Come on Insiders get inside!

I used to be an avid watcher of Insiders with Barrie Cassidy on a Sunday morning. That was until the likes of Bolt and Akerman et al seemed to be the dominant voices (there were others on the couch but they either shouted over or manoeverd their views above others) so I looked elsewhere for my news on the week that was! (I have been amused and mildly informed by Johnathan Green on RN Sunday Breakfast).

I am now back and find that the Insiders reveals more about our journalist's approach to their profession than the past week's political events and the players. The most edifying this week concluded the program with a snippet from a commercial channel on Bill Shorten's run in with a pie or rather the shop owner who he abused. It was a useful snippet as it explained that Bill thought she said the PM would be soft like the microwaved pie he was about to order for his kid. In fact she said that she 'like' the PM. A small mistake but one that brought t the Opposition down on Bill big time for slagging off at a small business owner.  Perhaps Barrie could have used the snippet and asked the panel about the Opposition's response rather than Bill's given it was an honest mistake and the Abbott Opposition plays on uninformed grabs that even when they are found to be untrue have the desired impact!

The Insiders, apart from some comments by Lenore Taylor, who does investigate what is behind the news, which I assume was to be the modus operandi for the program, Denis Atkins from the Brisbane Courier Mail (a regular insider) seems to take Queensland as the litmus and bases all of his analysis on his view from his office tower in Brisbane City. He can see as far as Melbourne apparently.

What the program lacks is journos who base their comments on analysis and critique. Not the throw away 'he said this' and 'he said that' and she (unknown person of the Opposition) said the PM was soft! I would prefer Barrie to have his panel justify Abbott and not on the basis that he is 'Abbott'. Come on Insiders get inside!!