During the two-weeks of negotiation after the federal election, The Australian’s resident political editor Denis Shanahan published an astonishing piece in which he told his readers that the nation should “forget the three amigos and go back to the polls”.
Accusing the country independents of blackmail and cynically using claims of a new paradigm in politics to feather their own electoral nests, Shanahan promoted a view (dutifully echoed by the ABC and others) that the independents’ position was somehow illegitimate and that democracy was not being served.
Some decried Shanahan for posting another piece of shameless political spin in support of his ideological masters. But while he is clearly not a Labor sympathiser, the real motivation behind his call for a return to the polls may be somewhat more pedestrian. Take a look at this article on the spike in news traffic through the election.
While popular independent bloggers attract increasing traffic, they pale in comparison with the mainstream news sites. And while Murdoch says he is committed to putting his content behind a paywall, early results are not encouraging for him.
That means the way forward for News Ltd and other mainstream media companies online is still more likely to be through click rates and ad dollars, which brings us back to why Mr Shanahan and his ilk were champing at the bit for another election – and why critics of the MSM need to think beyond the left-right, culture war ‘straw man’. This is about dollars.
4 Comments
Lyn · September 9, 2010 at 7:27 AM
Hi Mr Denmore
Congratulations on your new blogg, your pieces are very enjoyable, I love your genuine, honest, and factual opinion.
Your blogg and your contribution on the blogosphere will be admired and appreciated by all.
The Australian Newspaper has continued it's assult on the Government since the election in 2007. Labor should be congratulated, to still be in Government after such a torturous, unrelenting, assult is a miracle.
Tony Abbott and the Coalition escaped all scrutiny, even to the extent of lies about their projected surplus to the 11 billion black hole. One can only imagine what “The Australian” journalists would have reported had the episode have happened when labor were in opposition.
Actually it's a shame we have a national newspaper called “The Australian”, they don't care about Australia.
cheers
Lyn
Mr Denmore · September 9, 2010 at 11:59 AM
Thank you for your kind words, Lyn. Even people I know who work at The Australian cringe at its one-sidedness. The compensation is that hardly anyone reads it.
Andrew Elder · September 9, 2010 at 12:38 PM
I loved the figure that $10m of income for 'The Oz' is provided by the Federal Government. If Gillard did a Kennett (or what Wran did in the '70s by denying state government ads to the SMH) that masthead could be retired by Xmas.
Mr Denmore · September 10, 2010 at 12:55 AM
That's not a bad idea Andrew, though I think that if return on equity was a consideration, Murdoch would have shut the Oz years ago.