Monday, July 29, 2013

Reason #2 why The Age is doomed: Caroline Wilson

If you believe the current witch hunt against the Essendon Football Club and James Hird is an upright investigation of potential drug use, you haven't been reading Age chief football columnist Caroline Wilson, who can spot a villain when she is told to see one. From her column on Friday, which deals guilt by association -- guilt, that is, if you work at The Age and know for a moral certainty that anyone who associates with Liberals must be up to no good:

...by discrediting Demetriou, Hird's supporters, led by the formidable Liberal spin doctor Ian Hanke, have muddied the waters...

....Hanke, currently holed up in Spring Street in the same building at (sic) the Victorian State Parliament press gallery....

...One of Hird's closest friends, Rod Law, is a senior executive at Fox Footy, and a key occasional mentor is Rupert Murdoch's international right-hand man, the Melbourne-born Essendon supporter Robert Thompson....

That settles everything. Hird must be a drug-pushing scoundrel because, well, he has a Liberal ally and is friendly with someone who knows someone who knows someone else who works for Rupert Murdoch.

Tomorrow, expect Wilson to bare Hird's carbon footprint and his diabolical plan to drown polar bears by leaving the post-training showers running at Windy Hill.That story would be easier to report than the truth, which is that the ASADA farce was ginned up by Julia Gillard as a distraction from her political woes.



11 comments:

  1. Caroline Wilson is nothing more than a hack

    She's one of 1,000,000,000 reasons I won't read 'Pravda'....oops I mean 'The Age'

    ReplyDelete
  2. So far a number of senior Essendon people are no longer employed, partly because of accusations made by enthusiastic members of the press gallery who have called for their heads even though there have been no charges laid. I wonder whether the victims of this "guilty by press" long running drama have recourse to take Caroline Wilson and Patrick Smith among others to court if they are not found guilty of deliberate misconduct.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Taking someone to court via a suit in defamation is not so straightforward. The first question a lawyer should ask is: can you risk upwards of $50,000 in fees and costs if you lose? And that's just for the Supreme Court trial. If the defamed use the Magistrates Court, maybe its lower fees but a lower maximum award. And even then, the defamer - a wealthy media group - might run up costs by seeking a change of venue to the Supreme Court. And on and on it goes. No wonder defamation specialists such as Sue, Grabbitt and Runne make millions.

    ReplyDelete
  4. No one has caused more disrepute to the AFL than Demetriou when he stood next to those two Labor Ministers and the gormless twits from the ACC and bagged his own sport.

    He is an utter disgrace and if Ben Cousins deserved a year off then Demitriou should get life.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wilson is merely doing what everyone else in that godforsaken building is doing: writing opinionated leftwing drivel as a cheap substitute for the hard yards of real journalism. She is still behaving like a mistress of the universe who has never adapted to the fierce media competition that followed the 2007 AFL rights deal (the first of the billion-dollar TV contracts). She has no credibility. She is a laughing stock. She is almost as much of a caricature as Patrick Smith of the Australian -- who, of course, used to be sports editor of the Age asylum.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What team did Caroline play for and how many games?

    ReplyDelete
  7. "Under a bus, blood on his hands, cult" … who is the is Hird guy?
    Charles Manson?

    I just loved Caro's article. I haven't laughed so much since I saw the trailer for SHARKNADO.

    Whether Hird is guilty of stupidity, naivety, gullibility, or just too plain clever for his own goodity, the head of the Catholic Church he ain't.

    Now there's an issue Caroline Wilson could turn her attention to.
    Or the parole board.
    Or the stupid freeway proposal.
    Or asylum seekers.
    Or climate change.

    Just mind the step from the high horse, it's along, long way down.

    "Under a bus, blood on his hands, cult" … who is the is Hird guy?
    Charles Manson?

    I haven't laughed so much since I saw the trailer for SHARKNADO.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah Sharknado. Watch the whole film to truly appreciate it.

      Delete
  8. Well done to Caroline Wilson for uncovering the scandalous activities at Essendon. Hird should be ashamed of ignoring his duty of care for his players in trying to save his own skin. I cannot believe that there are so many apologists for the disgraceful activities that have been going on at this club. They are either in denial, or incredibly unquestioning Essendon supporters. A true club supporter would want to see no stone unturned in uncovering and purging the cancer that is infesting their club.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WILSON has made a niche for herself commenting on the off-field stuff in the AFL, rather than the football itself, in part because her knowledge of the on-field game is limited (Fair enough) What I dont get is that she is the Age's Chief Football Writer!
      Caro Left Wing?! thats just a stupid comment

      Delete
  9. Gee Caroline, the tall poppy syndrome is alive and well with you isn't it. I think it is an indication of the type of man James Hird is. He was polite and never lost his cool when being harassed by your fellow journalists in what can only be called a trial by media. How come the Melbourne Football Club saga has been conveniently dropped out of sight. I hope you sleep well at night.

    ReplyDelete