It's an amazing state of affairs, when we have major issues with new industrial relations laws, people protesting in the streets. The oil companies (with the government riding on their back) are ripping us off, week by week.
Prime Minister John Howard made a statement on Monday, saying the Big Brother show should be axed. Big Brother, like all TV shows, will be axed when no one watches it. If it doesn't breach any laws, then it has as much right to be on air as any other TV show.
More to the point, this man is charged with making the most important decisions critical to the running of the country, and he makes a statement on something so trivial as a late night reality TV show? Is Big Brother really a big issue for this country that requires prime ministerial intervention?
I have a message to John Howard: If I don't like Big Brother, I will turn it off. I will decide if I think it's a "stupid program". One would think that such a professional politician would not make such sweeping and subjective comments.
What I do need you to do, though Mr Howard, is look into price gouging by petrol companies, as, unlike Big Brother, there is no button I can push to remove the damage the spiralling fuel prices (and the taxes you reap as a result of them) are doing to this country.
I think John Howard was perhaps trying to appeal to his conservative base of supporters by denouncing the show. Either that, or there was another issue that happened that day that he would rather we didn't know about.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Today Tonight
I found a brilliant article which basically outlines the show "Today Tonight". We could substitute the show for "60 Minutes", "A Current Affair", or any other trashy show that calls it's self a current affairs show.
Anyone who watches these shows and takes them seriously as news really must have a gullability problem. I personally find their recurring "reports" on car hoons quite a laugh. They normally find a group of idiots playing around in a car park on a Saturday night, find some stupid teenagers and ask them provicative questions that will produce the right answers. I have even heard a story of one of these groups of reporters asking drivers to do burnouts so they can get it on camera.
They then slice and dice the footage, use selective quotes, along with old footage, similar stories that they know their brain-dead audience will have forgotten about, to create a headline like "car hoons take over Sydney".
They then wheel out "experts" like Fred Nile and Harold Scruby, who really should have full time jobs on the the show, as they have just as much credibility.
Personally I couldn't care less if TV stations air this rubbish. The scary thing is that so many Australians actually watch and believe it as truth. This is obvious. If it were not the case, these shows would not still be on TV.
It would be an interesting study to see if watching shows like Today Tonight and A Current Affair actually have an impact on brain function and critical thinking ability.
- Here is another link pointing to some intelligent public criticism of trashy shows that pose as "news" such as Today Tonight.
- Yet another public forum, with some discussion of Today Tonight and A Current Affair
- Here's a great article on the way these programs exploit young people.
Anyone who watches these shows and takes them seriously as news really must have a gullability problem. I personally find their recurring "reports" on car hoons quite a laugh. They normally find a group of idiots playing around in a car park on a Saturday night, find some stupid teenagers and ask them provicative questions that will produce the right answers. I have even heard a story of one of these groups of reporters asking drivers to do burnouts so they can get it on camera.
They then slice and dice the footage, use selective quotes, along with old footage, similar stories that they know their brain-dead audience will have forgotten about, to create a headline like "car hoons take over Sydney".
They then wheel out "experts" like Fred Nile and Harold Scruby, who really should have full time jobs on the the show, as they have just as much credibility.
Personally I couldn't care less if TV stations air this rubbish. The scary thing is that so many Australians actually watch and believe it as truth. This is obvious. If it were not the case, these shows would not still be on TV.
It would be an interesting study to see if watching shows like Today Tonight and A Current Affair actually have an impact on brain function and critical thinking ability.
- Here is another link pointing to some intelligent public criticism of trashy shows that pose as "news" such as Today Tonight.
- Yet another public forum, with some discussion of Today Tonight and A Current Affair
- Here's a great article on the way these programs exploit young people.
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