Australia’s media outlets clash over bushfire coverage
Various prominent media outlets and journalists are hitting out at each other over how Australia’s ongoing bushfire crisis is being covered.
News Corp in particular is at the centre of the storm, attracting criticism for both attacking the ABC, and for a perceived climate change denying agenda.
Front pages from around the world with The Australian highlighted (Source: The Guardian)
News Corp’s The Australian has been accused of downplaying the severity of the fires, and not giving front-page prominence to the disaster.
Meanwhile here in Australia the Oz WA edition didn’t have a single bushfire pic until page 4. They went with a pictorial coverage of the picnic races at hanging rock in vic. https://t.co/tUVp7MARZl
— Barrie Cassidy (@barriecassidy) January 2, 2020
On New Year’s Eve, The Australian ran an opinion piece from embattled energy minister Angus Taylor, which declared the country should be proud of its climate change efforts. The Guardian subsequently fact-checked Taylor’s claims.
The paper’s editor John Lehmann told The Guardian, however, that its readers have been fully informed via the online and print editions throughout the week.
ABC’s News Breakfast host Michael Rowland has also taken issue with The Australian criticising the ABC at a time that he says the national broadcaster has been instrumental in keeping people informed and safe.
The ABC is currently helping save lives and properties. Just don’t. https://t.co/b9N9cYJTQf
— Michael Rowland (@mjrowland68) January 2, 2020
The war of words has gone both ways, with former editorial network director of News Corp Alan Oakley – who also spent time as editor of The Sunday Age and The Sydney Morning Herald – taking to Twitter to tell journos and media outlets to look beyond the ‘Twittersphere’.
Second story on Guardian website is an attack on News Corp coverage. How about media ditches the barbs – and also the self-congratulation – and gets on with its vital job cos no one outside Twittersphere gives a stuff. pic.twitter.com/HnepYvfqfV
— alan oakley (@alanoakley3) January 4, 2020
“How about the media ditches the barbs – and also the self-congratulation – and gets on with the vital job,” he said.
Just emerged from days of hell on sth coast, cannot believe attacks on ABC, It is the ONLY reliable source of info, everyone is tuned in, its real time broadcasting is saving lives, property and helping us understand our situation re fire threats, roads, petrol, food etc
— Phillip Coorey (@PhillipCoorey) January 3, 2020
News Corp’s founder and chairman Rupert Murdoch has previously dismissed claims the media behemoth is a climate change denier, saying “there are no change climate change deniers around, I can assure you”.
News Corp columnist and Sky News host Andrew Bolt, however, regularly calls climate change reports “a scam”, and attacks the ABC for “committing crimes against journalism” and says it has been “hijacked by global warming extremists”.
If you’d like to assist with bushfire recovery, relief and rescue efforts, please explore the options below:
Murdoch Press in full swing protecting the Libs
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Meanwhile Australia burns and Tourism Australia flounders. While the country faces one of its worst crisis, out national marketing body places happy happy ads right next to Armageddon images in the global news. The world is watching and we have dumb and dumber at the helm at Tourism Australia! Show some empathy guys. It’s in our DNA!
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Can’t wait to see the “champagne comedy” spin On the bushfires from Rowan Dean – sky news’ poor man’s Stephen Colbert.
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The Hillsong god squad and NewsCorp’s conservative old boys have been brothers in arms since the dawn of time…
Some would say a ‘match made in heaven’
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Let’s be honest, Australian journalism in the main publications is pretty low quality and subpar compared to international media from Europe.
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While we Australians witness 1 of the greatest natural disasters in our history, petty commentary on who does what occupies the mind of far too many posting crap. For goodness sake we don’t have a leader in this crisis but let’s forget him and let the people best qualified keep on doing the magnificent job they are doing.
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Tourism Australia has clearly always had Australia’s best and brightest…
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Gerard Henderson’s condescending piece didn’t last on the web masthead. Graeme
Lloyd however, continues to display classic Dunning-kruger. He should stick to Peruvian real estate deals
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How great is the Australian! How great is Scott Morrison, How great are the liberal party dunderheads. How great. How great an Australian Rupert Murdch is. Oh, that’s right he pays no tax and is not an Australian, running The Australian attacking everyone in Australia.
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Half the Flying fox population fell out of the trees dead last year due to excess hot days Giant kelp forest in Tassy is during due to hot water. It’s not just kelp it’s also all the life it supports. Where are all the deniers like Bolt please explain.
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Half the Flying fox population fell out of the trees dead last year due to excess hot days Giant kelp forest in Tassy is dying due to hot water. It’s not just kelp it’s also all the life it supports. Where are all the deniers like Bolt please explain.
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