Call for Rupert Murdoch to support carbon price
Murdoch’s papers here, especially The Australian, seem to have gone off the rails. …It seems it’s OK for Rupert to support a price on carbon with his $6 billion wealth but not for Cate….
Rupert Murdoch should lead climate change fight | Crikey Dick Smith: Rupert, come back to Oz, we need you 30 May “…….. Today I am asking Rupert Murdoch to come back to Australia and give us some much needed leadership.
Whilst most of my wealthy colleagues deny that humans can be affecting climate, this is what Rupert says:
“Climate change poses clear catastrophic threats. We may not agree on the extent, but we certainly can’t afford the risk of inaction. We must transform the way we use energy of course — and not only because of climate change.” Continue reading
Propaganda against Cate Blanchett over carbon tax
…….recently, Essential asked about trust in political coverage. Commercial radio was again the least trusted medium, with only 40% of voters saying they trusted it all or a lot, fewer than the 48% who said they had no trust or only a little trust. Newspapers fared better — 53% trusted them, better than commercial television, but still a distant third behind the ABC and SBS.If the Herald Sun and commercial radio think they’re reflecting community concerns, the community doesn’t appear to agree. ….
Cate Blanchett carbon ad controversy – Carbon Cate and News Limited | Crikey
Australia’s democracy weakened by monopoly mass media
Concentrated media ownership: a crisis for democracy, Independent Australia, David Donovan, Australian mass media is concentrated into the hands of a very small number of proprietors. For example, 11 of the 12 major newspapers in Australia are owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation or John Fairfax Holdings. In fact, Murdoch bestrides the Australian media landscape like a colossus—NewsCorp owns 8 of that 12, and also dominate the regional and suburban newspaper publishing industry, as well as owning a major slice of Foxtel.
The Australian people have less different voices to use upon which to make their decisions than almost any other place in the free world. And Rupert Murdoch is happy to wield his overwhelming power……Despite Australian media ownership being amongst the most concentrated in the world, at the behest of powerful proprietors, successive Australian Governments have gradually further relaxed media ownership rules….
With the extra demands placed on the dwindling number of main-stream journalists, they are increasingly reaching for stage managed events and press releases to create their stories. Pew reported that a staggering 86 per cent of stories were produced by power, with only 14% of stories resulting from actual journalism—research, investigation, interviewing sources, digging, et al.
We get most of our news from PR companies. Whilst journalism has declined, career opportunities within the public relations industry have boomed……Democracy is at stake, but the people in power aren’t listening because they are very happy with the way they can easily dominate the news cycle. Pew’s research showed that 63 per cent of stories came directly from Government officials…….http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/democracy/concentrated-media-ownership-a-crisis-for-democracy/
Australia’s “Murdochracy” and the grab of Aboriginal land
The Murdoch press has been the most lurid and vociferous in promoting the “intervention”, which a United Nations special rapporteur has condemned for its racial discrimination….There is an old-fashioned colonial grab of mineral-rich land in the Northern Territory
How the Murdoch press keeps Australia’s dirty secret , New Statesman, John Pilger 12 May 2011 News Corp papers across the world propagate the myth that prejudice has no effect on the lives of modern-day Aboriginal people n his native land, Australia, Murdoch controls 70 per cent of the capital city press. Continue reading
Uranium miner Paladin blames the media for uranium shares crash
Uranium miner slams nuclear ‘media frenzy’, ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Elysse Morgan Mar 17, 2011 The chief executive of one of Australia’s biggest uranium miners, Paladin, has slammed the media and share traders for their treatment of nuclear focused businesses in the wake of the Japanese earthquake.Shares in the company plunged 33 per cent in trade over Monday and Tuesday, recovered a little on Wednesday and are now on the slide again, down 6.8 per cent to $3.45 by 3:25pm (AEDT).Paladin’s chief executive John Borshoff says uranium centred businesses have become a sideshow to the Japanese crisis….Uranium miner slams nuclear ‘media frenzy’ – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Crikey’s Graham Readfern refutes climate sceptic Lord Monckton
the core of what sceptics such as Monckton wish to achieve in their ideologically-driven and fossil-fuel backed quest (including Exxon funding). That mission is to spread doubt and it is being aided by our only national newspaper The Australian.
Is The Australian addicted to Monckton’s denial? January 28, 2011 , Crikey, Graham Readfearn His choice of the Gershwin song It Ain’t Necessarily So was unfortunate, if not a little ironic. Continue reading
THE AUSTRALIAN spruiks nuke plants for Australia
The pre-eminent voice in the Australian debate, Ziggy Switkowski, chairman of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, believes Australia can have its first reactor operating by 2020 and 50 in place by 2050, providing 90 per cent of the nation’s energy needs….
Nuclear option our safest bet Josh Frydenberg The Australian January 26, 2011 “……Minister for Energy and Resources, Martin Ferguson, an outspoken proponent of nuclear energy, is in Washington this week for talks with US Energy Secretary Steven Chu…. as a clean form of energy, nuclear power is better for the environment….
Hard to get serious articles on climate change in THE AUSTRALIAN
the difficulties of having stories published [in THE AUSTRALIAN] about climate change because of the attitude of and pressure from senior editors at the paper.
