MSM doesn't get "Detroying the Joint" and what it really means.

[Matilda]

Less than 24 hours after what some consider Julia Gillard's best performance ever in parliament, the MSM just doesn't get its significance.

Most of our media are focussing their attention on Gillard's defence of Peter Slipper - in defending the indefensible, she "chose to defend her numbers. She chose power over principle. It was the wrong choice. It was an unprincipled decision and turned out not to be pragmatic either. The Prime Minister gained nothing and lost a great deal." (Peter Hartcher)

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/we-expected-more-of-gillard-20121009-27bd6.html

I usually respect Peter Hartcher, who tries to steer a middle course (though I suspect he's a Liberal), but he's way off the mark here.

And from the ABC website we have:

"Labor and the Coalition are continuing to trade blows over yesterday's dramatic exit of the Speaker Peter Slipper, amid a broader debate over political judgement and sexism in the Parliament."

All yesterday's events are raked over, with one exception: Tony Abbott's extraordinary statement that "this government should have died of shame". Did he really think this gross re-use of Alan Jones's ugly comment would go unnoticed by Gillard, and by other people who found it deeply offensive? Well, it did go unreported by the ABC's reporter, Simon Cullen:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-10/politicians-trade-blows-after-slipper-stands-down/4304918


But here's somebody who does get what's going on - that Gillard's speech was not only a defence of herself, but a defence of all women who have suffered from male chauvinism, sexist bullying, anti-feminism, and plain old misygony.

"The past few weeks have made clear that the people are no longer passive observers in the news process, says Tim Dunlop. If journalists want to stay relevant, they'd better work with their audience.

The events of the past few weeks - from Alan Jones' unconscionable slur against Julia Gillard to the Prime Minister's takedown of Tony Abbott in Parliament - has brought into focus something that has been apparent for more than a decade now, and it is this.

As an audience, we are no longer dependent on the mainstream media to interpret and explain important events to us.

In a previous era, we had to wait for the six o'clock news in order to see the footage of what had happened in Canberra that day, and even then our understanding was restricted according to the choices made by journalists and editors."

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4305220.html

Tim Dunlop gets it, and do the Facebook and Twitter accounts which have been running wild on this topic for the past two weeks. And the global media are reporting Gillard's speech, and they, for the most part, understand its significance.

Something has changed in our psyche; we have rediscovered the power of the people. Alan Jones has the right, as his supporters claim, to freedom of speech.

And so do those who disagree with his views, and they are shouting loud and clear. The MSM should start paying attention.