Andrew Bolt - is he a credible journalist?

[Bat Pad]

Bolt's case was not about free speech. It was about misuse of journalism to vilify and defame by trashing the truth
- Julian Burnside QC

So why was he charged with breaching the racial discrimination act as opposed to being sued for defamation?

Because it was a class action by nine parties, and to sue for defamation would have meant nine seperate cases. Also they weren't seeking damages.

That doesn't answer my question.

[Leaping Lindner]

Bolt's case was not about free speech. It was about misuse of journalism to vilify and defame by trashing the truth
- Julian Burnside QC

So why was he charged with breaching the racial discrimination act as opposed to being sued for defamation?

Because it was a class action by nine parties, and to sue for defamation would have meant nine seperate cases. Also they weren't seeking damages.

That doesn't answer my question.

Yes it does. Try reading it again.

[Bat Pad]

No it doesn't

Why was he charged with breaching the racial discrimination act?

If the case was about defamation, what does it have to do with the act?

The fact that it was a class action in the end is irrelevant to my question as it was not their only option, and my question was regarding why they took the action they did as opposed to the more obvious action should the quote you provided be an accurate representation of the case ( I assume you agree with it otherwise you wouldn't have posted it)

[Sky Pilot]

I had not read the "offending" article before this but it was just emailed to me with the picture of the three women who were apparently featured with it. Has anyone else on here read it?

[BIG SEXY]

i havent read it no. from what im lead to believe he was basically asking at what point do aboriginals stop becoming aboriginal?

on a side note i have mates around here who class themselves afghan rather than aboriginal because thats where there paternal lineage stems from. perhaps this is what he meant. at 5% black fella and 95% mixed (european afghan etc) what are you classed as. and probably more importantly why should it matter what you are classed as

[Gozu]

i havent read it no. from what im lead to believe he was basically asking at what point do aboriginals stop becoming aboriginal?

on a side note i have mates around here who class themselves afghan rather than aboriginal because thats where there paternal lineage stems from. perhaps this is what he meant. at 5% black fella and 95% mixed (european afghan etc) what are you classed as. and probably more importantly why should it matter what you are classed as

It shouldn't, Aboriginal people should be free to call themselves Aboriginal without being attacked by right-wing extremists because they have fair coloured skin. Aside from the factual errors (he said one of the persons involved had a german mother or something when the mother was in fact Aboriginal) it was just gross. You only had to read his response to the news about the massacre in Norway which he initially tried to pin on muslims/multi-culturalism when it in fact turned out to be a fellow white right-wing nutter to know how hung up this guy is on non-whites.

He has form on this stuff with Aboriginal's too hosting a book launch for disgraced historian Keith Windschuttle who believes the 'Stolen Generations' never happened, as does Bolt.

[once_were_warriors]

I just don't understand why he raises things like this.

Who cares if someone claims aboriginal heritage , Irish heritage , brazilian heritage.

I mean he claims to be a journalist for his own benefit, there would be a few wanting to kick him out of the guild.

It really isn't newsworthy, just something to stir the pot.

Tabloid at best.

[straight talker]

i havent read it no. from what im lead to believe he was basically asking at what point do aboriginals stop becoming aboriginal?

on a side note i have mates around here who class themselves afghan rather than aboriginal because thats where there paternal lineage stems from. perhaps this is what he meant. at 5% black fella and 95% mixed (european afghan etc) what are you classed as. and probably more importantly why should it matter what you are classed as

in my opinion i think he is trying to say it is easier to get things from the government for free if you say you have aboriginal in you?

[mick]

I'm 5th generation Australian of German/Irish ancestry. I've been to Ireland and I lived and worked in Germany. I don't feel any affinity for either of those countries, but I don't begrudge anyone who feels an affinity for their ancestry, I don't myself.

[dedja]

LOL, Bolt the martyr ... cry me a river

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andr ... a_monster/

Ever wondered how it would feel to have a pack of journalists write about you? Especially one drooling to see in you the very worst?

I thought it would hurt a lot more.

Sure, it’s bad at first, but there comes a point when the hypocrisy, malice and sheer invention become so bizarre - especially from some members of the Leftist “elite” media - that you have to laugh.

For me, that point came on Monday, five days after being found to have breached the Racial Vilification Act for writing about fair-skinned Aborigines, by which time I’d read that I was actually a “Lying Dutchman” (Sydney Morning Herald) from the “outback” (The Monthly) of a country I’d never written about “with passion” (The Age), since I was confused about my identity and clung to “an archaic notion of European culture” (The Age).

