Damning report into the ABC’s online coverage of the election, via The Australian:
In the week of the Rooty Hill debate the ABC appeared to abandon any pretence of providing balanced opinion on its websites. Gillard and her campaign were praised 93 times – more than Abbott during the entire campaign, while he was showered with criticism. There was not a single online opinion article where a conservative substantially criticised Gillard or praised Abbott that week and at least 17 articles on the other side of the ledger.
…and how the internet kills the need for a public broadcaster like the ABC:
We now live in a world with a surfeit of news coverage. Through our computers, we each have access to news content from thousands of sources around the world, taking every possible perspective. Many of these sources are as good or better than the ABC. We do not need public broadcasters to get quality news…
No matter what your interest or how oblique and unique your tastes, the internet means that you can find news and information to satisfy your demand. With the internet, there are no ‘gaps’.
If public broadcasters are no longer needed to fill their traditional role, surely it is time to ask if we need them at all. Should taxpayers be funding the ABC to compete against private providers who both want to and can do everything that the ABC can do?
I want my $1 dollar back – time to privatise.