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The Forum > Article Comments > The ABC's centre of gravity > Comments

The ABC's centre of gravity : Comments

By Douglas Kirsner, published 9/4/2008

It is not the job of the ABC to act as a counterweight to other media or mainstream ideologies perceived to be too right wing.

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What the writer really means is that the ABC does not lie down dead like News Ltd and blithely reflect the perspective of an aggressive and self-interested Zionist lobby.

The ABC is not seeking to be a counter-weight to anything. It is just telling the story at it is. If Kirsner can't deal with that, he should switch over to watch The Greatest Loser on the Ten Network.
It might suit him better.
Posted by Mr Denmore, Wednesday, 9 April 2008 10:25:10 AM
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There is no point to discussing the ABC in its present form.

ABC television should be sold off. Radio National should be abandoned, leaving News Radio and local ABC stations to ensure regional broadcasting.
Posted by Mr. Right, Wednesday, 9 April 2008 10:28:02 AM
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Rather than being an unbiased supporter of the truth the ABC and Latline in particular has become the tool of the Howard agenda. Now that hes has gone its high time all of Howards boys and girls were given the flick starting with Tony whats his face from Lateline.
Posted by Yindin, Wednesday, 9 April 2008 10:45:03 AM
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This post has been adapted from a post (http://johnquiggin.com/index.php/archives/2005/12/19/monday-message-board-8/#comment-39315) to John Quiggin's web-site of 20 Dec 2005:

The ABC may be 'left wing' in a sense compared to the other newsmedia, but in absolute terms it sits far to the right of what was once considered the middle ground.

...

However, ABC journalists should not be concerned about accusations of left wing bias, or even right wing bias, for that matter. They should just get on with the job of properly scrutinising all public figures be they of the right, left, centre, extreme centre, or wherever.

ABC Radio journalist Catherine (spelling?) Jobe did this brilliantly prior to the elections of 1996, where she, in turn, savagely tore to shreds both the Labor Government Health Minister and the Shadow Health Minister. She brilliantly exposed, one after the other, their hypocrisy and self contradiction. ... Jobe could not possibly have been accused of unfair bias, although I suspect her style of journalism would have been seen as a far greater threat to this (Howard) Government than any perceivable timid pro-Labor bias in most of today's crop of ABC journalists.

In any case, given the appalling record of this Government, which would have been previously unimaginable, since the day it came to office, the ABC has been derelict in its duty in not having been more 'left wing biased' when dealing with this Government and its ministers.

Had they done so, more people would have seen right through the Government by the 1998 elections at the very latest, and its reign would have been no more than a bad memory from the distant past by now.

Rather than the the ABC's 'left wing' bias being the subject of controversy, it would have been the right wing extremism of most of the commercial newsmedia which would have been put under the public spotlight.
Posted by daggett, Wednesday, 9 April 2008 10:50:36 AM
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The problem with the ABC is not that it's left or right wing - old style leftists wouldn't recognise its relentless pursuit of middle class welfare and environmental findamentalism. The real problems are two fold: its current affairs programs invariably adopt the "Why won't you admit you're an idiot?" style of interviewing popularised by Kerry O'Brien; and its general demeanour is one of cultural superiority, especially to the Australians it is supposed to serve. Apart from Landline and some classical music programs, I gave up watching and listening to it years ago.
Posted by Senior Victorian, Wednesday, 9 April 2008 11:14:16 AM
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Not bad when you compare it to other such attacks on the state funded constitutional broadcaster model. It mostly avoids the kind of mindless hyperbole, triumphalism-cum-conservative persecution complex that plagues other writers in this genre.

I particularly like how Kirsner addresses the refrain that the ABC exists to balance commercial outlets, and seeks to define the alleged bias, as Gerard Henderson has done in the past, not by party political allegiance, but by culture. Of course, I’m not at all convinced that this culture has always been inimical to the fair discharge of its charter obligations, and nor can I agree with Kirsner that just because some changes to the ABC’s current affairs lineup have been successful, that all of Howard’s cavalier appointments of his friends and spear-carriers to the board have been vindicated. Fact is, they haven’t, and their frequent lack of journalistic experience has harmed the ABC, and interfered with commercial logic, such as with the Alan Jones bio.

So, I think we need to be careful. Those sympathetic to the ABC may be grateful it doesn’t operate under distorting commercial imperatives, but them valuing that effect is not a reason to conflate that with proper governance. By the same token, I see no reason to set up this construct of “Middle Australia” which supposedly requires the ABC to air the latest movement conservative talking points, against whatever politically correct orthodoxy - and call that accuracy through balance. This is a muddled approach which needlessly invites politicisation of everything, and ignores the role for robust journalism in transcending the political. Also, some issues defy such a dual schema – where there is no roughly equivalent other side to speak of – such as evolution versus id - where there is no respectable case to speak of for putting an unfalsifiable religious doctrine in science class. To create a debates out of air, in such cases, under the mantra fairness, is just to show a different kind of partisanship through the fallacy of the middle.
Posted by BBoy, Wednesday, 9 April 2008 11:53:59 AM
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Also, I think citing Nick Cohen as an authority on the state of public institutional culture is pretty weak sauce, given that he’s been engaged in such a protracted acrimonious dispute with the British liberal establishment over his staunch position in favour of the Iraq war, and his annoying tendency to view the war, and alarmism about Islam, as a litmus test for bona fides on everything. Clearly he is pushing a barrow in his dispute with the British intellectual left over the Euston Manifesto, which has morphed into a kind of bunker mentality when the pro-war position, and the credibility of the current US administration, collapsed into oblivion.
Posted by BBoy, Wednesday, 9 April 2008 12:02:15 PM
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Well put BBoy.