The ‘torture’ of writing about climate change at The Oz, Crikey, by Andrew Dodd 26 Nov 10 A former senior News Limited journalist has described trying to write about human-induced climate change at The Australian newspaper as “torture” and has blamed the editor-in-chief for limiting coverage on the topic because he has “taken a political view”. Continue reading
Failing nuclear industry is on subsidised life support
In no deregulated energy market, anywhere in the world, is the private sector putting up its own money to build nuclear power stations. The industry remains on subsidised life support everywhere and is making headway only in a tiny handful of countries with state ownership of generators and command and control energy networks.
Nowhere is this more true than in the new markets of China, Russia and India – nuclear weapons states – all of which the Australian mining industry is desperate to access. Continue reading
Murdochracy and Lobbyocracy Australia
Major Elephant In The Room Issues Ignored In Australian Elections, Countercurrents.org By Dr Gideon Polya, 24 August, 2010
An extraordinary feature of the election campaign in Murdochcracy and Lobbyocracy Australia was the virtual absence of any discussion about the most serious issues facing Australia .
The major reasons for reasons for this are (a) Murdoch News Empire ownership of about 70% of city daily newspapers; (b) a spineless and irresponsible Australian Broadcasting Corporation (the ABC, Australia’s equivalent of the UK BBC) which adopts a “balanced “ position between extreme right wing Labor and extreme right wing Liberal-National Party Coalition; and (c) Mainstream media and bipartisan, Lib-Lab refusal to properly discuss these key Elephant in the Room issues…… major matters that were effectively not part of the national discussion in the Australian federal elections because of the ignorance and dishonesty of the Australian Mainstream media and right wing politicians. Major Elephant In The Room Issues Ignored In Australian Elections
A noisy minority: Australia’s Climate Sceptics
It seems that the opinions of a noisy minority have been amplified by the media because of a love of conflict, the need to promote a false balance and partisan zealotry (the last one refers to you, Mr The Australian).
Australian politicians overestimate the electorate’s skepticism about global warming : Deltoid, August 14, 2010 , by Tim Lambert The University of Queensland has surveyed Australian politicianson their attitude to climate change: “Labor politicians are more influenced by scientists than Liberal/National politicians – 85 per cent of Labor politicians are highly influenced by this group compared to 44 per cent of Liberal/National politicians,” Dr Fielding said. Continue reading
Australian mainstream media’s pro-nuclear bias
by Christina Macpherson 8 April 2010. Yesterday’ s National Press Club Debate between Ziggy Spinowski, (pro-nuclear) and Bob Brown (anti-nuclear) was duly reported by Australia’s mainstream media.
And all these reports covered both points of view, both arguments.
BUT – look how the mainstream media chose to headline these. You wouldn’t know that Bob Brown was even there, would you?
Ziggy Switkowski: we need nuclear power for climate – THE AUSTRALIAN
Nuclear power ‘won’t fuel arms race’ ABC Online The head of Australia’s nuclear science agency has rejected claims that nuclear power in Australia could lead to nuclear weapons in the region. (surprise, surprise!)
Nuclear technology safer than coal shipping: chief Sydney Morning Herald AN AUSTRALIAN nuclear power industry would bring little risk of an environmental disaster such as the potential oil spill on the Great Barrier Reef, Ziggy Switkowski says.
Nuclear shift ‘likely’ The Age Nuclear energy advocate Ziggy Switkowski says he expects the public mood to shift in favour of nuclear in the next three years.
Press Club enjoys light Climate Change entertainment
few understand the role of the Press Club as a third chamber of parliament.
Disbelieving fans put faith in the lord The Age DAVID MARR February 4, 2010 THE THIRD CHAMBER:
What an Australian scene – a scrubbed, white crowd hanging off a viscount’s every word. Rank was everything at the Press Club. “Lord … lord … lord,” intoned Ian Plimer as he introduced fellow climate sceptic Christopher Monckton. “My Lords,” began the visiting peer with a wry smile. “That’s me …” Continue reading
Australian media lets the public down on Climate Change
This week – disturbing examples of two serious flaws in Australian mass media.:
1. Failure of journalists to do their homework. The two items below both illustrate this. Neither Fran Kelly of ABC Radio, nor Miranda Devine (The Age) bothered toask Lord Monckton any of the hard questions – about his own credibility as a scientist, or challenging his statements on Climate Change.
2. Not only does the mass`media seem to believe that they must give equal weight to ‘both sides’ of a story – this week they’ve gone further – not bothering to invite Australia’s scientific institutions to give their information on climate change.
It’s a worrying trend, when views like those of Lord Monckton are taken seriously by reputable journalists – (Climate Change as a front for a world-government conspiracy equal to Nazism)
Bizarre anti-science Climate Sceptics go unchallenged in Australian media
Fifty metres from where I sit at the ANU, 300 meteorologists and oceanographers are listening to the latest research on climate change at the annual conference of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society.
But you wouldn’t know it. Instead of sending someone over to hear what the scientists are saying, Radio National this morning decided to give over its program to a charlatan, Lord Monckton, who expounded unchallenged his bizarre theories.
He earnestly told Fran Kelly on Radio National that decades of climate science research could not be believed because the scientists are being paid by governments and governments want to cede national sovereignty to a “world government”. Continue reading
1 This month
Help Aunty Sue Protect Her Land and Sacred Sites From Destructive Rocket Testing.
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Australians deserve the truth
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AUKUS – https://aukuspublicinquiry.com/
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
