Tuesday, May 20, 2008

WATCHING MEDIA WATCH

ABC's Media Watch has taken up the cause of poor journalism and biased reporting with a piece on Ed O'Loughlin's self-serving farewell to his readers (see The foul fog of a media war). Its item, entitled Saying Goodbye is Hard to Do, does exactly what O'Loughlin been doing for the past 5½ long years: spreading anti-Israel propaganda by telling only one side of the story and avoiding a host of inconvenient truths that stand in the way of this agenda.

The Media Watch people resort to concocting a conspiracy theory as they point the finger of responsibility at the supposedly ubiquous Israel lobby for being behind the Sydney Morning Herald's decision not to publish O'Loughlin's swan song.

Stand aside, Senator Joe McCarthy, the Media Watch pundits are in town!

Never mind that O'Loughlin's work failed to stand any normal test of objectivity or that it was so manifestly lopsided in its approach that you could seen through it from a kilometre's distance or that the SMH might simply have seen it as a vile, pathetic and unnecessary, final lunge of the knife at his critics on O'Loughlin's part. When paranoid ABC apparatchiks stand by their man, with who they no doubt share their views on the conflict, they do it with style.

And we're getting very tired of this ridiculous claim that the media should adopt a pro-Israel stance. All we've ever asked for is a balanced coverage of the events that take place. That means putting forward both sides of the argument and not hiding anything that paints Palestinian society in a bad light in the blank pages.

This is exactly what the Media Watch people does with its Ed O'Loughlin story. Instead of investigating what's really behind it, they highlight their own bias and inadequacy by avoiding the very thing they are meant to expose - the violation of journalistic principles. That Media Watch fails to even look at the substance of the criticism raised by various groups about O'Loughin's work is a shameful admission of abject failure on its part.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Poor Ed.

He goes crying to the Jewish News, they publish his silly self-justifying piece of crap and a number of responses which are backed up by solid evidence. The letters to the AJN show he has virtually no support among the readership apart from one psycophant who supports any cause critical of Israel.

He has no answer so he writes some more drivel and Fairfax Melbourne publishes but Fairfax Sydney doesn't.

Wa wa!

That's a 50% acceptance rate (which is 50% more than he gave to Israel).

Then he goes crying to Media Watch.

Wa wa!

The Israel Lobby.

Wa wa!

PS: Love the bit about seeing his bullshit a kilometre away. Shana na na. Wa wa!

Anonymous said...

An acrimonious debate over the biography of Ed O'Loughlin in Wikipedia culminated in the deletion of the biography altogether. The grounds for deletion were that despite worldwide criticism of this journalist from independent sources, O'Loughlin did not reach a level of notoriety required beyond all doubt required for an encyclopaedia.

On the 18th of January 2008 O'Loughlin himself entered the debate asking for the biography to be deleted and concluding: "My employers, whose commitment to truth in journalism comes second to no media organisation in Australia or indeed the world, has seen fit to extend my contract here from the original two years to five years and counting."

...and a couple months later he is gone! Perhaps "Media Report" should not believe everything O'loughlin tells it.

Anonymous said...

The real issue with O'Loughlin is whether he was a journalist reporting on the events in the region where he was posted or a propagandist for a particular cause. Media Watch ignored that issue and focussed solely on the alleged plot by the Israel or Jewish lobby to silence him.

Hypocrisy when you consider how O'Loughlin silenced so many voices in his 5 and a half year stint as part time PR chief for the Palestinians.

Anonymous said...

When it's a point favourable to Israel, it's always "the Israel lobby". When it's anti-Israel, it's always "the truth". What better proof is there than Ed O'Loughlin's truthful reporting?

Anonymous said...

Media Release from the Member for Melbourne Ports

Jackie Mason Writing Media Watch Scripts

"Jackie Mason, the New York Jewish comic must be writing the scripts of the ABC Media Watch Program", Michael Danby, the Member for Melbourne Ports, claimed today.

"Last night the ABC Media Watch program implied that a column I wrote for the Jewish News 8 months ago criticising Fairfax Middle East reporter Ed O'Loughlin was at least partially responsible for the Age spiking (censoring), the Age/SMH O'Loughlin's final column," Danby said.

"This leap of logic, this vastly exaggerated claim of Jewish power is straight out of the humour of the American comedian, Jackie Mason. By using extravagant exaggeration, particularly on claims about the sinister, "all powerful Jews", Mason ridicules the paranoid excesses of such rhetoric about "Zionist lobbies", etc," Michael Danby explained.

"Media Watch was unprofessional and failed to solicit my view before broadcasting the program. Perhaps it is no coincidence that I trenchantly criticised the previous Executive Producer Tim Palmer in the past. Years ago I criticised Palmer when he was former ABC Middle East correspondent for his refusal to interview Arnold Roth, the father of Malki Roth, the first Australian murdered by Palestinian homicide bombers. Roth was interviewed by practically every newspaper and broadcaster in the Western world apart from the ABC".

Anonymous said...

Jonathan Holmes was taken to task by Gerard Henderson for a 4 corners report in which he explained that Jewish "neo-cons" were behind the push for a war in Iraq. Holmes didn't take well to the criticism. As Henderson said at the time:

"My (gratuitous) advice is that, if you do not want to be criticised, do not make claims which you cannot substantiate. Like maintaining in American Dreamers that a Jewish "hidden agenda” is influencing US
policy in the Middle East. If you do make such an assertion, expect genuine criticism - which you should not link with ridicule. Or even gall."

How pertinent! A shame he didn't listen - now he is making unsubstantiated claims about a Jewish "hidden agenda" influencing SMH editorial policy. Let's see how well he responds to criticism this time.

Anonymous said...

Dear Anonymous,

They are unsubstantiated too. Apparently, Danby has indicated for the record that he "did not know O'Loughlin article was being published let alone speak to the odious Jaspan."

Media Watch has scored an own goal.

Anonymous said...

Censor this:

You are so stupid for letting Israel damage you standing as Jews in the world. Wake up and start complaining to Israel instead of & media watch.

Wilbur Post said...

Dear Anonymous 10:16

I wouldn't dream of censoring your message.

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Dear censor This,

As far as Israel damaging Israels standing in the world, the Palestinains and A-rabs only wish they could stand as high as the Israeli {jews] do how many hightec companies do the Palestinians or A-rabs have on the NASDAQ { I guess Mr Censor should Google NASDAQ to find out what it is}

How many Palestinains or A-rabs have won Nobel prizes Mr Censor and how come Israel a country One third the size of Tasmania { I guess you know where that is] and such a tiny population with no Oil cash flow can stand up to the Hundreds of Millions of A-rabs with all their oil Cash that has bought them the UN and Europe...I guess its luck Israeli's and Jews have the brains and the courage to stay around for so long against all the odds. you don't have to worry Mr Censor Israel or the Jews ain't going anywhere soon its The Palestinains that will have to change their Ways!