[adr1an]

I heard this presentation a few weeks ago and have been meaning to post it up here as I found so many of the topics Kerry covers in his talk are really the crux of what seems to come up so often...

Kerry is a very highly regarded Journalist in this country, a firm 'part of the furniture' when it comes to political commentary... and I found some of his comments very relevant to the media today.

You can access the Audio MP3 or Video of the presentation at
Kerry O’Brien: The Race to the Bottom in Politics and Journalism - Politics - Browse - Big Ideas - ABC TV

The highlights are at http://www.abc.net.au/tv/bigideas/browse/video_popup.htm?vidURL=/tv/bigideas...ngth=Highlight ... But I highly recommend taking the hour to watch/listen to it in its entirety..

(p.s... this is why I really appreciate the Australian Broadcasting Corporation... no Commercial Station would ever carry this! )

Kerry O’Brien: The Race to the Bottom in Politics and Journalism
In his first public lecture since semi-retirement, O’Brien argues politics and journalism have always been “inextricably linked in a kind of necessary love-hate dance”. Trouble is, he tells his university audience, the dance has become an ever downward spiral.

07 Jun 2011, 11:00
Kerry O’Brien is one of the most well-regarded names in Australian journalism. With a career spanning 45 years, he has been awarded six Walkley Awards and the coveted Gold Walkley, the highest honour in Australian journalism. The host of the ABC’s Lateline for six years, Kerry later moved to The 7.30 Report in December 1995, and only concluded his time on the program in December 2010.

O’Brien was delivering the annual Wallace Wurth Memorial Lecture at the University of New South Wales.
Kerry O’Brien is an Australian journalist based in Sydney. He is the former editor and host of The 7.30 Report on the ABC and the present host of the current affairs show Four Corners. O'Brien started as a news cadet in 1966 working his up through newspapers, wire services and television news and current affairs. He has had roles as a general reporter, feature writer, political and foreign correspondent, interviewer and compere, and also served as press secretary to then Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. He has interviewed many world leaders including President Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, Tony Blair, Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher.

Anyway - Yes some parts are Australian Centric.. but if you run with the *loose* Translation that Labor is "The Democrats" and Liberal are the "Republicans" (don't ask, just work with it) - then I'm sure one or two of you might find it just as interesting given the number of problems he highlights that are of a truly global issue...

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Last edited by adr1an; 07-16-2011 at 07:50 AM.

[jolepp]

Thanks for the food for thought.

Although a state owned broadcasting company sounds bad on paper (as in 'government propaganda') they (such as ABC, BBC, CBC, ... or own local YLE) are very nice to have around if only to make sure that there is a way to complain about the private ones which provide the same service for the state owned one .

[adr1an]

Thanks for the food for thought.

Although a state owned broadcasting company sounds bad on paper (as in 'government propaganda') they (such as ABC, BBC, CBC, ... or own local YLE) are very nice to have around if only to make sure that there is a way to complain about the private ones which provide the same service for the state owned one .

Glad to contribute it... I think a lot of what he discusses are international issues - the stuff about Astroturfing and particularly the change in newsrooms.... I certainly found it interesting - especially coming from a journalist!.. I found it 55mins well invested listening

And I completely agree re "Public Broadcasters" (thats the term the ABC/BBC prefer - They do have a "Charter" they pretty much do live up to most of the time and are very removed from govt. influence beyond funding... but the public does love 'their' ABC and I do respect it over and above any commercial station these days in terms of ethics... ) ... My favourite 15 minutes of television each week is "Media Watch" Media Watch (ABC TV) - again a program that would only find a home on the ABC...

[redrockcoulee]

Thanks for the food for thought.

Although a state owned broadcasting company sounds bad on paper (as in 'government propaganda') they (such as ABC, BBC, CBC, ... or own local YLE) are very nice to have around if only to make sure that there is a way to complain about the private ones which provide the same service for the state owned one .

Not sure I even agree that it sounds bad on paper as part of the mandate of the CBC anyways is to provide coverage for stories that would not have been anyway and even more importantly although perhaps not so important now a days with internet and satellite but was to provide more local coverage in places that do not have sufficient population to pay for private broadcasters. An example is our north which is sparsely populated much of it by First Nations and we are more than happy to extract all the resources we can so a little in public broadcasting in the way of partial payment.

Public broadcasting is always an easy target for cut backs and that alone makes sure that it does not become an arm of government propaganda.

A few years ago CBC used to have a joint program with ABC and it was very interesting to see the same or similar stories covered in different ways by the two corporations. Now all we get is Sea Patrol.

[adr1an]

.... Now all we get is Sea Patrol.

I'm really really sorry

The abc website listed above covers lots of programs, many watchable internationally