from Media Watch …..

Equally nasty, in my view, was the effort by Sydney Morning Herald columnist Miranda Devine.

Ms Devine had already divined, with absolute certainty, the true culprits for the most lethal bushfires in Australia's history.

Green ideas must take blame for deaths.

- The Sydney Morning Herald, 12th February, 2009

Her illustrator was more specific. The fire-breathing devil sported a green triangle - the badge of the Greens party.

Plenty of others, last week, were pointing the finger at policies that they claim have discouraged preventive burning, and the clearing of bush around houses.

But only Miranda Devine came up with a sentence like this:

If politicians are intent on whipping up a lynch mob to divert attention from their own culpability, it is not arsonists who should be hanging from lamp-posts but greenies.

- The Sydney Morning Herald, 12th February, 2009

That's not opinion-writing, Miranda. That's hate-mongering.

You and your paper, which saw fit to blazon your ugly piece across the front page of its website, should both be ashamed of yourselves.

I should say, once again, that there's been plenty of fine reporting this week under harrowing circumstances.

Until next week, goodnight.

http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/0902_devine.pdf