http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s3960480.htm


Quote:

Here’s the letters column in the Weekend Australian two Saturdays ago. Mark Scott and Stephen Conroy may seem like strange bedfellows, but they share one characteristic in common with many who combine ambition with acute self-belief. Both refuse to utter the word sorry. — The Weekend Australian, 1-2 March, 2014 It was a familiar riff on a favourite tune. But to one man it sounded a little off key. Because the printed letter didn’t match the version Peter Farrell of Monarto had emailed to the paper. Here’s the original. See if you can spot the difference. Sorry trio Mark Scott, Stephen Conroy and John Howard may seem like strange bedfellows. But they share one characteristic, in common with many who combine soaring ambition with acute self-belief. All refuse to utter the word "sorry". — Peter Ferrell, Email to the Australian, 28th February, 2014

Tongue firmly in cheek with the thread title.  ;)

If anyone wants further proof that News Limited is biased, here it is. The reasons given for editing out Howard's name? He left Parliament a few years ago. This reason is rather specious and cannot possibly be the real reason - which is, to keep pushing the right-wing agenda.

I do not recall anyone saying that News Ltd wasnt biased...or Fairfax for that matter..

the difference being..they are not funded out of taxpayers money...

as for leaving out something from the letter pages you will find most newpapers disclose that they will alter letters at their discretion.

its the risk one takes...wow saying sorry is a BIG THING with lefties isnt it?.


Scott and Conroy I know what they did..

what did Howard do to have to say sorry for???>.

::) ::) ::) ::)

maybe the AUstralian didnt think he had to say sorry for something he didnt do either.

cods wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2014 at 12:06pm:

I do not recall anyone saying that News Ltd wasnt biased...or Fairfax for that matter.. the difference being..they are not funded out of taxpayers money... as for leaving out something from the letter pages you will find most newpapers disclose that they will alter letters at their discretion.

This may be done for space reasons. Misrepresenting the views of a letter writer to comply with the blatant political leanings of Head Office is another. And why did the Australian editor tell lies when his misfeasance was exposed? What is he hiding? The Australian does not like to admit that the Australian is a loss-making propaganda arm to peddle Murdoch's right-wing views and push the Liberal party agenda.


Quote:

its the risk one takes...wow saying sorry is a BIG THING with lefties isnt it?.

It must be an even bigger thing with the right if this sloppy attempt to delete Howard's reticence for apology from a letter is any indication. As if it's an affront to remind people that the right-wing also sin.

cods wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2014 at 12:06pm:

I do not recall anyone saying that News Ltd wasnt biased...or Fairfax for that matter.. the difference being..they are not funded out of taxpayers money... as for leaving out something from the letter pages you will find most newpapers disclose that they will alter letters at their discretion. its the risk one takes...wow saying sorry is a BIG THING with lefties isnt it?. Scott and Conroy I know what they did.. what did Howard do to have to say sorry for???>. ::) ::) ::) ::) maybe the AUstralian didnt think he had to say sorry for something he didnt do either.

Bias is one thing ~ completely changeing the thrust of a "letter to the Editor" with a very clear and intended edit, is quite another.  This issue was discussed in a recent Media Watch segment.  The Australian first tried to blow it away by claiming some sort of error.......but, given there needed more than just the deletion of Howard's name to arrive at the published product ~ they then tried on the "Howard is no longer in Politics," crap.

The Fairfax Herald has degenerated into a left wing Tabloid rag.

Good for one thing but its not reading.

red baron wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2014 at 1:07pm:

The Fairfax Herald has degenerated into a left wing Tabloid rag. Good for one thing but its not reading.

Well, no. I've found the opposite to be the case, it seems to be sliding slowly (but accelerating) to the right.

It is certainly not exercising due-diligence on this shambles of a 'government'.

On your second point, however, I agree totally.

News.com is a funny site.  It's so comically biased, It could genuinely be mistaken for a parody.  However, it's not always things you'd consider "right wing".

Yahoo is even more of a laugh.  Who owns that?

AT&T owns yahoo, the parent company anyway.

Dumb thread alert. As cods pointed out' who the hell said they werent bias' just like ur poorly subscibed leftwing media.

Oh' thats the gripe. Poorly subscribed. Tip. Leave the left agenda behind if yoy want people to read ur media.

progressiveslol wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2014 at 5:02pm:

Dumb thread alert. As cods pointed out' who the hell said they werent bias' just like ur poorly subscibed leftwing media. Oh' thats the gripe. Poorly subscribed. Tip. Leave the left agenda behind if yoy want people to read ur media.

