Comment
netdaily.net.au
North Coast news daily:
In the freedom bunker with Tim
Volume 28 #29
December 31, 2013
Powerful tools in PR He said he is a ‘powerful tool’, in the media and yes, he is a tool. ‘I have an article on drink driving that I reckon would fit great on the pages of The Echo,’ was the email opener, and that seemed innocuous enough. It was a ‘cold call’ email from an Australian public relations company spokesperson, and he offered at first glance what looked like a news item. And when I checked his website, the penny dropped. I had wasted my time: the opening paragraph said they spread ‘a brand’s message through creative and colourful content strategy’. Indeed one of the ‘articles’ posted gushed in support of the fossil fuel industry. So I asked, ‘Are you shilling a product in the guise of it being “content”? Just a thought – no accusations here, just curiosity.’ While it seemed slightly antagonistic to keep questioning his integrity (he eventually had enough of me), it is reasonable to be fiercely protective of information. After all, we live in an age where there are more employed in the public relations sector than journalism. It’s a recent tipping point, and one that many people would know. But not everyone. Which leads us to the US news and entertainment website, BuzzFeed. The Guardian last week reported that it is swimming in cash, raised primarily from presenting advertorial, or advertising that looks like news editorial. It strikes at the heart of ‘old’ news media because the two have always been separated. And for good reason: journalism that operates without fear or favour is the most valuable. Anyway, the point is that there is a push, through newly discovered social media principles, to encourage us to interact with products so we might end up buying them. It’s a clear departure from traditional news gathering and makes the credibility of news unclear. On the bright side, a new journalism venture worth a reported $250 million has been launched between eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and former Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald. Greenwald is one of the few voices that question the powerful and elite, so let’s hope he has the courage to ask whether eBay should be taxed more in light of the effect eBay has on traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers. Hans Lovejoy, editor
The Byron Shire Echo Established 1986 General Manager Simon Haslam Editor Hans Lovejoy Photographer Jeff Dawson Advertising Manager Stuart Amos Production Manager Ziggi Browning
Nicholas Shand 1948–1996 Founding Editor
‘The job of a newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.’ – Finley Peter Dunne 1867–1936 © 2013 Echo Publications Pty Ltd – ABN 86 004 000 239 Mullumbimby: Village Way, Stuart St. Ph 02 6684 1777 Fax 02 6684 1719 Byron Bay: Level 1, Byron Community Centre, 69 Jonson St. Ph 6685 5222 Printer: Horton Media Australia Ltd Reg. by Aust. Post Pub. No. NBF9237
T
he appointment of Tim Wilson, a senior warrior from the right wing think tank and lobby group the Institute of Public Affairs, as a Human Rights Commissioner (HRC) has come as an understandable shock to the public. After all, he had barely drawn breath since demanding that the HRC be abolished, destroyed, expunged from the face of the Earth. But the money was good, so as a convinced free enterpriser, he would have been morally remiss if he had failed to grab it. The argument of the attorney-general, George Brandis, that Wilson’s presence was necessary to redress the balance away from human rights and in favour of free speech sounded a little like sophistry. After all, unlike most other HRC’s present clients, free speech already has plenty of high-powered defenders: a year ago the media proprietors secured the rejection of the reform package proposed by one of Brandis’s predecessors, Nicola Roxon, and in the same week that Brandis announced Wilson’s appointment the High Court rejected the New South Wales Liberal government’s attempts to ban corporate donations to political parties on the grounds that it would infringe the right to free speech. However, fairness dictated that we should give the other side of the argument a hearing, so after prolonged negotiation I was granted an exclusive interview with the incoming commissioner. It took place in the headquarters of the IPA – not the Institute’s public office, but the secret underground bunker in which the IPA stashes its supplies of propaganda and firearms against the day the Left attempts to regain power and the forces of right (and Right) are
needed to restore public order. Naturally I am not allowed to divulge the exact location, but I can say that the bunker is located in one of Sydney’s more expensive and salubrious suburbs, handy to shops, transport and a turbo-charged luxury cruiser in case of the need for evacuation. It is furnished simply and tastefully in stainless steel and black leather, and staffed by a team of devoted retainers who are, for obvious reasons, never allowed to leave the premises – even freedom must have its limits. Around the walls are shelves lined with remaindered copies of the IPA’s numerous publica-
show consistently that the ABC is the most loved and trusted media outlet in the country. This is clearly unfair to the private broadcasters – I mean, how can you have real free speech if people don’t love and trust Foxtel?’ His logic was, as always, impeccable, but I still felt a shade of unease. Surely the point was that the ABC provided services and points of view that the commercials did not because they found them unprofitable? ‘Precisely,’ rejoined Wilson, ‘that’s what’s unfair about it.’ If the commercials had the money the ABC spends on the left-wing arty farty nonsense,
That Tim Wilson has not been offered a gig hosting Play School is a clear indication of the ABC’s bias.
