The Power of the Press !

In many parts of the world strong leaders are using their muscle to force newspapers to close and intimidating journalists who write opposing stories.  This often goes hand in hand with the abolition of competing political parties.   As a consequence, elections are a sham with no credible opposition offered to the voters.

We value a free press but that can have unintended consequences. In 1898 aspiring American politician Teddy Roosevelt gained the backing of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst to turn public opinion against the remains of the Spanish empire and create a war of acquisition. This came to a head when the American battleship " Maine " mysteriously blew up in Havana harbour in Cuba and the Hearst newspapers vilified Spain.  The mantra " Remember the Maine " on newspaper mastheads eventually led to war and the United States replaced Spain as the guiding power in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippine archipelago.   This war delivered Teddy Roosevelt's dream of an American " empire " !

In the twentieth century the Russian revolution delivered Communism and a way of life that demolished the concept of a free press.  The Soviet Union refused to retreat from the countries it liberated from Hitler's Germany when the second world war ended and then Mao triumphed in China and the worlds most populous country came under Communist rule.  For several decades this clash of cultures resulted in what became known as the " cold war ".

The implosion of the Soviet Union offered the hope of world peace, but this proved to be a mirage. Newspaper news gave way to television and then the age of computers brought the internet into play and created the phenomenon of Facebook.  New media barons emerged and despite laws to prevent the concentration of power just that is happening in the media world.

We have just seen the phenomenon of a sitting prime minister forced from office here in Australia and replaced after a disgraceful scrimmage to secure the votes to climb to the top of that totem pole.  Many political commentators ascribe that loss of office to a handful of people guiding the puppet strings of public opinion that encouraged dissidents within the ruling party to rebel.

In America, a most extraordinary presidential candidate won office by marshalling the grievances of workers displaced by globalization with unlikely promises.  In office he is conducting a trade war that could have disastrous consequences for the world economy.  His campaign was made possible by using the media to sow divisions and appeal to America's lower order.

The man who has emerged as the undisputed Czar of media is Rupert Murdock, an Australian who now holds American citizenship.  Murdock accumulated a newspaper kingdom in Britain before turning to the world stage. and extending his spheres of influence.  They now range across television, what used to be termed " cable " and a vast magazine empire.  Rupert Murdock has influence over what people see, hear and read in most of the western world.

Rightly or wrongly, it seems he and his fellow moguls just changed the prime minister of Australia from one person to another.   That is a very unhealthy situation, but how it can be changed raises some interesting questions.  It would take a very strong politician to go head to head with such a power !