July 16, 2009
The Age smears On Line Opinion
The Age published an article this morning which implies that On Line Opinion "pulled" an article by Greens MLC Lee Rhiannon for political reasons. This is completely incorrect.
We declined the article because we publish op-ed material, and this was not an op-ed piece. If they have a different view The Age can easily publish the article on their own op-ed page. It is not uncommon for publishers to have differing views, but it is uncommon for these views to arise on the basis of a conspiracy.
When rung about the issue I told the journalist, Richard Baker, that:
On Line Opinion is owned by a number of institutions, and they think they have bought into On Line Opinion, not Crikey. We do opinion, we don't do news. We do not have the resources to do news. If the Greens want to run a news story there are plenty of other publications to send it to.
During the day we will be seeking clarification from Ms Rhiannon on a number of issues that arise from the words attributed to her in The Age. Given their treatment of us I am not assuming that she made those comments, nor that they are in context.
We will also be seeking clarifcation from Age Editor Paul Ramedge as to his view on the affair, particularly as a number of matters call into question the integrity of one of his journalists and his editorial process. I would like to think that The Age will be concerned to uphold good journalistic practice and recognise this as an opportunity to lift their standards.
We will document our inquiries on this site as we go, so please check back for more during the day. Alternatively subscribe to our RSS feed or follow me on Twitter.
Posted by Graham at July 16, 2009 10:11 AM | TrackBackIts good they care about being published/not published by OLO! Congratulations.
Posted by: Jennifer Marohasy at July 16, 2009 07:05 PMOLO has published every opinion piece (bar one) I have submitted. The one rejected was in retrospect not worthy of publication.
My blog is part of the National Forum Domain stable (which produces OLO). In my blogs and my OLO contributions there has not once been any political interference whatsoever. Not once.
I would certainly be a target for such interference given my radical left wing views if such a culture or approach existed in National Forum. If it did I would not be part of the stable. I would leave.
I am still here and staying.
I have submitted a number of articles over the years to The Age. Not once have they been published or considered for publication.
And their stable mate, The Canberra Times, refuses to even acknowledge my political pieces because of a difference of view some 7 or 8 years ago. It was my fault, but you get more for manslaughter.
If The Age is so keen on the article, let them publish it and acknowledge that different publishers have different markets and approaches. OLO is open to all who want to publish quality opinion pieces. The Age is not.
Posted by: John Passant at July 16, 2009 06:10 PMIf you read my interview with Lee Rhiannon it is beginning to look like the journalist might be running with Rhiannon's (I hesitate to say The Green's) agenda. Same lines.
Posted by: Graham Young at July 16, 2009 05:01 PMThat's a pathetic piece of journalism. Online Opinion has always welcomed opinion from any side of the political spectrum.
Posted by: Legal Eagle at July 16, 2009 12:44 PM