The following sentence is definitely going to blow some fragile little minds: Sometimes the media can exhibit bias to fit political agendas.
Okay, it’s probable the vast majority of you have retained intact craniums after reading that particular brain buster. But it’s a concept that’s apparently completely new information to reporters working at NewsCorp.
See, The Australian sent media editor Sherri Markson into a bunch of different University journalism classes over a five week period recently. What she found, much to her horror, was that lecturers are teaching their students that occasionally business influences media, government sometimes favours corporate over state media, and that Rupert Murdoch‘s NewsCorp – has a vested interest in, and influence over, how certain aspects of the Government are run.
The crux of the resulting piece of journalistic dynamite was that University students are being “indoctrinated” into believing that NewsCorp is merely a heartless, biased arm of the right-wing whose size and financial clout is used to shape public opinion towards installing the Government whose policies best favour the continued prosperity of a conglomerate.
Markson distilled the essence of her argument down to a single sentence during an interview with fellow NewsCorp employee Miranda Devine on 2GB last night, stating:
“What they’re teaching students is frankly a load of bloody garbage.”
So with that in mind, we present to you this ad for NewsCorp publication The Daily Telegraph‘s arm of the NewsCorp Plus subscription service, which at approximately the 0:12 mark features a single shot that incorporates NewsCorp columnists (some political) Miranda Devine, Andrew Bolt and Andrew Clennell smiling and sitting opposite Mike Baird.
That’s NSW Premier Mike Baird. The premier of New South Wales, Mike Baird, appearing in an ad promoting a service for a media corporation that has spent the better part of the day trying to dismiss the obvious claims that it has an overt and disproportionate influence over its political interests.
And there but for the grace of God goes the Liberal NSW Premier Mike Baird, in an ad pimping out that same corporation’s paid digital subscription service.
It’s Rupert’s sandbox, kids. He just lets us play in it for a while.
via Mumbrella.
