★★★★★ 0/5

The Bolt Report

In its first outing on TEN, The Bolt Report seemed more interested in guests who furthered the views of the host, than engaging in balanced debate.

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Andrew Bolt’s first show on TEN offered up some of his favourite topics: refugees, climate change and politics.

If the intent of The Bolt Report was to do what Bolt does so eloquently in print and talkback radio -provoke a reaction- it is off to a good start.

But how does it fit with TEN’s news revamp as a serious news broadcaster? Its first outing succeeded more as a forum for its host than its subjects, with a distinct lack of impartiality and balance.

On a Coca-Cola red set, Bolt’s opening editorial let rip at the Gillard Government’s new deal with Malaysia, to send 800 Refugees back in exchange for accepting 4000 of theirs. It was as if the announcement had been timed perfectly for his premiere episode. Bolt made lots of comparisons with the Howard Government’s policy on “boat people” (a term that featured throughout the show) and Gillard’s “disastrous” policy. It was uncompromising, personal and stilted.

It was followed by Tony Abbott as Bolt’s first interview, in a free kick at the government. Bolt didn’t let Abbott finish his first 3 questions, but a friendly Abbott was still happy to congratulate him on his first outing -“May it flourish,” he said.

Bolt didn’t tackle Abbott hard enough on his own policies, laughing when an answer was avoided.

Next up were Liberal powerbroker Michael Kroger and former Labor Leader Mark Latham, continuing with the refugee issue. Kroger was the show’s best performer: articulate, concise, covering several points. Latham didn’t defend Labor policies, raising more questions about balance. Given his zeal for the spotlight of late its doubtful that he was looking to push a Labor line rather than a Latham line. As a result it felt like one opinion from three mouths rather than a black and white conversation with a moderator.

More refugee content followed via an edited interview with Riz Wakil, billed as an “Afghan Refugee” rather than “Former Afghan Refugee”, despite telling Bolt he arrived here at the age of 18 -11 years ago.

“I understand your family is still in Pakistan, why didn’t you stay in Pakistan? Why didn’t you stay in Indonesia?” asked Bolt.

Yikes.

A testy discussion followed with Bolt keen to footnote his own views on the back of Wakil’s answers. After more than 15 minutes of anti-Refugee discussion, this did little to show another side to the issue. With no credits (either on the show or on the TEN website) it’s hard to know which producer to blame for this imbalance.

The show rounded out with a Spin of the Week segment (I thought we had been watching it already?) and two more called Under the Radar and Free Speech Award.

Bolt’s hosting of the show was awkward when reading the autocue, but more effective when in a debate.

However, Insiders showed he is more effective as a commentator than host, a role which requires more moderating and less editorialising. Can Bolt possibly have it both ways?

Or is there room for a show where the guests are there to further the views of the host? Ask Glenn Beck of FOX News…

But the bottom line may be about “shock jock” television, to ignite the viewer to become as mad as hell and simply tune in to cheer or hiss the lead player -either may well win them more viewers than a replay of the latest Video Hits clip.

The more considered viewers will stick around for the balance of Meet the Press at 10:30am hosted by Paul Bongiorno. Yesterday it interviewed Greens leader Bob Brown. He wasn’t a fan of Gillard’s new agreement with Malaysia either, but not for the same reasons as Bolt. Questioned by two other journos everybody shared a range of views without raising their voice or being interrupted.

Meet The Press has been on TEN since 1996.

The Bolt Report airs 10am Sundays on TEN.

136 Responses

  1. The show was not meant to be impartial. It was meant to be an Australian version of O’Reilly or Beck that panders to those on the right who do not want to be informed but to be comforted that their hateful views have a voice.

  2. Any ratings for the program on Sunday morning? I don’t see it in the top 50 which ends with 184,000 for Timmiy Time on ABC2, so it must have rated low in the morning and afternoon.

  3. Newsflash – we don’t have news in this country anymore, haven’t had for a long time. Instead we have propaganda, most of it left to extreme left-wing. Thank God that 10 now has Bolt to speak for the other side. His mere presence on our screens Is giving us more balanced information as now we can tune in to multiple channels to hear different sides of debates! I too, hope that Bolt will indeed flourish.

  5. @Elizabeth, thanks for a breath of reason. Well put.

    @boganpride, liking someone simply because they disagree with others doesn’t make sense. Liking (or respecting) someone because those disagreements contain a valid and cogent argument does. And to be honest, I don’t think ‘lefties’ dislike being disagreed with any more or less than ‘righties’!

  7. I don’t get why it’s beholden on commerical news to be ‘balanced’, if the ABC can’t manage it (and lets be honest, they can’t) then why does channel ten need to be.

    Furthermore the show was followed by Meet the Press, hosted by Paul Bongiorno who showed his political stripes last year on ABC Radio National and its fair to say his collegue Michelle Grattan seems more right wing than him!

    So isn’t two shows presenting divergent takes on the same issues a more honest kind of balance. For instance when reading the paper I try to read both SMH and The Australian so I’m not just getting a monotone view.

  8. Wouldn’t surprise me if half the people watching were doing so they could complain about it after.

    I was watching The Clone Wars blu rays. Sounds like Bolt is as wooden as the CGI marionettes in that show! Hey-Now!

