WEBVTT - Why TV panel shows are facing extinction

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<v Speaker 1>TV panel shows facing extinction. To comment further on this,

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<v Speaker 1>media commentator Managing director of Media Stable, Nick Hayes, Morning Neck,

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<v Speaker 1>thanks for doing this.

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<v Speaker 2>Good morning Mike.

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<v Speaker 1>Good to be with you now. Q and A got

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<v Speaker 1>axed although this is very ABC. It was actually picking

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<v Speaker 1>up in the numbers, I believe, but got axed anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>and Ten's decided to end the project and people have

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<v Speaker 1>been predicting the end of ten for a very long time.

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<v Speaker 1>The drum was given the chop. So the sports panel

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<v Speaker 1>shows they're going great, but political discussion panel shows not

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<v Speaker 1>so much. Why do you think are they too dull?

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<v Speaker 2>What is it? I don't think necessarily it's dull. I

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<v Speaker 2>think it's mainly come down to cost, cost of putting

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<v Speaker 2>programs together. Let's have a quick look at the project.

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<v Speaker 2>There's a lot of paychecks that have to sit on

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<v Speaker 2>that panel. You know, anything between four and sometimes five

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<v Speaker 2>panel members on the project, and it's not cheap TV

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<v Speaker 2>to do. When the project first kicked off, it was

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<v Speaker 2>almost a spin off off the panel. Do you remember

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<v Speaker 2>the panel, Mike, yes, I do.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>That was a ripper of a show that was a

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<v Speaker 2>once a week show and it was a very sort

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<v Speaker 2>of comedy, different look at news and a little bit

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<v Speaker 2>of fun. A lot of show business around it as well.

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<v Speaker 2>But when the project kicked off it was a Monday

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<v Speaker 2>to Friday then went on to Sunday. It was originally

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<v Speaker 2>only used and filmed out of Melbourne now Melbourne and Sydney,

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<v Speaker 2>and it just became a very costly program to put together.

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<v Speaker 2>There's up to one hundred staff members that were involved

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<v Speaker 2>in the project week by week, and fifty of them,

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<v Speaker 2>as we know now, are going to lose their jobs

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<v Speaker 2>and fifty of them will be moved around. It is

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<v Speaker 2>just a costly program to put together.

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<v Speaker 1>I tell you what I don't mind. I do seek

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<v Speaker 1>it out on Channel ten and that's that show, the

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<v Speaker 1>Cheap Seats. Have you seen that? I guess you have.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I have. I'm looking forward to hearing or seeing

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<v Speaker 2>myself on there one day. No, it's a little bit

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<v Speaker 2>of fun, it's a bit's comedy again. But I think

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<v Speaker 2>sometimes it, Mike, could be interesting to you from your listeners.

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<v Speaker 2>I think that I've spoken to many people around the

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<v Speaker 2>country around the sort of the fall of the panel

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<v Speaker 2>shows is that they saw the projectors being in verta

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<v Speaker 2>Commas two woke a lot of them didn't like Wali Dali.

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<v Speaker 2>They liked the sort of the former presenters that were there,

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<v Speaker 2>the Charlie Pickerings that carry Bickmore's, the Dave Hughes's, the

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<v Speaker 2>original format, but they tended to look at the show

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<v Speaker 2>as being a little bit dealing with issues that were

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<v Speaker 2>probably more First Nations. They were probably to do with

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<v Speaker 2>the environment. They felt like they were being talked down to,

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<v Speaker 2>and that was one of the problems. I suppose that

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of viewers were turning off, and the numbers

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<v Speaker 2>were certainly dwindling. In the heyday of the project, it

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<v Speaker 2>was eating one point one one point two million people,

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<v Speaker 2>but it was well below that.

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<v Speaker 1>Talking about what you get and the wokeness, you would

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<v Speaker 1>be aware of the fact that Greg Gutfeld, with his

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<v Speaker 1>show on Fox in the US, is out rating the

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<v Speaker 1>other high profile late night talk shows. He's got more

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<v Speaker 1>viewers than them put together as far as I know,

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<v Speaker 1>but he's certainly outrating them all. But they're all pretty woke.

