ABC Sledging
It would be foolish to think that not all media outlets are biased to at least some degree. But when I tried to convince a couple Melbourne denizens the other day that the ABC was indeed biased, they would hear no word of it. I should have pointed out that the ABC interviews such fools as the rambling Robert Fisk, the clown Paul McGeough, and the painful Christian and duck-obsessed Michael Leunig. Alas, I did not. They probably thought I was some ignorant fool. Maybe they're right, but The Oz agrees:
Never let it be said that the ABC ever let the facts stand in the way of a good smear. Take the public broadcaster's "high energy (and) fun" current affairs program for students, Behind the News, which on July 25 delivered a potted history of the last half-century of Lebanese life that sounded almost as if it had been scripted in Tehran. According to the show's presenter, Andrea Nicolas, Hezbollah "soldiers" sparked the present conflict in the Middle East in an innocent bid to prompt a prisoner exchange with Israel gone awry. The report (hastily scrubbed from the ABC's website) also claimed Hezbollah was just a small group of Palestinian extremists who fled to Lebanon because their land was "taken over by Israel"; that in 1948 "Israel was proclaimed as a country for Jewish people, taking much of the land from Palestinian Muslims"; and that in 1967 for no apparent reason Israel "took over" Gaza and the West Bank. These were only a few of the many howlers delivered without regard to context, balance or fact to an audience lacking the historical knowledge to spot the many errors.
Wonder if we'll catch that in Media Watch? The kids would seemingly be better off going to wiki. It should be noted that I'm not agreeing with Israel's current tactics. But the ABC, as a state-funded institution, has the right to be unbiased in their reporting. Alternatively, The Australian, being own by Murdoch, does not, but at least I am aware of its biased reporting.
Never let it be said that the ABC ever let the facts stand in the way of a good smear. Take the public broadcaster's "high energy (and) fun" current affairs program for students, Behind the News, which on July 25 delivered a potted history of the last half-century of Lebanese life that sounded almost as if it had been scripted in Tehran. According to the show's presenter, Andrea Nicolas, Hezbollah "soldiers" sparked the present conflict in the Middle East in an innocent bid to prompt a prisoner exchange with Israel gone awry. The report (hastily scrubbed from the ABC's website) also claimed Hezbollah was just a small group of Palestinian extremists who fled to Lebanon because their land was "taken over by Israel"; that in 1948 "Israel was proclaimed as a country for Jewish people, taking much of the land from Palestinian Muslims"; and that in 1967 for no apparent reason Israel "took over" Gaza and the West Bank. These were only a few of the many howlers delivered without regard to context, balance or fact to an audience lacking the historical knowledge to spot the many errors.
Wonder if we'll catch that in Media Watch? The kids would seemingly be better off going to wiki. It should be noted that I'm not agreeing with Israel's current tactics. But the ABC, as a state-funded institution, has the right to be unbiased in their reporting. Alternatively, The Australian, being own by Murdoch, does not, but at least I am aware of its biased reporting.
posted by Engels at 9:51 am
4 Comments:
The ABC, at least, apologised for its pro-Hezbollah shilling:
http://timblair.net/ee/index.php/weblog/comments/abc_regrets/
You're right that the ABC has to be impartial - it is a publicly funded broadcaster and its own charter says it has to be politically neutral.
Privately owned media, News Limited, Fairfax, commercial channels, etc, can be as biased as they like, as long as they're open about it. (IMHO)
Indeed. That's the thing that annoyed me with those clown in the pub. I may have agreed with them, but my point was that a public broadcaster should not be biased.
What about JJJ (which I love by the way)? Seems to be biased, although they do take in both sides of the argument. Guess they're just trying to work for the young people..
Old Adam Spencer did have to make a public apology after making some nasty remarks about some politicians a couple of years ago.
I have mixed thoughts about JJJ. Should tax payer dollars pay for them, but if they were privatised, it would be invaded with shit music. Some would argue that has already been happening over the years.
JJJ are catering to their demograph. Still, Behind the News on ABC is a show intended for kids and warping their minds that young is a no-no. Still, doesn't stop certain religious groups...
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