Another week, another Piers. Mr Akerman’s latest piece starts off innocently enough as an analysis of the nature and mechanics of mourning in the wake of the tragic Victorian bushfires, but inevitably (and inexplicably) ends up in familiar Piers territory: self-promotion and eeeeevil leftist teacher-bashing.
Takes a few pars, though. At the head of the article Akerman raises fair points and asks valid questions, in the process mentioning the level of political representation at the Rod Laver Arena memorial service, and pondering the unlikely possibility of closure so soon after the disaster, or even at all.
The focus then turns to the media’s coverage of the situation in the days and weeks after the actual fires, using the views of a psychologist who believes that the media plays an important role in helping victims of tragedy, along with the wider population, deal with grief.
Now, I’m going to neither slam nor agree with Piers’ (and the psychologist’s) arguments about the way this bushfire has played out in the media because, along with many other people, I’m genuinely torn — I think some of the stuff I’ve seen has been vulgar and opportunistic, and some of the stuff I’ve seen has stayed on the correct side of the sensitivity line. However, I couldn’t let this stunning line go past without comment.
While it is fashionable for left-leaning teachers to portray the media as the constant adversary because the press has the capacity to expose the Left’s penchant for profligate spending on unnecessary, even damaging, programs, this tragedy has brought out the very best in the Australian press and demonstrated that the media is more likely to be the most constant friend those in genuine need will ever find.
What in the name of Ceiling Cat is that? Leftist teachers learning kids wrong to prevent them from seeing teh Truth? If it wasn’t so paranoid I’d laugh. (Actually, I lie. I did laugh.)
The rest of the article quickly descends into a shameless plug for the goodness and light that is News Ltd. — absolutely coincidentally the organisation that pays Piers’ expenses account — and the awesome things that its newspapers have done to help victims and Australians in general deal with the terrible events of Black Saturday. Because Fairfax’s The Age didn’t do anything. Not a thing. Even bumped the fires off the front page for a lifestyle feature about the best laneways and coffee shops in Melbourne.
I’m sure that the Herald Sun’s free guide for affected Victorians and sympathetic coverage in the aftermath helped people sort out their lives and grieve, but Piers must be absolutely deluded if he thinks that News Ltd. wasn’t trying to associate their brand with their empathy and largesse. Just like every other corporation that did good, commendable things in a time of great need.
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“Just like every other corporation that did good, commendable things in a time of great need.”
The US multinational that I work for did the same (helpful) thing last week.
Sure enough, in the local paper today was a lovely photo & accompanying article.
Hard to condemn the benevolence & doing naught is perhaps more worthy of condemnation.
That said, transparent self promotion should be expected.
It’s quite startling that Piers didn’t manage to somehow link the whole episode to the Heiner AffairTM by some contort. I guess leftist teachers have their place on the Akerman ladder of priorities too.
It’s obvious when you think about it. The Ceiling Cat plans for Leftist teachers to learn kids to be wrong & prevent them from seeing teh Truth.
i like this quote:
“In recent decades however, the educational theorists who have gained control over much of the content of media courses have injected an unwelcome element of social engineering that has seen ignorance replace experience as source material.”
piers should know, he wrote the book on ignorance.
seriously though, this is the kind of meaningless, uninformed statements that these type of buffoon columnists just perpetuate without thinking. what evidence has piers seen that journalism degrees for eg are prone to social engineering of the curriculum? motherhood statements play well to the uninformed, but mean fuck all in the real world. my only surprise with this piece is he failed to get in his customary ‘it’s rudd’s fault’ whinge.
Nah it am basement cat that leads us poor kittehs astray. I know this cos of my learnings.