by Mungo MacCallum tions – Capitalising Civilisation, The Equality Myth, Give Feudalism a Chance, Brainwashing for Fun and Profit and A Child’s Garden of Advertising Jingles, among others. And at an imposing desk sat Tim Wilson, checking the proofs of his latest monograph – The Iron Fist in the Carbon Steel Glove: a tribute to Margaret Thatcher. In the flesh (or at least I assumed it was flesh) Wilson is a shy and retiring man, devoted to his researches, his writing and some occasional S and M. His rare forays into public life have included 1,832 pieces of printed polemic and 2,624 appearances on the electronic media, including 37 as a panellist on the ABC’s notoriously left-wing Q&A panel. But he has not, he complains, been offered a gig hosting Play School – a clear indication of the national broadcaster’s bias. ‘The figures speak for themselves,’ Wilson avers. ‘Surveys
they could use it to provide even more of the stuff that is profitable. Free speech in action.’ So moving right along, I asked Wilson how he saw his new role as Human Rights Commissioner. He drew himself to his full height, and then improved it by climbing on the desk. ‘I,’ he proclaimed, ‘will be the representative of the forgotten people. ‘The huddled masses yearning to breathe free. People ignored by the elitist latte-sippers, by readers of the Fairfax press. Those striving to be heard above the politically correct left-wing clamour of The Monthly. People like…’ he paused reverently ‘… Andrew Bolt. Piers Akerman. Alan Jones. Ray Hadley. ‘The homeless, tempest-tost. Or should that perhaps be tossed? Never mind, you get the drift.’ I said that I did, but didn’t those people already have their own grandstands in the media? They were hardly short of a
voice. ‘Up to a point,’ conceded Wilson, ‘but there are still many misguided folk who don’t take them seriously, who treat them as clowns and bullies. ‘I intend to make sure they are seen as the philosopher kings that ratings assure us they are. That is free speech.’ I asked him if these were his own thoughts, or were they at all influenced by the IPA, which was, after all, his paymaster. And anyway, who were the people behind the IPA? Were they actually the ones calling the tune? Wilson looked scandalised. ‘You aren’t asking me to reveal their identities,’ he gasped, ‘to invade their privacy. That would be totally unethical and besides not only would they stop paying me, they would probably send a hit man after me. ‘After all, the right to free speech includes the right to speak not freely, or to not speak freely, or to freely not speak, or something.’ He looked genuinely agitated. ‘I mean, I can tell you, the IPA’s sponsors are just ordinary Australians like you and me. Mining conglomerates. Gigantic monopoly cartels. Media barons. Tobacco companies. Arms dealers. Australia’s unsung heroes.’ Not wishing to upset him further, this reporter made his excuses and left, realising that he had never before appreciated the plight of those Wilson rightly sees as his forgotten people. The lonely, the misunderstood and the criminally insane. Now, finally, they will have a voice. And if they use it to attack, denigrate, defame and put the boot into those who are already down and out, well, that’s just exercising their human rights. That’s what George Brandis and the government he represents really mean by freedom of speech. Q See Mungo’s video at
Award-winning Fusion
Children’s Dentistry Mrs Rachel Andersson, BOralH (OHT) As a Dental Therapist, Rachel provides treatment LQFOXGLQJ ¿ OOLQJV WR FKLOGUHQ DQG DGROHVFHQWV XS WR the age of 18. Childhood is a very important period in a person’s ‘dental life’ and for this reason Rachel has a strong desire to provide children and parents with information about dental issues and help them change behaviours that may be destructive to the health of their mouth.
BANGALOW BOWLING CLUB THURSDAY 16 JANUARY, 8PM PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT! BOOK NOW – bangalowbowlo.com.au PH (02) 6687 2741 www.glennshorrock.com
8 December 31, 2013 The Byron Shire Echo
www.briancadd.com
Rachel is fantastic with kids. Her friendly and sympathetic manner will make your child’s dental experience a positive one. Available for treatment under the Child Dental %HQH¿ WV 6FKHGXOH &'%6 FRPPHQFLQJ -DQXDU\
Teacher Training Byron Bay, Tuscany Italy Wellbeing Retreats Tuscany Award–winning DVDs Find a class near you, see website for info
T s E
info@yogalates.com.au
VISIT US ONLINE AT
yogalates.com.au
Byron Shire Echo archives: www.echo.net.au