The Herald Sun has a story, not behind their usual pay wall, complaining about the ad ban announced this morning by the Victorian Premier.
Concerns have been raised over an Andrews government halt on print advertising in the Herald Sun and The Age, with fears that Victorians will miss out on vital information such as campaigns to reduce the road toll, bushfire safety initiatives and public health alerts.
That opening paragraph made me laugh. I live in Victoria and doubt that many outside News Corp would have raised such concerns.
The Herald Sun is Victoria’s most influential media brand and the most-read newspaper in Australia from Monday to Saturday.
That influence was on show in the recent federal and state election results. Despite pages and pages of false and misleading stories and daily shouting at Victorians, Victorians did not listen, they were not influenced.
The Herald Sun is not important, not influential.
Technology today provides governments more timely and effective platforms through which to communicate vital information. The print newspaper medium is of rapidly diminishing value for anything, the News Corp versions of print newspapers even more so.
In my opinion, the decision makers at News Corp. have for too many years tried to interfere in our our democracy. One only has to look at their treatment of newsagents over the decades to see the extent of their selfishness.
Dealing with News Limited was the part of my newsagency that hated the most. It was their way or no way. I sold ten years ago thank God. I stopped reading the Herald Sun then because I’m not going to pay them a cent.
The front pages of these papers some days really make me cringe. No interest in actual journalism.