Monday, April 18, 2011

The facts, ma'am, just the facts

"People have not got over her knifing of Kevin Rudd"

No, and they won't, either, for as long as formerly respectable and responsible journalists like Michelle Grattan continue to use flamboyantly loaded language like this in what is supposed to be a reporting of facts.

Grattan is not a fool and she is a very experienced journalist, so the only conclusion it's possible to come to is that she is being disingenuous, pretending to report the facts in a neutral fashion while at the same time reinforcing prejudices and preconceptions with grossly prejudicial language like that.

I'm very ticked off with Gillard myself at the moment, but I am also actually a bit shocked by this shoddy bit of journalism. I used to expect better from The Age, and I still do expect better from Michelle Grattan.

8 comments:

M L Jassy said...

The owl-eyed Grattan could do with some more wisdom and less glibness. Hooo hooo? Grattan.

TimT said...

'Knifing' - when applied to Kevin Rudd/Julia Gillard, of course - is quite possibly the most overused and pointless metaphor in the Aussie journos' lexicon these days. It's lazy writing, which usually indicates lazy thinking.

Quite aside from anything else, the circumstances surrounding the disposal of Kevin Rudd as leader, the woeful election result for Labor, and the mismanagement of policy under Gillard's watch should be material enough for a good journo - no need to resort to cliches.

Ann ODyne said...

cheesey journalism au Grattan ?
but yes, we expect better from her.
We expected better from Our PM.
The Age made me sick trying, on behalf of Gillard, to hoodwink the electorate into thinking dole-bludgers get $115 billion.
Any defenders are welcome to tear into my argument at AOD.

Fyodor said...

Treachery in politics? You don't get more cliche'd than that.

What can I do to get on the right track/
I wish they'd take some of these knives off my back


WV: "hypled" - crippled by hype.

Lord Sedgwick said...

"I used to expect better from The Age, and I still do expect better from Michelle Grattan."

Us disaffectified Pollyannas ought to unite and chuck a serious wobbly.

FWIW - prolly not much, sadly.

Link said...

The press corp are overly interested in the personality conflicts amongst our inglorious pollies and far less interested in reporting on actual policy.

After three years the Canberra Press Pack ought be recycled, they become complacent and way too focused on the bastardry, intrigue and personalities.

Grattan a nice, safe, woman, no doubt, has passed her useby date by about 10 years.

David Irving (no relation) said...

Link, your suggestion has merit.

They used to do the same thing with the Drug Squad, for similar reasons.

WV is couth, so totally unsuitable for an uncouth fellow like me.

Emily said...

I suspect Michelle Grattan is subletting her columns, if you analyse stylistically.