Andrew Bolt is the associate editor of Australia’s highest selling newspaper. He writes a bi-weekly column in that paper and authors a very popular blog on that paper’s website. He is a regular guest on dozens on television and radio shows. Despite your take on his views you must conclude that he is an intelligent man. Yet Bolta is surprised — nay — shocked that Channel Seven’s cesspit “current affairs” program, Today Tonight, has played silly buggers with an interview he provided and quoted him out of context.

Remind me to be much more careful before agreeing to appear on a Today Tonight piece, especially if it’s about the “stolen generations”.

I was asked to discuss Bruce Trevorrow’s big compensation payout for being a member of the “stolen generations”.

I explained in snappy bites the reasons why this case - desperately tragic though it was - was not proof of the “stolen generations” at all.

[…]

None of this was included in the interview. The only comments I was allowed to make were ones denying the existence of a “stolen generation” - as if I had no idea there was a Trevorrow who was the living proof I was wrong.

This was no accident. Today Tonight wanted to present an “exclusive” - the first “stolen generations” victim to get compensation, and nothing was allowed to disturb the narrative.

Perhaps there might be a role in schools for the media literacy lessons that Bolta so despises.

Although I loathe Today Tonight, I was magically attracted by last night’s side-by-side interview with Howard and Costello. It showed three clear things:

1. Howard’s feeble attempt to convey an image of mateship and unity between him and Costello, by constantly looking at him for affirmation, calling him a “mate” and claiming that he would make “an excellent prime minister”. It was effusive, gushing and downright nauseating.
2. Costello’s barely-hidden contempt for Howard. In contrast to the Dessicated Coconut’s admiring gazes in his own direction, Costello barely looked at his offsider throughout the interview, and seemed to grate his teeth at a couple of Howard’s remarks. He praised the PM’s “work ethic” but didn’t take the mutual back-slapping contest much further than that.
3. Anna Coren’s vapid interviewing. No difficult questions (”Has the PM stayed on too long?” “Why won’t you invite Mr Costello to dinner?” etc.) and too many free hits that allowed party-political speeches. And the odd idiotic statement, like “Alan Greenspan, who ran the world economy…”. Norman Gunston could have conducted a more probing and revealing interview.

Steve Fielding being a dick just now on ABC’s Insiders, jousting with the leaders of the Democrats and the Greens. He trotted out all the usual quotes about how evil the Greens are, including my personal favourite: “free heroin”. Fielding crapped on about petrol prices, grocery prices and bank fees, firmly positioning his “party” (let’s be honest about his “party” — it consists of one Parliamentary representative representing 1.88% of Victorians) as the consumer affairs micro party. Surprisingly, he only said the word “family” twice (excluding when he said his Party name) in contrast to Kevin Rudd’s now ad nauseum chanting of the “family” mantra. So maybe Steve Fielding should get in touch with the AEC and lodge an application to change his micro party’s name to the Today Tonight Party.

It was also revealed on Insiders that Family First in Queensland having been discussing a preference deal with Pauline Hanson which raises a very interesting question: is Pauline Hanson a Pentecostal?

And in a non-Steve Fielding aside about Insiders, Piers Ackerman said the Kyoto Protocol was “so 1990s” which was hilarious in the context of the 1970s haircut, shirt and jacket that cloaked his toad-like body.

Come and get me, laydeez

Bagging Today Tonight and A Current Affair for shoddy journalism is a national sport. It’s the mainstay of Media Watch’s weekly schedule. The latest controversy about Papuan Kid Soup has spawned a fresh round of attacks on the soap opera that is commercial consumer current affairs.

But look at it objectively for a minute and things aren’t quite so cut-and-dry. Critiquing the quality of “journalism” on these programs is like shooting fish in a barrel. It’s so obviously not journalism that it basically defeats the purpose of exposing it as unethical sensationalism. That’s what got GrodsCorp thinking and today I can reveal the resuts of our EXCLUSIVE investigation.

Networks Nine and Seven are working together — Naomi and Tracey serve the same master.

That’s right, readers; their latest Papuan cannibal adventure has given the game away. There are no legal battles, no crisis meetings, no angry airport encounters. Only two networks who collude in order to orchestrate the most ridiculous and trainwreck-like coverage across their respective television channels.

It’s all too perfect: the duelling heads of news and current affairs, the pathetic autocue reader desperately chasing credibility, the bemused naked kid from some stone age tribe that is (apparently) destined to become casserole. Rob Sitch and the Working Dog crew couldn’t script this any better.

If you’re still a doubter, just watch for both programs’ ratings for this week just gone and this week coming. Far from being swathes of partisan TT or ACA devotees out there, cheering their favourite host on in the Wa-Wa Wars™, there are simply a couple of million suckers who continue to fall for the current affairs cartel’s offerings and mindlessly tune in for a fix of scripted, sensationalist TV.