Aussie political activist group GetUp! is releasing a documentary this month titled Murdoch & Morrison V. The ABC, and it does exactly what it says on the tin.
As the title suggests, the advocacy group has filmed a documentary about News Corp – owned by Rupert Murdoch and his family – and the federal government’s seemingly endless war against the ABC, particularly their attacks on the national broadcaster’s funding and independence.
The documentary includes interviews with ex-ABC Staff like former executive Michael Ward and former ABC Life deputy editor Osman Faruqi, as well as MEAA President Marcus Storm, and Australia’s upcoming Eurovision representative Montaigne.
It also features testimonies from actor Alice Ansara, a Cobargo resident and survivor of the Black December bushfires, and GetUp! campaigner Tosca Lloyd.
“The ABC is fundamental to our communities, crucial in a crisis, and the last bastion against an increasingly concentrated media landscape,” the synopsis for the documentary reads.
“But with the Morrison Government and the Murdoch Press attacking them from all sides, our public broadcaster is under threat. And what if the next step is to privatise it out of existence?”
Murdoch & Morrison V. The ABC premieres Thursday, February 4. You can sign up for early access right here.
Last year, former prime minister Kevin Rudd led a crusade against News Corp when he created a petition that called for a royal commission into the Murdoch media empire.
Backed by over half a million Australians, Rudd said a Murdoch Royal Commission is essential to protecting the lifeblood of Australia’s democracy, and championed for strength and diversity in Australian news media.
Half-a-million Australians have spoken. They’ve smashed the records to make their voice heard: Australia needs a #MurdochRoyalCommission to protect the lifeblood of our democracy.
I am grateful and overwhelmed.
This fight is far from over. Get updates: https://t.co/21Nkve0o0h pic.twitter.com/igmDxKbUMc
— Office of Kevin Rudd, 26th PM of Australia (@MrKRudd) November 4, 2020
“[The Murdoch Press] is symptomatic of a broader cancer on our democracy, and my principle motivation in putting this petition together has been to bring to the surface this national conversation – rather than people being too frightened to talk about it,” Rudd said, as reported by the AAP.
“Murdoch has engendered a culture of fear in Australia about this discussion because he goes after people individually who raise this question, including myself, including Malcolm [Turnbull].”
Rudd was publicly supported by the former Liberal prime minister, who said the Murdoch Press has become a “vehicle of propaganda.”
You can sign up for campaign updates here.
