any description) want an informed and engaged electorate and are willing to promote such things;

2. More than a small minority are really willing to engage in such activities constructively and with some degree of open-mindedness;

3. Legislating for compulsory attendance would overcome the problems mentioned in 2.

Still, it's a refreshing idea, so good luck with it.

Although not a new problem, the use of wild generalisations, code words, spin, slogans and tenuous analogies plagues public debate. Almost every time I have participated in polls the meaning and purpose of many questions is so unclear that I terminate the whole process before completion. Yet the results of these polls seem to be accepted as measures of public opinion. Did someone ask those participants using the words "that Muslims were/are a threat to the Australian way of life." ?
Did someone forget to insert "some", "many" "most" or " a few" (Muslims)? How big is the threat ? (minuscule or overwhelming?) What aspects of the Australian way of life ? (All of it, some or a tiny bit? And if some, do they matter? Fairly meaningless to a casual reader.
We shouldn't accept the "too busy" excuse for sounding off about topics we know too little about. Newspapers once contained many times more detail about news content than at present. Unless detail is comprehensive, people will often draw distorted conclusions.

there is no public debate- just simulated discussions, with no visible consequence. citizens debate, subjects gossip.

ozzies are born into a society in which politics is a trade, wholly owned by the politicians guild. as they have no substantive input to political life, they don't waste much time on acquiring information. this is the rational response to the environment they inherit.

donald horne said oz was run by second rate people, but protected by history and geography from the consequences of inept rule. i suggest he was wrong in part, because the really competent national leaders typically started wars while oz has merely tagged along. this may have saved us some money and lives.

the real path to peace and prosperity seems to be getting the rule of the nation out of the hands of politicians. compare the history of switzerland with australia, or anywhere else. there is a good case that actual democracy is vastly superior to the (doublethink/newspeak) 'democracy' our masters assure us is our own blessing

JamesH - yes there are porkies in the media, but I think you'll find that most of the time it's because of a lack of diligence on behalf of the reporter allowing them to be manipulated by others.
It's easy to blame the media. It's quickly becoming a punching bag for pretty much everybody's ire.
But this is, quite literally, shooting the messenger.

Sure, messages get warped along the way, but as long at there is a plethora of voices, then that's about the best you can hope for. 100 per cent accuracy is never going to happen.

While media proprietors do encourage certain biases, it's all in pursuit of the bottom line. Their influence tends to be exaggerated.

tapp - you're going to have to get beyond simplistic slogans like 'big business and the politicians won't like us.'
What does that mean? You're anti big business? Does this mean you're a socialist party? When does a big business deserve to be cut down to size?
I'd like to vote for a party that does the things you say yours will, but until I see some more insightful posts on issues such as these, I'm afraid you haven't earned it. I've looked at some of your policies - bare bones, that's all they are at present, and we live in a pretty fluid system. Black and white doesn't cut it any more and neither does railing against politicians and the big end of town.

Although I hate to admit it, you'll also need to express yourself with a little more restraint, or you're going to alienate plenty of people and be your own worst enemy.

In regard to the article - nice idea, but you're always going to have people questioning whether the information fed to the participants is unbiased.
Yes, it sounds like a great idea - but the fact that you were one of the group managers, and that you didn't express any criticisms at all, or suggestions for improvement, has the cynic in me a little concerned.