(Image: Private Media)

Lyons den Where are the free speech warriors on the revelations in John Lyons‘ Dateline Jerusalem? Over the weekend the Nine papers provided an excerpt from the book, detailing interference from the Israeli embassy and several prominent lobbying groups in the coverage of Israel, up to and including raising questions about the hiring policies of our only broadsheet.

It is a story featuring self-censorship from a prominent and influential progressive publication on account of the politics of identity — Israel has long been a “touchy” subject at Schwartz Media — and a widespread narrowing of acceptable debate across the media. This is not a minor issue. Nor is it exactly thin. Lyon quotes several editors and journalists, many of whom are open about attempts to influence their coverage.

Surely the papers who rallied on behalf of Bill Leak’s right to humiliate Indigenous people will now be clogged with pieces about how accusations of racism or religious intolerance are being weaponised to stymie legitimate debate? Surely the commentators who felt the need to weigh in on the Jessica Rowe/Pauline Hanson podcast saga — tut-tutting about the censorious left attacking a woman — would at the very least fire off a couple of tweets about the cowardice that comes with an inability to engage with ideas you don’t agree with? And yet…

Price is right A couple of weeks ago, when Angus Taylor took over the Industry, Science and Technology portfolio from Christian Porter, Crikey noted the “ongoing Three Stooges-like face-slapping that the government regularly deals the tech industry”. Taylor became the sixth Coalition minister in the portfolio since the Coalition took office, and all up the eighth minister in eight years.

And though it was swallowed up by other news, on Friday we clocked up number nine. The Science and Technology portion has gone to Melissa Price. If you’ve forgotten her, then she’s been doing her job — one of Australian politics’ great vanishing acts, she was last seen telling the shire of Carnarvon that she wouldn’t present to it until a journalist who was there cleared off.

It is not the place you send your priorities.

Taking the leadership As day follows night, a leadership battle in a major party is followed by humanising coverage of the protagonists on the front pages of the major papers. And so we get Dominic Perrottet and two of his children in The Sydney Morning Herald (maybe he misplaced the other four?).

Plus a toe-curling bit of colour on the front of the Oz detailing the young Perrottet’s presentations to his family (required from the age of 10, we’re told) on national affairs:

The precocious Perrottet quickly became adept at issues ranging from social and economic developments following the peaceful democratic revolution in Mongolia to more local issues in the Hills district in Sydney’s northwest.

‘Such as how the Labor Party could possibly oppose the building of the M2,’ he would later recall.

Excuse us, Dom, but goddamn.

Know your ABCs The Australian can sometimes verge on the desperate to find material for its mandated daily attack on the ABC. “What is the point of a national broadcaster if it cannot produce serious and sustained analysis of [the AUKUS submarines deal]…?” Chris Mitchell moaned yesterday. He then notes:

7.30 interviewed former PM Kevin Rudd, pro-China foreign policy academic Hugh White and former submariner, now senator, Rex Patrick … ABC’s showcase radio programs AM, The World Today and PM all gave the September 16 announcement plenty of weight … In following days, ABC radio focused largely on French anger at the abandoned contract rather than the fact the French submarines would have been unsuitable … ABC Radio National’s Saturday Extra on September 18 did better when Geraldine Doogue interviewed David Kilcullen … with [ASPI flack Peter] Jennings [interviewed] on September 23 on RN’s Between the Lines.

So to sum up: apart from interviewing numerous people from across the political spectrum, many of them military experts, covering all angles, the coverage was terrible.

The rest of the piece is devoted to who they should have interviewed: News Corp flack and noted naval expert Robert Gottliebsen.