Journalism By Numbers

UPDATE: It seems we now know who took that call from the youthful Tony Hodges and relayed word of Abbott's presence to the humpytown layabouts: Labor identity Kim Sattler, pictured below.

Here is her CV.

now back to the original post ...


THE SILLY's Debra Jopson, whose opinion piece currently tops that newspaper's website, is another who must not have received those updated talking points from the PM's office, the spiel that asserts sacked staffer Tony Hodges merely passed along word of Tony Abbott's presence. Why making mention of a politician's scheduled stop, already a matter of public record, warrants the boot has not been explained, nor is it likely to be when people like 7:30's reporters and producers are proving so eager to do as they are bid.

Jopson's shctick is what we can expect from quality journalists, especially those who must surely admit in their private moments to serving primarily as publicists and advocates. Hodges arranged the race riot -- why else would he have been sacked? -- and the pin-it-on-Tony meme was out there and gaining ground, so it was time for Jopson to advance the cause with a dash of polemic distortion. Read this excerpt and see if you do not spot her game:

Despite the hopes of the moderates who have been working inside the government tent for years, the protesters’ rapid follow-up, whipping a flag out of a backpack to burn on the Parliament House steps, shows that it is likely we are going to see more anger. Dangerous as it is for race relations, because it is bound to bring out old hatreds as surely as did the rise of One Nation, keeping this volatility alive is too tempting to pass up, for radicals and media alike.

Apparently the problem is that white folks will take offence at seeing the nation's symbol torched, hateful white folks, and then we will see the perils of Pauline all over again. If it is your mates who are inflaming tensions and animosities, that is just "a rapid follow-up". The hate begins with the reaction to hatred, according to Jopson, who has forgotten it was not Pauline Hanson's admirers who ran riot but her enemies.

Expect more of the same from Jopson and her ilk. The government's incompetence blew the chance to pin the riot on Abbott. Now they will regroup, re-shape the storyline, and focus on Australia's bitter white heart.

And just in case you need to be told, those painyted as purveyors of loathing will be tied to Abbott at every opportunity.

And just for the record, Hanson is no favourite at the Billabong. She would have made even shorter work of the economy than even Gillard is managing.