Abstract

Article

The ABC lost its appeal to the Federal Court against the validity of the AFP's search warrants in respect of the ABC's allegedly illegal reporting of a matter which could well be a very serious breach of national security.

Instead of apologising, the reporting program on that issue was exclusively devoted to bleating by joournalists' and editors' bleating in terms of sriously exaggerated and vry poor logic, totally biased to their own selfinterest - ofcourse, using the disguise of the public's right to knnow.

One said that it was important for the public good that the army and the police should be open to scrutiny, which is true within certain limits, such as national security, but he naturally omitted to include journalists.

There was a total absence of presentation of the views of anyone who might not be biased towards the media.  The only gesture was to ask the Federal Police to comment when of course they could nt do so because of the pending liigation. The presenter threw in a couple of half-hearted Dorothy Dixers, putting alternative views in a weak way, and to which the grossly 'journalistic' interviewee responded in a disgracefully unresponsive or illogical way - without challenge.

The ABC executive, who were of course ultimately responsible for the poor management of their troops, ranted with the usualcatchcries of freedom of the press and the public's right to know, but withoout acknowledgement of the proper qualifications, including, in this case, the security of the country and its defence forces.

On thelogic of these people, if a person is to be chargd with murder, the police should not be entitled to use a search warrant to find the weapon in order to prove his guilt because of the presumption of innocence.  Their logic is the logic of bad losers who well deserved to lose.

Shame on you ABC!  Yoou may be even-handed on politics, but certaiinly not when it is a matter of your own interest.  And your journalists reporting of news about journalistsis as bad as the restt of them.

One question - Shoould we allow jourrnalists and editors respect serious laws of national security and other matters if they can report a matter that brings attention and some little fame?