Truth, Lies and Media

It’s not often you see an accused war criminal on a PR blitz before his criminal trial but Ben Roberts-Smith has been telling his story to right wing news outlets while a“powerful formation” of billionaires, politicians and media line up behind him.[from 5:10]We also look at the growing calls for an end to violent political rhetoric .. Independent Monique Ryan has told the ABC it’s time for the media to stop giving hater-in-chief Pauline Hanson credence and airtime. Even as Helen Haines fights for life after being horrifically run down, the One Nation leader is defending her party’s violent cartoons which gleefully depict politicians being hit by cars or murdered. [from18:00]And the unfathomably dark arts of news priorities - look over there at the hats and the horseflesh!The Melbourne Cup gets bigger headlines than Anthropic releasing its stock market prospectus warning that its AI products may kill humanity. [from 25:30]Support independent journalismBecome a memberOr go to: buymeacoffee.com/truthliesandmediaOur SocialsFacebookBlueSkyX Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We look at the Murdoch media shamelessly weaponising the horrific attack on Helen Haines to bash the left - even as she fights for life in hospital - and ignoring the PMs call to lower the temperature on political hate.[from 7:20]Plus what are the electoral watchdogs doing to stop a blatantly fraudulent election ad faked up by Advance and featuring a gloating AI Dan Andrews and Ben Carroll? The far right disinformation machine is in full swing we discover. [from 18:10]And the ABC is about to broadcast its powerful docu-drama “Shake Down” - a searing look into Scott Morrisons cruel cash grab from the poor, notoriously branded “Robodebt”[from 25:40]Support independent journalismBecome a memberOr go to: buymeacoffee.com/truthliesandmediaOur SocialsFacebookBlueSkyX Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BRUTALISING THE WORLD ON A LIVESTREAMThe Trump administration wants to livestream the firing squad execution of a radicalised US soldier according to a gleeful US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth - triggering global disgust. The broadcast risks traumatising and brutalising countless people around the world in order to satisfy the Trump administrations lust for vengeance as a public spectacle.We contrast Hegseth's relish for unleashing “murder porn” on the public with the historic practice of asking journalists to witness and report on closed executions - the last time this happened in Australia was the hanging of Ronald Ryan.[from 4:00]We put the spotlight on the racist language (“Take Back Australia!”) woven through the Liberal National plan to slash the immigration intake - backed in by the blatant racism in One Nation’s campaign ad depicting African men as machete carriers and Middle Eastern men as suicide bombers.[from 19:00]And we are reminded that there are fine and wonderful people who have warmed our souls and enriched our lives as we farewell gentleman ABC newsreader Richard Morecroft who has died too young.[from 39:30]Support independent journalismBecome a memberOr go to: buymeacoffee.com/truthliesandmediaOur SocialsFacebookBlueSkyX Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NOTE TO MEDIA: VIOLENT AUTHORITARIANISM IS NOT NORMALSomeone needs to tell Pauline Hanson this isn’t Saudi Arabia or China after One Nation threatened to jail political rivals during its Victorian election campaign launch.Vindictive politicians don’t decide who goes to jail. The courts do. It’s called the rule of law.Once news outlets would have instantly called out threats that come straight from the fascist playbook. This time they covered a flagged assault on our liberal democracy as if it were business as usual - an omission Denis Muller describes as “an epic fail”[from4:20]And we note the death of author Jeffrey Archer who scammed half a million pounds from the Star newspaper by lying in a defamation case - and then went to jail for perjury.[from 18:50]But more importantly we honour the groundbreaking journalism of a giant of the industry, the ABCs Peter Manning. The former EP of Four Corners has passed away after a lifetime of exposing corruption, holding power to account and inspiring generations of reporters.[from 26:20]Support independent journalismBecome a memberOr go to: buymeacoffee.com/truthliesandmediaOur SocialsFacebookBlueSkyX Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we bring you a very special deep dive into the murky waters of corporate skulduggery.My guest is Paul Barry.He’ll be known to many of you as the long-time presenter of ABC TV’s Media Watch, but in fact he has a long and distinguished career as an investigative journalist specialising in uncovering bad behaviour by big business.Paul Barry’s latest book is called The Big Steal, published by Allen and Unwin.It’s about a couple of scoundrels called Sanjeev Gupta and Lex Greensill.Gupta pulled a series of scams around the world by promising to rescue rundown steelworks, power stations and smelters in places where these operations were the lifeblood of the community.Greensill was his banker.For years, the real story was comprehensively missed by the media, but Paul Barry has nailed it and is here to tell us why and how.You can find Paul's new book here:https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Paul-Barry-Big-Steal-9781761473517Support independent journalismBecome a memberOr go to: buymeacoffee.com/truthliesandmediaOur SocialsFacebookBlueSkyX Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.