Subversive Censorship

The ABC show “The Glasshouse” has been cancelled due to “bias”.  The ABC, which is our Government Owned TV station has decreed that it shall show  “balanced coverage” and that it will not present shows that are “biased”.  I ask “Biased to what!?”  The Glasshouse, for those that don’t know of it is (was) a show that took the piss out of the media and the Government.  The name of the show is a reference to the “when in glass houses” cliché… The show was a bunch of comedians taking potshots at the news of the day which of course had a high level of political content.

Now the ABC has cancelled it because under its new policy, it doesn’t fit their “balanced and non-biased view”.

When you’re owned and controlled by the Government, this simply reeks of the fact that someone on high in Canberra (Johnny are you reading this!) said “get it off as it isn’t doing my chance of re-election any good”.

This dear readers is censorship for political gain.  This is what Dictators do.  This is what Saddam Hussein was doing in Iraq – swamp the public with pro-regime views and refuse alternate thinking to reach the people via media censorship.  I don’t care that John Howard denies it, the station is owned by the Government and hence someone in Government made a decision.

In another case, NSW Liberal Opposition Leader Peter Debnam wrote to NSW Premier Morris Iemma asking for bi-partisan support to denounce Sheik Hilaly and his “extremist views”.  Hello?  Not that I endorse what the Sheik said, but since when do we not live in a country of free speech and democracy?

I am not going to be naïve and believe this is a new phenomena but seriously, we have to realise that the Government is ever increasing its grip on what the people hear, read and understand.  The media is so far from an independent presenter of the facts and is now riddled with people vying for political gain.