Media Shame File
Outlet: The Age (worst offender, but this story was also followed up by the Guardian, News.com.au, SBS, and the Daily Mail)
Headline: Robinsons Bookshop owner apologises after calling for more ‘white kids’ on book covers
Summary: Written by hijab-wearing reporter Najma Sambul, this story is a nasty hit piece on the owner of an independent bookstore chain over a handful of tweets that were only seen by a few hundred people before being posted on social media, because she dared to speak out against anti-White hate in her industry. No journalism was done. Like in the Guardian’s Imperium Press hit piece, Sambul has gone to her target for comment, obtained an apology, and then used that to sell the story. It’s unbalanced (quotes an anti-White Indigenous radio host) and fact free (does not address the bookstore owner’s claims, which are true in our opinion) and has presents the comments section on a small Instagram page as representative of public opinion. All par for the course in Australian journalism these days.
Key Quote: “Horman vowed not to stock diverse books that were ‘against White Australians’ and ‘[books that] cause harm and make Australians hate each other'”
Subtext: “If you run a business and have right wing views the media will smear you and try to destroy your livelihood”
