Newspapers like us when we’re angry

Jason Wilson has written an excellent New Matilda article about the rise of newspaper ‘trollumnists’. Read it here.

It’s a development that’s becoming ever more prevalent. The Herald Sun, for example, doesn’t even bother hiding the fact their highest profile trollumnist Andrew Bolt writes articles to make readers angry (to get lots of ‘hits’ on their website), as highlighted by MediaMook back in December last year (read about it here).

It’d be funny if they weren’t so serious. Also at The Herald Sun, Susie O’Brien appears to suffer from the delusion that she has the power to shape public opinion.

Don’t mention the News Ltd ad campaign

News Limited have bought online ads trumpeting their commitment to reduce their carbon footprint to combat global warming.

There’s also a News Limited website 1degree.com.au showing lots of happy employees rapt to be doing their small part to save the world.

Mook wonders what the Herald Sun’s chief climate change denier sceptic thinks about his employer spending up big on this campaign?

Where’s Andrew Bolt’s photo on the 1degree.com.au website?

I ♥ Bolt

Mook went to the movies at the weekend and was startled to see this sticker plastered everywhere:

Who was the person willing to so publicly profess their love for Australia’s most talked about columnist?

Then all became clear. It was actually a teaser campaign for Disney’s latest kids movie, Bolt.

Unkind souls may think Bolt’s number 1 fan (Rhino the Hamster) is emulating his idol by living in a bubble and having a limited worldview.

(For the record, Bolt didn’t rate the movie Mook saw. Mook enjoyed it.)

Unchristian mail

Mook was intrigued to see this rather unchristian letter from Pastor Peter Curtis of Werribee South appear in The Age, The Australian and the Herald Sun on Boxing Day.

It’s a bit odd for a Christian Pastor to be so uncharitable at Christmas time.

But then Pastor Peter Curtis was the Federal Liberal Party candidate for the Victorian seat of Lalor, so it’s unsurprising he should back ex-Liberal Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews‘ decision to cancel Dr Mohamed Haneef’s visa.

Pastor Curtis preaches at the ‘Hillsong-wannabe’ Southland Christian Centre and has managed to facilitate at least one miraculous conversion. His views on homosexuality are so abhorent (“it is a perversion”) he managed to get Andrew Bolt to bat for the other team. Bolt confessed he’d vote Labor in Lalor.

Herald Sun hopes to make you angry

The Herald Sun’s Andrew Bolt thrives on outrage.

‘Australia’s most talked about columnist’ would hate to be ignored.

He’s still not sorry in yet again claiming the Stolen Generations weren’t stolen in his review of Baz Luhrmann’s movie Australia published today (you may have heard or read about this film recently…).

Note how the Herald Sun (both online and in today’s print edition) directs ‘angry’ readers who disagree with Bolt to his blog. Basically, Bolt’s columns are but shameless attempts to generate controversy. They hope you’re MAD AS HELL AND YOU’RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE.

Ironically, it’s usually the morons who agree with Bolt that are angry; whipped into an ugly nationalistic frenzy by absolute crap like this:

Bolt moderates his readers’ comments yet allows sentiments such as this to be published on his blog:

It’s so easy to attract racist dopes and then be proud about getting 1 million blog hits.

This indulgence of offensive remarks – without criticism from the ‘respectable’ media outlets who publish them – is nothing new. Media Watch highlighted the issue in June.

When will regulators act?