Australian Authorities Trample on Press Freedom

JustSomeBloke · Sep 30, 2021

Press freedom is one of the cornerstones of democracy, so it's always a bad sign when the authorities start trying to control and suppress media reporting.

Victoria Police allegedly attempting to prevent media from showing aerial pictures of the Melbourne Protests

Victoria Police try to BAN media from filming their violent conduct

Aldebaran · Sep 30, 2021

JustSomeBloke said:
Press freedom is one of the cornerstones of democracy, so it's always a bad sign when the authorities start trying to control and suppress media reporting.

Victoria Police allegedly attempting to prevent media from showing aerial pictures of the Melbourne Protests

Victoria Police try to BAN media from filming their violent conduct

The Press in Australia should learn a thing or two from our Press in America. Our press realizes that the easiest way to stay popular is to go along with whatever narrative the government is putting out, and to simply repeat that narrative rather than question it. That way, the government and the Press can work together toward the common goal of "educating" the public on what to do and how to live.

In direct response to the example you posted, they could simply omit any coverage of government violence and instead make it look like they're responding to a violent public instead. It puts a spin on the story that the government was in the right. The Press did pretty much the same thing here in America by spinning stories about violent people in the streets starting fires and assaulting people with bricks as being "mostly peaceful". It seemed to work, for the most part.

JustSomeBloke · Oct 1, 2021

Aldebaran said:
The Press in Australia should learn a thing or two from our Press in America. Our press realizes that the easiest way to stay popular is to go along with whatever narrative the government is putting out, and to simply repeat that narrative rather than question it. That way, the government and the Press can work together toward the common goal of "educating" the public on what to do and how to live.

In direct response to the example you posted, they could simply omit any coverage of government violence and instead make it look like they're responding to a violent public instead. It puts a spin on the story that the government was in the right. The Press did pretty much the same thing here in America by spinning stories about violent people in the streets starting fires and assaulting people with bricks as being "mostly peaceful". It seemed to work, for the most part.

I agree, but perhaps the Australian authorities don't completely trust the media to be 100% pro-government, pro-lockdown, and pro-vaxx. In that case, Chinese style and North Korean style control of the press is perhaps their best option.

The first link is about the Australian authorities trying to prevent aerial footage of anti-lockdown protests, by attempting to impose a no-fly zone. I'd guess that the MSM were the ones looking to use a helicopter. Certainly the reporting is from Sky, but if I recall correctly, Sky News Australia hasn't always been totally pro-government in their reporting of the Australian anti-lockdown protests.

The second link is a report from Rebel News, and it's probably fair to say that all of Rebel New's reporting is considered a thorn in the side of the Australian authorities, in their attempts to control the narrative and censor what is really happening on the ground at anti-lockdown protests. They really don't want the Australian public to see their police behaving like thugs and stormtroopers.

Occams Barber · Oct 1, 2021

JustSomeBloke said:
Press freedom is one of the cornerstones of democracy, so it's always a bad sign when the authorities start trying to control and suppress media reporting.

Victoria Police allegedly attempting to prevent media from showing aerial pictures of the Melbourne Protests

Victoria Police try to BAN media from filming their violent conduct

It's true - Vic Police did ask the Vic Aviation Authority to ban overflights of Central Melbourne. The reason they did this was to prevent protesters from tracking police blockades through broadcast aerial coverage. This limitation was never enforced. It was police themselves who conceded that the overflight ban was a bit much. I think the compromise was delayed broadcasting of aerial shots.

The second video is an unaccredited reporter from Rebel News demanding direct access to a zone of Police activity cleared for safety. You'll notice in the video that he is the only 'reporter in the vicinity. All other media is covering the protest from agreed vantage points. The Rebel News reporter adopts a deliberately provocative attitude demanding access within Police lines. Police repeatedly referred the reporter to Police Media - something he (the reporter) should have known.

So, no - the sky isn't falling.

