News Ltd boss slams government media inquiry ‘witch-hunt’
News Limited boss John Hartigan has responded with frustration to the government’s plans to tighten the regulation of the media sector, calling the lead up to the inquiry “political motivated” and a “witch-hunt”.
In a statement, Hartigan began by saying that the company welcomed public scrutiny into the media business, and would “participate fully” in the inquiry. However, he called the way in which the inquiry had been set up “regrettable” and a “politically motivated compromise.”
The statement read:
“This inquiry started life as a witch-hunt by the Greens and has morphed into a fairly narrow look at a mixed bag of issues ostensibly focussed on print journalism.
“Politically motivated” and “a witch hunt”. For some reason, those phrases and News Ltd are ringing some bells.
Hate to post under a pseudonym, but…
How dare anyone have an opinion, and the gall to publish it publically, which differs from our fine, upstanding, beyond reproach government. The nerve!
When they have the time to get their noses out of the trough or out of the Greens edifices, they are not happy to see alternative views. These must be quashed!
Now, where is that Union credit card . . . ?
Why only print and digital? Shouldn’t it cover all media and all players…the big guys to the little bloggers? The ABC?!
There’s absolutely no context or real relevance if it’s not.
What and Singos’ 2GB gets off? The bias on 2GB is appalling. These are millionaires fully bullshitting their listeners for their magnate buddies. What’s shocking is that they don’t even pretend to have balance. Radio licensing laws declare you must have reasonable balance on controversial topics. And you must make an effort to make facts truthful How the hell have 2GB(S) kept their licence?
Mr Hartigan should look up the word “strident”. (His description of the position taken by the Australian in an ABC interview in which he also confirmed that Rupert Murdoch had told him to get rid of this Government.)
Mr Hywood should look up the words “independent” and “flourish” before going to the word “quality”.
Hi,
Steve Browning from News Ltd here.
Recall – you are mistaken. A transcript of the ABC interview you refer to is here
http://www.abc.net.au/news/201.....30/2795736
John did not confirm that Rupert ‘told him to get rid of this Government’. In fact, directly the opposite – John explains that any such assertion simply isn’t true.
Cheers
Steve
What we need is a government regulator of the press.
We’re in Asia, we need to be more like Asia.
Like North Korea. Or Burma. Or China. Or Singapore.
What you need, Devils’ Advocate, are media organisations that adhere to transparency and the ethical codes for media behaviour and journalism (that lost profession) that exist.
Why do the right wingers always jump to inane comparisons to totalitarian states, whilst left wingers always get caught up in the detail?
2GB, News Ltd, The Monthly, and occasionally Fairfax, are all disgraceful. Commercial TV is just irrelevant as far as ‘news’ goes. The ABC and SBS are usually pretty fair, but do have lapses. If some aggrieved young Liberal is convinced the ABC is a leftist conspiracy, there’s not much can change that. Its probably the one media outlet most committed to fair coverage.
Control the Media, control the People.
Why limit this inquiry to newspapers? surly, all form of media need to be included. otherwise it is a witch hunt.
@Embarassed (sic) Australian.
Conroy said on the ABC this morning that a government media regulator might be canvassed. He’s the right winger, therefore, not me.
@ Steve
Nice work Steve. You don’t think so? Nothing there at all? Not even some language that one might read rather directly as a euphemism for exactly that?
@ Steve. I mean this bit:
JOHN HARTIGAN: Absolutely not. I think, you know, we’re a company of values, like most companies, and we have very implicit values, we have things that we think as a company and individually as editors that need to be done. One of them is a leadership vacuum by minority government, but there’s lots of leadership vacuums around Australia at the moment. You know, there’s lots of issues.
I want an inquiry in the NBN rollout and new monopoly Conroy is creating. This is a Press witch hunt for sure, try to keep them quite for a year or two – smacks of survivalism up until the next election.
just like China we will only have the Peoples Daily government newspaper – and ABC 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
When you own or work in media you have a responsibility to the public you serve in a democratic society.
When you shirk those responsibilities and put self-interest ahead of public interest, you suffer the consequences.
@ Come off it!
I can tell you categorically that there is no edict or plan, at any individual masthead or group level, to get rid of the government.
I cannot make you believe that, and you may choose to read meanings into John’s words that aren’t there, but that is the truth.
Our newspapers are simply doing what they should – holding the government to account. They did it with the Rudd government, the Howard government (eg children overboard, the wheatboard scandal etc etc) and every government before that.
Cheers
Steve
The fact is that the gillard government has won the gold medal for the most incompetent government in our nations history.
News and 2GB Etc have simply been communicating the bleeding obvious, namely, that our government are fools and dangerous fools at that.
The fact the govt then launch this pathetic enquiry to in someway attempt to silence their critics, the media, simply represents another sad day for this country.
In a democracy; a free press is a good thing.
Likewise a responsible press is also a good thing.
Fox News in the US is awful. It is designed for the middle American, gun toting, fanatical right who believe that Obama is a terrorist; thanks to their scaremongering.
2GB is certainly an Aussie radio equivalent of Fox News…
Channels 7 and 9’s news are awful. Drivel, weak stories, followed by alarmist scare mongering with Today Tonight and A Current Affair, (scaremongering and advertorials…) A bucket of crap, belted out by botox cladded egotist’s; even some of their choppers are not where they say they are… Channel 10 is not that much better, Negus add’s a little bit of use to 10 news…
Whilst there is a lot of tripe, there are some great shows, mainly out of the ABC and SBS broadcasts.
I am not a lefty. I am sick of being treated like an imbecile by many of our media channels.
So many Aussies are worldly and informed, I truly cannot believe the utter b*llsh1t slammed out of many broadcast channels in our great southern land.
@Steve. what are the implicit values. exactly?
The behavior of News Ltd newspapers seems to be focused on creating political leverage to further growth of the profitable bits of Rupert’s empire.
End of the day, the “news”papers are loss leading bullies. Sad and pathetic.