4 September 2013
From: Sam McLean – GetUp! <info@getup.org.au>
Date: 4 September 2013 13:43:30 AEST
Subject: BANNED
margo ,
I’m just off the phone after dozens of radio interviews. Our member-funded ad calling out Murdoch’s bias is causing quite a fuss.
Already, 830,000 people have seen the ad on air or online — but now all three major TV networks are pulling it off air and refusing to run it.1. Some of the network representatives told us directly: they’re not running the ad because they don’t want to criticise Rupert Murdoch.
We’ve filed an official complaint with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, but we can’t wait for a ruling to take our next step. We have to get this message out, right now. So if the commercial channels are slamming the door we’ll just go around them — and go bigger.
If our proposed TV ads had gone through, we would have reached an additional 500,000 TV viewers by the election. But if each of us simply shares this video on Facebook, Twitter and over email we can shatter that number. Let’s work together to reach 750,000 views online before the election.
Please click here to share the ad on Facebook
Click here to share the ad on Twitter
And then forward this email to everyone you know so they can do the same.
Why is this important? TV networks use a public good – the airwaves licensed to them by the Government. If networks decide who is allowed to advertise based on which messages they agree with, our democracy is seriously compromised. That’s precisely why laws prevent the networks from refusing reasonable attempts by political parties to run ads during election cycles. But since GetUp members aren’t a political party, the networks have decided that they can block our right to free speech — purely because they don’t like what we have to say.
They don’t want our money – but we don’t need them. We’re already moving our advertising online, reaching hundreds of thousands more Australians. And if we all share this far and wide, we can make our impact even bigger.
Let’s prove that in 2013 people power can beat the corporate blackout. Our democracy depends on it.
With determination,
Sam, for the GetUp team.
PS. To see how the events of the last few days have unfolded, including the great media coverage we’ve received since the ad was banned, click here: http://www.getup.org.au/whywewerebanned
[1] “Anti-Murdoch article banned from Television”, The Age, September 3, 2013
Here is the Ad
Hi Margo
When the faster broadband comes to us all you will see the maturity of smartTV technology coming to fruition and Getup will have a more powerful voice without even having to advertise in the MSM. More and more smartTVs are sold and with 100Mb broadband, more and more people savvy to speaking their views online, we will have live independant television in every household. It is so easy to turn a standard digital TV into a smartTV for as little as $50 with an Android TV Box.
I know of one independent online news reporting site called The Young Turks who can be found on Youtube. They also have a 2 hour live segment on their web site, a start towards a new world order of media communication. yes, we all know of Youtube, and so does Murdoch who is seeing the internet getting an ever increasing slice of the advertising pie, a pie that he isn’t getting as much as he did 10 years ago.
What is needed is for Getup and other like minded independant initiatives to band together and deliver a world class 24/7 live web service. If the ABC can deliver live news on iview I am sure Getup can do the same. Just need some unemployed news presenters, program managers, and finally advertisers. I would advise however, mixed content, who wants to watch news 24/7? ;)
Great advert, so no wonder they were scared of it!
The power of our regular media is both laughable and frightening. It truly deserves to shrivel to irrelevance. I hope there will be penalties and/or a large number of viewers via the internet.
I like the idea of Nick Heidl’s independent super 24/7 live web service.
Do find it beautifully ironic that the Get Up ad has now had far more views since the commercial TV channels refused to show it & Fairfax banned the print version than it would ever had had it been accepted by them . My contribution has been to spread it around Twitter & Facebook. Aaaah, the marvels of the social media. Would have placed it on Google+ if I was sure anyone used it. Then again I might just try.
This election appears to be the first for Australia to have really hit the social media. I know I revived my long-languishing Twitter account for it Even tossed a few things out there in Google+ land & filled my FB timeline with stuff my conservative offspring would rather not see. Wonderful.