thought police

Our nation is under threat from the thought police! Conservative thought is under a constant and irrepressible threat from the left. This threat does not come because their arguments are better, or because they have more support in the community, it comes through the law.

Over the past year we have seen, one particular right wing columnist and blogger, Andrew Bolt, silenced as a result of threats from the Prime Minister and because of legal action in the high court.

There is no doubt that one, particularly in new and emerging online markets, must ensure they do not overstep the boundaries of what is decent. But in both cases mentioned above, an opinion was being provided by a respected conservative opinion maker. Rather than attacking opinion, rather than making logical and coherent arguments, the left try to destroy the right’s ability to speak and to provide commentary.

The online world has made the use of political commentary, dangerous!

Legal considerations in that realm are of supreme importance and as seen by the Bolt cases, there are perhaps increased risks because of the instantaneous nature of the online space.

An Insatiable Appetite

Our need for news is insatiable. Our need for instantaneous news and information is remarkable. We, as a people have developed this need over many years and for many reasons.

 

Online and new media has forever changed the way in which we as media consumers approach news, we demand up to date and constantly evolving information. Unfortunately many of us do not consider accuracy as important as the speed in which information is delivered (I know that I look for updates on my, many, news applications for my iphone several times a day).

It would seem that our news organisations are similarly apathetic about the accuracy of the information they deliver us. Media watch, from the ABC in Australia has taken much of the Australian media industry to task on this issue.

Seemingly, according top Media Watch, one particular case of inaccurate journalism, relates to the poker machine pre-commitment legislation currently being debated by our federal politicians. It would seem that in their haste to deliver news to the world, much of the industry in this country was fooled into believing one report. That report came from a highly trusted and well considered institution, the Australian Associated Press.

A plethora of journalists followed this story, a story about the AFL, NRL, Clubs Australia and the Australian government. I recommend watching the video for the full story, but here I want to discuss why it happened.

Many in the public and in politics were quick to criticize, but it is our fault. We demand constant news updates, we require our journalists to go above and beyond in order to get the story, to break news. They take to social media like facebook and twitter, they hack phones and get lazy with their reporting. Then we as a society get angry, we fume and prosecute, but the same truth always applies, we are the problem. 

Our need for news is the problem, our need for information is what drives to bad and illegal journalism that we are constantly subjected to today!

R.I.P Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs has died. His creation, Apple, is at a cross roads, but the mobility he has created for information has forever and irrevocably transformed our world, our politics and our government.   

In the video embedded above, ABC news compares Steve Jobs, who died at 56, to both Thomas Edison and Willy Wonka. I cannot think of any greater comparison for the man who has given this world such a tremendous gift.

The online media world has been changed forever. The biggest news of the day on October 5, was the death of Steve Jobs, ironically, fittingly and perhaps magically, I discovered the news of his death on my iphone.

Twenty years ago, no-one would have ever dreamed about being able to carry such a device, 10 years ago someone might have laughed if one was to suggest that computers, the internet and the whole realm of communications and media was capable of being carried in the palm of the human hand.

This transformation, partly created by Jobs, created opportunities and endless possibilities for publishing, society and media communications. We now have the internet and, perhaps, the world in our pocket. We have developed an insatiable, irretrievable, irrevocable and artificial thirst for information, communication and technology.  

What more can one say about one of the most influential men of the 21^st century.

There is perhaps one final postulation left to sum up the creation that Steve Jobs left us, where will it end? When will our desire to tweet, share and know, every aspect of every life, end? When will we be able to sleep without the humming of a smart phone next to our head?

The ABC has provided a fantastic starting point for this discussion. By eulogising the man, we can consider the creation, its merits, meanings and future.