Australian Politics Forum - What are you currently reading?

fezz

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Re: What are you currently reading?
Reply #180 - Jun 1^st, 2014 at 6:07pm

Peter Freedman wrote on Jun 1^st, 2014 at 11:58am:

Have just started Breaking News, Sex and Lies and the Murdoch Success Story by Paul Barry.

Have got far enough for this quote by Pulitzer Prize winner, Mike Royko as he walked out the door of The Chicago Sun Times as Murdoch took it over: "From what I've seen of Murdoch newspapers I don't know of any self respecting fish that would want to be wrapped in one".

PS: 59 other journalists and executives must have thought the same thing as they all left as well!

That looks like a good follow up to the book I'm about to start.

Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Community's Assault On Truth by Mark Howard

The blurb:

When Fox News debuted it was crafted from scratch to be a partisan outlet for right-wing propaganda and a platform for advancing a conservative agenda. Its Internet community web site, Fox Nation, serves as the online gathering place for Fox viewers to absorb and spread the aggregated disinformation and conspiracy theories hatched by Fox News.

The statement of purpose posted on the Fox Nation web site says that it is “committed to the core principles of tolerance, open debate, civil discourse, and fair and balanced coverage of the news.” However, a cursory glance at the site reveals that they have fallen wide of their stated purpose by several light years.

This first volume of Fox Nation vs. Reality is a collection of some of the blatant falsehoods found on Fox Nation. These are not mere differences of opinion or discussions that might have varying degrees of perspective. They are obvious, provable, out and out lies. They are manifestations of a disconnect with the real world. But they are not the result of psychosis or mistake. They are deliberate and purposeful. They are aimed at an ill-informed audience that is only interested in having their prejudices affirmed. And Fox News is only too happy to accommodate them.

In Fox Nation vs. Reality you will find a compilation of articles originally published on the media analysis web site News Corpse. They provide an eye-opening look into the lengths that committed propagandists will go in order to fabricate an alternative political reality. And remember that Fox Nation is not some remote outpost on the Internet Superhighway. It is an integral part of Fox News whose executives are wholly responsible for the stain it produces on journalism.

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Emma

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Re: What are you currently reading?
Reply #181 - Jun 1^st, 2014 at 9:04pm

bogarde73 wrote on Jun 1^st, 2014 at 12:00pm:

Emma, I don't know the books you refer to but I've found that when you come across an author who has written a lot of books with the same characters in them, it has paid to find out the dates of publication and read them in that order.

Quite so Bogie ..that is my usual practice, but this series, with regard to sheer number of works, with several strands , is somewhat akin to umm..

nothing else I have decided to read. Mind you.. I don't often approach reading in this vein... hence my query. If you don't know of the material, you may have missed my point. In any case... thank you for the reply.

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Peter Freedman

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Re: What are you currently reading?
Reply #182 - Jun 5^th, 2014 at 4:13pm

bogarde73 wrote on Jun 1^st, 2014 at 12:04pm:

Peter Freedman wrote on Jun 1^st, 2014 at 11:58am:

Have just started Breaking News, Sex and Lies and the Murdoch Success Story by Paul Barry.

Have got far enough for this quote by Pulitzer Prize winner, Mike Royko as he walked out the door of The Chicago Sun Times as Murdoch took it over: "From what I've seen of Murdoch newspapers I don't know of any self respecting fish that would want to be wrapped in one".

PS: 59 other journalists and executives must have thought the same thing as they all left as well!

But aren't newspapers just a business like any other and therefore the owners are entitled to run it how they like? Within the law of course.

No, they are not. Newspapers are not like any other business. They are the eyes of the people to what is going on in the world.

No other businesses, except, of course radio and TV, have that role.

Murdoch runs ALL his TV stations and newspapers and you see the results. They are constantly mirroring Murdoch's views, biases and political leanings.

That one man should have such power over what people read and see is both dangerous and obscene.

Never once in 25 years as a journo, did I have an owner tell me what to write or how to write it.

Sometimes they would suggest a story but always added: "Pete, you're a good journalist, it's entirely over to you".

Often the suggestion was a good one. When the story appeared, the owner would come into the newsroom holding a copy of the paper and smiling broadly.

It's called "editorial freedom".

Who knows what is news? The owner or an experienced reporter?

It's that simple. But it is also crucial.

It differentiates real newspapers and TV stations from crap like The Australian and Fox News.

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Peter Freedman

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Re: What are you currently reading?
Reply #183 - Jun 5^th, 2014 at 4:35pm

fezz wrote on Jun 1^st, 2014 at 6:07pm:

Peter Freedman wrote on Jun 1^st, 2014 at 11:58am:

Have just started Breaking News, Sex and Lies and the Murdoch Success Story by Paul Barry.