  9. Thanks for the review David. It made my morning, and it was fairly close to my own opinion of the show. Bolt never attempts to hide his bias, so it doesn’t surprise me that there wasn’t even a whiff of “balance”. His interview with Abbott was a joke, and the panel discussion was a waste of time (Latham can’t wait to get on any TV show to bash the ALP). And apparently there are no women in Bolts world, just queue-jumping-boat-people and leftist trying to harm the economy by trying to tackle climate change…

    To all those critical of David’s opinions as expressed in his review: it amazes me that those who assert their right to express their own opinions (as evidenced by their comments on this blog) are so ready to criticize those (like David) who are simply doing the same thing. And as for the media being some unfertered bastion of “leftists” (whatever that term is supposed to mean), I’d like to see the evidence. Let’s not forget that the Howard government went out of its way to stack the ABC board with conservatives (Windshuttle, Albrectsen) and instituted reviews attempting to prove the “leftist” bias – all to no avail. Bring on the debates, not the culture wars, so that those who don’t support conservative propagandists can argue the issues, rather than simply being accused of being “PC leftists”.

  11. Whatever next? A Steve Price show! We need another dedicated news channel, like Fox News, where all the looney right-wingers can find a home.

  12. I know i said in the last story about this show and Andrew Bolt that i would not watch his show, and i didnt for the most part i did watch a little bit i kept on changing channels. I was switching between 7, 10 and ABC1. imainly watched Insiders with Barry Cassidy but when a did catch a glimps of the Bolt Report (more like onesided report) i thought that he was almost making fun of the issues. He came across as trying to be somewhat satirical in his delivery, maybe likeable in order to atract more viewers. I think Andrew Bolt would be much better on Meet the Press then having his own show. As for the Left Wing vs. Right Wing politics or views, there are always going to be differing views about issues of the time and i would think that its not just the Left Wing people who so called dont want to be questioned its also the Right Winged people also who have that same beliefe that they are right all the time.

  13. Seemingly some of the Climate change experts here may not be aware of or more then likely have never been told the facts, here they are quite simply
    1- Air we breath is made up of 78% Nitrogen,21% Oxygen,Approx 1% Argon and various trace gasses, one of which is CO2 at Approx 038%……Fact.

    2-Of that Humanity produces Approx. 3%…..Fact

    3-Of that 3% Australia produces 1% as a percentage we are responsible in this Country for 0.00001% of all the CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere…..Fact

    4-There is such a thing as Climate change and most of it is attributed to the severe solar discharges which are bombarding us and a worrying magnetic polar shift which seems to be gaining momentum.

    Don’t get me wrong I believe we have to start looking after our planet a bit more, just not through this insidious propaganda.
    “99.9% of the arguments or a comment made in favour of this in the media is either a distortion, incorrect or not a problem with the science at all”.
    A similar percentage of people thought the Lions would beat the Gold Coast on the weekend.

  14. It is so annoying that this man has aroused so much comment. That’s exactly what he wants – he thrives on publicity good or bad.
    Please, just don’t watch this sociopath and in time he’ll go back to print and AM talkback radio where he belongs.
    On the other hand, at least we know that there will be a short period on Sunday when all the the rednecks are at home watching the box, and it’ll be safe to go for a walk.

  15. About time Australia had a show that wasn’t left winged based. So sick of one side of the argument being heard. I mightn’t agree with everything bolt says. But i do like him because he disagrees with the very people who don’t like to be disagreed with and that’s the left.

  19. What Andrew Bolt is missing (and many right wing adherents) is humanity, empathy and compassion. Those characteristics are not weak or a sign of being a soft touch, but instead the willingness to truly put yourself in another’s shoes. He’s not interested in that one bit.

  22. Ten could have named the programme The Bolt Factor, we’ll see if the guests be less on the conservative side in the weeks ahead. Any chance of interviewing the Prime Minister?

  23. there’s only one things worse than not being talked about by a bolt and that’s being talked about by a bolt, as a white indigenous aussie i liken him to a barkers egg on a nature strip eventually it just blows away (fingers crossed) lol

  24. @ A Conservative viewer An impartial 2009 study found the ABC has a significant right wing bias, and the media as a whole is pro-coalition by default (newspapers are more likely to be left wing; radio is, unsurprisingly, right wing).

    smh.com.au/national/shock-horror-abc-procoalition-study-20090902-f83j.html

    Didn’t watch Bolt’s show and don’t plan to. On the day someone can point out where the supposed extreme left wing show airs (where the host interviews Julia Gillard and agrees with everything she says) I might think about balancing myself out by watching Bolt.

  25. Do any of the nay sayers here even know what ‘right wing’ means?
    The australian leftist definition of ‘right wing’ is obviously anyone who simply disagrees with their warped pc views.
    That makes the majority of hard working conservitive Australians, right wing nazi extremists by this dumb logic.
    Name calling like ‘right winger’ or ‘denier’ is the first and usually only weapon of people who want to squash debate and are unable to argue the facts. Communism didn’t work – get over it. Go Bolta.

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