Thanks to the Melbourne Press Club for the video of the Melbourne Writers Festival’s New News panel – Australian Media Leaders Held to Account:
Mark Scott (Managing Director, ABC), Greg Hywood (CEO, Fairfax Media) and Sophie Black (Editor, Crikey)
It was my privilege to represent Our Say members who voted for my question and a place on the panel.
A highlight was meeting Maxine McKew who chaired the session in her usual professional and relaxing manner.
And a special thank you to all the Café Whisperers who encouraged and supported me. It was a hoot!
Café Whispers 
Well done Kevin, we’re very proud of you.
I second what Min said, well done Kevin, we’re all very proud of you.
It’s a great team effort. It also shows the power of new media especially latte sippers et al.
Ironically, I’m a subscriber to The Age (the St Kilda members $99 p.a.) Crikey’s newsletter and wake to our Fran at the ABC most mornings.
Saw a number of News Ltd speakers at other fora. Glad I don’t part with any readies for their publications. Even George Megalogenis was disappointing and defensive/denialist of his bosses culture.
…..and how is the one term wonder Maxine?
How is Maxine who defeated a sitting Prime Minister. Not only lost the election but lost his own seat…
Min, Maxine did exactly what she set out to do…. she dumped the rodent 😀
Maxine is great and doing great as always. A professional to the end and doing more for this country in defeat than Howard is, whose just being his nasty little narking self sniping from the sidelines egging on his mindless automaton Negabore Abbott.
McKew positive.
Howard negative.
Good stuff Rennie and even in this there are the contraverts and fractious who cannot see the smallest bit of positivism in something that was constructive.
Congratulations, Kevin. We’re proud of you. It must have been great to meet Maxine McKew.
…. and it took a short term for Bennelong residents to wake up to Maxine and labor.
How is it you guys aren’t getting the picture.
The “government” just ain’t listening to the voters.
Poh, when the main stream media are refusing to inform the public about any of the 188 pieces of legislation passed since Last August, instead reporting on every word uttered by Tony Abbott, any fool can see that they want a change of government and that is a threat to our democracy !!
Think about the hundreds of opinion pieces that fill the pages, 99% of which are negative for Labor and positive for the Coalition.
Murdoch rags are by far the worst offenders and the world knows how his organisation works !
Here’s a voter who can see straight through Sir Liealot and his Knights of the Mendacious Table. I’d list his lies, but I don’t think I’ve got that long to live.
I must admit that I was surprised Maxine lost her seat. She didn’t really do much wrong but suffered from the media inspired campaign against the Labor Government.
Pip. Labor has screwed up since Rudd kicked off in 2007. They wander around with this orgasmic warm inner glow that the left and greens are inflicted with. The voters just want the country to be run properly.
Rudd and Gillard just keep loading up the political smorgasbord for the press and Abbott.
Abbott has been text book opposition. Pick on the faults of the government. At the end of the day Pip democracy is very safe in Australia. Everyone has the right to listen, read, consider and then make a decision. For me? The decision since 2007 has been a no brainer. Labor and greens live outside the firelight.
….. and it looks like more than 60% of voters agree with me.
Don’t talk press rubbish. All the press groups see and report on Labor’s debacles. Fair Dinkum. How could anyone miss all the cockups.
So TomM and elgordo are quiet so Poh and the Fair dinkum and cockups appear.
Poh do you know where Milne is hiding, is he under your stool?
Abbott will go down as the worst Leader of the Opposition in history having accomplished nothing during his term except a big bag of NOs. All politicians are elected to represent their constituents and saying No to everything instead of putting forward Amendments to make improvements is treating the Australian people with distain.
It shows just how bad the Liberals are that they can only get ahead in the polls on lies, deceits, distortions and the trashing of our democracy, and only then with the full aid of most of our media.
They are so bereft of ideas, policies, lucidity, logic, morality and decency they can only resort to negativities to get any traction whatsover, even if this means trashing their once great party.
That their mindless zombie supporters fully endorse and encourage this downward spiral into the drains says more about them than it does about the government they deride for no real reason other than to ape their gormless leader.