OB

JustSomeBloke · Oct 1, 2021

Occams Barber said:
The second video is an unaccredited reporter from Rebel News demanding direct access to a zone of Police activity cleared for safety. You'll notice in the video that he is the only 'reporter in the vicinity. All other media is covering the protest from agreed vantage points. The Rebel News reporter adopts a deliberately provocative attitude demanding access within Police lines. Police repeatedly referred the reporter to Police Media - something he (the reporter) should have known.

If protestors are present, then all reporters must have full access to those areas, on the ground, where the protestors are. How else can citizens get truthful uncensored coverage? As soon as the authorities ban journalists then you should be suspicious. I'm sorry if you can't see that. I guess some people just don't understand the value of totally unrestricted reporting.

I should also add that the last 18 months have been very interesting for me, because it suddenly became apparent that many people in the West are quite comfortable with massive restrictions on freedom. I never realised that there are quite so many people who either support totalitarian levels of control, or are at the very least, sympathetic to totalitarian levels of control.

Occams Barber · Oct 1, 2021

JustSomeBloke said:
The second link is a report from Rebel News, and it's probably fair to say that all of Rebel New's reporting is considered a thorn in the side of the Australian authorities, in their attempts to control the narrative and censor what is really happening on the ground at anti-lockdown protests.

LOL - "a thorn in the side of Australian authorities??"

I don't recall hearing of rebel News prior to this thread. I checked on the USC Australian Media Bias Register. Rebel News doesn't rate a mention. Its parent in Canada rates as far/Extreme right with a mixed result on factual content.

Bias - Evaluate your sources - Guides at University of the Sunshine Coast (usc.edu.au)
Rebel News - Media Bias/Fact Check (mediabiasfactcheck.com)

OB

JustSomeBloke · Oct 1, 2021

Occams Barber said:
It's true - Vic Police did ask the Vic Aviation Authority to ban overflights of Central Melbourne. The reason they did this was to prevent protesters from tracking police blockades through broadcast aerial coverage. This limitation was never enforced. It was police themselves who conceded that the overflight ban was a bit much. I think the compromise was delayed broadcasting of aerial shots.

Assuming that Australia still wishes to be considered a free and open democratic state, the police have absolutely no business trying to prevent people from peacefully assembling and marching in protest.

Occams Barber said:
LOL - "a thorn in the side of Australian authorities??"

I don't recall hearing of rebel News prior to this thread. I checked on the USC Australian Media Bias Register. Rebel News doesn't rate a mention. Its parent in Canada rates as far/Extreme right with a mixed result on factual content.

Bias - Evaluate your sources - Guides at University of the Sunshine Coast (usc.edu.au)
Rebel News - Media Bias/Fact Check (mediabiasfactcheck.com)

Oh dear! This is all just soooooooooooo predictable. I just knew someone would start with the "xyz news site is far right and regularly kills kittens for fun" line. The only unknown was who and when, although I always thought it would almost certainly happen before the end of the first page, and I was right. We only made it as far as post #6 before it happened.

Why don't you tell us all, what part of the Rebel News video reporting is far right. It's just a video for goodness sake! It just is! It isn't far right, centre, far left or anything! How can it be far right? It's just a video record of an encounter with police who don't want journalists to be able to film interactions between protestors and police. Or do you think it simply must be far right, because it doesn't involve someone meekly submitting down to totalitarian, undemocratic reporting restrictions?

Occams Barber · Oct 1, 2021

JustSomeBloke said:
Assuming that Australia still wishes to be considered a free and open democratic state, the police have absolutely no business trying to prevent people from peacefully assembling and marching in protest.

The police action was not related to the protest per se. The problem was the breach of Health Dept rules designed to minimise the spread of Covid. These idiots were running around in groups without masking or distancing and, presumably, unvaccinated. The object of the police action was to minimise the public health risk by dispersing the protest or, preferably, by preventing the formation of large groups. Protest will continue in Melbourne once the Covid risk is minimised.

The assembly was far from peaceful. In the preceding days protesters threw missiles at police and directly assaulted them. The impression was that the protesters set out to intentionally add violence to the protest.

OB

Bradskii · Oct 1, 2021

JustSomeBloke said:
The second link is a report from Rebel News, and it's probably fair to say that all of Rebel New's reporting is considered a thorn in the side of the Australian authorities...