Another tip: Maybe they could start telling the truth again if they want readers.

Because they certainly are not doing so at present.

Kat wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2014 at 5:07pm:

progressiveslol wrote on Mar 23rd, 2014 at 5:02pm: Dumb thread alert. As cods pointed out' who the hell said they werent bias' just like ur poorly subscibed leftwing media. Oh' thats the gripe. Poorly subscribed. Tip. Leave the left agenda behind if yoy want people to read ur media. Another tip: Maybe they could start telling the truth again if they want readers. Because they certainly are not doing so at present.

You give the people what they want.
Their readership levels show they do that Kat.

Personally I don't care if they are biased or not.

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2014 at 5:52pm:

Kat wrote on Mar 23rd, 2014 at 5:07pm: progressiveslol wrote on Mar 23rd, 2014 at 5:02pm: Dumb thread alert. As cods pointed out' who the hell said they werent bias' just like ur poorly subscibed leftwing media. Oh' thats the gripe. Poorly subscribed. Tip. Leave the left agenda behind if yoy want people to read ur media. Another tip: Maybe they could start telling the truth again if they want readers. Because they certainly are not doing so at present. You give the people what they want. Their readership levels show they do that Kat. Personally I don't care if they are biased or not.

Ultimately, neither do I.  But what say ye about direct proof of editorial dishonesty?  Ought we, as a Society, continue to allow  a claimed 'Freedom of the Press' especially after the 'News of the World' disgrace (and that is yet to be revealed in all its ugliness) and this incident of quite deliberate 'political' (as opposed to fixing a typo or grammar and the like) tampering with a 'Letter to the Editor?'  Further, is there any common link between the two rags which the entire Planet has missed, Andrei?  Huh?

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2014 at 5:52pm:

Kat wrote on Mar 23rd, 2014 at 5:07pm: progressiveslol wrote on Mar 23rd, 2014 at 5:02pm: Dumb thread alert. As cods pointed out' who the hell said they werent bias' just like ur poorly subscibed leftwing media. Oh' thats the gripe. Poorly subscribed. Tip. Leave the left agenda behind if yoy want people to read ur media. Another tip: Maybe they could start telling the truth again if they want readers. Because they certainly are not doing so at present. You give the people what they want. Their readership levels show they do that Kat. Personally I don't care if they are biased or not.

Nor I, really, insofar as they affect me personally, as I stopped sourcing my
news from the MSM long ago.

But as far as accurately providing news, they are failing badly.

And the people should be demanding better of them, not clamouring for more
of the same diversionary trivia, opinion-pieces, and out-and-out BS.

The Murdoch Press cannot really be confused why they are under intense scrutiny.  They deserve to be!  They constitute the most obvious Threat to 'Freedom of the Press' ever since the Press gave themselves that liberty.

1.  'News of the World.'
2.  Pissy I know in the overall scheme of things.....but ~ still true ~ the subject of this Thread.
3.  This utter disgrace for which Murdoch's Courier Mail will be sentenced next week.

(In case you do not know about an embedded link......click on the words in red.)

Oh rubbish  here we go another bogus topic....  out with the tin-hats people another Rupert Conspiranut Conspiracy.
He own less than 30% of the newsprint media in Australia
Gee I wonder what the other 70% print?

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2014 at 5:52pm:

Kat wrote on Mar 23rd, 2014 at 5:07pm: progressiveslol wrote on Mar 23rd, 2014 at 5:02pm: Dumb thread alert. As cods pointed out' who the hell said they werent bias' just like ur poorly subscibed leftwing media. Oh' thats the gripe. Poorly subscribed. Tip. Leave the left agenda behind if yoy want people to read ur media. Another tip: Maybe they could start telling the truth again if they want readers. Because they certainly are not doing so at present. You give the people what they want. Their readership levels show they do that Kat. Personally I don't care if they are biased or not.

Their readership levels are predominately due to their focus on sport, entertainment and sensationalism of topics. 

It has very little to do with whether what they "report" is accurate or not, and just because we have freedom of the press does not give them the right to manipulate and lie.  There's this thing called ethics, and ethics suggests that news ltd has a responsibility to report truthfully.

As for the dumb comments about it being okay for them to be biased, that's nonsense.  They have a responsibility to provide fair and commentary to keep their reader informed.  They should not act as a propaganda machine for their interested parties.  Same goes for fairfax.

