[Wellsy]

What do you think are reasonable news sources amidst Rupert Murdochs iron grip on media and political discourse?

https://www.michaelwest.com.au/
Seems half decent

[ThirdTerm]

This subject came up when I was studying with graduate students in Australia. Some said the SBS is a reliable one, which is equivalent to the BBC in the UK. But the SBS is too preoccupied with ethnic broadcasting and the main news reader of the evening news program was an Aboriginal woman who could not pronounce English accurately and precisely to deliver news stories. Probably you need to rely on American TV programs to get the outside view that is not controlled by Rupert Murdoch's media empire. In Australia, Nine Network broadcast Good Morning America on its stations in metropolitan areas, which was what I actually watched on a daily basis to get information on American foreign policy to write dissertations. But we need to remember that Fox News is Rupert Murdoch's American outlet, which is far from fair and balanced just like most of Aussie media outlets.

[Local Localist]

I find that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation definitely delivers the most accurate information - sure, there's a certain political slant to some things, but at the end of the day, that's the case with everything, and at least, as the government news agency, it has close connections to various sources of information which the Murdoch media doesn't necessarily have. In terms of statistics and whatnot, I find the Lowy Institute an interesting think tank. With regard to other matters, I tend to just use international news sources.

[skinster]

John Pilger, Julian Assange, Caitlin Johnstone.

[Wellsy]

I find that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation definitely delivers the most accurate information - sure, there's a certain political slant to some things, but at the end of the day, that's the case with everything, and at least, as the government news agency, it has close connections to various sources of information which the Murdoch media doesn't necessarily have. In terms of statistics and whatnot, I find the Lowy Institute an interesting think tank. With regard to other matters, I tend to just use international news sources.

I used to quite enjoy the ABC as it seemed less sensationalist but now I only subscribe to it on youtube to see what sort of media cycle is occurring in Australia.
It's become too compromised for my liking though, because Liberal party holds their funding and keeps cutting it I find the journalists rather soft on them to the point of outright ignoring relevant newsworthy points against them and asking weak ass questions of liberal politicians.
I tend towards a labour party voter myself though too young to have participated in many elections and think they can be dodgy in a similar way to the liberal party, but find that they don't get much air time for their policy positions and that ABC seems often to be filled with Murdoch press associated media and liberal party affiliated peeps with their shitty opinions.
And then there is a tendency for the classical green party criticism which sometimes can be too purist for my liking when I've see the Green party vote in coordination with the liberal party against labor.
I get the impression the greens are a continuation of Gough Whitlam's criticism that the pure are impotent, they're not keen to take power but rather maintain a moral high ground based on ideological purity.
But perhaps I'm just too smitten with labor propaganda, but the weakness of the ABC as of late has been part of the reason I'm looking at what other media sources there may be.
There's good journalists out there but they're beholden to their financial dependency to an extreme.
Australian media is bloody ridiculous and it's terribly sad.
ABC is little different than a lot of the other media outlets in following the same news stories, reporting them in much the same way which is overly controlled by the PR arm of Scotty from marketing who are several people who get the "scoop" from the government ie told what to say and then feed it into the media news cycle.
The latest example being Frydenberg and job keeper, they announced it almost as if a press release directly from the government and only later independent investigation noticed the unaccounted @60 billion.
Of course it finally got noticed, but it shows the weak state that it came out only later and how much media is tied to doing what ever the government says is the case.
Which of course is part of their dependence on being allowed to get information but at the same time at what cost? To simply be a tool to push their PR?

Rant over XD
I'll check out the Lowy Institute

[Local Localist]

I agree with most of this.

I get the impression the greens are a continuation of Gough Whitlam's criticism that the pure are impotent, they're not keen to take power but rather maintain a moral high ground based on ideological purity.

