Baring the fangs

Rafe Mair once again tears into the mainstream media for buying into the "on the one hand, on the other hand" theory of writing rather than functioning as true watchdogs over governments and other political actors. While it's difficult to buy entirely into Mair's apparent longing for the days of more bloodthirsty politics within the Legislature, it's certainly much easier to see how the media all too often presents pure spin rather than substance - and how that unfortunate shift is a natural result of both concentrated media ownership which lessens the risk of competition, and a symbiotic relationship between the media and governments.