For Celetina--Australian journalists.

[Jovial Monk]

Firstly, Andrew Dolt says often that he is not a journalist but a commentator.

Re the courage of Australian journalists. Right at the start an Australian journalist, not embedded with the yanks, got killed in northern Iraq by some insurgents--forgive me, I cannot remember his name. More recently, a journalist faced jail for not revealing his source, again, the details escape me.

It is people like Andrew Dolt that are Fib lackeys and talk crap.

Besides being a Lib lackey Dolt is a coward who regularly removes his columns when he is clearly shown to be wrong. Now, I didn't save the two versions so I cannot prove it but I did see it happen with my own eyes.

It was the time the Olympic torch was about to go through Canberra and the Dolt raved "Spin: Rudd says the Chinese accompanying the torch will not provide security for the torch. Fact: {Aust olympic rep} says the Chinese will provide security for the torch." You may remember a lot of kerfuffle when the Chinese accompanying the Torch caused scuffles in European capitals.

When the reality was that the PM (and who the fuck would ever think otherwise) was right the Dolt changed his article! This lackey just sits safely in a comfortable office spewing out bile, distortions in his, errr, oh yeah, 'commentaries' knowing if he overstepped the mark his employer not he would cop the flack.

And you think the Dolt is the paragon of Australian journalism?????

[mantra.]

I used to love Mike Carlton - although he's a bit long in the tooth now. His satires on Howard were hilarious. The right whingers hated him, but he was always fair and knocked the ALP as well.

Bolt is a bit outspoken, but I don't mind him that much. He did put a lot of crap on Howard toward the end of his term and was pretty forthright about the errors of the Libs, although obviously he's a supporter. His columns are a bit outrageous at times regardless of the party - but he can be biased as well. Besides a few years ago Howard bought in legislation to silence true journalism. They have to do what their media mogul bosses tell them and the governments what to do. I don't think Rudd is doing anything about changing the legislation although he did make utterings that he was going to.

[Ethnic]

I can't stand Andrew Bolt - he's a public school bashing fuckwit who bangs on about freedom while SNIPPING comments from dissenters (where is Janine I?). My apologies that I don't teach at Scotch College Mr Bolt - shall I hang myself or would you prefer a bullet in my public school infested brain? My guess is that he'd be a pussy if I ever ran into him on the street. Granted I've agreed with a couple of things that he writes - by coincidence I think. He's wrong about 90% of what he writes from asylum seekers to the economy. I oppose Rudd's economic strategies because I fear the monetary consequences for future generations, Bolt opposes it because he's a dickhead. Piers Akerman gets on my nerves. I don't mind Tim Blair because he has a sense of humour. I do like Annabel Crabb and Catherine Deveny. David Marr writes some sense as well.

I did say 'most journalists'. I know a few have done heroic things. I just feel the majority of them would be more suited as opinionists or commentators rather than as journalists. I do think conservatives get the rough end of the stick from plenty of journalists but so do environmentalists and social justice advocates, which I should have stated originally. Our journalists are pampered and write alot of bullshit.

[Jovial Monk]

I agree about the bullshit!