The fourth estate go feral

I completely agree with Ian Smith, and how refreshing to read a reasoned and intelligently written article.

Watching shadow treasurer Joe Hockey's speech yesterday I was reminded of how disrespectful many journalists within the federal press gallery have become of those who provide them with a living: the politicians.

Politicians frequently are attacked for their excesses, yet those who report on those perceived indulgences, the journalists, are living examples of the cliche "all care and no responsibility".

Yesterday it was best illustrated by the acerbic performance of Andrew Probyn of The West Australian, who berated Hockey for showing poor form by not distributing his speech and detailed spending-cut measures before his appearance at the National Press Club. After a wild rant, Probyn got around to asking a question on e-health.

If he had had the requested papers in his hand during the speech, Probyn and many of his peers no doubt would have flicked through the documentation and taken scant note of Hockey.

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