Does anybody here watch the Aunty?

[2020hindsight]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/26/2172717.htm

Hey Julia, I just found it interesting ok ?. (And I also think it was an appropriate topic for "Aust Story") .

Nicole Cornes was virtually the only Labor candidate to go backwards on election day (swing against the trend etc).

I don't know the other candidate, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he/she was better - probably much better. Still I came away from this "Aust Story" surprised - this bird wasn't as dumb a blonde as the press had presented her. (imo)

And there were some good self-analysis of the press. Probably in the same sense as I really enjoy Media Watch. They (the media that is ) can be totally unscrupulous and totally unfair.

Here's an article by Dr Kathie Muir, a senior lecturer in Gender, Work and Social Inquiry, in the School of Social Science at the University of Adelaide. This article makes many comments about women in politics, - also (true) that inexperience sure didn't help in Nicole Cornes' case.

Colour, emotion
Women politicians and political candidates face particular challenges in the context of mediatised politics.

Women in public life have always struggled to be judged on their performance and their skills rather than their appearance. Despite the rising numbers of female politicians, they are still framed as the exception and regarded as having at least potential novelty value.

In a landscape of boring grey suits they stand out. News editors and journalists look to female political candidates to supply the colour, the visual appeal, and the emotional element of political reporting.

Female candidates, always desperate for the oxygen of publicity, are offered coverage but asked to participate in trite or demeaning photo shoots to 'ensure' the story will be run. Alison Roger's book The Natasha Factor details some of Stott Despoja's experiences in relation to news photographs.

... Julia Gillard's hairstyle and dress sense has been subjected to ridiculous levels of public criticism and her contest with the Liberal's Julie Bishop dubbed 'the style wars' etc .

Scent of blood
The media pack scented blood, with Cornes becoming a regular object of ridicule. She became the exemplar of all that was wrong with celebrity candidates.
........
It took on the elements of an ugly spectator sport with people queuing up for a chance to throw a stone. Cornes experienced the worst of the Australian press gallery in operation.
......
It was an unedifying but instructive episode in the complex relations of media, gender and politics in Australia.

No question Nicole was super-inexperienced, but the point I didn't like was the selective editing by the media. You saw the entire media question-and-answer session - she answers a stack of questions - then as she's desparately trying to break away to attend another appointment - and the aggressive reporters refuse to cooperate - (she'd have been entitled to get angry but she didn't) - she throws in one comment as she hurries away "(for any further questions) please ring my campaign manager"

So guess which comment makes the evening news - just that one - the implication being that she didn't answer or can't answer any questions.

Here are a couple of comments after that ABC article :- I lean towards the second version - but no biggie. Thanks for another interesting doco ABC

Jen : Nicole Cornes was ridiculed because she was an idiot....not because she was a woman. If the media had ignored her ridiculous performance as a political candidate she might have ended up as a member of parliament, responsible for passing laws affecting all of us. This is a much scarier prospect for the women of Australia.

Tan: I don't totally agree that Nicole Corners is an idoit, because she doing her Masters degree, she is probably better behind the scenes than in the limelight. I do agree that if the media had ignored her she would have won the seat and would have done well serving her community. The media is good at creating pollies just look at Pauline Hanson, if the media had ignored her we would have all been better off.

 

[Smurf1976]

And (a bit like media watch) , interesting to see the abuse of "power/influence" that the media are capable of (just imo)

I posted a comment to a News Ltd website the other day. It was factually correct and added to the debate. Just one problem - it ran contrary to the interests of one of their major advertisers though it didn't name any companies. Needless to say it didn't get past their censorship.

Media bias is everywhere to the point of major newspapers attaching headlines that are the total opposite of the article. Presumably just relying on most only reading the headlines to press their vested interests.

Far too many people actually believe what they read / hear IMO. Given that there are errors in the reporting of close to 100% of news items where I know the facts for certain, I can only assume the rest are just as distorted.

