Tag: Balanced Reporting

Keeping Council Under Watch

First rule of the change process is to inform the people involved what is the new direction intended and listen to the usually negative arguments as they usually highlight underlying often personal reasons of why change cannot be achieved. The council debate has achieved in that trumps.

For too long ipswich has been culturally divided by areas and demographics and it’s time we matured into a city of one direction where transparency of the our ratepayers rates distribution should be seen as fair and calculated.

The days of “look at me what I have done in my patch” mentality was highlighted when none of the old councillors allegedly knew what was going on across the entire council and run to their bunkers when the hammer fell. That’s pathetic corporate governance, and undeniable.

As stated by the administrator the new elected councillors will have to have broader skills and adaptability, and as a resident I too have to adjust. From a place where our one streetlight was a cause for a party to a place where our population is increasing that much the infrastructure cannot cope, the days of town and country reluctantly but factually are over. The city expansion and all its ugly traits are here and we not only need good councillors on the ground we need good competent administrators to provide ongoing advice and support across the entire spectrum of our local council areas.

Like it or not, local governments are not stand alone entities and are arms of state governments and when the dust has settled we will still need the oversight of statutory authorities like the CCC and the press freedom and vigilance to ensure we never revert to our previous state of disfunctuallity. .

No WIN for those in the Bush.

As I travelled around western Queensland in my former career it was vital for me and the locals to keep across area issues usually through WIN TV and ABC local news. Those services galvanise communities and are critical to the outlying properties so obviously that fact is ignored when the decision was taken to close WIN Tv in some rural and remote areas.

This decision has repercussions across the entire spectrum of the rural way of life where councils, essential services had a medium to directly contact its population in times of need.

Secondly it also provided employment and training for journalists, advertising and promotion for businesses, and more importantly a local platform for diverse news and opinions locally and nationally.

My fear is the major conglomerate news outlets will narrow the news feed focussing on major city issues that really the rural sector has no interest but get ratings on the coast.

When conglomerates gain control dollars for the shareholders is always the driver and service is secondary and we do not want monopoly’s controlling what you can or cannot hear or see.

Media and Public Servants under Attack.

Since the federal election one has to look at history to try and gather what is happening to Australian democracy. When this government entered office the first order of business was to raid union offices, and indite former Prime Ministers. That agenda continued although its leadership changed all with the knowledge of ministers and department heads and all in the name of transparency and in the end with little or no charges but millions of dollars of taxpayers money in the pockets of the legal profession.

Fast forward to the election they weren’t going to win, we find within a day boats arriving which we were told stopped, then even more boats we now know did come and public servants were forced to lie or conceal truth as the politicians blatantly lied about the situation.

We now know we have our parts of navy fleet on blocks for years because we can’t staff it. No public announce there but we have to man submarines somehow as we have committed billions on the never never.

The well managed economy spin has fallen over, the surplus evaporated, as the reserve bank has played is last card to try to kick start a economy, and if the trade war continues we will go into recession, and this government has no idea or plans how to get us out. Good luck with your franking credits but the public servants who knew the real truth are gaged.

But there’s more, these attacks on journalism are a direct result to silence or intimidate anybody who is a threat not to the country but to the government and it has made it clear in all cases it will use military style tactics to stamp out non complying journalists who protect whistleblowers and sources that could expose misdemeanours at all levels of security.

I can’t help thinking that this government set political land mines thinking they would embarrass a incoming government Hence the Chinese Warship surprise, but they are blowing up in their face daily and my real concern is if our ethical media is silenced and our public servants who know the truth are jackbooted out we will be no better that some banana republic under authoritarian rule.

Boring Baffoonery Cartoonery

The Queenslland Times cartoonist will never be accused of deep thinking when it comes to his trade. Being possibly the shallowest and slanted In the world of cartoonary may I suggest it’s presence in the location of editorial and public content does nothing to enhance that surrounding product.

Be I as bold to suggest also that space could be allocated to up and coming local talent from our schools, colleges mainly young people who can give us fossils their view on how they see the world, after all it will be theirs in the future.

For one I will not be offended if told we stuffed up, and if indication was the day the youth hit the streets I think they deserve a place to vent/praise on a regular basis.

This may also increase readership of our rag if the schools/families took up the challenge and encouraged our adolescents to partake in general awareness of what the world is all about away from their mobile phones and gaming screen.

If we are expect young people to take part in our democratic processes we must make the aware there is a process and giving them a platform instead of bland repetition must be a step in the right direction. Mrs Editor.

Truth should not be the Casualty

The party’s over and now the combatants are celebrating, commiserating, and looking inward on their way forward and I have to ask , does the media do their reviews on their performance through the entire exercise.?

Starting with our Qt, my little exercise in media watchdogging rated the slant 45% LNP, 34% Alp, and 20% independent less the decimals which is what I regard as pretty balanced compared with other outlets within their conglomerate.

My concern was truth and the line between it, opinion, and downright lies.

I appreciate the media outlets printed and digital are struggling to survive but as the third state surely they have a obligation to identify and reject basic lies as part of ethical obligations.

Looking at the Presidential type of campaign run by our PM, I do not want to see our medial be dragged down to what we see in America where truth is no longer a qualification for broadcast, its who pays the most to spread the spin.

Our Afternoon on a Polling Booth.

