P-man

Vanders with 3 votes against the Dogs. Outstanding effort.

Blow the siren

It's a two sided coin. I'd like to keep him as depth but I have a great deal of respect for him and wouldn't like to see him playing out next year in similar fashion with a few AFL games here and there and the rest at Casey. A fresh start may be best, but what clubs would be interested? I can't see many leaping across the table. Agree that he's definitely been much better than Lumumba this season.

My apologies. Was in between doing other things this morning so didn't give it a proper read which I should have done before responding. 3 out of 76 items identified for criticism isn't a bad result, and those instances identified are pretty lukewarm, in my opinion. But I'll retract the "zero evidence" and change it to very little substantial evidence. Conversely the studies that I have seen reported have shown the opposite, but you clearly have your strong view on this and nothing I say is going to change it. Bias in itself is something that can be very difficult to determine or prove, I think. I won't connect you with Robbie in future. I tend to lump together anyone who this far down the track still thinks climate change is all a bunch of lies.

Milkshake is two years older with an extra 50 games under his belt. Not the fairest comparison.

Easily.

Definitely. There are arguments for and against. For the reasons you've given among others, it would be a cautious yes from me. You'd also have to weigh up the strength of KPPs at the pointy end of this year's draft, and our need to find Hogan a forward partner for the next decade or so.

Kudos to bjDee for helping try and get "Biz" off the ground as a nickname. We tried mate. It didn't work. We can only try. "Nibbler" he shall be.

JPK is obviously a star, but he's no spring chicken.... If recruiters are absolutely confident he can go the distance past 30 then it would be a yes, but this rumour was circulating last year too.

Would become the new Demonland whipping boy. As error prone as they come. Granted he's improved on the calamity he's been in previous years but would still avoid at all costs. Good example of a crap player made to look better being surrounded by stars.

He'll be a permanent forward at his next home, and he'll be a better player for it. He was not and never will be a defender.

Chuffed if we get him. Liked him from the start. Good negator, speedy, decent left foot, can win his own ball and doesn't shirk a contest. Well rounded player who could settle into the back six very quickly.

Conservatives don't like the program because those who represent them are often made to look stupid with their "opinion first, facts second" approach. Think Ron Boswell who criticised the Pope's statement on climate change, which he hadn't read, while claiming that Australia takes more refugees than any other country. When corrected on this by the other panelists he responded with, “we certainly take more refugees than maybe Canada…” When someone expresses their ill-informed opinion and it is mocked or laughed at, the first impulse is to scream "BIAS!". A bias against ignorance, perhaps.

ONE solitary interview? Great evidence. Even looking at the findings, the audit found that Sales' interview of Hockey meant "perceptions of bias could be inflamed unnecessarily". Look at the language used. I believe one quarter of the complaints received that year were over that interview. Sales obviously was too aggressive in the eyes of some viewers and she copped a whack for it. It's still one interview. Thanks for proving my point in accusing me of being "far left". Because of course, anyone who defends the ABC has to be a lefty tree hugger. Good that you actually watch it though. Many others who make accusations of bias can't make that claim. Your predecessor, RobbieF, was one of those.

Hope there's some truth to that. Bugg would be a very good pick up.

So essentially, do I think the media substantially influences public opinion? Absolutely I do. And honestly, my faith in the intellect of the readership of the The Daily Tele isn't sky high. You only have to read their comments section to see how easily they can be led by the nose. But I take your point. I still think when you restrict your source of news and information to the one publisher, with a sprinkle of Jones or Hadley on top, it's little wonder how some opinions can be shaped as a result. I accept it is a conscious decision to only refer yourself to those sources and that in alot of cases, they will base their vote on personal impacts of government decisions irrespective of how they are framed in the media. But one thing I never underestimate is the power of the media. Especially when it comes to politics.

Granted a sensationalist headline, but the content of that article was about the implications of senior government ministers using the authority of their position to assist in fund raising activities for their party, with information obtained directly from the NS Forum and its chairpersons. I would think there was genuine public interest in the subject matter. Hockey's defamation case only succeeded with respect to a poster and some tweets. It failed on the three articles in question. I take your point on opinion pieces, but a more blatant attempt to use a front page to depose a government I can't ever recall. And it was one of many. All of a similar nature: inflammatory. You can't turn around and say they would've been removed anyway. Put simply, you don't know the degree to which Newscorp's campaign ultimately influenced the electorate's decision. There is however little doubting that it was a factor.

This guy is my favourite player right now. I love Jones for different reasons, but Jeffy brings the type of skill and swagger that when you see it on the field, you realise how little we have had of it in recent times. The downside is 31 behinds. Only 7 other players in the league kicked more and so many of them were almost dead in front. He could've easily turned 40 into a 50+ goal season which would've placed him in the All Australian bracket of small forwards this year. It's an understatement to say he was a steal. Mick may as well have been giving a wristy under the table when the paperwork was being signed. I'm loving what he brought this year both offensively and defensively, and he's capable of being even better in 2016.

Are the two really on the same level? A front page headline of "KICK THIS MOB OUT". Not a lot of grey area. One of many examples where the line between journalism and propaganda was more than blurred. I'm not defending Fairfax, but if there is a similar example from one of their publications I'd like to see it.

It's amazing how the complaints of left wing bias temporarily dried up when the ABC aired "The Killing Season". For a moment it became Abbott's favourite channel. These repeated claims from the far right of ABC's bias are so tresome, especially when they come from people who don't even watch it. There is zero evidence to support such claims, and in fact studies into media slant and bias have shown a strong balance in terms of coverage of the parties, input from public intellectuals etc. Even that favoured whipping boy Q&A stands up to such scrutiny in terms of audience and panel member representation. What it boils down to is two things: 1) resistance to criticism - the ABC has always provided intense examination of the government of the day. It didn't go easy on Labor and it hasn't gone easy on the Coalition. The difference is Abbott had a clear objective to silence critical voices in the public realm hence his attempts to discredit the ABC as "not being on our team"; and 2) perspective - when you are that extreme in your conservative views, even those in the centre can appear like lefty latte sippers. The ABC is not there to pander to bigots, nor should it be. If you think the ABC is biased, the problem is not with the ABC. The problem is more likely your intolerance for dissenting opinion.

Get ready for some epic whinging in the Scott presser. It is going to be glorious.

I'm actually barracking for West Coast here. I feel dirty.

I can't handle the thought of North making a GF.

Champion Data have that under lock and key, yes?

They say only a mother could love a mug like that. Surely even Mrs Daniher has her moments of doubt.