Germany’s Iron Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, once remarked: “Numerous politicians have seized absolute power and muzzled the press. Never in history has the press seized absolute power and muzzled the politicians.
… talk back radio, where we are virtually left with the world of John Laws and Alan Jones, who dominate their interviews with their own opinions and tend to measure interviewees against those opinions. Often you can only hope to get a word in if you happen to agree with them.
… in television, we are left with the tyranny of the 10-second news grab (selected, of course, by the interviewer) …
(John Hewson, “Tame media is bad news”, AFR, Friday 31 March 2006)
