OK, we admit it: we thought the ABC’s decision to anoint The Chaser‘s Julian Morrow as the host of this year’s Andrew Olle Media Lecture was a bit dubious. But we’re happy to admit we were wrong: Morrow did a great job, giving a surprisingly witty and insightful take on press freedom, censorship and media ownership.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVsF9a-PcMA[/youtube]
This appears to be the edited highlights. The full version is viewable on ABC iView, at least for a couple weeks. Plus there are, ahem, tools for downloading videos from iView for later consumption.
It was a cracker of a speech.
Especially considering that on the three previous years, the speakers were…
2006 Helen Coonan.
2007 John Hartigan.
2008 Ray Martin.
All three were deeply boring and depressing insults to the memory of Andrew Ollie.
So perhaps there’s finally a light at the end of the tunnel for the ABC.
Hell, even Mark Scott’s closing words (not included on this clip) were actually funny and worth a listen. Perhaps he’s been taking “comedy lessons” from Julian. 🙂
Agreed, Paddy. One of the take-home quotes for me was: “Independence of ownership certainly helps, but independence is a state of mind, not a state of balance sheet.” Also the differentiation between the primary audience who might complain about a program (the people who actually watched it) and the secondary audience of confected outrage stirred up by talkback radio and the tabloids.
5 STARS from me.
What a delight to hear the intelligent synthesis of a position on freedom of expression , censorship and the general fabric of social outrage. all this in such witty clever & tough statements.
The real achievement here was to be able to address things which too often are not considered in any climate other than the too often confected outrage of the narrow small-minded in our midst.
Let’s have more insightful discourses & somehow expose the shock jocks 7 their ilk for the mindless rabble rowsers they are.
Thanks Julian Morrow. All is forgiven!
Good, really good