Strike over ‘bias’

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34021, 10 December 1975, Page 21

Strike over ‘bias’

! r.v Z. Press Assn—Cep . SYDNEY. Dec. !». Journalists employed in three major cities by the newspaper magnate. Rupert Murdoch, added a new. unexpected, dimension to Australia's bitter election campaign by striking last night as a protest against alleged editorial bias in favour of the caretaker Government of the Liberal Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser). I The journalists took the I strike decision at separate ; meetings in Sydney. Melbourne and Canberra, climaxing a week of charges against the Murdoch News. Ltd. group of unfair election I coverage. Their action was seen by observers as qualified support for the ousted Prime Minister, ■ Mr Gough Whitlam, who last! week accused newspaper pro-1 prietors of a “monolithic; gang-up” against his Labour! Party, which is struggling to' regain power against opinion, poll forecasts of waning support. Mr Whitlam singled out the' Murdoch press for special mention in his attack on Aus-, tralian proprietors, claiming the News, Ltd. group, which, publishes the nationally circulated “Australian,” the; Sydney "Daily Telegraph” land the Sydney “Daily, Mirror,” had refused to use , reports from its journalists covering the Labour campaign.

“I have never seen such a monolithic gang-up by the newspaper proprietors as there has been on this occasion,” he said.

The Sydney strike, which covers about 400 journalists, will last until Wednesday morning when the employees will meet again to discuss their action.

The prospect of a wider ! protest against newspaper election coverage emerged last night when officials of the powerful Printing and Kindred Industries Union (P.K.1.U.) announced that it would have to consider its future role if the press continued to extend its “biased editorial comment into politically-slanted reports.”