Have got far enough for this quote by Pulitzer Prize winner, Mike Royko as he walked out the door of The Chicago Sun Times as Murdoch took it over: "From what I've seen of Murdoch newspapers I don't know of any self respecting fish that would want to be wrapped in one".

PS: 59 other journalists and executives must have thought the same thing as they all left as well!

That looks like a good follow up to the book I'm about to start.

Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Community's Assault On Truth by Mark Howard

The blurb:

When Fox News debuted it was crafted from scratch to be a partisan outlet for right-wing propaganda and a platform for advancing a conservative agenda. Its Internet community web site, Fox Nation, serves as the online gathering place for Fox viewers to absorb and spread the aggregated disinformation and conspiracy theories hatched by Fox News.

The statement of purpose posted on the Fox Nation web site says that it is “committed to the core principles of tolerance, open debate, civil discourse, and fair and balanced coverage of the news.” However, a cursory glance at the site reveals that they have fallen wide of their stated purpose by several light years.

This first volume of Fox Nation vs. Reality is a collection of some of the blatant falsehoods found on Fox Nation. These are not mere differences of opinion or discussions that might have varying degrees of perspective. They are obvious, provable, out and out lies. They are manifestations of a disconnect with the real world. But they are not the result of psychosis or mistake. They are deliberate and purposeful. They are aimed at an ill-informed audience that is only interested in having their prejudices affirmed. And Fox News is only too happy to accommodate them.

In Fox Nation vs. Reality you will find a compilation of articles originally published on the media analysis web site News Corpse. They provide an eye-opening look into the lengths that committed propagandists will go in order to fabricate an alternative political reality. And remember that Fox Nation is not some remote outpost on the Internet Superhighway. It is an integral part of Fox News whose executives are wholly responsible for the stain it produces on journalism.

Thanks, will go down to the library tomorrow and see if I can track it down.

Have almost finished Barry's book. The lies told by Murdoch, his executives and his offspring are phenomenal.

And the now defunct News of the World and the still existing The Sun are trash almost beyond belief.

The NOTW news editor, Greg Miskiw, is quoted as saying: "This is what we do. We go out and destroy other people's lives".

That's journalism?

No, it's muck raking and The Sun and the NOTW spent thousands of pounds paying private detectives to stake people out, search their bank account details, hack their telephones calls and emails.

It's grubby and disgraceful.

And it's Murdoch.

The Prince of all media bastards!

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Peter Freedman

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Re: What are you currently reading?
Reply #184 - Jun 6^th, 2014 at 12:15pm

Have now started Daddy was a German Spy and other scandals by Brian Edwards.

Edwards may not be known to many Australians, but here he is a household name.

Born in Ireland, educated in Scotland, he came here in 1964 and spent 40 years as a TV commentator and interviewer.

In 1993 he was made Commander of the NZ Order of Merit for his services to broadcasting and journalism.

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Lionel Edriess

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Re: What are you currently reading?
Reply #185 - Jul 12^th, 2014 at 8:16pm

Have just completed re-reading the collected works of Henry Lawson.

I'm saving re-reading Paterson 'til later.

One thing strikes me.

The life, experiences, people, occupations, opportunities, society and infrastructure, of all the things he wrote about - simply don't exist any more.

Some place names are familiar, but that's about it.

It got me thinking.

A lot of restrictions we place on our everyday lives are self-imposed. We just so 'cannot' exist without 'so and so'. Which is all well and good until we admit that we are slaves to modern consumerism.

His chronicles remind us that there is nothing new in hard work, atrocity in war, drug dependence, relationship breakdown, police brutality, mateship, despair.

It's his stoicism that I miss in the Australians I meet, and read about, today.

I think that is the one quality that all those commentators miss when they discuss/dissect the ANZAC thing.

I miss the Australia I used to live in.

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Emma

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Re: What are you currently reading?
Reply #186 - Jul 12^th, 2014 at 9:59pm

Emma wrote on Jun 1^st, 2014 at 9:04pm:

bogarde73 wrote on Jun 1^st, 2014 at 12:00pm:

Emma, I don't know the books you refer to but I've found that when you come across an author who has written a lot of books with the same characters in them, it has paid to find out the dates of publication and read them in that order.

Quite so Bogie ..that is my usual practice, but this series, with regard to sheer number of works, with several strands , is somewhat akin to umm..

nothing else I have decided to read. Mind you.. I don't often approach reading in this vein... hence my query. If you don't know of the material, you may have missed my point. In any case... thank you for the reply.

Well ... what I can I say ... ??