The very fact people think it's okay gives rise to the need for proper regulation and only strengthens that argument; without me necessary agreeing with it.

Grendel wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2014 at 7:25pm:

Oh rubbish  here we go another bogus topic....  out with the tin-hats people another Rupert Conspiranut Conspiracy. He own less than 30% of the newsprint media in Australia Gee I wonder what the other 70% print?

1.  Where do you get your 30% figure from?  Bolt?
2.  Murdoch is the common factor in 'News of the World,' a crappy yet telling editorial manipulation  of "Letter to the Editor," and a Newspaper about to be sentenced for a flagrant and utterly disgraceful breach of Australian Federal Legislation.

Is there any wonder his Papers attract the crabs no matter what % he has?

Aussie wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2014 at 7:56pm:

Grendel wrote on Mar 23rd, 2014 at 7:25pm: Oh rubbish  here we go another bogus topic....  out with the tin-hats people another Rupert Conspiranut Conspiracy. He own less than 30% of the newsprint media in Australia Gee I wonder what the other 70% print? 1.  Where do you get your 30% figure from?  Bolt? 2.  Murdoch is the common factor in 'News of the World,' a crappy yet telling editorial manipulation  of "Letter to the Editor," and a Newspaper about to be sentenced for a flagrant and utterly disgraceful breach of Australian Federal Legislation. Is there any wonder his Papers attract the crabs no matter what % he has?

While he may be factually correct, most of the other newspapers, non Fairfax/News Corp, are small local papers, if you look at the big national papers, the game changes dramatically.


Quote:

Among capital city and national daily newspapers, which are by far the most influential in setting the news agenda, News Corporation titles accounted for 65% of circulation in 2011. Fairfax Media, the next biggest publisher, controlled just 25%. Those figures may have shifted slightly since then, but there is no doubt that News Corp Australia is our most dominant player - as academic Matthew Ricketson pointed out in The Conversation’s media panel blog, it owns 14 of our 21 metro daily and Sunday newspapers.

https://theconversation.com/factcheck-does-murdoch-own-70-of-newspapers-in-australia-16812

Just like Bolt....he is factually correct if you warp the facts.  You have picked up the relevant point very well.  Grendel knew that, which is why he did not attempt a reponse.  He and (his source) Bolt are quite happy to distort things.

Aussie wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2014 at 8:49pm:

Just like Bolt....he is factually correct if you warp the facts.  You have picked up the relevant point very well.  Grendel knew that, which is why he did not attempt a reponse.  He and (his source) Bolt are quite happy to distort things.

Yes, statistics need context or they are meaningless. ;)

Aussie wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2014 at 7:56pm:

Grendel wrote on Mar 23rd, 2014 at 7:25pm: Oh rubbish  here we go another bogus topic....  out with the tin-hats people another Rupert Conspiranut Conspiracy. He own less than 30% of the newsprint media in Australia Gee I wonder what the other 70% print? 1.  Where do you get your 30% figure from?  Bolt? Nope... try google it aint hard. 2.  Murdoch is the common factor in 'News of the World,' a crappy yet telling editorial manipulation  of "Letter to the Editor," and a Newspaper about to be sentenced for a flagrant and utterly disgraceful breach of Australian Federal Legislation. Murdoch doesn't run countries or elections. Is there any wonder his Papers attract the crabs no matter what % he has?  Was that a stupid statement?

Quote:

Newspapers Fairfax publishes the second most circulated daily papers in both Melbourne and Sydney, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald respectively. It also publishes a daily business tabloid, The Australian Financial Review. Fairfax also owns papers in major regional centres, including the Illawarra Mercury (Wollongong), The Newcastle Herald (Newcastle), The Border Mail (Albury-Wodonga), The Warrnambool Standard (Warrnambool), The Courier (Ballarat) and The Bendigo Advertiser (Bendigo). In addition, its subsidiary Fairfax Community Newspapers publishes 35 community newspapers serving suburban Victoria and New South Wales. As a result of its Rural Press acquisition, Fairfax has taken control of many newspapers including The Canberra Times and The Land.

If you add to that it's digital services and all the services attached to the ABC, tv, radio etc...  you'll find that quite a large audience.  not to mention Channel 10 is quite Left leaning these days even though it has picked up Bolt apparently Aussies favourite show to balance out The Project and its News service.  Hardly equitable, but hey, who said they had to be fair or unbiased.

