Thanks Rupert, but we'll decide our own election

The Gosford Anglican Church's sign perhaps said it best: "Thanks Rupert, but we'll choose our own Government."

If you agree, check out our new ad and chip in to get it on the air:


http://www.getup.org.au/you-decide-this-election
News Corp employs some of the best journalists in the country. But during this election campaign, News Corp Australia have consistently used the front pages of The Courier-Mail and The Daily Telegraph to launch aggressive political campaigns against one side of politics^[2], while failing to scrutinise the other.

It even prompted Australian Press Council to issue a warning to newspapers this week, saying "a paper's editorial viewpoints and its advocacy of them must be kept separate from its news columns."^[1]

Some recent front page Murdoch headlines - all featuring various caricatures of Prime Minister Rudd - include:

• "Kick this mob out" -- The Daily Telegraph
  
• "It's a Ruddy Mess" -- The Herald Sun
  
• "I know nuthink!" (featuring the PM as Colonel Klink)-- The Daily Telegraph
  
• "Does this guy ever shut up" -- The Courier-Mail
  
• "Dear Leader" (featuring the PM as Kim Jong-Un) -- The Daily Telegraph

The biased campaign is an insult to readers and the journalists who work on the papers. That's why we created this new ad.

Click here to check it out and get it on the air before the election: http://www.getup.org.au/you-decide-this-election

The Murdoch-owned News Corp publications account for 65% of national and metropolitan daily newspaper circulation^[3]. In Brisbane, home to more marginal seats than anywhere in the country, The Courier-Mail is the only state-wide daily newspaper available. What's more, News Corp have been turning their front pages into huge political ads, installing them as bus-shelter and outdoor advertisements in key electorates.

We expect news from our newspapers. We expect to hear from journalists reporting the facts fearlessly, not from editors who have been flown in to run an attack-dog political campaign. This biased campaign is an insult to readers and the journalists who work on the papers. Let's show voters who will really decide this Election.

The only way to respond to a media bias this pervasive and influential is to go head-to-head - playing our own TV ads on screens in the same election battlegrounds currently only getting one side of the story from The Courier-Mail and The Daily Telegraph.

Let's send a message loud and clear: Australian voters decide this election, not Mr Murdoch: www.getup.org.au/you-decide-this-election

For a free, fair and independent media,
the GetUp team.

PS. Interested in volunteering with GetUp on Election Day? If you haven't already, register here: http://www.getup.org.au/volunteer

[1] Australian press watchdog chides Murdoch media, Reuters. 27th August 2013.
[2] Murdoch's election coverage 'insult to Australians', SMH. 26th August 2013.
[3] FactCheck: does Murdoch own 70% of newspapers in Australia? 8th August 2013.

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GetUp is an independent, not-for-profit community campaigning group. We use new technology to empower Australians to have their say on important national issues. We receive no political party or government funding, and every campaign we run is entirely supported by voluntary donations. If you'd like to contribute to help fund GetUp's work, please donate now! If you have trouble with any links in this email, please go directly to www.getup.org.au. To unsubscribe from GetUp, please click here. Authorised by Sam Mclean, Level 2, 104 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010.