Peter Harvey, Channel 9 Journalist, Dies, 68

Mar 02, 2013 Leave a Comment

Peter Harvey, best known as a Channel 9 journalist over nearly four decades, has died at the age of 68.

Harvey died from pancreatic cancer.

In a storied career, Harvey became famous for his “Peter Harvey – Canberra” sign-off. He reported politics from Canberra for two decades, starting in 1975 just before the Whitlam Dismissal.

In an interview shown tonight, Harvey remembered standing on the steps of Parliament House supporting his cameraman as Gough Whitlam famously delivered his “Kerr’s cur” speech.


Filed Under: Media, Political History, Video, Whitlam Dismissal Tagged With: ,

Malcolm Turnbull: “It Has Never Been Easier To Get Away With Telling Lies”

Dec 27, 2012 2 Comments

The Shadow Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has again lamented the “game of politics” and decried the dumbing down of political debate.

Speaking at the Woodford Folk Festival on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Turnbull said “it has never been easier to get away with the glib one-liner”.

Turnbull said “broadcasters, or politicians or writers…who think that they are respecting ‘struggle street’, the battlers, …by dumbing things down into one-line soundbites are not respecting them, they are treating them with contempt.

“Because it is our job, above all in politics, to tackle the big issues, and to explain them and have the honesty to say to people, ‘there are no easy solutions here’. If the answer to global warming was obvious and simple, we’d have it licked by now.”

Turnbull said politicians need to deal in “facts, not spin”. He said the current situation “has never been worse”.

Filed Under: Liberal Party, Media, Parliament, Political Words, Video Tagged With: , ,

Subtlety Lost: Craig Emerson On The Australian Media

Dec 23, 2012 3 Comments

The Minister for Trade, Craig Emerson, has written an opinion piece criticising coverage by the Australian media of recent political controversies.

EmersonEmerson focuses on the Gillard-AWU issue and the issues surrounding the sexual harassment case brought by James Ashby against Peter Slipper. He is especially critical of coverage by the News Limited papers, The Australian and The Daily Telegraph.

Emerson also directs his fire at Tony Abbott, Julie Bishop and Christopher Pyne.

Of the media overall, Emerson says: “I am not asserting there is a general bias in the media. Some editors and a few journalists are blatantly biased. That has always been the case. But the real problem is the abandonment of professional standards to give effect to that bias. All subtlety is lost.”

Text of an opinion piece by the Minister for Trade, Craig Emerson.

Subtlety lost

At Sydney University in the early 1970s a course simply called “Government” was offered to economics, arts and law students. It was a time of social upheaval and the election of the Whitlam Government had ended 23 years of conservative rule. The Murdoch press had backed a change of government.

My tutor in Government, Lex Watson, a gay rights activist, had set us a task: to identify bias in the media. But as left-wing as Lex was, the six-week project wasn’t about left versus right, it was about the techniques used by the print media to slant a story to suit an editorial position. [Read more...]

Filed Under: A.L.P., Gillard, Media, Political History Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rupert Murdoch Eulogises His Mother At Memorial Service In Melbourne

Dec 18, 2012 Leave a Comment

Rupert Murdoch has eulogised his mother at her memorial service in Melbourne’s St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch died on December 5, aged 103.

Murdoch

In a service that referred frequently to the actual and metaphorical import of Dame Elisabeth’s love of flowers and gardening, her 81 year old son described his mother as “an exquisite garden that is a life lived always in full bloom”.

Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett also spoke at the service.

Kennett

  • Listen to Rupert Murdoch’s eulogy – text below (10m)

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  • Watch Rupert Murdoch’s eulogy
  • Listen to Jeff Kennett’s eulogy (9m)

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  • Listen to Victorian Governor Alex Chernov (2m)

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  • Listen to Governor-General Quentin Bryce (2m)

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  • Listen to the sermon (11m)

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  • Listen to the singing of ‘All Things Bright And Beautiful’

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Eulogy for Dame Elisabeth Murdoch by her son, Rupert.

Congregation

Slightly more than a century ago, Queen Victoria signed the act that gave birth to the free nation of Australia. Soon after, Elisabeth Joy Greene was born.

In many ways she grew up with this nation: through its youthful beginnings, the hardship of war, all the way to the vibrant society we behold today. In her spirit and her energy, she embodied the finest qualities of this nation.

Today I wish to speak to the extraordinary accomplishments of this exceptional woman. On its own, that would be a formidable task. It is made even more daunting by the obligation of a grateful son: to do justice to a mother whose love gave me more than I could ever hope to repay. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Audio, Audio2012, Governor-General, Media, VIC, Video Tagged With: , , , , ,

What Does It Take To Get Gun Reform In The US?

Dec 16, 2012 Leave a Comment

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NYT

Filed Under: Guns, Media, Obama Tagged With:
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