First of all, here's what we have for you this week:
- Killer Grabs: Quotes from around the traps.
- Exclusive: Schwartz Media bans journalists from appearing on 7am podcast— By Scott Mitchell
- Why the ABC finally issued a statement about Gaza— By Scott Mitchell
- The Good Ones: The best journalism, opinion and entertainment for you to enjoy.
For the past two years, the people who run most of Australia's media companies have held firm on the line that journalists shouldn't express any opinions or engage in public debates about the nature of their work, even as audiences deserted them and trust in media collapsed.
In fact, journalists who did publicly call for a higher standard on coverage of Gaza were sanctioned and punished, and in many cases driven out of their workplaces. At Lamestream, we've think this kind of situation is out of step with the history of journalism, which has always been a robust space for public, often rigorous, debate about the nature of our work and what we're getting right and wrong.
This current moment where the conservative managerial class who have hijacked our once well-respected news institutions enforce a kind of repressive orthodoxy and punish those who resist it is a historical aberration. The good news is some small cracks are appearing.
After spending nearly two years declaring its staff "forego the opportunity to share your opinions" and not make statements that may bring into question the ABC's impartiality, the broadcaster's management has done both of those things: It's shared an opinion, and declared it is partial. In a statement released on Thursday, the ABC has called on Israel to do more to support starving journalists in Gaza and allow them to move freely in and out of the region.
It's a tiny step, but it shatters the consensus at the top of the media that the industry isn't allowed to express a view, a consensus that was used to cow and silence too many journalists. It would not have happened if it wasn't for the sustained activism of many ABC journalists, and the pressure they placed on management, particularly this week. In today's newsletter, Scott has more on the meeting that led to this statement, and what else it portends for the future of the ABC.
We would love to hear any ideas or feedback at all, whether it's about the look and feel of it, what you want to read more about from us or how often you'd like to hear from us.
We're also publishing an exclusive story on the decision by Schwartz Media's management to ban its journalists from appearing on the 7am podcast, just a month after it sold the show. It's a move that will stun the show's hundreds of thousands of listeners.
As always, please get in touch with any feedback, thoughts or tips.
Killer Grabs
"It was the black skivvies, it was Wiggles Inc." — Minister for Communications Anika Wells describes exactly who was lobbying her on the teen social media ban.
Wells sparked a bit of drama in Canberra this week when she declared that YouTube had enlisted The Wiggles in a lobbying effort to help prevent the social media platform from being banned. Wells later admitted that that no members of the actual band had lobbied her, instead it was "Wiggles management".
"You get to a point where you go, ‘hang on, what’s going on here?’ Like, a Christian church was bombed." — Anonymous Coalition MP
Congratulations to the Liberal and National parties for finally waking up and realising that yes, something extremely bad is going on in Gaza. This brain genius also added, "This is all starting to look like a mess.”
???
"The dinner we had... was a great discussion of the different ways in which we keep people safe." — Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke on his dinner with FBI Director Kash Patel.
What else do you think they spoke about? Patel's defence of the January 6 riot? His belief that the 2020 election was rigged by an Italian contractor? His children's book The Plot Against the King about effort's to take down Donald Trump?
Exclusive: Schwartz Media bans journalists from appearing on 7am podcast
By Scott Mitchell
Journalists at The Saturday Paper have been banned from appearing on the 7am podcast just weeks after the paper’s parent company sold the show, severing the relationship between the daily news podcast and long-time guests like Rick Morton and Mike Seccombe.