I've actually not thought about this too much in the past, writing it off as the usual conservative attempt to suppress different voices.

Some of the assertions seem a little stereotypical but I like the cultural left idea, although to describe it as left might not be accurate.

I'll have a bit more of a think about this. To be flippant, when in the past this issue has come up I've asked "When do we get a left-wing Phillip Adams?"
Posted by Passy, Wednesday, 9 April 2008 2:08:11 PM
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Has anyone ever noticed that those on the "right" seldom, if ever, make any real criticisms of the commercial media and its general banality and awfulness----titty-tainment and "offical information" for the masses.

And lets remember that the function of commercial media is to give advertisers access to the consumers(suckers) wallets.

Every time you "tune" in to commercial media (or any media) you have allowed yourself to be colonised by the corporate "world"-view----buy this, believe that, be excited (or repulsed) by blah-blah.

No discriminative intelligence allowed or encouraged. The occasionally bits of intelligence get lost/forgotten in the overwhelming tide of banality---or babble.

Without the ABC (with all of its faults and biases) Australia would be a media wasteland.

And isnt most of the commercial media, especially Fox so called "news" an integral part/player in the military-industrial-entertainment complex.

And Fox a fully paid up franchise for Orwell's Ministry of Truth.

Meanwhile I find this site to be an excellent antidote to the consensus "reality" promoted by the mainstream media.

1. http://www.medialens.org
Posted by Ho Hum, Wednesday, 9 April 2008 4:01:59 PM
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Ho Hum

The difference is obvious. The taxpayer is not funding the Commercial stations and they don't pretend to be balanced. The ABC have the audacity to pretend that they are neutral. Their ingrain love of leftist policy was never so evident by all the protesting when they played 'one' balanced scientific view of the global warming crap they continue to promote. They should either get funded by the earth worshippers (Greens) or stop brainwashing the gullible.
Posted by runner, Wednesday, 9 April 2008 5:35:17 PM
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Highly predictable from Doug Kirsner. Bland, unwatched and unchallenging drivel like Difference of Opinion gets the thumbs up. Two of the ABC's most awarded correspondents get the thumbs down (though it's noted he wasn't game to name them when he pushed this twaddle to his mates at The Australian).
And guess what? Doug doesn't like 4 Corners running a piece that shows Muslims in other than a negative light. That's all part of the ABC's left of centre agenda (Doug of course being the centre around which Australian political thought revolves). The reporter in that piece doesn't take Muslim extremism seriously according to Mr Kirsner. What a goose.
Conveniently he ignores the fact that the same 4 Corners reporter (Sally Neighbour) has broadcast a series of stories and published a highly regarded book, all dissecting the growth of radical, violent Islam in this region. But all that is of course swept away because she dared to discuss the issue of Muslim men without emphasising any threat they represent to our way of life.
You're right there at the centre Doug.
But it's terrific that you think Lateline and The World Today are among the ABC's shining lights Doug. You're obviously unaware of the inconsistency of your argument in singling them out but we'll let you figure that out by yourself.
Posted by furry, Wednesday, 9 April 2008 8:11:24 PM
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Well said Furry.

I am amused that the author of this drivel claims to be a professor given the poor general level of scholarship, spelling and factuality.

Perhaps gathered his information from one of his less distinguished minions at AIJAC who regularly “ghostwrite” for his friends like Tim Blair, Piers Akerman and their sad ilk.

This was particularly amusing.

“In terms of balance and fairmindedness (sic), Middle East correspondents Matt Brown and David Hardacre( sic) are marked improvements from(sic) the days of Tim Palmer and Peter Cave.”

I don’t believe that Palmer or Cave ever had to apologise for bias.

David Hardaker who is being held up by Kirsner as a fine example no longer works for the ABC. I Presume Prof. Kirsner endorses this story that Mr Hardaker did before he decided to go work for the Evil Emirs for a motza.

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2007/s2083957.htm

This bit down the bottom should not be missed

“Editor's Note: Parts of this story have been amended or omitted and the audio removed to address issues of factual correctness. The story was also found to have lacked balance because there was insufficient opportunity for Israeli authorities to respond. The ABC apologises for these instances of inaccuracy and lack of balance. ”

“This correction was run at the end of AM on Thursday, February 28, 2008: On November the 7th last year, AM broadcast a story relating to drug use among Palestinians. The story has since been found to contain inaccuracies and a lack of balance. The ABC apologises for these errors. The amended transcript can be found on AM's website for November the 7th
Posted by Foggy, Thursday, 10 April 2008 2:21:11 PM
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Krisner got exactly what I would expect from the inhabitants of this forum. After all, most of them are the same chattering class that the ABC now panders to.
Don't worry about it Runner. They are unlikely to brainwash any of the gullible. Normal people tuned into the ABC once, & were bored senseless by the droning rubbish that now passes as comment on this still kicking corpse, very expensive kicking that it may be. None of them will be back.

They cater to their own kind, at our expense of course, & are too stupid to cater to the masses, they would like to influence, with their programming. Fortunately, while they continue to be so smug, & self satisified, they will do little harm, so long as you don't get to close, where you would smell all that piddling in each others pockets. That would be nauseating, like most of their recent programs.
Posted by Hasbeen, Friday, 11 April 2008 7:56:53 PM
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