’Nowhere in the world, has one print media played such a dominant role in people’s lives than the Murdoch Press in Australia. Supported by the Government’s policies of serving big business and hunger for power, Australia’s print media has become the most monopolistic in the ‘Western World’. Print media monopoly constitutes great danger to free thought and democracy, a frightening reminder of fascist dictatorships in Europe.

In 1922, Walter Lippmann, a journalist and adviser to former U.S. president Woodrow Wilson, proposed that “friends of democracy” or the elites, big business, the ‘Liberal’ and the “experts” refine and improve what he called, the “manufacture of consent”, a process of propaganda and ideological indoctrination, in order to control and manipulate the “herd of citizens” or the “bewildered herd” through the careful management of the news. In Public Opinion [1], Lippmann wrote: “In order to conduct propaganda there must be some barrier between the public and the event. Access to the real environment must be limited, before anyone can create a pseudo-environment that he thinks wise or desirable”. In other words, the public must be deceived and misinformed in order to provide consent for government policies. Political leaders, particularly those who pretend to breach Western democracy have used Lippmann’s ideas skilfully to manage the news and “prevent independent access to events”. Mussolini and Hitler accredited their popularity and rise to power to the manipulation of public opinion by pliant and monopolistic press.

Howard’s hatred for democracy and hunger for power have eroded Australian democracy and allows him to rule like an elected dictator. He claims to have a “mandate” to impose his neo-liberal policies on Australians. Like many extremist politicians, Howard uses popular language and scare tactic demagoguery by combining fear and racism (against Muslim and Indigenous Australians) to manipulate and lure Australian voters to his side, relying on the Murdoch Press to spread his message.

The Howard’s Government assaults on civil liberties and freedom, persecuting the Muslim community, forbidding organised labour by making strike illegal, outlawing people’s right to protest, disbanding student unions, banning books, censoring the Arts, silencing dissents, intimidating critics, selling public assets and curtailing parliamentary scrutiny are just some of the repressive policies characterise a police state. Howard’s neo-liberal and repressive policies are endorsed and defended in the Murdoch Press, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Indeed, they are Murdoch’s own ideological substitutes; a gift to John Howard.

If Americans are “brain-washed”, Australians are brain-bleached. With highly managed and censored radio and TV news bulletins, and Internet service lagging behind (Australia ranked 42nd in the world) most Australians have little choice and lack access to independent news. They are skilfully indoctrinated, manipulated and reduced to spectators, unable to influence government’s decisions. In fact, Australians are the most authority’s obedient people on the planet. They will accept (without questioning) anything the government imposes upon them. They are politically disengaged.

The Danger Of Rising Print Media Monopoly In Australia