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Martin Lehmann - 20 September 2004
Kerry Packer's Channel Nine used a clever technique to manipulate public
opinion during and after the recent televised debate between Prime Minister
John Howard and Labor leader Mark Latham.
Nine's producers gathered a number of "uncommitted" voters and put
them in a room and armed them with hand controls to register their impressions
as to who was winning the debate. The combined output of the the voters produced
the notorious "worm" that tracked across the bottom of the screen
during the debate.
The worm showed Latham consistently outscoring Howard during the debate, with
the final result scoring Latham 67 to 33.
This was exactly what the media were waiting for. The lefties in the media
(about 80% of all journos) had been simmering with resentment about Howard since
he beat their man at the last election after they had written him off.
"Latham wins the war of words" trumpeted the front page banner
headline on Monday's The Australian.
Buoyed by the worm's verdict Latham spent the next few days barnstorming the
electorate boasting about his performance. It obviously helped lift his
performance and ultimately could have a significant influence on the election
result.
Channel Nine's Ray Martin admitted sheepishly on Monday night's A Current
Affair that the phone poll on the debate attracted 55,000 responses with
exactly the opposite result; a massive 65% said Howard won with just 35%
voting for Latham.
The media hacks ignored this more conclusive result and stayed with the worm.
On
Tuesday Latham's chief media barracker, The Australian's Matt Price referred to
the worm's endorsement of Latham and declared that the worm's verdict was
"supported by most newspapers and pundits."
Anyone who believes the worm and the studio audience were neutral needs a
strong dose of Combantrin.
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