They look no further than the constant string of failures and broken promises of the Liberal State leaders to see where Abbott will lead them and worse. Of course they will come out making excuses and blame Labor and everything else for the failures, just as they did for all of Howard’s failures, or they will sweep them under the carpet.
As the wave of shootings in Sydney’s West increase what was O’Farrell’s response, especially in light of when he was in opposition he blamed every shot on NSW Labor’s failure in law and order?
Why O’Farrell did exactly what the previous Labor State government did, call for people to come forward who had witnessed anything.
So where are the constant headlines and beatups on O’Farrell’s law and order failure? Nowhere of course and he is put into a positive light as taking action when he’s doing nothing of the sort.
If O’Farrell keeps failing the way he is then he will more than likely be a two term government and NSW will see another decade plus of Labor in power.
“It shows just how bad the Liberals are that they can only get ahead in the polls on lies, deceits, distortions and the trashing of our democracy, and only then with the full aid of most of our media.”
Yes, I know that certain RWDB’s scoff at the ‘media is to blame’ line, but it must have a fair amount of truth to it when hte media themselves are blaming the media
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2861686.html
The other reasons given, alone, could not explain the situation the Government find themselves in now.
Sure, they have made mistakes, we all do. Without the media therre to expand every mistake, while at the same time making up a lot along the way, it really wouldn’t cut through.
Sure, the opposition is playing a pathetic, childish and quite stupid game. Without the media there to barrack it on and give it legs, it would all come to nothing
Sure, the Government has been dealt a cruel hand by the gods, but they have in fact managed through it surprisingly well, although, you wouldn’t know that is you relied on the media to feed you what they reckon. (last nights piss weak ulman show is a case in point)
It all comes back to the one thing, the media is controlling the perceptions, and that is not what the media should be doing.
Mr. Wilkie has been in some discussion with the Liberals regarding preferences at the next election.
RN ABC Local Radio. 9.15
I am listening to ABC local radio., I am listening to some stupid journalist saying we have a choice about what work we do.
He said he could choose to work in the mines and earn more money.
He makes the assumption that anyone without a job or on low income also has that choice.
I have news for that bloke, what makes him think he would get work in the mines. It is not as easy as many make out.
Poh, if the cockups that are the attribute to Labor are the worse that they do, I believe we have had successful government.
There are two main ones that are still used as an example years later. Pink bats and BER. Both have been cleared in numerous investigations.
Surely if Labor was so bad, we would have new examples being espoused by he media and the Opposition.
What we have is dirt, that has been discarded in the past from up to sixteen years ago being recycled. Dirt, that even the Australia has declared to be false.
Not a perfect government but one that is no way as bad as depicted by the Opposition and Media.
We have Menzies House peddling more dubious information today. Not exactly a disinterested source.
Poh, I forgot to add that the two examples occurred in the Stimulus Package that saved thousands of jobs and businesses. It eased our way though a global economic disaster.
Poh, instead of parrotting Sir Liealot’s talking points, how about listing the so-called stuff ups and we’ll provide you with a list of legislation passed just in the last couple of weeks, while Sir Liealot postured and wasted the Parliament’s time.
You are aware, of course that your hero has not proposed amendments to one piece of legislation nor has he debated any of the legislation; it was just waved through. Why is that? Could it be that they are arguably the worst and most incompetent opposition in the history of this country?
But as you’re so obviously pig ignorant of how government works, you probably think that’s OK. Frankly, I’d be ropable if I’d cast my vote for a mob that couldn’t be bothered doing the job they’re elected to do. Obviously you’re too stupid to understand something so simple.
And here’s some further reading from CU on a different thread:
Catching up
“….Far from being paralysed, the Gillard government has delivered some substantial reforms. It’s a partial list, but here are eight, in no particular order. First, it has reached agreement with the states on a new system for public hospital funding which will add an extra $16.4 billion in federal funding through to 2019-20.
Second, it has committed itself to $2.2 billion for improved mental health services.
Third, the budget in May included the announcement of $2.4 billion to improve skills training and fund 130,000 new training places over four years.
