Paul Barry set to replace Jonathan Holmes as Media Watch host
The ABC has confirmed that journalist and author Paul Barry is the next host of the public broadcaster’s Media Watch program.
Barry will replace current host Jonathan Holmes when he steps down in July. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time at Media Watch”, said Holmes.
“I believe it’s one of the most important jobs the ABC has to offer. Whether it likes it or not, the Australian media needs a critical eye, and Media Watch has an ability to name and shame swiftly and publicly in a way that the regulators cannot.”
“Stuart Littlemore pioneered the role, and did it for nine seasons, while holding down a full-time job as a barrister. That’s a record that is unlikely to be matched, but I have stayed in the job for longer than any of his successors, and it’s time to pass the baton.”
Holmes said he had not decided whether or not he will stay with the ABC.
Barry is currently in Europe where he is writing a book on media mogul and News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch. In recent years Barry has previously filled in for Holmes when he has been away.
His stint as Media Watch host in 2000 saw Barry grill then ABC chairman Donald McDonald over ABC funding only to then see the show axed in 2001 before returning a year later with a new host.
ABC managing director Mark Scott said“Media Watch is unique in Australian media, now a widely respected institution that reminds journalists of the responsibility that comes with the job.”
“Jonathan’s leadership in bringing social media under the microscope of Media Watch and his success in taking the discussion about the show into the social media space has renewed the program’s relevance.”
“Paul Barry has a detailed understanding of the complex operations of the Australian media and is widely respected. He appreciates the values and traditions of the program and in an era of significant change in our industry, I am looking forward to Paul’s return to Monday nights on Media Watch.”
Nic Christensen
Keeping their perfect record intact with another lefty. Good work, Media Watch.
Alan Jones will surely be trembling, along with ACA and anything else trying to make a buck.
User ID not verified.
Is Media Watch still on?
User ID not verified.
So the left wing groupthink at the ABC continues unabated. By employing leftists almost exclusively, the ABC does not reflect the diversity of opinion among Australians. It’s time for the ABC to be shut down. With so many alternative sources of current affairs and other programming in the digital age, the ABC no longer provides a justifiable return on investment for the Australian public.
User ID not verified.
James I’m going to quote directly from the Vine.
http://www.thevine.com.au/life.....dia-watch/
“3. You accuse us of bias and group-think, yet you write for and are syndicated across a harem of papers rigorously controlled by a man who owns over 70% of all media in Australia. The last thing he needs is more group-think. You complaining about the ABC’s lack of perspective is like the school bully complaining because the 5-year-old he’s been beating the shit out of for the last three terms has finally told a teacher about it. I mean, what good is it being a bully if you can’t even control the kid you’re bullying? Only one thing for it: eat the kid.”
User ID not verified.
It didn’t take long for the right-wing loonies to attack.
User ID not verified.
Paul Barry is a great fair journalist.
Bolt is just another News Corp hack.
Australians value the ABC a hundred times more than any News Corp property.
And Theo Light is correct, the right wing loonies have arrived, most of whom I am sure have never read Mumbrella before but like to infest comments with their fealty to their outdated ideas.
User ID not verified.
Encyclic!, Your Murdoch conspiracy theory is demonstrably false. Look at the Herald Sun, the major Murdoch newspaper in Melbourne. It employs commentators ranging from the left-wing Susie O’Brien to conservative Andrew Bolt. In contrast, the ABC employs almost exclusively left-wingers, some of whom are egregious in their bias when they are supposed to be maintaining a neutral point of view – e.g., Fran Kelly (“What I am, really am, is an activist.”) , Virginia Trioli (who characterised the Boston bombing victims as ‘rich white people in the West’ when one of the victims was a child and another Chinese), Robyn Williams (who analogously equated opponents of the climate change scam with pedophiles).
Theo Light, “It didn’t take long for the right-wing loonies to attack.” Very sophisticated argument there, Theo. Keep up the good work.
Zoe, “Australians value the ABC a hundred times more than any News Corp property.” Well, then, let Australians support the ABC through subscription to a private company, instead of the Commonwealth government handing over tens of milliions of public dollars to a group of left-wing loonies. I doubt that the ABC could survive with a subscription model if it continued with its current programming, but if it can, then let it. There is obviously an audience for leftist propaganda – witness the success of Michael Moore’s documentaries.
User ID not verified.
James. That wasn’t even the vaguest attempt at a sophisticated argument because (i) it was merely a factual observation (ii) any factual based argument would be wasted on you.
User ID not verified.