Bias and the media
The recent ranting of the minister for communication, Senator Alston, alleging biased ABC reporting of the waterside dispute is very revealing. His allegation is as false and hypocritical as his Liberal colleagues' claim that the wharfies are "overpaid bludgers".
If there has been any bias in the ABC's coverage of the dispute, it has been to favour Patrick Stevedores and the government. As media commentator Peter Reid wrote in the May 13 issue of Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly: "Truth was the first casualty in the waterfront dispute, embattled wharfies being out-gunned by the propaganda clout of Patrick Stevedores, backed to the hilt by the Howard government, the National Farmers Federation and employer groups".
Alston's accusation is part of the Howard government's continuing efforts to cut funding to the ABC and place greater restrictions on programs, producers and journalists. It is also a crude attempt to undermine public support for the wharfies.
Alston claims he supports the ABC's "independence in programming and editorial policies". Yet the minister disapproves of the ABC involving a Canadian academic in a TV debate on the GST because he is an activist with left-wing leanings. Well, you're not going to have much of a "debate" if contributors are limited to the Business Council of Australia and their friends, are you?
Bias in the media is real, but it favours the rich and powerful. This is who Alston is batting for.
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