Politicians, the mass-media, and social commentators---Who Do They Think They're Fooling?
October 29th 2006 11:15
They appear before elections, after major news events, in papers and magazines, they are the 'spin doctors', pushing their own political and monetary agendas/opinions for all they're worth. And here lies the problem, some of these agendas/opinions at best are confusing and misleading to citizens, at worst, should never be allowed to enter the public arena.
The events leading up to the last Australian federal election is a case-in-point. A ship (Tampa) arrives in Australian waters carrying refugees picked up from a doomed vessel on-route. The Liberal government of the time subsequently denies access to the mainland and shunts the refugees to one of our island neighbours for processing. Now, considering that same year the government allowed 107366 (ABS Stats) settlers to migrate to Australia, of which 11530 were of Chinese, Indian, and Vietnamese origin. To me, this action seems harsh, if not downright bigotry?
However, enter the 'spin doctors', professional politicians, social commentators, talk-back radio hosts, and before you can say 'we've taken enought already' and 'usurping Australian jobs', public opinion, especially in traditional Labor heartlands like Western Sydney, is swayed to the government's stance. The result being the Liberal government wins an election it had no right to. Of course, there was a certain campaign bungling by Labor, but the fact remains, the 'spin doctors' made their mark.
The point I'm trying to get across here, is that in today's political climate, the advent of mass-media and group ownership, citizens need to read behind the lines. Look for affiliations, motivations, who owns what and why are they pushing that angle. The old saying, 'don't believe anything you here and only half of what you see', is becoming more relevant with each passing day.
PW
The events leading up to the last Australian federal election is a case-in-point. A ship (Tampa) arrives in Australian waters carrying refugees picked up from a doomed vessel on-route. The Liberal government of the time subsequently denies access to the mainland and shunts the refugees to one of our island neighbours for processing. Now, considering that same year the government allowed 107366 (ABS Stats) settlers to migrate to Australia, of which 11530 were of Chinese, Indian, and Vietnamese origin. To me, this action seems harsh, if not downright bigotry?
The point I'm trying to get across here, is that in today's political climate, the advent of mass-media and group ownership, citizens need to read behind the lines. Look for affiliations, motivations, who owns what and why are they pushing that angle. The old saying, 'don't believe anything you here and only half of what you see', is becoming more relevant with each passing day.
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