Leadership speculation AGAIN AGAIN AGAIN!!!

Yep, here we go... AGAIN … Arrrrrghhh... Enough already!

I can only presume that the Main Stream Media (MSM) is either trying to make the ALP look as unstable as possible, or they hate Julia so much this is their way of getting their own back.

If the tone of some of the non-MSM eulogy articles about veteran political reporter Michelle Grattan’s departure from The Age is an indication, it could be the latter (Grattan's Impact). She has been after Gillard to ‘quit’ for quite some time, amongst others. (Grattan - Why Julia should quit), (Andrew Bolt).

Or maybe it was the now globally infamous misogyny speech that made the male dominated media titchy, and they can’t stand to see a woman, especially Julia, in charge for another three years. (Unleashed), and (Gillard's Misogyny Speech one month on) 

Or maybe – if all the positive NLP rhetoric and reporting can be used as an indication; it is in fact the former. They simply want a Liberal Government in power, for whatever reason. This can be evidenced by the constant negative spin towards the ALP, no matter what they do or say, and positive spin towards the LNP and negative Tony, examples of which are far too many to list. A quick Google news search will demonstrate this.(Google News search)

I don’t know… we plebs can only speculate. But what I do know, is all the speculation hype is over the top; over-imagined; a non-story. And this time around even more so than the many, many times before. Surely there are more important things going on in news in the world?

Rudd, after all, has put the issue in cryogenic storage. (Rudd doesn't want top job)

But even that is not enough for MSM to put up and shut up and get on with real reporting. No… now the angle is… what will it take to melt Rudd out of cryogenic storage. It’s an endless circle (or is that circus?). (Rudd waiting for a Gillard meltdown) 

Can you tell I’m typing very hard on my keyboard at the moment?

Some recent examples of this endless cycle of a non-story include the notorious Sky News Australia. Constant reports on the 24 hour news channel are about the leadership speculation. Yesterday (Fri 22 Feb '13) Sky show The Contrarians devoted almost an entire show to the subject! Perhaps they should change their name to Seinfeld – the show about nothing.

A Galaxy poll of a mere 800 Queenslanders– Rudd’s home state - taken on behalf of the Courier Mail, were asked their opinion on whether a Rudd-lead ALP would make them more likely to vote for the ALP in the next election. Apparently just over 500 polled said yes. In the eyes of MSM, this small sample of Queenslanders' opinions converted to proving the ALP will win the next election if Rudd was leader.

This tiny poll was reported askew right across our beloved MSM, with headlines like “Galaxy poll result could fuel push for Kevin Rudd comeback as Labor leader”, and “Galaxy poll finds Kevin Rudd would lead Labor to election victory if he regained ALP leadership”, including the prime time TV news shows.

"KEVIN Rudd would catapult Labor into an election-winning position if he was reinstalled as leader, according to a new Galaxy poll taken for The Courier-Mail."

BULLSHIT. This poll was a small sample, in Rudd’s home state, commissioned by the Courier Mail to give themselves, and MSM, more fodder to keep the story alive. Marketers won’t take any poll with a test sample of less than 1000 any credence, by the way.

So what about all the polls that say that Malcolm Turnbull would be a more popular leader than Tony Abbott? Where are those harping stories? They barely get a blip on the radar. (Turnbull preferred as coalition head) 

And then there are all the over-opinionated opinion pieces. As if there wasn’t enough opinion in the news pieces! This is one recent abhorrent example I stumbled across from the Sydney Morning Herald, which I believe even out-does the worst of the worst, from former Australian Financial Review columnist and day editor Alan Stokes, in this piece written in his new position as SMH columnist. (Dear Julia, it's time for a dignified exit speech)

How are we supposed to read any news articles in the SMH with any semblance of serious regard when this is the staple of their opinion pieces? Really? And I’m not on my own there if the comments under the piece are to be considered.

"This is written by Alan Stokes who wrote "The biggest issue facing concerned Australians is surely how to get Malcolm Turnbull to become prime minister" on the 21st November 2012 in the Fin Review." for example.

 

It’s enough to turn you off MSM news for good! Lucky for us, independent news websites and professional news blogs (no, not mine) are popping up all over the place and gaining in popularity, ready to take the place of the flailing traditional MSM, who seem to be unable to foresee their own approaching demise.

I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again, again, again now; report the facts, MSM. Leave the speculation and opinion and bullshit to the bloggers, and just feed us the news. Unbiased. That, after all, is meant to be your job! 

Journalism CODE OF ETHICS - CRIKEY!

News Blogs; Crikey; Politically homeless; The Hoopla; New Matilda; Online Opinion; Independent Australia;

Thanks to Independent Australia

Article: Is mainstream media biased?

Update 10.03.13
P.S. Twitter just showed me this little gem, and thought it was a relevant share re; views expressed above on veteran political reporter Michelle Grattan, by blogger Victoria Rollison; an open letter to Michelle Grattan. Well expressed!