How did the media perform on the Voice referendum? Let’s talk about truth-telling and impartiality

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 10:30:03 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/how-did-the-media-perform-on-the-voice-referendum-lets-talk-about-truth-telling-and-impartiality-214961>

"The rules by which politics are conducted have changed dramatically,
especially since the rise of Trumpism. Yet the professional mass media continue
to cover politics in ways that are no longer fit for purpose.

This has created distortions in the way the public discourse unfolds –
distortions that have been on full display during the Voice referendum debate.

It presents a complex challenge to journalists and editors about how to
simultaneously meet their obligations to truth-telling and impartiality,
because there is now an unresolved tension between these two professional
standards.

Truth-telling requires that lies and misrepresentations are either not
published or refuted; impartiality requires that voices on all sides of a
debate be heard, especially if they are the voices of people in positions of
influence.

What happens, then, when influential voices on one side of a debate engage in
obvious falsehoods?"

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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