The lead story on the ABC “news” site right now isn’t something that’s happened, something important that someone has said, or something that’s been announced. It’s self-fulfilling speculation about leadership speculation.
Seriously? “How much longer?” How embarrassing… for the ABC.
The headline when you click through is “Increasing speculation over PM’s future”. “Increasing speculation”? You mean because you’re running a headline about it? What else is that claim based on – that News Ltd is talking about it? News Ltd is ALWAYS talking up “leadership speculation”! (Check out the counter on the right here.) Or that the Opposition is talking up this “speculation”? The Opposition is ALWAYS talking up “leadership speculation”! That’s what Oppositions do! That’s what any opposing parties do to each other, all the time! You might as well say there’s “increasing speculation” that the Opposition will say that any particular government policy is crap – or that there’s “increasing speculation” the sun is hot. How do you measure “increasing speculation”, anyway – that you and your mates have decided to keep asking every politician you speak to about it instead of holding them to account on matters of substance?
For an “increasing speculation” story not to be a self-fulfilling vacuous unfunny joke, the speculation needs to be by people other than journalists and by people who wouldn’t say it every single day no matter what. Otherwise you’re just reporting on yourselves being interested in things that you’re interested in, which is a pointless truism and not news. Even if you keep trying really hard to make it news by keeping on pretending it’s news and keeping on writing about it in the hope that some of the people affected will eventually believe that it’s news and thus make it news.
Then again, maybe this navel-gazing isn’t mere self-obsession and laziness. Maybe it’s because the result of such deliberate “speculation” is so appealing to journalists. As Ben Pobjie suggested in the comments to the post about the free pass the gallery gives Tony Abbott:
To be honest I think it’s just that journalists like knocking off governments. When governments fall, the media feel important.
And when they’re not proving their importance by bringing down governments, they can at least make themselves feel important by talking about each other.
You know what I’ve heard? There’s increasing speculation that Australians are utterly sick of vacuous self-obsessed political journos talking about themselves and “leadership speculation” at every opportunity. I hear that Australians are increasingly tuning out of “professional” political coverage in the national media because it is completely irrelevant to the policy issues that actually do impact on their lives. There’s increasing speculation that the nation’s journos need to lift their game or be permanently branded the complete jokes that it is increasingly speculated they are.
That’s what I’ve heard, anyway.
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“Then your friends are either liars about their political allegiances or they are idiots who somehow missed the incessant and ruthless war waged by News Ltd against the government and in particular the PM who has actually done a fine job…especially if you compare her to John Howard.”
Be nice. My friends may be a little gullible, a little naive, but liars and idiots? You really know how to get your point across don’t you? NOT!
Your last para I agree with. I’ve already said that.
So?????????????????????????????????
Moving on.
A tweet from #TheirABC this morning (05 February 2012):
I don’t think the timing of the increasingly shrill claims of a leadership challenge are coincidental. Today is the special caucus meeting (with BBQ) at The Lodge, which the Opposition/media seem desperate to disrupt – lest they put the leadership speculation to bed and start the parliamentary year on the front foot.
Speaking of which, the silly season is finally over and it’s back to business on Tuesday – so we can expect more stunts – e.g. a vote of no confidence – from Mr No. The media have been talking up Wilkie’s involvement, but when it fails again due to lack of numbers how does that help him? “Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.”
Hey Cuppa, you should haver heard Richard Adey on Media Report cuddling up to Nikki Savva. eeew … #theirABC
Moving on from what Gary? from claiming they’re welded on Labor voters?
I think you’ve taken the wind out of your own sail on that claim
Fran, there was somebody on Radio National today (the directive seems to have come down that it’s now only to be referred to as “RN”) talking to, quote: “a deeply conservative” US lawman who supports gay marriage.
Funny, I don’t seem to hear them featuring as guests many “deeply progressive” figures. Do they feel that having poor old Philip Adams on at the midnight hour is balance enough?
This “best thing since sliced bread” metaphor … it’s a bit silly, isn’t it? I can think of an awful lot of things that are better than sliced bread.
I don’t know GaryM or his friends, but it seems this may be the type of thing they’re talking about (ie; ‘Labor’ people not voting Labor):
http://johnquiggin.com/2012/02/05/startling-news-from-the-polls/
As Eric Bana used to so memorably say on ‘Full Frontal’, “Duurrrrrr!”
Cuppa – I persist in calling it 2FC, as I did in Blighty when the loathsome took over the Home Service and tried to persuade people to call it R4.
It was a complete failure, emphasised by the transplanted Austrian, Fritz Spiegl’s, aubade before the iconic Shipping Forecast – an amalgam of “Early One Morning”, “Rule Britannia”, “Men of Harlech”, “Londonderry Air” (aka “Danny Boy”), “Greensleeves” then “Men of Harlech” eliding into “Scotland the Brave”, finishing with the “Trumpet Voluntary” (Handel?).
The apparatchiks finally noticed in 2006 and cancelled even that homage but I still enjoy the occasional burst of the original version of the ABC theme tune, even though only played on 702/Local, which i think was called “Majestic Fanfare”.
Probably even that has now been wiped by the skin deep.
Yes the perception of the PM is bad. I do not think that Patricia would disagree with that notion.
I question that the perception is based on false beliefs about the woman.
It just doesn’t connect with the facts.
This country is travelling very well. Yes, there are problems of a multi-speed economy, that the PM acknowledges and is addressing.
Mr. Abbott refuses to acknowledge that the success of the mining industry has bought about the high dollar, which has led to a decline in the manufacturing industry and many not doing as well as they should.
Mr. Abbott is attacking every step taken or propose that this government is taking to ensure that the economy stays strong.
Mr. Abbott has one answer to every problem. Bad government and carbon tax. I am afraid the carbon tax is not causing the present problems and by discarding will not fix them.
Mr. Abbott accuses this government of being high taxing and spending. The data proves otherwise.
The media should be talking about policy of both Mr. Abbott And the PM. They should be analysing it and pulling it apart.
They should not be wasting their time. creating stories every day of the PM’ demise.
I suggest that many should take a step back, do some research and make their own minds up.
But how would News Ltd turn a buck!??
Lenore Taylor in today’s Age:
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/follow-the-leader–its-not-a-game-20120206-1r1wn.html
Paraphrase: Its not the end! We will keep on with these stories but feel sympathy for us poor journo’s cos its hard to tell truth from fiction.
sheesh… from Lenore too. I expected better.
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