[mick]

All racist dutchmen should be deported back to where they came from, they are not welcome in our glorious workers paradise

[straight talker]

[quote="dedja"]LOL, Bolt the martyr ... cry me a river

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andr ... a_monster/

Ever wondered how it would feel to have a pack of journalists write about you? Especially one drooling to see in you the very worst?

I thought it would hurt a lot more.

Sure, it’s bad at first, but there comes a point when the hypocrisy, malice and sheer invention become so bizarre - especially from some members of the Leftist “elite” media - that you have to laugh.

For me, that point came on Monday, five days after being found to have breached the Racial Vilification Act for writing about fair-skinned Aborigines, by which time I’d read that I was actually a “Lying Dutchman” (Sydney Morning Herald) from the “outback” (The Monthly) of a country I’d never written about “with passion” (The Age), since I was confused about my identity and clung to “an archaic notion of European culture” (The Age).[/quote

well well well stig surely you wouldnt agree with a person calling him a LYING DUTCHMAN? that is surely not allowed.?

[Q.]

well well well stig surely you wouldnt agree with a person calling him a LYING DUTCHMAN? that is surely not allowed.?

How does Little Poffertje sit?

[tipper]

well well well stig surely you wouldnt agree with a person calling him a LYING DUTCHMAN? that is surely not allowed.?

where has anyone called Bolt a lying dutchman? i cant see that anywhere in this thread. Racist dutchman yes, but it was proven in a court of law that he breached the racial discrimination act, and therefore is racist.

actually the only reference i could see in this thread to anyone being called a liar was yourself ST refferring to Julia Gillard.....

[straight talker]

well well well stig surely you wouldnt agree with a person calling him a LYING DUTCHMAN? that is surely not allowed.?

where has anyone called Bolt a lying dutchman? i cant see that anywhere in this thread. Racist dutchman yes, but it was proven in a court of law that he breached the racial discrimination act, and therefore is racist.

actually the only reference i could see in this thread to anyone being called a liar was yourself ST refferring to Julia Gillard.....

it was printed in the south australian advertiser tripper, do your homework before you comment please. Also im afraid JULIAR is a liar as she told the Australian people there would be no carbon tax under the government i lead. CORRECT?

[tipper]

well well well stig surely you wouldnt agree with a person calling him a LYING DUTCHMAN? that is surely not allowed.?

where has anyone called Bolt a lying dutchman? i cant see that anywhere in this thread. Racist dutchman yes, but it was proven in a court of law that he breached the racial discrimination act, and therefore is racist.

actually the only reference i could see in this thread to anyone being called a liar was yourself ST refferring to Julia Gillard.....

it was printed in the south australian advertiser tripper, do your homework before you comment please. Also im afraid JULIAR is a liar as she told the Australian people there would be no carbon tax under the government i lead. CORRECT?

lol, do my homework, what are you 12? i asked where in THIS THREAD that accusation had been made.

I think you need to brush up on your reading comprehension. my screen name is TIPPER, other posters you continue to misspell, one is called GOZU, stig as you call him is called DEDJA. they arent exactly hard names to spell. from what i have read of your posts, it seems to be some sort of deliberate thing you do when someone disagrees with your point of view. not sure what you are trying to prove with it but it is simple courtesies like spelling someones name correctly that may actually help to get you a modicum of respect around here. just putting that idea out there to see how it goes, you might like to try it and see how you go.

Meanwhile on that topic the Prime Ministers name is JULIA. wether you agree with her, or her policies, or even like her, you could show a little respect for the office she holds and spell her name correctly too. there are many people i have given opinions on, and i still try to refer to them correctly. it really isnt that hard, well it isnt that hard for most of us. do you somehow think that if you keep referring to people incorrectly that we will somehow start to believe what you say, or take you more seriously or something?

also, on your last post, are you trying to suggest that people should be up in arms because a proven racist has been refererd to in a newspaper as a liar, but yourself repeatedly levelling the same label at the Prime Minister should be ignored and allowed? no hypocrisy there at all..... personally i actually dont see why you are trying to make such a big deal out of a single lie that has been told by a polititian. she wasnt the first to tell lie, she wont be the last. imho the Howard Government made an art form out of it, but that is a seperate topic all together.

and just to pretend that this post is even remotely on topic, no, Andrew Bolt is not a credible journalist.

