Friday, February 25, 2005
Media tsunami
There’s change afoot in the arcane word of the Media. Firstly, with the announcement yesterday by Communications Minister Helen “The Cooze” Coonan of the appointment of Janet Albrectson to the board of the ABC.
Out first thought, when hearing of this, was to wonder why we haven’t seen John Elliot appointed to run the ACCC. He is after all, vastly experienced in both business and corporate law.
Listening to Coonan’s explanation didn’t make it any clearer either. Albrectson's both a writer and a lawyer which makes her qualified, but so are David Marr and Margo Kingston - It surely must have been a close contest.
We also considered her alleged qualification as “Skanky Ho” as a possibility. That she was being sent to put it about a bit, as a reward to the Gentlemen and Ladies (Janet is reputedly quite openminded) of the board for the excellent and efficient performance of the Corporation this year, it still didn't add up however.
Finally we thought about the bigger media picture. We thought about the recent behaviour of Channel Nine. Treating well known cricket fan PM Howard so abysmally last year, treating West Wing viewers poorly with unannounced schedule changes, and arrogantly claiming to be still the one and Australia’s premier network, and the one Australian turn to first. All this while their ratings are sagging. Its clear that they've lost the plot (and quite possibly their nerve), and they cap it off by treating Australia's most trustworthy man Ray Martin so shabbily.
We suspect, that the Albrectson appointment is the government’s way of sticking it to Channel Nine, by making the ABC meaner, less constrained and refined, more flexible with the truth, and more capable of winning back the ABC’s rightful place as Australia’s most turned to network, to build up it's stocks, its credibility - before they float it.
Note: 3000 character limit on comments Out first thought, when hearing of this, was to wonder why we haven’t seen John Elliot appointed to run the ACCC. He is after all, vastly experienced in both business and corporate law.
Listening to Coonan’s explanation didn’t make it any clearer either. Albrectson's both a writer and a lawyer which makes her qualified, but so are David Marr and Margo Kingston - It surely must have been a close contest.
We also considered her alleged qualification as “Skanky Ho” as a possibility. That she was being sent to put it about a bit, as a reward to the Gentlemen and Ladies (Janet is reputedly quite openminded) of the board for the excellent and efficient performance of the Corporation this year, it still didn't add up however.
Finally we thought about the bigger media picture. We thought about the recent behaviour of Channel Nine. Treating well known cricket fan PM Howard so abysmally last year, treating West Wing viewers poorly with unannounced schedule changes, and arrogantly claiming to be still the one and Australia’s premier network, and the one Australian turn to first. All this while their ratings are sagging. Its clear that they've lost the plot (and quite possibly their nerve), and they cap it off by treating Australia's most trustworthy man Ray Martin so shabbily.
We suspect, that the Albrectson appointment is the government’s way of sticking it to Channel Nine, by making the ABC meaner, less constrained and refined, more flexible with the truth, and more capable of winning back the ABC’s rightful place as Australia’s most turned to network, to build up it's stocks, its credibility - before they float it.
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