I was scoured at, swore at, abused, hugged and thanked. Such is a afternoon on a polling booth handing out pictures.

All was a direct result of what the punters state of mind was on the way to the polls and influenced by what they had seen or heard via the media.. Democracy takes on different personas according to each individual but it does bring out behaviours often concealed but revealed in the final steps to polling booth door.

I saw youth who’s futures are influenced by governments directly scrunch up all handouts as a act of defiance to the volunteers. I saw people in uniform who’s lives depend on good Government decisions boast and laugh at making pirates or other luny tunes famous allegedly by gaining their tick., and then older people bitter about loosing income who had no idea about what franking credits were let alone qualify yet were convinced pensions would be cut and they would starve.

In my electorate alone over 6k were informal, nationally over 600k nationally indicate it just got either too hard to understand of they are too lazy to try to understand and democracy is a inconvenience, but the most worrying thing I feel is our country is adopting the terminology used of defining people and our society of being Lifters or Leaners, and that was not our culture, but after Saturday we may have moved closer to “up you I’m all right Jack” outlook for Australia.

Political agendas are set to appeal to what people see either effects them as individuals firstly and only or what effects our society first then, sow the flow on effect. My preference it to the latter as I believe we work better together as our nations forefathers did so we could get us where we are today.

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Truth over Murdock Propaganda Critical in Australia.

I try to look at election campaigns across the free world objectively and I do hold my own political biases but we must rely on the media to give deliver truth, ethics and that in itself is sometimes is a problem depending on which outlet one chooses to read.

The line between news, opinion then verging on propaganda in this country sadly is mirroring America and this campaign is descending into that gutter by the Murdock press.

We have seen in past elections attacks on PM’s openly saying bag and drown the bitch, burn the witch, and many other slogans prominently splattered across mastheads and now we are sinking into attacks on politicians mothers.

Has Australian politics sunk that far or is it being dragged down by this organisation to keep what it sees as the right people to keep its organisation with a say in how our governments run?

We as Australians deserve better than this rubbish. We should not accept material that an never be described as journalism.

I am well aware this paper is owned by Murdock and it does not reflect its owners, as we do have editors around the country that maintain journalistic standards clearly reported when Palmer Party tried to ethically corrupt.

I’m pretty sure most intelligent Australians will not accept this American style of confronting intimidatory politics and demand balanced reporting, however painful it might be to our egos.

Strategic Sub Editing but the point was not lost, only the culprit hidden. 😂

Fake Fibre Obsolete On Delivery

As a former employee of Telstra and well trained in the capabilities of what the fibre network is capable of from its inception I struggle with what Australians have been forced to accept with the present NBN.

The network being rolled out as we speak is obselete in its present form and its capacity deliberately limited by this government to retain and protect current media monopolies.

When introduced in its infancy traffic in the fibre tubes was limited, but as technology expanded the capacity is only governed by what is hung on the end, therefore not only businesses ,households, the elderly sent to nursing homes, the sick or injured could have equipment ( health packs as invisaged) available in home ,with direct access to doctors and nursing staff and mobile doctors 24/7 cutting costs across the entire health spectrum. This is only one sector that has been restricted by this governments decision to retain copper and deliver a split network, one for the masses and one for the clients that can reap the benefits if they are wealthy enough.

Communication was legislated as a essential service in this country until privatisation, so their is no reason to get excited when you get a pay for a service that could deliver much more for the same cost, and that equation applies nationally.

It’s like buying a brand new car with 3 good tires and a retread and a free bumper bar thrown in.

Editorial Cut Sees My Health references irrelevant

Aboriginal Heritage Came before the Tragic Train.

As the. Media reels in the tragedy of the Notre Dam fire and records the world shock and pity of the 800 year old structure and artefacts lost or damaged could we please take a step back and look at what we are doing to our 80,000 year Aboriginal heritage and that is challenged daily by nature, bulldozers,  selective memory loss or just plain ignorance. 
We have the oldest Culture on the planet  and its history just  within  hours to all of us  on this island if we choose to accept that fact and although it may not fit with the teachings of some beliefs the artwork and history and  authenticity is  undeniable.
No one is donating billions  of dollars to keep this history let alone recreate it to its former greatness because its destroyed and anything else would be a fake disservice  to its creators. Those memories are left with respect to ancestors families to pass on but that does not stop us newer inhabitants from learning, appreciating and respecting. 
Its easy copy to look elsewhere and get on the tragic train but can we just take the time to appreciate what we have and preserve what is left. We owe that to mankind all over the world as  we are the keepers of history far before any cities, buildings or paintings were created. 

Investigative Journalism must Survive.

I have been guilty of pulling the trigger maybe too quickly on the media on what I see as slanted reporting or cartooning but with the Al Jazeera story I can only commend the media on its speed on self analysis if ethical standards were breached.

Within hours of release, self questioning commenced weather it reported the story or created the story.

That debate will be ongoing but it’s my simpleton belief is overall if it’s in the public interest, the public should know.

The method of acquiring the evidence is played out regularly in capturing terrorist, online predators, drug dealers, gun runners all regarded as fair game if any investigative journalist outlet exposes the culprits.

The fact that they did not secure the funding does not change the intent or the toxic advice on how to nullify murder.

I believe this is a clear example on the value of investigative journalism, and regardless of what side of politics you support it is imperative to democracy these outlets across the world continue their work, and must be protected.

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