Oz media belatedly realises 'spook's charter' is bad (for) news

Australia's media has finally realised that it was a bad idea to turn the Nelson eye to national security laws that passed in 2014. The laws in question, the National Security Legislation Amendment Bill (No.1) 2014, created new crimes of revealing “special intelligence operations” (SIOs), with penalties of five years in jail …

[PleebSmash]

America2free

Close the office and move it to the U.S. where there is freedom of the press. That's what the Granuiad did.

[Mark 85]

Re: America2free

Don't bother.. we'll probably change our laws too. This seems to be a trend in the world today to protect the children (and the politicians and the data slurping spooks).

[GrumpyOldBloke]

Make a fuss? Lose the advertising payback for towing the government line? Mea culpa much. With subscription numbers trending down and profitability in the official story business a distant memory it is only the government playing favourites that is keeping these great houses of *quality journalism* alive. A few recent examples of scratch my back...

SMH 22 Jan 15. The Abbott government plans to spend almost $15 million on its taxpayer-funded higher education advertising campaign

ABC 17 Apr 15 [domestic violence] support for the co-funded $30 million awareness campaign

SMH 28 Apr 15. [$1.75M campaign for] Intergenerational Report escaped independent vetting

This is not just an Abbott government issue, the last mob were just as bad and the states do it as well. We do not expect the media chiefs to act independently when the government is their best customer. The alternative news sites - including this one - had no problems identifying problems in the legislation.

[Spaceman Spiff]

And who's fault is it?

Sticking ones head in the sand and repeating loudly "nya, nya, nya" doesn't keep the fascists from taking over the country. Too bad. Too late. You lose!

[Anthony 13]

MediaWatch ...

... did (at least) a couple of episodes on this.

Politically, you can't really put it all on the LNP - both sides wanted this. But unfortunately Labour didn't introduce it in their last term - if they had, we would have got cries of outrage from both the LNP and the News Corp bods. So, in a way, it is all Labour's fault...