Andrew Bolt's Blog, 9/6/18; Buying a job, your way into the slavery of Franchising;

 

 'You've got to play to the base': Why the ABC is a political football - Politics - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

 In other words, for both sides, the ABC has moved from just being a perennial subject of political dissatisfaction to an election issue in its own right.

By contrast to Senator Fifield, who has now lodged his fifth complaint to the ABC in five months, the Government as a whole stays publicly silent about the antics of News Corp, even as ministers and their advisers privately moan about them.

It feeds stories to the News Corp papers in the vain hope it will appease a beast which might otherwise turn against it, or in the deluded view the papers carry an influence in key electorates recent elections suggest is illusory.
There is plenty for anyone to be irritated about at the ABC, just as you can be irritated by the antics of News Corp.
The difference, however, is that the ABC still strives to deliver a diversity of information, analysis and opinion to its audiences.
Not everyone will always like the opinion or the analysis. But if it is informed and informative, it is doing its job.
News Corp has increasingly opted for a marketing strategy that appeals to a narrow political demographic, and one which suits the commercial interests of its owners.
If the ongoing attack on the ABC is indeed driven by market forces, it is time to consider the case that public broadcasting has never been more important as a public good.

 

 'Inherently unfair': the human misery of franchising

 The inquiry heard a cross-section of witnesses, including lawyers, franchisees and a mediator, all proffering different views. Some believe the sector needs reform, others believe the high-profile scandals - 7-Eleven, Retail Food Group, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Caltex, Mortgage Choice, Foodco and Craveable Brands - are a few bad apples and the code is working well.
Whatever the case, there is an imbalance and under the current system there is little recourse for redress.
Franchising in Australia is big business. There are 1120 franchising outfits and 79,000 franchisees, which is four times as many franchisors per head as in the United States.