Our weekly (mostly) look at media spin tactics: let’s dissect the PR and propaganda 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!
It’s the silly season, and thus it’s time for all good hacks and flacks to try and bury announcements they’d rather people didn’t pay any attention to in amidst the tinsel and stuffing. What examples have you noticed this week?
Please note – this thread’s just for the analysis of media manoeuvres and their intended effects – discussion of other aspects of issues of interest belongs elsewhere. e.g. browse the archives | roundtables | open thread
It really is very quiet out there in media land this week, isn’t it? Perhaps we should have a Best/Worst of Spin 2011 retrospective thread instead?
I’m going to go with the wailing and gnashing of teeth from Big Tobacco in the face of the proposed plain packaging legislation as Worst Spin of 2011 (does anybody else really care?), and Best Spin of 2011 in Oz has to go to the A License to Punt is un-Australian campaign against pokie restrictions – that one’s been annoyingly effective.
I thought the Press Council was currying favour with the hate media with the timing of this one, given they could never have dismissed it because of the extreme nature of the lies involved. Releasing it at least likely time was the best they could do.
oops. forgot the link http://www.abc.net.au/technology/articles/2011/12/23/3397389.htm
@2, I’m shocked that the msm would have so grossly misrepresented the facts in any article about NBN or other government program. Who woulda thunk it? lol
@ 4
Yea, sure Jane, the MSM shouldn’t even be allowed to show pictures that Gillard and Bowen don’t want you to see.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-28/acmas-asylum-seeker-rules-dubbed-censorship/3749874
But don’t worry, their toughening up the rules.
@5, frankly if the msm says it’s raining, I know I don’t need a raincoat or an umbrella.
The MSM are racist propaganda merchants whose sole function is to make war a vote winner!
NO ONE can deny that war is a vote winner unfortunately!!