Category: Journalism

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Israeli envoy takes clueless Australian journos for a nice ride

Journalists based in Canberra are a compromised lot, something that was glaringly evident by their performance — or more accurately the lack of it — during an address to the National Press Club by the new Israeli Ambassador, Dr Hillel Newman, on Tuesday (March 31).

Though many of the questions started out promisingly, they were not prosecuted to any satisfactory conclusion, allowing Dr Newman, a seasoned PR practitioner who has served as consul-general in Los Angeles and ambassador in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, to override the queries with statements that were mostly half-truths.

For example, Matthew Knott, defence and national security reporter at the Sydney Morning Herald, started off the Q&A by asking Dr Newman about the new law passed by the Knesset which can impose the death penalty on Palestinians who are found guilty of terrorism offences that threaten the security of Israel.

Knott is one of two journalists from the SMH who wrote a report on 7 March 2023 claiming that China was set to launch a war to retake Taiwan within the next three years. Both he and his collaborator in this report, Peter Hartcher, the international editor of the SMH, have kept a low profile when the bogus report was raised this month. Continue reading “Israeli envoy takes clueless Australian journos for a nice ride”

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How the New York Times runs interference for Israel

When things go badly for Israel, there are always obliging stenographers in the American media to spin things and put the most positive spin on the screw-ups of the Jewish state.

When these include Mark Mazzetti, an employee of the New York Times, who was so close to the CIA that he would submit his articles to the agency for clearance before publication, this is a bit laughable.

It gets even more so when among the four authors of the latest cover-up for Israel is Ronen Bergman, another NYT employee, a Jew, who is extremely close to the Mossad. Some of the stuff in the latest cover-up is risible in the extreme.

The NYT effort — which also has two other authors, Julian E. Barnes and Edward Wong — was republished by the Australian newspaper, The Age. Essentially, it is a cover-up for the failure of the Israeli plan to ignite an internet uprising in Iran by launching the war that is now in train. Continue reading “How the New York Times runs interference for Israel”

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P&I editor’s husband accused of lack of disclosure in article

Barrister Andrew Fraser, husband of the editor of Pearls & Irritations, Catriona Jackson, has been accused of not declaring his interest in the ACT justice system in an article he wrote for the site claiming that there was a threat to “the efficient operation of its criminal-justice system before the financial year is out”.

Sydney resident Greg Bray said in a letter to P&I: “How unfortunate that the only view of the ACT justice system is given to us by one of the people to profit from its existence.

“Andrew Fraser (barrister) should declare his interest, and P&I would do well to balance Mr Fraser’s views with those of an independent and trained investigative journalist.”

[Full disclosure: I worked for P&I for some months between August 2024 and November 2025.] Continue reading “P&I editor’s husband accused of lack of disclosure in article”

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ABC seeking cash when it is all talk and has nothing to show for it

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation is always crying poor and asking the government for more money for what it claims is a shortfall in funds that has grown over the years due to cuts by Coalition governments.

One doubts that the Australian public would begrudge the organisation the necessary cash were it to provide quality programming. But when its claims are bolstered by promos that show David Speers, Jane Norman and Patricia Karvelas, claiming that they are among the best political analysts in the country, then it is doubtful that the public will back the government coughing up. Continue reading “ABC seeking cash when it is all talk and has nothing to show for it”

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ABC and the AFR begin the rehabilitation of Mike Pezzullo

Many politicians and public servants in Australia enjoy an incestuous relationship with journalists and have long done so.

Such relationships often leave the journalist compromised when some hidden detail about an interview or story is exposed, but those in this category do not mind being outed as long as they get what they deem to be an “exclusive”.

Mike Pezzullo, the former Home Affairs secretary who was terminated last year following 14 breaches of the public service code of conduct, is one person who could never be described as humble, not even by his best mate. Continue reading “ABC and the AFR begin the rehabilitation of Mike Pezzullo”

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Indian media try to blackball ABC reporter in bid to suck up to Modi

Chamchagiri is a Hindi word that refers to the practice of flattering or appeasing a superior or a person in power. It is the best way to describe the manner in which Indian media are prostrating themselves in order to blackball Australian journalist Avani Dias and portray her expulsion from the world’s biggest democracy aka India as being due to every other reason apart from the inability of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to accept a little criticism.

