Never before has Australia’s political coverage been so poorly regarded by the public; Tom Orren says this reputation is well-deserved — and here he explains why.
TO THE JOURNALISTS of Australia’s mainstream media (MSM) — your job is serious.
It’s not some game or a way to get yourself an award. It’s about OUR futures. We really worry about removing the price on carbon. We really worry about not having a world-class NBN. There are hundreds of thousands of kids who need a better education. It’s too important for you to keep stuffing around with politics as if it’s a game of Jenga.
But why am I even saying this? You won’t listen and you won’t change, will you? Because you all think you’re doing a great job, whereas, in reality, you have let us all down.
Why is this, you ask?
Reason 1: Political journalists are insular
MSM political journalists only ever seem hang around with two types of people — politicians and other journalists. Now, if I had a friend who only hung around with narcissists and psychotics I’d be a little concerned. If they only hung around politicians and journalists, I’d organize an intervention.
Reason 2: Insular people are prone to “group-think”
Reason 1 results in a well known psychological effect called “group-think”, where a group of people who only ever talk to other, like-minded, people and actively avoid talking anyone who thinks otherwise tend to believe the same things. In fact …
