Our weekly look at media spin tactics: let’s dissect the PR that aims to blow one’s own horn, bury one’s errors, resurrect the shambling zombie corpses of well-flogged deceased equines, and ooh look A Big Distracting Thing.
N.B. please stay on topic – this thread is for holding up a mirror to the tactics of the spinning Hollow Men. Breaking news stories are relevant only so far as the subtext of the message they are selling and how it plays to counter opposing messages – discussions of policy detail and implications etc belong on topical threads (if a relevant thread doesn’t exist, please request one in the latest open thread).
I linked to a story by Alexandra Kirk about asylum seekers, the other day, where she appears to have taken on the role of chief coalition spin doctor. Tim Dunlop has given the article the treatment it deserves.
http://tjd.posterous.com/how-bad-journalism-happens-an-example-3
Some kind of spin going on – and I dont know what it are – over the state of Liberal finances with Steven Maine, out today, estimating that Liberal coffers hold 27 million dollars in bank shares. Yes, bank shares!
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/senior-libs-fear-for-party-finances/story-e6frea8c-1225949097798
Thanks for the links joe2. Alexander Kirk is one of many at the ABC who appear to have little journalistic talent, flair or originality. Like her counterparts, the main reason for her employment appears to be the ability to regurgitate coalition press releases with a straight face.
Theyse going broke. {{=:}
(its moments like these you reall do need Smileys to express yer delight.)
No Paul, just bullshitting. Business as usual.
It seems, according to Maine, they are out there, yelling about teh evel banks, crying poor themselves and waiting for the big windfall of dividends that will arrive in the mail next week.
Dunno if this qualifies as spin, exactly, but it’s solid gold self-serving bullshit.
The biggest spin going around right now is actually an outright lie, which is the FoxNews-line in the US right now that Obama’s current diplomatic trip to India/SE Asia is (a) costing $200 million per day and (b) a vacation at taxpayers’ expense rather than a typical presidential duty.
As Pandagon asks: Is there any lie too stupid that they won’t believe it?
In another thread, Adrian quotes Kim Beazley completely rebutting the latest “arrogant Rudd” reporting:
Interesting what a good run the original unsubstantiated claim from an unnamed source got though.
Clearly there are quite a few people, some of whom frequent this blog, who will only be happy when Rudd retires completely from politics, hopefully in circumstances as humiliating as possible.
What goes around comes around!
For all those interested in the rights of asylum seekers, the High Court has just handed down a landmark judgement in favour of two asylum seekers who claimed they were denied procedural fairness by being subject to offshore processing procedures. Very interesting to see how the government spins its way out of this one.
Meanwhile Tony Abbott advocates that we elect our judges to reflect ‘community concerns’.
On the High Court decision, guess who the ABC exhumed to comment on the case:
“Coalition backbencher Philip Ruddock, who was immigration minister in the Howard Government, has called it a “diabolical” decision.”
Don’t bother getting a legal authority’s views or refugee advocates, and the government’s response can come later- the ABC wants to hear from a minister in the Howard government first.
tigtog @ 7 – that report apparently came out of the Indian press originally.
http://factcheck.org/2010/11/ask-factcheck-trip-to-mumbai/
and FoxNews obviously have a lot of incentive not to check the numbers. I wonder if it was originally just a simple currency conversion error?