I would say that the phrase 'politics is downstream from culture' is relevant here. Progressives need to push the envelope, that's how they make gains. The Labor Party are in a tricky situation, because, due to the rise in power for the Greens, they have to position themselves as being somewhere between the Liberal Party's position and that of the Greens. The relative popularity of the Greens makes the mainstreaming of certain ideas much easier, as the Labor Party can merely adopt a more moderate and palatable version of whatever the Greens are doing (see: Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden). However, the McCarthyism which had thoroughly burrowed itself into the Anglosphere's side by the 1980's still apparently perseveres, to such an extent that Bill Shorten lost an election because *gasp* he suggested increasing taxes. The Greens will likely never win, because the successes of progressivism are not had directly through electoralism, however they will still further their goals just by existing, if that makes sense.

Also, as far as I know, the main thing the Lowy Institute does is conduct an annual poll about how Australians feel about various issues. I like reading those.

[Heisenberg]

There are none, because to be Australian is, by definition, to be Very Bad Indeed.

[Wellsy]

There are none, because to be Australian is, by definition, to be Very Bad Indeed.

What's the news like in Wales?
That the Welsh have recently discovered a new use for sheep: Wool.

[Wellsy]

I agree with most of this.

I would say that the phrase 'politics is downstream from culture' is relevant here. Progressives need to push the envelope, that's how they make gains. The Labor Party are in a tricky situation, because, due to the rise in power for the Greens, they have to position themselves as being somewhere between the Liberal Party's position and that of the Greens. The relative popularity of the Greens makes the mainstreaming of certain ideas much easier, as the Labor Party can merely adopt a more moderate and palatable version of whatever the Greens are doing (see: Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden). However, the McCarthyism which had thoroughly burrowed itself into the Anglosphere's side by the 1980's still apparently perseveres, to such an extent that Bill Shorten lost an election because *gasp* he suggested increasing taxes. The Greens will likely never win, because the successes of progressivism are not had directly through electoralism, however they will still further their goals just by existing, if that makes sense.

Also, as far as I know, the main thing the Lowy Institute does is conduct an annual poll about how Australians feel about various issues. I like reading those.

Perhaps we're of similar backgrounds if you are also an Australian raised in a city and got reasonable education.

Indeed, politics conceived only at the moment of passively consuming media campaigns on how to vote is only a moment in the expression of actual political activity in which the voters form a clear view on things and push it onto their representatives.
Although I am becoming increasingly curious about how this actually functions in the modern day outside of clearly formed interest groups in communities.
https://www.ethicalpolitics.org/ablunden/pdfs/On%20Political%20Representation.pdf

Politicians would often make better decisions if they never had to get re-elected, but that is not the point. Good decisions have first to be made by the great majority of the people, together, after which then getting the politicians to adopt those policies usually follows. Elections and the lousy politicians they produce are not the problem at the moment – it is the quality public discourse which is the underlying problem needing to be fixed, and elected politicians are in no position to help.

Do you think the Greens have been gaining momentum as a popular party in recent years under Richard Di Natale?
And that the Greens push social issues and policy response? That sounds a reasonable approach for a minor party that can't oust the two dominant parties.
I agree the Greens cannot succeed due to structural implications of our voting system which differs from say the Germans which allows representation for anyone who gets 5% of the vote.

I have some skepticism though without exploring it further, even in the case of Biden and Sanders. I've seen the assertion of Sanders pushing the Democratic party to the left because of the concerns he raised and the strong response he got.
I'm not yet convinced that is the case and wish to keep an eye on the claim. Because I've not heard actual concessions made on such a basis other then headlines asserting it but not anything specific.
Which could just be my own media consumption as I don't read news all to often and don't need to at times because everyone else is so immerse it pops out just like I end up knowing what some celebrity is doing without any effort.

I have been hearing some policy positions from Labor party MPs on FriendlyJordies youtube channel which has been the only time I've seen and heard extensive coverage of their policy views and find them quite agreeable to what a labor party is meant to be about, Australian workers.
Which makes me somewhat hopeful that they haven't entirely gone to shit by the weakening of modern day Unions to merely service providers rather than solidarity among workers.