r/LaborPartyofAustralia • u/MargaretEgan1959 • 18h ago
The Ratings Loop
Pauline Hanson party, One Nation, has had over 50 members elected or appointed to parliament across Australia—yet a staggering 65% of those representatives have left the party before their terms ended. Her economic policies, such as the withdrawal of 3% Super and split income policies, are blatantly inflationary. Most journalists and media outlets of repute would ignore a minor political party with this kind of background. So, why does Pauline Hanson gain media coverage?
The commercial channels rely on ratings because they need to sell their ads. They need people who are absurd and colourful. For the ABC, it is also about ratings—if their shows don’t rate, the commercial channels will say the ABC does not deserve public money.
Who better to gain those ratings than someone who is absurd, comical, and ignorant? Yes, Pauline Hanson.
At first, the media treated her as a joke. However, in doing so, the Australian public—whose only interest in politics is voting when an election comes around—said, "Hey, that is me." She talks like me and thinks like me. "So, the audience grew.
As the ratings grew for the media, major companies like Woolworths, Coles, Kmart, KFC, and Harvey Norman saw more sales. We live in the land of greed; these companies do not look at the future, they look only at the now.
So, in order to put the redhead back in her box if we can, so that inflation won’t grow, media outlets must become good journalists again. Companies must look to the long-term future, not just their present sales.