Swift wrote: ↑Sat Apr 22, 2023 1:49 pm
tonyp wrote: ↑Sat Apr 08, 2023 10:51 am
There's an internal power struggle between the editor Bevan Shields and his journalists. Shields is more balanced but some see him as a "class traitor" for that reason. Obviously sometimes Shields gets his way on a story, sometimes the journo does. The results are rather schizophrenic at times.
Good on him. I have a very dim view of the journalist profession these days. Blatant left leaning bias, even in the Daily Telegraph at times.
I wouldn't be so quick to praise Shields. His bias is just different to his journalists but it isn't any better.
A good example of his bias is when internal SMH chats were leaked last year and in them Shields instructed his journalists to falsely refer to RBTU industrial action as a "strike", despite knowing full well that publishing that would be factually incorrect and despite them correcting him.
Really what leaves a sour taste in my mouth is the Rebel Wilson thing. That was just disgraceful, Shields treated the SMH like it was TMZ. Publishing that dragged the newspaper's name through the mud and made me remember exactly why I dislike the "journalism" these papers have.
So Shields isn't a modern saviour of journalism, he's just a slightly different breed to his journalists. The bias is more balanced, sure, but it isn't like the quality is any better.