The federal election result highlighted News Corp’s weakness Margaret Simons wrote in a recent article.
Image: ABC Friends
Earlier this month, Margaret Simons published an opinion piece in The Guardian titled ‘As Australia’s election result reminds us, News Corp no longer has the power to sway voters’.
“It’s old news but people are only just beginning to believe it,” Margaret wrote. “Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has, for some time now, been impotent when it comes to affecting the outcomes of elections.”
Simons argued that News Corp’s scare tactics - including attacks on the ABC - fell flat in the recent election.
“Once, it was widely accepted - though possibly never entirely true - that if a political leader did not have the blessing of Rupert Murdoch then they could not win power,” she wrote.
Simons pushed back on this misconception, arguing that News Corp has had “no discernible impact” on election results for at least 15 years, despite its support of the Coalition in campaigns against Labor.
In fact, Simons said, affiliation with News Corp is more likely to hurt the conservative parties.
Murdoch media has “become a negative force for conservatives - a distorting mirror. News Corporation is now damaging those who fly too close to its flame,” she argued.
“Commentators on all sides of politics are suggesting, in the wake of the election rout, that too much listening to and engagement with Sky News after dark, and the Sharri Marksons and Peta Credlins of the world, is a reason why the Liberal party is so manifestly out of touch with middle Australia.”
Last month, Denis Muller also called out Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s remarks as an extension of News Corp’s campaigns.
Muller was referring to Dutton's description of the ABC, The Guardian, and other news platforms as “hate media”. Dutton was “echoing the Trumpian view of the media in such extreme terms,” he wrote.
“Dutton provided no evidence to support his accusation,” said Muller. “For the good reason that there has been nothing in the ABC’s or Guardian Australia’s coverage of Dutton that could remotely justify it.”
“In fact, it is just good journalism,” he argued.
ABC Friends challenged the empty accusations made by News Corp in its attacks on the ABC ahead of the election. ABC Friends also criticised the decision to host one of the election's national debates on Sky News - locked behind a paywall and inaccessible to most people. The other three debates, including that hosted by the ABC, were available to all Australians.
Simons said that News Corp's tactics are outdated, pointing to Australians' growing preference for high journalistic standards.
“So what media outlets do Australians trust? ABC and the SBS come first.”
News Corporation outlets News.com.au, Sky News, The Herald Sun, and the Daily Telegraph fall at the bottom of trust ratings, she wrote.
Simons argued that the ABC’s role as a publicly funded, independent news source has grown in importance. It serves as a balancing force in an increasingly polarised and fragmented media landscape.
“Lets accept that News Corporation will do what it does,” wrote Simons. “If there are facts and arguments, think about them. If not - don’t waste your time.”