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<v Speaker 1>They're the old style American format, which I'm not saying

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<v Speaker 1>is a bad thing, but the stuff that Gutfeld puts

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<v Speaker 1>to air, I couldn't see executives here allowing that.

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<v Speaker 2>Could you No, Definitely, I think there is a term.

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<v Speaker 2>I know, we use woke a little bit, we use

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<v Speaker 2>right wing, we use conservative media quite a lot. I

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<v Speaker 2>think the Australian media can't really handle that kind of thing.

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<v Speaker 2>If it's doing very well, it's because it's appealing to

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<v Speaker 2>a particular audience, an audience that either feels it hasn't

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<v Speaker 2>been heard before, or is looking for an audience that

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<v Speaker 2>he wants to know almost you know, that rubber necking.

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<v Speaker 2>When they see an accident, they just can't take their

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<v Speaker 2>eyes off it. It's that kind of attraction that they

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<v Speaker 2>just want to go, what are they going to say next?

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<v Speaker 2>Shock jock? You know? So the death of the shock

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<v Speaker 2>jock in radio happens, and I think that Australian media

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't really cope well with too much shock. There's not

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of substance there. And at the end of

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<v Speaker 2>the day, we just want to be educated, informed, or

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<v Speaker 2>at least given some views to help us form our

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<v Speaker 2>own opinions. And that's the beauty I think of Australian

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<v Speaker 2>media is that we do provide a lot of that.

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<v Speaker 2>People have got choice, it's where to go. In America

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<v Speaker 2>it's a complete different game in particularly with the present

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<v Speaker 2>sitting over there. He's encouraging a different format, he's encouraging

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<v Speaker 2>different views.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, mind you, it does depend a lot on the host.

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<v Speaker 1>I think I remember going to see Johnny Carson live

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<v Speaker 1>way back and he just understood the medium so well.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, the night I went to see him live,

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<v Speaker 1>I thought, I've come on a quiet night. But when

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<v Speaker 1>I went back to the motel, because you know, it

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<v Speaker 1>was recorded for live, as they say in America, but

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<v Speaker 1>when I went back to the motel, it was exactly right.

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<v Speaker 1>Although Johnny got very cross with a guest. A guest

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<v Speaker 1>was pushing something political Johnny didn't want to know about,

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<v Speaker 1>and you could see he was getting cross And so

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<v Speaker 1>after the show had finished, Ed McMahon came out and said, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>can we ask you to pretend that the show's starting again.

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<v Speaker 1>So they started again, and when the show finally went

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<v Speaker 1>to it did not include the guest that was doing

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<v Speaker 1>what Johnny thought was inappropriate.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and look, you know we've got we've got a

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<v Speaker 2>very broad range of media here in Australia, and I

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<v Speaker 2>think a lot of the criticism, particularly around abc Q

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<v Speaker 2>and A, was coming from Sky News or coming from

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<v Speaker 2>Sky as we refer to it after Dark, a very

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<v Speaker 2>conservative approach to media. They would have a crack and

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<v Speaker 2>the ABC's Media Watch would very much be looking at

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<v Speaker 2>what's going on at Sky News, having little DIBs at

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<v Speaker 2>each other and questioning their values. I suppose their bias

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<v Speaker 2>if you like. We have that we have had in Australia,

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<v Speaker 2>and the beauty of it I love about it is

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<v Speaker 2>the fact that we can make decisions and choices as

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<v Speaker 2>to who we consume. I get worried, Mike when I

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<v Speaker 2>hear just someone just listening to one form of media

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<v Speaker 2>or not really taking in all that is around. It

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<v Speaker 2>just helps them shape fame and their opinion and position

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<v Speaker 2>a little bit better. And that's the scary thing with

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<v Speaker 2>social media, Mike, is the fact that a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>people get into their silos and just think and hear

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<v Speaker 2>and think that this is the one and only true

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<v Speaker 2>message when there's just so much out there.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, over the years I have advised my listeners to

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<v Speaker 1>get their information from a variety of sources. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>know whether my employers have appreciated me doing over or no.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, no, you just think with Mike, Jeffries everyone. You're

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<v Speaker 2>doing well listening to Mike, but you know in the

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<v Speaker 2>morning they'll be listening across the other two GB programs

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<v Speaker 2>and across the other spectrums of media that are out there,

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<v Speaker 2>and just getting good sound information to be able to

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<v Speaker 2>make your own choice and decision, because that's what we want.