Grendel wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2014 at 9:55pm:

Quote: Newspapers Fairfax publishes the second most circulated daily papers in both Melbourne and Sydney, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald respectively. It also publishes a daily business tabloid, The Australian Financial Review. Fairfax also owns papers in major regional centres, including the Illawarra Mercury (Wollongong), The Newcastle Herald (Newcastle), The Border Mail (Albury-Wodonga), The Warrnambool Standard (Warrnambool), The Courier (Ballarat) and The Bendigo Advertiser (Bendigo). In addition, its subsidiary Fairfax Community Newspapers publishes 35 community newspapers serving suburban Victoria and New South Wales. As a result of its Rural Press acquisition, Fairfax has taken control of many newspapers including The Canberra Times and The Land. If you add to that it's digital services and all the services attached to the ABC, tv, radio etc...  you'll find that quite a large audience.  not to mention Channel 10 is quite Left leaning these days even though it has picked up Bolt apparently Aussies favourite show to balance out The Project and its News service.  Hardly equitable, but hey, who said they had to be fair or unbiased.

Your highlighted shows the "damn statistics" again with no context.
"News Corporation titles accounted for 65% of circulation in 2011. Fairfax Media, the next biggest publisher, controlled just 25%."

Without context the stats are meaningless.

Setanta wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2014 at 10:09pm:

Grendel wrote on Mar 23rd, 2014 at 9:55pm: Quote: Newspapers Fairfax publishes the second most circulated daily papers in both Melbourne and Sydney, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald respectively. It also publishes a daily business tabloid, The Australian Financial Review. Fairfax also owns papers in major regional centres, including the Illawarra Mercury (Wollongong), The Newcastle Herald (Newcastle), The Border Mail (Albury-Wodonga), The Warrnambool Standard (Warrnambool), The Courier (Ballarat) and The Bendigo Advertiser (Bendigo). In addition, its subsidiary Fairfax Community Newspapers publishes 35 community newspapers serving suburban Victoria and New South Wales. As a result of its Rural Press acquisition, Fairfax has taken control of many newspapers including The Canberra Times and The Land. If you add to that it's digital services and all the services attached to the ABC, tv, radio etc...  you'll find that quite a large audience.  not to mention Channel 10 is quite Left leaning these days even though it has picked up Bolt apparently Aussies favourite show to balance out The Project and its News service.  Hardly equitable, but hey, who said they had to be fair or unbiased. Your highlighted shows the "damn statistics" again with no context. "News Corporation titles accounted for 65% of circulation in 2011. Fairfax Media, the next biggest publisher, controlled just 25%." Without context the stats are meaningless.

Google it...  I did.
I didn't find it meaningless, but hey I don't have a conspiratorial bone in me.

Quote:

Google it...  I did.

Good.  Show us the links, please.

Grendel wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2014 at 10:13pm:

Setanta wrote on Mar 23rd, 2014 at 10:09pm: Grendel wrote on Mar 23rd, 2014 at 9:55pm: Quote: Newspapers Fairfax publishes the second most circulated daily papers in both Melbourne and Sydney, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald respectively. It also publishes a daily business tabloid, The Australian Financial Review. Fairfax also owns papers in major regional centres, including the Illawarra Mercury (Wollongong), The Newcastle Herald (Newcastle), The Border Mail (Albury-Wodonga), The Warrnambool Standard (Warrnambool), The Courier (Ballarat) and The Bendigo Advertiser (Bendigo). In addition, its subsidiary Fairfax Community Newspapers publishes 35 community newspapers serving suburban Victoria and New South Wales. As a result of its Rural Press acquisition, Fairfax has taken control of many newspapers including The Canberra Times and The Land. If you add to that it's digital services and all the services attached to the ABC, tv, radio etc...  you'll find that quite a large audience.  not to mention Channel 10 is quite Left leaning these days even though it has picked up Bolt apparently Aussies favourite show to balance out The Project and its News service.  Hardly equitable, but hey, who said they had to be fair or unbiased. Your highlighted shows the "damn statistics" again with no context. "News Corporation titles accounted for 65% of circulation in 2011. Fairfax Media, the next biggest publisher, controlled just 25%." Without context the stats are meaningless. Google it...  I did. I didn't find it meaningless, but hey I don't have a conspiratorial bone in me.

The point I was making, and I'm sure it was clear, is that saying "second most circulated" makes it sound substantial when in fact it's a significant drop from 65% for NC vs 25% for FF. Just saying "second most circulated" without context is misleading.

So you're just ignoring as usual the point I made...  good-o. ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)

Oh and BTW as that really a right winger you say I am... I support Lock The Gate 100%