[Sky Pilot]

well well well stig surely you wouldnt agree with a person calling him a LYING DUTCHMAN? that is surely not allowed.?

where has anyone called Bolt a lying dutchman? i cant see that anywhere in this thread. Racist dutchman yes, but it was proven in a court of law that he breached the racial discrimination act, and therefore is racist.

actually the only reference i could see in this thread to anyone being called a liar was yourself ST refferring to Julia Gillard.....

it was printed in the south australian advertiser tripper, do your homework before you comment please. Also im afraid JULIAR is a liar as she told the Australian people there would be no carbon tax under the government i lead. CORRECT?

lol, do my homework, what are you 12? i asked where in THIS THREAD that accusation had been made.

I think you need to brush up on your reading comprehension. my screen name is TIPPER, other posters you continue to misspell, one is called GOZU, stig as you call him is called DEDJA. they arent exactly hard names to spell. from what i have read of your posts, it seems to be some sort of deliberate thing you do when someone disagrees with your point of view. not sure what you are trying to prove with it but it is simple courtesies like spelling someones name correctly that may actually help to get you a modicum of respect around here. just putting that idea out there to see how it goes, you might like to try it and see how you go.

Meanwhile on that topic the Prime Ministers name is JULIA. wether you agree with her, or her policies, or even like her, you could show a little respect for the office she holds and spell her name correctly too. there are many people i have given opinions on, and i still try to refer to them correctly. it really isnt that hard, well it isnt that hard for most of us. do you somehow think that if you keep referring to people incorrectly that we will somehow start to believe what you say, or take you more seriously or something?

also, on your last post, are you trying to suggest that people should be up in arms because a proven racist has been refererd to in a newspaper as a liar, but yourself repeatedly levelling the same label at the Prime Minister should be ignored and allowed? no hypocrisy there at all..... personally i actually dont see why you are trying to make such a big deal out of a single lie that has been told by a polititian. she wasnt the first to tell lie, she wont be the last. imho the Howard Government made an art form out of it, but that is a seperate topic all together.

and just to pretend that this post is even remotely on topic, no, Andrew Bolt is not a credible journalist.

I'll reconsider my opinion of Andrew Bolt if he gets fired. While he has a job he is commercially viable. His opinons enrage some and please others and he gets paid handsomely. Left wingers hate it - so what?

[tipper]

commercial viability =/= credibility. personally i dont even consider him a journalist. he is a shock jock, nothing more.

[Gozu]

Profile on Andrew Bolt in the latest issue of The Monthly:

In 2006, through a third party, Andrew Bolt sought guidance from Roger Ailes on how he could replicate the Fox News model Down Under. “He saw the political power that comes from right-wing ranting,” says a colleague of Bolt’s, “and he appointed himself to do it.” Roger Ailes, formerly “one of the most skilled and fearsome operatives in the history of the Republican Party”, according to a 2011 Rolling Stone profile, is the chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group. He is responsible for the network outstripping CNN and all other rivals to become the number one cable network in the US and, to quote theNew York Times, for making Fox News “the profit engine of the News Corporation”. Although Murdoch publicly defends Ailes, his family begs to differ: “I am by no means alone within the family or the company in being ashamed and sickened by Roger Ailes’s horrendous and sustained disregard of the journalistic standards that News Corporation, its founder and every other global media business aspires to,” Matthew Freud, who is married to Elisabeth Murdoch, said last year.

Bolt "facts":

But he was careless with his research. He accused lawyer and writer Larissa Behrendt of being “a professional Aborigine … despite looking almost as German as her father”; her late father was Aboriginal. Writer Anita Heiss was accused of taking “a job reserved for Aborigines” at Koori Radio, where she was in fact a volunteer.

Bolt has quite a reputation for factual errors in his writing. Sydney academic Catharine Lumby provided me with several examples of how Bolt consistently got facts about her wrong, in ways that suited his agenda. In 2002 Victorian magistrate Jelena Popovic successfully pursued a libel claim in relation to a Bolt article; the judgement cost Bolt’s employers almost $250,000 in damages to Popovic, as well as the costs of the trial and an unsuccessful appeal to the High Court. The racial vilification judgement was expected in late September, as we were going to press. The plaintiffs are not seeking money, but want an apology from the Herald Sun, and an injunction to prevent Bolt writing similar material in future.

http://www.themonthly.com.au/andrew-bol ... mmers-4014

[The Sleeping Giant]

Some of you seem to spend a lot of time reading and posting about a bloke you despise.