Now, before I go on.. for the info of those not in the know.. The Game Of Thrones... has just become the MOST POPULAR PayTV HBO I think .. EVER... and looks to continue.. The TV Show is based on the huge works of George RR Martin ... and to borrow any of the books in the series from the local library requires huge waiting lists. I imagine the SHOW has revived interest in the novels...

However.. as I have said..earlier, I had decided to re-read the earlier works... which I had caught at the time... and go on to the further masses of these books.

SO OK I did that... but after reading the first 2 tomes... and realising I had already read them.. I scanned the other two tomes in the sequence .. and thought

BUGGER THAT. !! No thank you... tiresome in the extreme... which probably explains why I didn't follow up on them in the past.. Grin

NOT RECOMMENDED.

Now .. currently .
I am about to finish off The Gods of Guilt... by Michael Connelly.

Sorry.. no toffy nosed choices here ..

No aspersions on Henry Lawson..

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Andrei.Hicks Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 23818 Carlsbad, CA Gender:	Re: What are you currently reading? Reply #187 - Jul 12^th, 2014 at 10:04pm Re-reading Frederick Forsyth's The Day of the Jackal. I think probably the best book I have read.
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John Smith Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 75406 Gender:	Re: What are you currently reading? Reply #188 - Jul 12^th, 2014 at 10:05pm Andrei.Hicks wrote on Jul 12^th, 2014 at 10:04pm: Re-reading Frederick Forsyth's The Day of the Jackal. I think probably the best book I have read. loved it ......
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Lionel Edriess Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 1932 Gender:	Re: What are you currently reading? Reply #189 - Jul 12^th, 2014 at 10:06pm Emma wrote on Jul 12^th, 2014 at 9:59pm: No aspersions on Henry Lawson.. None taken. Have you ever heard of King's 'Gunslinger' series? A bit future/scifi but a huge change from his usual horror genre. Great read. Maybe it stems from the time he got run over while jogging?
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Lionel Edriess Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 1932 Gender:	Re: What are you currently reading? Reply #190 - Jul 12^th, 2014 at 10:12pm Andrei.Hicks wrote on Jul 12^th, 2014 at 10:04pm: Re-reading Frederick Forsyth's The Day of the Jackal. ... I remember seeing the movie aeons ago - probably very dated now. Always liked Edward Fox as an actor though. Always gave me the impression of tightly wound and surprisingly capable.
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Emma

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Re: What are you currently reading?
Reply #191 - Jul 12^th, 2014 at 10:44pm

Lionel Edriess wrote on Jul 12^th, 2014 at 10:06pm:

Emma wrote on Jul 12^th, 2014 at 9:59pm:

No aspersions on Henry Lawson..

None taken.

Have you ever heard of King's 'Gunslinger' series? A bit future/scifi but a huge change from his usual horror genre. Great read.

Maybe it stems from the time he got run over while jogging?

Cool

Err definitely.. and the Dark Tower series.. wasn't that ? in a way tied in to the Gunslinger..

Gawd I 've read so many of those King Novels... I tend to go elsewhere now for a bit o horror.... names are numerous...

Can't go past Koontz.. e.g. altho.. like King... they become formulaic... still... it is the ideas

Agree The Day of the Jackal was excellent... there were many many authors of that era and before ..that bear reading.
Who wrote 'the Eiger Sanction' ? now that author wrote some exciting stuff... all pre... mobile phones tho..

It is sadly impossible for me to read all that I would like to. Except in some exciting science fiction/future scenario

happy reading..

...

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Emma Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 9853 OZ Gender:	Re: What are you currently reading? Reply #192 - Jul 15^th, 2014 at 11:28pm now I'm reading a Jack Reacher novel... by LEE CHILDS Never Go Back. I'd love a friend like Reacher. But.. did you see the movie..?? I wouldn't even bother.. what a joke.. Tom Cruise,... If it wasn't a massive flop it should have been...I mean really.. That man has an ego twice the size of his body.
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Annie Anthrax Gold Member Offline Take the plan, spin it sideways Posts: 7057 Gender:	Re: What are you currently reading? Reply #193 - Jul 17^th, 2014 at 7:58pm I've just finished 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' which I absolutely loved and have just started 'Deliverance.' So far, so good. Next on my list is Huxley's 'Brave New World.'
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Emma

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Re: What are you currently reading?
Reply #194 - Jul 17^th, 2014 at 8:15pm

Annie Anthrax wrote on Jul 17^th, 2014 at 7:58pm:

I've just finished 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' which I absolutely loved and have just started 'Deliverance.'

So far, so good.

Next on my list is Huxley's 'Brave New World.'

Yes I read Deliverance many yrs (decades) ago ...scary stuff... the movie was pretty good actually..

Brave New World..... again.. read many yrs ago... but definitely worth it.

Have you read Animal House..? by Hmm jeez there goes the memory.

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