To put myself out there, I am a libertarian opposed to both the Coalition and ALP. I support the Liberal Democrats and Shooters & Fishers. [hr][/hr] Q&A is the most left-leaning show on the ABC. I typically enjoy the ABC's programming. I like Leigh Sales because she grills her interviewee matter if she agrees with them or not. Q&A is simply populist nonsense approx. 60% of the time. Fair enough, it's a question and answer show, the crowd is going to be populist, but there are plenty of right wing populists out there. Have you ever turned on talk radio? And this demonstrates the problem with Q&A well: it's very difficult to have a question and answer format programme which is not biased in the direction of its audience. Q&A's audience is not anything near a representative sample of the broader community: a very specific sort of person watches the program, and joins the audience, even within the parties: a Q&A coalition supporter is a very specific sort of coalition supporter. The same is obviously true of talk radio also, but this is precisely why talk radio is such a low form of journalism. Q&A falls into this same category. [hr][/hr] As for the management of the show rather than the demographics of the audience, the panelists strike me as being 60/40 on the left. The establishment left, but the left nonetheless. This is pretty damn good actually, the Drum is just abysmal with its selection of guests. Tony Jones was relatively opposed to the ALP when they were in power, and is now quite emphatically opposed to the coalition. His job as a moderator, it seems to me, is not to more heavily scrutinize those in power and to artificially direct the conversation in that direction, it is to fairly moderate who is permitted to speak and for what length of time. He is there purely to facilitate the discussion of the audience's questions. He is not an interviewer. He is a moderator. [hr][/hr] It's always a good laugh, but its value as a national question and answer show is very questionable, because its target demo so heavily leans in a particular direction. It is not anything even approaching a representative sample of the nation. It is therefore, in my opinion, useless for anything but a good laugh.
The audience questions are suppose to be random, but they are not. The panel already know what the questions will be before they are asked. Q&A is no different to Parliament question time.
I'm not a huge fan of the show as hard hitting one on one interviews are far better, in my opinion. I do like it, however, when they have specials with experts such as when Neil deGrasse Tyson on was with a few other scientists and mathematicians.
When Pell and Dawkins was on the audience was overwhelmingly right wing, Christian nutters. Every time Pell said something scientifically stupid the audience clapped and cheered. Every time Dawkins tried to explain something with science the audience laughed and jeered.
I don't particularly like watching the political Q & A's, reason is the major parties have stock standard replies for most if not all questions, a good example would be when Di Natale actually said something awesome and Bill Shorten's reply was the typical "Greens say crazy things", just made me go, "were you paying any attention to what he said whatsoever?" If it's and Independent or even the Greens I'll watch because you're more likely to get, if not an honest at the very least an interesting reply.
Why does anyone watch tv these days....its just garbage.... The media and the politicians lie...the programmes are crap and its just a vessel for advertising...why would anyone watch television in 2016.....Id prefer to water my plants and take my dog for a walk......
Seem to remember it was Abbott that rather pathetically pressured the ABC board to move the show from entertainment into the "news" division. Apparently just because a show involves politicians that makes it "news". It's just a panel show with audience participation, that happens to invite politicians most weeks. Plenty of right wing hacks get on the show. An ABC show targeted at the urban middle/upper middle class? Shock...horror... If people want to dig deeper into the trash they can go and watch the Bolt report.
