The dossier of alleged examples is heavily critical of AM presenter Linda Mottram, instancing a series of reports in which the journalist referred to the US Government's "propaganda war" and described the death of three journalists as a "body blow" to the coalition's campaign that "undermined the Pentagon's claim that it is waging a compassionate war".
Of course, given the fact that left-wing idealists gravitate to state-run non-profit newsmedia (right-wing idealists are either Randian/Thatcherite free-market platygaeans who abhor the very notion of state-run media as interference in the perfection of the market or else religious moralist types who don't trust a Godless state interfering in their work), the effect of purges would be brief, unless Alston appoints a permanent office of witchfinder-general to keep hunting down those pesky Communists. Either that or bans the ABC from news/current-affairs reporting, restricting it to a mandate of "relaxed and comfortable" lifestyle programmes and those British comedies too crappy for pay-TV to buy the rights to. I know; perhaps they could cut the ABC's news budget to 0 and do a deal to licence content from FOXNews or someone.
It's funny tho'; every time the ABC has to make cuts, they usually try to shield news & current affairs from them. Hence, with the recent budget squeeze, the axing of those digital TV services no-one watches anyway. And of course the rampant BBC-ization of the ABC, to the point where we're starting to get all the shit BBC programs as well as the good ones.
No great loss. ABC news and current affairs reminds me of Eastern European socialist propoganda with a generous helping of sports for the great unwashed.
I would have thought that being scpetical of the US Military was 'common sense', not 'bias'.
Non Australians might be unaware that Senator Alston is generally regarded as a raving loon, who's big acheivements have been to ban pornography on the internet and usher in the new age of digital TV in Australia (for which about a dozen sets have been sold nationwide).
...including the one that Telstra 'loaned' to him.
Although it's suprising to come from the cabinet level, I don't really think this will have much of an impact. A couple of individual journalists will have their wrists slapped, Murdoch papers will drop it on page three, but really is there anyone in Australia (except maybe Tim Blair) who expects anything different from the ABC?