This article raises a very important issue. Naturally our politicians, because they are very good politicians, will do their politicking very well. There is little positive payoff in being frank, honest, and modest in self appraisal. Can you imagine a politician, worth his/her salt, saying there are some flaws in our policy and the other blokes might be right on this one. The fundamental problem is in our democratic system. Those guys and gals out there, who want to be political leaders, have to secure our votes. Too much politics, and too little good governance. That is the problem with our electoral system. I am not smart enough to suggest a better system, but I divide by at least seven everything that anyone of them say - not because I despise them, but because I think I know the rules of the game they are playing.

Great article Marko and much to my taste. You are right, OLO fulfils a crying need. The whole of Australia's mainstream media has shown itself to be an utter dead loss - cowed, timid - long on rhetoric and short on crucial truth.

The "war" on Iraq, is killing on an industrial scale, propelled by industrial imperatives which demand industrial scale theft, justified by industrial scale lies, propagated by the media, er - industry.

Next month's OLO examines "conspiracy theories".

That's apt! Any starters?

Oh darn! Wrong thread!

I moaned about the quality of talkback radio to a friend who had recently spent two years in Singapore. He laughed and replied "I love talkback, it's really great to hear ordinary people expressing an opinion." He found this refreshing after two years of the stultifying pap that passes for current affairs in Singapore. I couldn't shift him in his view, despite pointing out the dopey and bigoted opinions people expressed.

It would be well for Colin Long to remember that in some countries you could land up in gaol for publicly questioning the head of executive government. The Rodent talked over the top of you? Better that, than having you shot.

Talkback is a highly manufactured product. It's entertainment, not therapy. The listeners are grist to the mill, cut off if they're boring (or off-topic or too clever or too clearly pushing a party line). The announcer is the star and you get to talk (or not) at their whim. Stan Zemanek got good ratings for years with aggressive and (cruelly) funny talkback. It might not be serious debate, but it's obviously what a lot of punters want.

I think Pegasus made a good point. The actual article everyone is commenting upon is about the inability in today's media to rationally discuss issues and yet most here just go on their own vendettas about whether or not whichever arms of the media are biased.
Despite the original writer's citicism of talk back radio (and the media in general) he does not seem to offer any constructive alternative.
Personally I think the answer would be to deregulate the media further, allow a plethora of print radio and TV outlets and in time, all types of discussion, from the abusive to the heated to the analytical to the rational to the boring will find their own spots on the spectrum.
Australia is just stuck with the people we are. Some people like big issues brought down to simplified concepts. Others believe that can never happen and like verbose discussion.
We can't blame the radio hosts too much bearing in mind they do represent the numbers of Australians who choose to listen to them. Often they themselves are more representative than the pollies who often win their seats due to the preference votes of people originally voting for other candidates.

The writer of this article must be young or naïve to think that the media exists to provide informed, impartial and balanced discussion.

If he is looking for real and informed debate on talk back radio or any other mainstream media, perhaps he should put something under his pillow and hope that the tooth fairy brings it in the morning.

What is the reason the media exists? The commercial media exists to make money. The ABC exists to support the ideologies of the people who control it. Whoever controls the microphone has a certain power. This is not a conspiracy theory. It is just human nature. Those who hold power don’t concede it easily.

To FrankGol
You offer some kind of poll or statistics to prove the public confidence in the ABC. I wonder who conducts these polls or who it is investigating the breaches of ABC Codes? Those doing the polls couldn’t have asked me or anyone I know.

At least the commercial media is answerable to those who pay the bills. The Australian Bigots Corporation is answerable to no one and pretty much free to ignore the people who fund them. This is also just human nature. The ABC is a privileged bunch that attracts people of a certain culture and is pretty unfriendly to anyone who isn’t like them.