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<v Speaker 2>We don't want to be dictated to or told how

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<v Speaker 2>to think or what to do. We just want enough

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<v Speaker 2>information to be able to make our own decisions.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, I actually you've wrote that as a positioning statement

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<v Speaker 1>for a radio station. When I was the PD, I said,

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<v Speaker 1>we tell you what's going on, not what to think.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. I love that. I used to work for a

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<v Speaker 2>media monitoring company and we used to give you news

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<v Speaker 2>you need, not necessarily news you want. And I think

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<v Speaker 2>too much of us at the moment are just seeking out,

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<v Speaker 2>particularly on social media, and the younger folk that are

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<v Speaker 2>running around, they're just getting the news they want and

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<v Speaker 2>not necessarily the news they need.

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<v Speaker 1>What's reaffirming their views. By the way, here's a question

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<v Speaker 1>without notice for you. But you took us down that path.

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<v Speaker 1>You're on a media watch. I don't normally watch media watch,

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<v Speaker 1>but I've watched it the last two or three weeks

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<v Speaker 1>and it doesn't look like Media Watch to me. It

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<v Speaker 1>looks like Linton Besse is giving you a digest of

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<v Speaker 1>what he thought was the news during the week.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Linton, since taking over, I watch it religiously market

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<v Speaker 2>It's part of what I do. But yeah, it has

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<v Speaker 2>taken on and it's almost getting a little bit too

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<v Speaker 2>even the bias level. I suppose that he focuses on

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<v Speaker 2>the commercial networks. He's really going hammer and tong on that.

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<v Speaker 2>I've got to say, Linton, I know he'll be listening

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<v Speaker 2>because they listen to everything. Yeah, I'm not a fan

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<v Speaker 2>of the show at the moment, but I think he's

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<v Speaker 2>also just trying to find his feet. There's a long

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<v Speaker 2>track record of Media Watch that's been on and I

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<v Speaker 2>think the program itself does hold a lot of media

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<v Speaker 2>to account. In fact, many in the media will say,

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<v Speaker 2>you've never been in the media unless you've been on

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<v Speaker 2>Media Watch or been questioned. But look, I think they

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<v Speaker 2>do a good job. Just a lot of media sometimes

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<v Speaker 2>don't want to be how to account and I think

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<v Speaker 2>we've got to hold everyone to account. And that's the

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<v Speaker 2>beauty of media that we are regulated. We are looked

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<v Speaker 2>at and look That's why I'll always get my news

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<v Speaker 2>from mainstream media as opposed to social media, because I

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<v Speaker 2>know what I'm getting. I don't know what I'm getting

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<v Speaker 2>on the social media side.

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<v Speaker 1>You're right about Media Watch. It's changed a lot over

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<v Speaker 1>the years, and may I say it's come a long

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<v Speaker 1>way from Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells that was its original

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<v Speaker 1>BBC name. Did you know that?

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<v Speaker 2>No? I did not, And I look at you know,

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<v Speaker 2>I always laugh at the people that sort of well,

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<v Speaker 2>I don't always laugh, but I sometimes question why people

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<v Speaker 2>are so upset when they see themselves on there, and

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<v Speaker 2>how they react and respond to it. I mean even

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<v Speaker 2>I've had a text message from Lincoln regarding a particular

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<v Speaker 2>segment that was on. You know, you deal and you

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<v Speaker 2>work with it. But I also say, if we're not

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<v Speaker 2>rocking the boat, if we're not rattling the trees a

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<v Speaker 2>little bit, are we really doing our jobs anyway?

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, I'm with you on that.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, yeah, So I think it's sometimes it is a

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<v Speaker 2>little bit of a badge of honor being a bit

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<v Speaker 2>hearing on Media Watch. It's how you work and deal

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<v Speaker 2>with them and how you respond to it is a

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<v Speaker 2>real reflection of the brand.

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<v Speaker 1>Nick, appreciate your time in comments. Thank you for coming

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<v Speaker 1>on the program. Thanks by Nick Hay's media commentator, Managing

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<v Speaker 1>director of Media Stable