Rebel who? Never heard of them. And that guy acting like a lippy teenager with the cops was a reporter? Seriously? Coulda fooled me. Strewth...If the cop had cuffed him across the head I'd consider it quality police work. And what is he? Their chief police correspondent? And he didn't know how to contact the media office? What a joke!

Let me know if they post more stuff. It's comedy gold.

Occams Barber · Oct 1, 2021

Bradskii said:
Rebel who? Never heard of them. And that guy acting like a lippy teenager with the cops was a reporter? Seriously? Coulda fooled me. Strewth...If the cop had cuffed him across the head I'd consider it quality police work. And what is he? Their chief police correspondent? And he didn't know how to contact the media office? What a joke!

Let me know if they post more stuff. It's comedy gold.

I suspect that Rebel News Australia is a couple of lonely incels operating out of Dad's garage.

OB

Bradskii · Oct 1, 2021

Occams Barber said:
I suspect that Rebel News Australia is a couple of lonely incels operating out of Dad's garage.

OB

Maybe it's the Aussie equivalent of The Colbert Report. Hard to tell if it's satirical or not. JSB keeps telling us not to believe everything we see, so...

Maybe it's the far right pretending to do a bad job so we'll think it's the left trying to hoodwink us thinking the right is doing a bad job while the right infiltrates the far left and drags it to the right while we're distracted watching the left. Have I got that right?

JustSomeBloke · Oct 1, 2021

Occams Barber said:
The police action was not related to the protest per se. The problem was the breach of Health Dept rules designed to minimise the spread of Covid. These idiots were running around in groups without masking or distancing and, presumably, unvaccinated. The object of the police action was to minimise the public health risk by dispersing the protest or, preferably, by preventing the formation of large groups. Protest will continue in Melbourne once the Covid risk is minimised.

I'm fairly sure that transmission of covid outdoors in the open air is pretty much non existent. And in any case, police tactics of kettling tend to push people closer together, and increase the transmission risk.

Let's be honest. This isn't about public health. It's about tyranny. Specifically, ramming through vaccine mandates, while using covid as an excuse to stop legitimate, lawful and democratic peaceful protest against those mandates. With that in mind, I fear that once again, it's time to repost this quote. Although as you seem to support oppression, I doubt it will mean much to you.

quote-of-all-tyrannies-a-tyranny-sincerely-exercised-for-the-good-of-its-victims-may-be-the-most-c-s-lewis-284427.jpg

Occams Barber said:
The assembly was far from peaceful. In the preceding days protesters threw missiles at police and directly assaulted them. The impression was that the protesters set out to intentionally add violence to the protest.

That's what sometimes happens when police deliberately kettle protesters and restrict movement. If you bought into the government narrative that protestors are always looking for a fight, then I'm afraid you've probably been manipulated. But never mind eh! Someone else is fighting to try and stop your freedoms from being totally destroyed. I hope you remember to thank them if they're successful. And I guess the Australians who fought in WWII are probably rolling in their graves, seeing what they fought for being destroyed.

Occams Barber said:
I suspect that Rebel News Australia is a couple of lonely incels operating out of Dad's garage.

LOL! Here come the smears! How lovely and how high-brow!

Without alternative media we'd be in a much worse situation. But do keep drinking the government and MSM Koolaid.

Occams Barber · Oct 1, 2021

Bradskii said:
Maybe it's the Aussie equivalent of The Colbert Report. Hard to tell if it's satirical or not. JSB keeps telling us not to believe everything we see, so...

Maybe it's the far right pretending to do a bad job so we'll think it's the left trying to hoodwink us thinking the right is doing a bad job while the right infiltrates the far left and drags it to the right while we're distracted watching the left. Have I got that right?

Right, left, right, right, left, right, left.

Right, spot on.

(I think 'hoodwink' is one of the cutest words in the English language. It combines playfulness (wink) with a little lite bondage (hood))

OB

Pommer · Oct 1, 2021

Whosoover is in power, if met with “protests” that the Leaders think “unreasonable”, yes, they’re going to try to limit the news coverage.

alertandawake · Oct 1, 2021

JustSomeBloke said:
Let's be honest. This isn't about public health. It's about tyranny. Specifically, ramming through vaccine mandates, while using covid as an excuse to stop legitimate, lawful and democratic peaceful protest against those mandates.