 

[2020hindsight]

.. Given that there are errors in the reporting of close to 100% of news items where I know the facts for certain, I can only assume the rest are just as distorted.

spot on smurf - and don't you just love it when Media Watch gives em some scrutiny (and HONESTLY rips em apart - I almost said gives em some of their own medicine but that would achieve nothing).

Some of the miserable excuses that top executives come back with, trying to justify a false verbal attack on someone, or bias, or blatant "cash for comment" - eg John Laws and Alan Jones exposed as hypocritical etc

Love that show !

 

[Boggo]

Nicole Cornes was virtually the only Labor candidate to go backwards on election day (swing against the trend etc).

I don't know the other candidate, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he/she was better - probably much better.

No question Nicole was super-inexperienced, but the point I didn't like was the selective editing by the media.

For those of you who were nowhere near any of the action prior to the election it is obvious that most are going down the old Blond, Molested as a kid, Female in politics, Media target track, give it a rest !

Nicole was fed to the lions, she did'nt stand a snowball in hells chance of even rating as a serious contender against Andrew, the Liberal candidate.

Nicole is a lovely person but she is not a politician, she may have the potential, she should not have been placed in that position at short notice.

Kevin 07 himself could not have unseated the liberal candidate in that seat, what better way for Labour to lose the seat that was unwinnable anyway.

BTW, I live in her electorate.

http://www.pollbludger.com/699

Mike

 

[2020hindsight]

it is obvious that most are going down the old Blond, Molested as a kid, Female in politics, Media target track, give it a rest !....

yes, but as an article in Aus Story .. (human interest etc)

I would argue that there's no need to "give it a rest" , i.e. :-

that it is (possibly) obvious that most (/many/some whatever) are going down the old .. Blond-;-Molested as a kid-;-Female in politics-;-Media target-;-Fed to the lions-;-Did'nt stand a snowball in hell's chance-;-Lovely person-;-but etc -track.

And After all that, I'd say, don't give it a rest - but tell the story!. It's interesting.

Hell m8, just because you know the story - don't deny it from the rest of us

PS I'm sure you'd find it more interesting than an article on Ruddock lol.
Then again - ABC might turn him into a human interest case one day as well - maybe telling his favourite joke (hope his face doesn't crack lol)

 

[2020hindsight]

pfft
some funny comments out there ...:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/26/2172717.htm

"She's an idiot"

"... And parliament isn't full of enough idiots at the moment? What difference would one more make?"

"Hope that Nicole runs again. While she did not perform well in front of the media, I think she would make a good local member..."

and the winning comment is ..

"She should not try for Ministerial ranks however"

 

[2020hindsight]

Four Corners discussing Moslems in Aus
- the counterproductive nature of "hard counter-terror laws"
- quoting this bloke :-
http://www.arts.monash.edu/politics/staff/dwright-neville.php

just started but so far pretty good.

 

[2020hindsight]

After 4 corners on Mondays (and after Media Watch) they have a series on the mafia.
Last week they showed the maxi-trial..

2,665 years of prison sentences were shared out between the guilty

sheesh !
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxi_Trial

The Maxi Trial (Italian: Maxiprocesso) was a criminal trial that took place in Sicily during the mid-1980s that saw hundreds of defendants on trial convicted for a multitude of crimes relating to Mafia activities, based primarily on testimony given in as evidence from a former boss turned informant. The success of the trial drew other former Mafia members to testify against their former associates. This ultimately resulted in the shutting down of a significant percentage of Mafia-driven narcotics-trafficking and greatly damaged the alliances between Sicilian and American families

The verdicts
The trial ended on December 16, 1987, almost two years after it commenced. The verdicts were announced at 7:30PM and took an hour to read through.

Of the 474 defendants - both those present and those tried in absentia - 360 were convicted.

2,665 years of prison sentences were shared out between the guilty, not including the life sentences handed to the nineteen leading Mafia bosses and killers, ...

