ABC can Faine indifference
Politically motivated character assassination! abc.net.au, yesterday:
The main cast members of (Disney’s) Guardians of the Galaxy have issued an open letter in support of ousted director James Gunn, who was fired earlier this month after jokes he made on Twitter years ago were uncovered … cast members said they were not defending Gunn’s jokes about rape and pedophilia but wished to … denounce what they see as a politically motivated “character assassination”.
Targeted by Trump trolls! Christina Cauterucci, Slate, July 25:
Right-wing activists are on a pedophile-hunting spree. Over the past several days, supporters of Donald Trump have targeted … left-leaning celebrities for tweets … that make light of child rape. Trump-hating filmmaker James Gunn … was fired by Disney … after Mike Cernovich … and other far-right trolls resurfaced years-old tweets in which Gunn joked about sex acts and children, including one in which he wrote, “I like when little boys touch me in my silly place.”
Because he’s a Trump hater or a pedophile lover? Cernovich.com:
Disney’s James Gunn … went on a mass-deleting spree … yesterday as people uncovered tweets where he advocated for and seemingly admitted to being a pedophile. He deleted over 10,000 tweets and … his personal blog, which told the story of a monkey masturbating on a child.
Faine fan! Stephen Brook, The Australian, July 16:
ABC chairman Justin Milne likes ABC Melbourne radio broadcaster Jon Faine much more than Faine likes him. “Jon Faine, God bless him,” Milne … (said.) “Jon Faine is a great broadcaster and people listen to him because he is a great broadcaster and go, ‘jeez, he is not scared to stick it into his bosses’. Which I think is great.” Last month Faine attacked ABC management for a “failure” to confront the government. “I’ve been here since 1989 busting my guts for a vision and a set of values and, quite frankly, I’m sick of getting it ripped apart because of the failure of our managers,” Faine said.
Not Faine fans. Michael Lallo, Canberra Times, July 28:
Since mid-2014, ABC Melbourne has suffered the biggest decline of any local broadcaster … driven by losses in all shifts … ABC’s breakfast program … has gone from 17.6 to 7.6 per cent … Morning host Jon Faine believes a narrow focus on ratings is misguided. “It’s in our charter, and it’s part of our DNA, to do more than just try to be popular,” he says. “I could rate higher if I did a quiz, or if I did more sport or went down market. But that would be letting down our values” … ABC’s fall from the top of the ratings … to No 5, in … four years, has staff worried. “The station has severe cracks in it,” says one insider. “It’s a rudderless ship.”
Free speech for abortion activist! ABC’s The Drum tweet, yesterday:
Dr Kerryn Phelps: “I’m concerned about … (Cricket Australia allegedly sacking a staff member for criticising the Tasmanian government’s closure of abortion services. To) what extent is there a crossover between peoples’ personal views on social media, and their employment? Can you be gagged in your job for something that you feel very strongly about personally?”
Free speech for Christians? The Drum tweet, April 10:
Dr Kerryn Phelps: “People are entitled to their views but not everyone is entitled to express their views if they’re hurtful to a group of people & you’re a celebrity. Israel Folau looks a bit silly & boring (for declaring his belief in the Bible) — even the Pope has declared there isn’t such a thing as hell.”