The manner in which journalism in the country has changed since 2014 when Modi first took office is very accurately portrayed in this Al Jazeera video.

Dias was denied a visa after her program Sikhs, Spies and Murder: Investigating India’s alleged hit on foreign soil was aired on the ABC ‘s weekly Foreign Correspondent slot in March.

Continue reading “Indian media try to blackball ABC reporter in bid to suck up to Modi”

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Andrew Probyn is an excellent PR operative. The ABC did well to let him go

There has been much weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth over the recent sacking of Andrew Probyn, the political editor at Australia’s taxpayer-funded broadcaster, the ABC.

Andrew Probyn. Courtesy Sky News/ YouTube
Andrew Probyn. Courtesy Sky News/ YouTube

If one were to believe all the praise gushing forth about this doughty individual, then he was a combination of all that is good about journalism.

But Probyn’s last contribution to the ABC shows that he is much better suited to a role in the public relations industry. That is, if one goes through his documentary Breaking the code, which, to be blunt, is one of the most sickening exhibitions of sucking up to some of Australia’s intelligence operatives. Continue reading “Andrew Probyn is an excellent PR operative. The ABC did well to let him go”

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ABC reduced to running American propaganda on Four Corners

The level to which Australia’s government-funded media corporation, the ABC, has sunk is illustrated by the fact that in a slot reserved for its main investigative stories, it ran an American propaganda documentary from the American publicly-funded outlet PBS on 3 July.

Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Putin.

Titled “Putin and the Presidents”, the documentary made no effort to disguise itself, conveniently leaving out masses of context in its bid to paint the Russian president as the villain supreme.

It covers Putin’s interactions with American presidents from Bill Clinton onwards, painting the American leaders as trying to get along with the Russian president, while he did everything to spoil relationships.

One can understand the American obsession with Putin; at the moment, he is the administration’s bete noire, standing between Washington and NATO membership for Ukraine. Continue reading “ABC reduced to running American propaganda on Four Corners”

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Lehrmann’s Channel 7 interview does not show him in a good light

Ever since former Liberal Party adviser Brittany Higgins alleged, in an interview with the news.com.au website on 15 February 2021, that she had been raped in Parliament House by a colleague in early 2019, the story has rarely been out of the news. The colleague, who was later revealed to be one Bruce Lehrmann, has always denied the charge.

Image by helen35 from PixabayThe case went to a jury trial in 2022 but a juror was caught in possession of material that compromised his/her status as a jury member and a mistrial was declared. The prosecutor said later that a second trial would not be held as it would be detrimental to Higgins’ mental health.

Since then, there has been a ding-dong battle in the media, with Higgins’ supporters and Lehrmann’s supporters trading barbs. Lehrmann refused to testify in court during the trial, but suddenly decided to give an interview to Channel Seven on 5 June. Continue reading “Lehrmann’s Channel 7 interview does not show him in a good light”

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Credlin doco indicates Libs growing desperate as Vic election looms

With elections in the state of Victoria just a week away, politicians are in a feverish mood as they try to rustle up support to win their seats.

The rush to push their barrows has been sped up no end after early voting started on 14 November and reports emerged of big numbers voting ahead of the election. More than 2.2 million of the state’s registered 4.4 million voters are expected to cast their votes before election day. The first four days of early voting saw 556,193 people exercise their franchise.

Thus one can understand why badly crafted election propaganda like a Sky News documentary titled The Cult of Dan Andrews are making an appearance. The opposition is desperate to make inroads into the Labor vote, but with a leader like Matthew Guy, who went backwards in the last election, the task ahead is like rolling a huge boulder up a mountain. Continue reading “Credlin doco indicates Libs growing desperate as Vic election looms”