Wanted: one real newspaper for Brisbane

MEDIA ... with Don Gordon-Brown

The rantings of a really old and creepy American have dramatically shown the need for some real daily print-media competition in the Brisbane marketplace.

Not that we probably needed extra proof of that, but Rupert Murdoch has reportedly called on his “journalists” in the United Kingdom to do whatever it takes to prevent Labor winning the May election there. Okay, so we’ve known for a long time that the Dirty Digger is not interested in quality journalism any more – hasn’t been for a long time – but his ramblings explain pretty well what is totally wrong with his Brisbane mastheads, The Courier-Mail and Sunday Mail. The Courier-Mail in particular has been a disgracefully shameful rag during and since the Queensland state election on January 31.

All pretence of fairness went out the door as the paper used normal news space to editorialise on what a policy-free zone Opposition Leader Anna Palaszczuk was. One splash called her stupid for having the temerity not to back assets sales which the paper perceived as the only track any responsible government would ever want to wander down if it wanted to claim any serious economic management credentials. Such a spend requires all sorts of advertisements and promotions, presumably, and this is where News Queensland would have reaped the dividends for their blind support for the return of the existing LNP government.

Of course the paper’s editor and a certain right-wing columnist are furious that the good folk of Queensland ignored their wise advice and threw out the one-term Newman government. They got two things badly wrong: they underestimated how disliked the little former army engineer cum political pugilist had become, and they completely overestimated how effective they are in framing public opinion. Ouch!

 Now there is nothing wrong with a newspaper management forming an opinion as to who’s best to serve the public’s – and even their own – interests. And it’s fine to put those things in a clearly defined editorial. But just once or twice in an election campaign period would also be nice. Of course, Rupe’s rags go much further than that. They use the front page for photoshopped attacks on the politicians they dislike. News stories are slanted the way management wants them to be. It’s a common practice in the UK media industry but at least over there some diversity in ownership means there’s at least some hope of balance. There is none of that in Brisbane.

Rupe’s rags in Sydney and Melbourne were also red-hot for the Tories during their recent respective campaigns, but at least it can be argued that they do have some fair competition from Fairfax mastheads, even though the Daily Telegraph and Sun Herald have quite larger circulations. But the problem remains one of monopoly here in Brisbane and the Courier’s unprofessional bias can only get worse as the powers that be up at Bowen Hills try their best to overturn that really silly and stupid decision by the voters back in January. The troubles of Billy Gordon have given them a glimmer of hope and fairness and objectivity have been tossed aside as they pursue that issue with their usual lopsided zeal. So what’s to be done about the Courier and its Sunday sister? They are not going to give Palaszczuk a fair run, especially if her government does the sensible thing and heavily curtails or indeed bans government advertising with the rags. What could they do in retaliation? It’s hard to believe they could go any harder than they are now, so if I was advising the government, I’d tell it to tell the two papers to go fuck themselves with rubber hoses. In diplomatic terms, of course.

The basic problem remains the monopoly in Brisbane, and who would be game or stupid enough to step into the market? Fairfax has the staff in Brisbane for their online Brisbane Times and indeed has good press capacity close by. The trouble with Fairfax is that it gives every indication that it considers its future online, if the ever-shortening deadlines for the likes of the SMH and The Age are any indication. Someone else, then? APN? Probably not, now that Rupe has his dirty, sticky fingers in that pie, having recently expanded his share to the maximum allowable under current media ownership rules. Perhaps this fine brace of mastheads could step into the breech? Anna, promise us some government advertising and all sorts of tax incentives, free rent for a while and other breaks and we’ll take Rupe on. We’re that stupid. And I know a bloody helluva lot of scribes who’d be willing to help put dear Rupe in his place. He’s that close to their hearts, bless them.