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- "Shut up shut up shut up!"
I have been a vocal advocate for not assuming that America’s political problems are Australia’s problems too, but in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s killing things have taken an unnecessarily scary turn.
I truly believe most people in Australia do not care that much about an American white nationalist getting shot. One day’s worth of news is all it really deserved. But you know who did seem to care about it a lot? Conservative and far-right media. Which, unfortunately, are some of Australia’s biggest mainstream media outlets.
The likes of Sky News, the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph and even the Australian Financial Review have used Kirk’s death to launch aggressive attack campaigns on progressive voices and journalists. Several of my friends and peers have been attacked this week by right-wing Australian media, resulting in streams of abuse and death threats, but Hannah Ferguson and Abbie Chatfield are copping the brunt of it. Sky News in particular has spent a full week going in on them both, whipping its audience into a frenzy and, judging by the comments on this Facebook post, potentially inciting violence against them.
These are intimidation tactics. The goal is to make the firehose of anger, hate, and threats of violence so loud and overwhelming that being vocal about left-wing politics feels so scary and risky that people decide it’s not worth it. They want us to shut up.
They would like the media landscape and all political discourse to not only be dominated by conservative voices – like it is now – but to be solely controlled by the right. Their dream blunt rotation is Sky News, The Australian and The Age, and they would prefer it if those were your only news options. Having neo-Nazi leaders debating Barnaby Joyce about economic policy on The Morning Show every week is their idea of getting Australia “on the right path”.
America’s problems are not Australia’s problems. But the people who work at these media organisations are desperately trying to bring those problems here.
In the US right now, journalists, commentators, and media personalities are getting fired for not complying with the new fascist regime. I’m sure you’ve heard about Jimmy Kimmel by now (good explainer here). He’s the famous face to all this, but the firing of The Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah was even more egregious.
In Australia we’ve got Liberal senator Sarah Henderson shrieking on Twitter about First Nations ABC journalist Isabella Higgins. Independent MP Zali Steggall issued this frankly pathetic statement about liking a Cheek Media post about Kirk, and then caving into bullying by the right-wing media (this episode of the Lamestream podcast is a good listen on the topic) — a display of such political weakness from a woman who claims to represent progressive leadership and conviction.
None of this is really about Kirk — they are not mad about left-wing commentary on his death, so much as they are mad that any left-of-centre ideology is being discussed at all, point blank, full stop. His corpse is just the latest tool the far-right is using to try to intimidate their political opponents into silence.
And it is sometimes scary. My heart rate does spike checking comments, DMs, emails. All my media pals have felt stressed this week, some have temporarily gone to ground. It’s tense. But…
…the truth is these angry right-wingers are more scared than me or my friends. They fear the growing volume and influence of progressive and leftist voices — particularly those in independent media, because there is no corporate boss to bully. You can’t get Lattouf’d from your own newsletter!
Everyone I have spoken to, despite feeling unnerved by an ugly week, is 110% staying the course. We won’t shut up. The intimidation will not work.
Smart stuff on the Internet 💭
All the stuff I found on the web that made me think, smile, or have an ‘aha!’ moment. Spend your Sunday reading them – you'll be better off for it:
How Legacy Media Fumbled the Charlie Kirk Shooting on The Hollywood Reporter
Mostly focused on the US media, but applies to Aus media too. “The journalists getting things wrong don’t have nefarious intentions. They’re often just general assignment reporters thrown onto stories that they’re unqualified to report on. This is how we have ended up with so many false reports of things like nonexistent TikTok challenges. “Just like a news organization would not send a general reporter into a war zone, outlets should also not send untrained journalists into the chaotic online world and expect them to be able to have a complete understanding of what is transpiring.’”
The "Death" of the Celebrity Interview on Mina Le’s YouTube
Another rock solid take on why the influencer-led media replacing entertainment journalism is letting everyone down. In this video essay Mina goes through the history of the celebrity profile and why, when celebrities still hold so much influence over culture, it’s a problem that “sycophantic” interviews have become the norm. Bring back tension, conflict and asking hard questions!
‘Don’t mention Hitler and you’re sweet’: The great March for Australia deception on Sydney Morning Herald
Really in-depth investigation into how Australian neo-Nazis are operating at the moment, including Hugo “Auspill” Lennon’s desperation to be involved with them.
A eulogy for the mega-pop star on Keep Scrolling substack
Brilliant pop culture read by Annabel Bendavid, friend of Zee Feed and digital editor of Centennial World. “On the second day of the festival … my father texted me a simple question: Who did you see yesterday? He then listed the headliners, not by name, but by his own identifiers: "Espresso" (Sabrina Carpenter, obviously), "Xxx" (what I can only assume was meant to be XCX?), and "Red Hair" (his descriptor for Chappell Roan). Perhaps this proves Sam's point: maybe the era of the mega pop star is dead, or at the very least, changing.”