Outrage, polls and bias: 2019 federal election showed Australian media need better regulation
We need to change how we report on opinion polls, and an inquiry into Australian newspapers and Sky, argues the University of Melbourne’s Denis Muller in this crossposting from The Conversation.
Two big media-related issues have emerged from the federal election: how opinion polls are reported and the polarisation of the main newspaper groups.
Opinion polls have been part of Australia’s political landscape for 90 years, and for most of that time they have been reliable barometers of public opinion.
As a result, they have acquired considerable credibility. Malcolm Turnbull weaponised this for political purposes when he justified his challenge to Tony Abbott’s prime ministership in 2015 on the basis that Abbott had lost 30 consecutive Newspolls.
“Something should be done!” Yeah. Right. Like?
The time for action was back in the 1980s when Keating enabled the mergers that gave News huge influence. There was no monopoly or competition testing, despite the TPC, because ….?
Yet it’s not clear that Muller’s thesis holds water. Did News really get what they want? After all, their products are now poison among the largest, richest part of the valued media market. Is there evidence that their weird campaigns did any good for the Coalition?
A lot of people are struggling with the idea that the Coalition “miracle” was in Labor’s choice of leader and its choice of a class war style.
Murdoch and Stokes are fuelled by one religion: The religion of greed\, aka: $’s first, at all costs. They will do anything too pick up $’s, no matter how dirty they are. This includes smearing conservatives who are socially conscious. They love Abbott and are truly gutted he is gone. (They are so angry about Abbott losing his seat, just look at the effort they went to to keep him in. (Just you watch the attacks already at Zali, from the likes of their puppets (Bolt being one of a few and not forgetting the pitch fork, Lynch mob on Sky News (does anyone actually watch it though, apart from on YouTube?))
Torrid times for rational, educated, responsible and considered policy making. However, it is time to take on the individuals at the top. Name, shame and boycott. It is time.
ABC is hard labor and green sided. Even the ABC public sector union emailed all ABC staff to vote labor,
To get more funding promised by labor and Bill, ..that alone is 4500 votes.