 

[Pronto]

John Joseph Cahill (21 January 1891 – 22 October 1959) was Premier of New South Wales from 1952 to 1959. He is best remembered as the Premier who approved construction on the Sydney Opera House, and for his work increasing the authority of local government in the state

.
Picked this up from an earlier page. He was known as Joe Cahill, which was pronounced 'Carl' as were any other Cahills at that time. The current pronunciation of 'Cay-hill' (as the Australian soccer international player is known) is fairly recent and probably of US origin.

 

[2020hindsight]

wassies
SBS 8.30
As it Happened - the Long March (Mao Tse Tung etc)
great watch.

I recall in a bar in HK the day Mao died, a chinese bloke I had a beer with said " there is only one item of news this week ... Mao has died"

 

[tigerboi]

.
Picked this up from an earlier page. He was known as Joe Cahill, which was pronounced 'Carl' as were any other Cahills at that time. The current pronunciation of 'Cay-hill' (as the Australian soccer international player is known) is fairly recent and probably of US origin.

Got his own expressway as well,still waiting for
wran,unsworth,carr, greiner,fahey(not elected) & the bagman of all the bagman...bob askin(makes the labour mob look like pan handlers...)
tb...

 

[2020hindsight]

http://www.abc.net.au/austory/
you can hear it again ...

bob irwin's story

 

[2020hindsight]

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/netw/200805/programs/ZY9096A001D16052008T212200.htm

top show

Spooks
9:20pm Friday, 16 May 2008
Entertainment CC M
The wait is over. The popular BAFTA-winning spy drama is back with another razor-sharp series of slick, topical stories.

In episode one of series five, as Adam (Rupert Penry-Jones) recovers in hospital he hears that the country is falling apart. A terror attack on a gas and oil depot has led to energy rationing and people are dying of cold. The media is blaming weak leadership and one media group in particular is peddling anti-Government propaganda. Galvanised by events, Adam discharges himself from hospital and returns to work.

 

[2020hindsight]

Gruen Transfer - easy to download (only around 100MB per show ! )
good for a laugh

As Will Anderson says "advertising is the poetry of capitalism"

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/gruentransfer/download.htm

"Download the Show
Want to relive the experience or catch a show you missed? Here you can find the latest and previous episodes available for downloads. "

Episode 2 - 04/06/2008 » WMV | » MP4
Episode 1 - 28/05/2008 » WMV | » MP4

 

[2020hindsight]

also ...
try TGIF (thank god it's friday) from last Friday lol -

Wendy Harmer, Lex Marinos, Will Anderson. - funny dudes.

Note that you can drag the time line marker forward ( eg the funniest stuff imo starts about the 38min mark)

http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2008/06/06/2267686.htm

 

[2020hindsight]

http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2008/06/06/2267686.htm

PS Wendy Harmer at the 14min30sec mark makes a presidential acceptance speech exploiting her minority status - and/or handicaps they have had to overcome (just as Obama had to overcome race, and Hillary had to overcome her sex )

.... which is a classic - in her case, it's a speech impediment lol

she really has a great laugh at herself

 

[2020hindsight]

Australian Storey - William McInnes - on now in SA

Acclaimed actor and writer William McInnes takes you on a rollicking behind-the-scenes journey of his new Australian Story.

 

[2020hindsight]

tonight's Four Corners on the melting of the arctic ice

The trend is that, in a couple of years , it will be worse than since man emerged on the earth etc

PS no doubt Wayne would call it Bore Corners

 

[trading_rookie]

Anybody been watching the Hollowmen?

 

[2020hindsight]

Galapagos - ABC tonight 7.30 (for wassies)
bludy brilliant
Proof positive of the dramatic directions evolution can take on isolated islands.

iconic animals etc giant tortoises etc

"old friends" (live to 150 years etc )
a remarkable relationship with finches etc .