This is the guts of it.

So people are apparently not allowed to have a different view when it comes to vaccines. This is what I have been noticing

Mark Quayle · Oct 1, 2021

JustSomeBloke said:
I agree, but perhaps the Australian authorities don't completely trust the media to be 100% pro-government, pro-lockdown, and pro-vaxx. In that case, Chinese style and North Korean style control of the press is perhaps their best option.

The first link is about the Australian authorities trying to prevent aerial footage of anti-lockdown protests, by attempting to impose a no-fly zone. I'd guess that the MSM were the ones looking to use a helicopter. Certainly the reporting is from Sky, but if I recall correctly, Sky News Australia hasn't always been totally pro-government in their reporting of the Australian anti-lockdown protests.

The second link is a report from Rebel News, and it's probably fair to say that all of Rebel New's reporting is considered a thorn in the side of the Australian authorities, in their attempts to control the narrative and censor what is really happening on the ground at anti-lockdown protests. They really don't want the Australian public to see their police behaving like thugs and stormtroopers.

There is a good segment of the liberal portion of our own (USA) population that would have (in fact already seem to have) no problem with the press being a government propaganda machine, and the main producer of political correctness, to include forcing speech suppression. (Although it is hard to tell anymore, whether the government is the political arm of the press, rather than the press being a government propaganda machine.)

As to what the Australian authorities may be doing by suppression, maybe they should take a lesson from the Islamic terrorists, who have ironically gained favor with liberals by making their terrorist deeds obvious (Stockholm Syndrome?). Fear has always been an effective motivator.

renniks · Oct 1, 2021

JustSomeBloke said:
Press freedom is one of the cornerstones of democracy, so it's always a bad sign when the authorities start trying to control and suppress media reporting.

Victoria Police allegedly attempting to prevent media from showing aerial pictures of the Melbourne Protests

Victoria Police try to BAN media from filming their violent conduct

After losing their gun rights, it took Australia only a couple years to become a full blown police state. And people wonder why Americans don't want excessive gun laws.

Nithavela · Oct 1, 2021

Anyone want to fill me in on what really happened? I don't feel like reading the OP.

Aldebaran · Oct 1, 2021

JustSomeBloke said:
If protestors are present, then all reporters must have full access to those areas, on the ground, where the protestors are. How else can citizens get truthful uncensored coverage? As soon as the authorities ban journalists then you should be suspicious. I'm sorry if you can't see that. I guess some people just don't understand the value of totally unrestricted reporting.

I should also add that the last 18 months have been very interesting for me, because it suddenly became apparent that many people in the West are quite comfortable with massive restrictions on freedom. I never realised that there are quite so many people who either support totalitarian levels of control, or are at the very least, sympathetic to totalitarian levels of control.

Maybe reporters should disguise themselves as protesters in order to have the "proper credentials" to enter the protest area.

Bradskii · Oct 1, 2021

renniks said:
After losing their gun rights, it took Australia only a couple years to become a full blown police state. And people wonder why Americans don't want excessive gun laws.

That anyone could suggest that Australia is 'a full blown police state' might be the most risible comment I'll read this week. But maybe you could explain the connection between our gun laws, which the overwhelming proportion of Australians support, and what you claim is a police state.

'45% think Australia’s gun laws are not strong enough and 40% think they are about right. Only 6% think they are too strong.' Gun laws - The Essential Report

Australian Authorities Trample on Press Freedom

Unacceptable Fringe Minority

NCC-1701-A

Unacceptable Fringe Minority

Newbie

Unacceptable Fringe Minority

Newbie

Unacceptable Fringe Minority

Newbie

Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?

Newbie

Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?

Unacceptable Fringe Minority

Newbie

CoPacEtiC SkEpTic

Active Member

Monergist; and by reputation, Reformed Calvinist

Well-Known Member

our world is happy and mundane

NCC-1701-A

Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?

Similar threads