Fourth, the flood levy is raising an extra $1.8 billion to help finance the national contribution to Queensland’s recovery. Fifth, the government has won the approval of Parliament and Telstra for the structural separation of the phone company’s retail and wholesale businesses. This is allowing the roll-out of the national broadband network to proceed.
Sixth, the government has reached agreement with the states for the harmonisation of occupational health and safety laws across all jurisdictions, a reform that should lower costs for business and improve efficiency.
Seventh, the government reached another agreement with the states last week, this time to harmonise transport regulation. Finally, it won parliamentary passage this week of its law to require tobacco companies to sell cigarettes in plain packaging.
If you’re capable of concentrating longer than it takes to listen to one of Sir Liealot’s pathetic slogans, take a leaf out of Paul Keating’s sayigs-“Shut up and listen and you might learn something!”
CU, Do you reckon we at the Café could put a few $$ in the hat to send him off?
Jane I think, no I know that many who think they only have to ring up to get one of the jobs are in for a big shock.
They do not employ that many anyway.
….. so Pip. Last week looks like it was a good week for Gillard. Relatively speaking. I suppose the HC will come out with its comments re the Malaysian deal this week . Pip. Where do you sit on the Malaysian, Timor thought bubble, the unravelling Manus Island idea and the Nauru denial. All have cockup stamped on them. Nauru is about 6,000 km in the wrong direction (about 60 Nautical Mile from being in the Northern Hemisphere actually) thats probably why it is such a good deterrant.
……and the Union relations just keep on giving for Abbott. It must be hard for Gillard to define when a crap week ends and and even more crap week starts.
Hold the faith Pip.
…. I read a blog today that Costello has been conscripted to repair Swan’s mess. Don’t know if it is true.
You really are that gullible poh? Costello did nothing but lie in a hammock for 11 years while Treasury did the heavy lifting 🙄
Poh re “Nauru is about 6,000 km in the wrong direction (about 60 Nautical Mile from being in the Northern Hemisphere actually) thats probably why it is such a good deterrant.”
Do you actually have any idea of the logistics involved in picking up people and then transporting them all the way to Nauru?
Exactly, Nauru is 6,000km in the wrong direction.
Bacchus, and whinge about Howard…
…. ah it works so you don’t have the logistical problem……..
read the line above a few times and it will sink in.
Yes Min – he was an expert in that department, along with Senator Brandis.
No poh it is you who have the problem understanding the problem. Like most typical wingnuts you believe what you are told without reservations and take the right wing propaganda as fact to regurgitate online. Not an original thought anywhere, that is beyond most of the right wing ideologues. They need to be led and told what to say and how to behave or they’re lost. Change and progress scares the bejeezus out of them and poh is so typical of them.
Deterrent my arse. It was the right direction for one reason only. It was isolated and easy to control access so the problems could be hidden away from the public.
Poh, please tell me what happens to the people after you take them to Nauru.
What will happen is that the court could say there is no problem, go ahead with the Malaysian solution.
The court could also say, these people are refugees and as such they are entitled to remain in Australia, as long as they are not criminals.
This would mean it is time to ditched the wasteful and expensive procedures of the last decade, assessing people off shore.
We would revert back to when these people were assessed quickly and moved into the community as quickly as possible. These people will then be in the position to get on with their lives and become productive members of society.
The boat problem could be solved by taking our refugee numbers from Indonesia and Malaysia. If they know they have a chance of getting here, the need for getting on leaky boats will vanish.
This country has been made great by us welcoming refugees.
Bacchus was too lazy to go after the job he wanted. He had this funny idea that it would be handed to him on a silver plate.
I would suggest to the likes of Poh, it is a little early to start gloating.
This PM might just fight back.
What do people think of Ms. Sophie Mirrabella being the shadow minister for industry?
Mr Denmore has a good article up reference Kevin Rennie and the News News conference. I particularly liked the way he phrased this piece
http://thefailedestate.blogspot.com/2011/08/branded-news.html
Mind you, I will cast back to the pitiful story the other night about Fair Work Australia on the 7.30 null where they totally misrepresented what the Reserve Bank Governor said, and note that their precious ‘balance’ was noticably missing from that bile.