In February last year, The Australian ran a cover story headed "Mutiny kills PM's Bob Carr plan". It contained at least six "revelations" relating to the appointment of Bob Carr as Foreign Minister. All six were soon proven false.
Murdoch publications have campaigned against all Labor state governments. News reporters at Brisbane'sCourier-Mail were instructed to use the news pages to drive a campaign targeting then Premier Anna Bligh.
The campaign against the Greens, and former leader Bob Brown in particular, has been particularly vicious.
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An editorial in The Australian declared"We believe he (Brown) and his Green colleagues are hypocrites; that they are bad for the nation; and that they should be destroyed at the ballot box."
These are not just vigorous campaigns confined to the opinion pages, which would not be so objectionable. But crusades fought with misrepresentation in the newscontent.
Can anything be done? Ex-employee Bruce Guthrie who beat News Limited in court in 2010 believes "you can bite back against Murdoch".
Senator Conroy seems to be attempting exactly that. Will he succeed? We shall see.
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About the Author
Alan Austin is an Australian freelance journalist currently based in Nîmes in the South of France. His special interests are overseas development, Indigenous affairs and the interface between the religious communities and secular government. As a freelance writer, Alan has worked for many media outlets over the years and been published in most Australian newspapers. He worked for eight years with ABC Radio and Television’s religious broadcasts unit and seven years with World Vision. His most recent part-time appointment was with the Uniting Church magazine Crosslight.
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