The Chaser v Sky News' Chris Kenny

[Bowside]

In Defence Of The Chaser’s False Depiction Of My Dad Having Sex With Dog

By Liam Kenny 18/9/13​

Last week, an ABC-TV political comedy program displayed a Photoshopped image depicting Chris Kenny, a prominent critic of the ABC, having sex with a dog from behind.​

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It was a response to an election-night suggestion from Kenny — a political commentator, News Corp Australia employee and former Liberal Party staffer — that the new Coalition government should cut the public broadcaster’s funding. The visual gag was crass, to be sure. A cheap shot. A dog act. But is it really so offensive?

Chris Kenny is my dad. On one of the Sky News political analysis programs he hosts, he has replied to the Chaser joke, lamenting that if his children were ever to Google his name in the future, this is the kind of filth we would stumble across.

Heaven forbid.

Kenny is a staunchly neo-conservative, anti-progress, anti-worker defender of the status quo. He is an unrelenting apologist for the Liberal Party. He was one of Alexander Downer’s senior advisers at the time of the Iraq War. He’s been known to argue for stubborn, sightless inaction on climate change. He spits at anyone concerned with such trivialities as gender equality, environmental issues or labour rights from his Twitter account on a daily basis.

Recently, he characterised criticism of the lack of women in Tony Abbott’s Cabinet as a continuation of the Left’s “gender wars”. He is a regular and fervent participant in The Australian’s numerous ongoing bully campaigns against those who question its editorial practices and ideological biases. The profoundly irresponsible, dishonest, hate-filled anti-multiculturalist Andrew Bolt has recently referred to Kenny on his blog as “a friend”.

And it’s a jokey picture of a bestial embrace that I should be afraid of discovering online?

Like clockwork, and in the unlikely company of the ABC’s Media Watch, the Murdoch newspapers have taken up the question of just how this image could possibly have been allowed to go to air.In what is perhaps the most idiotic contribution, The Australian’s ‘Cut And Paste’ section has asked whether prominent feminist Anne Summers is as offended by this joke as she was by the sexual vilification of former PM Julia Gillard.

To equate the two things is a ridiculous move, typical of the desperate, flat-earth refusal in some corners of liberalism to acknowledge the existence of gender politics. Involving Summers in this episode for no sound reason is transparent ideological sniping.

In the Daily Telegraph, the always yawn-inducing Tim Blair suggested that Kenny would be treated much more kindly by the public broadcaster if he were an Islamic terrorist — flogging an excruciatingly worn out, tired slur. In the Herald Sun, populist torch-bearer Bolt has demanded to know why ABC managing director Mark Scott has allowed this deterioration of standards to occur on his watch. Standards in media and cultural sensitivity, of course, being Bolt’s twin areas of expertise.

‘The Left’ is often characterised by those who appoint themselves as its opponents as lacking a sense of humour, too ‘politically correct’ and too self-righteous to lighten up and take a joke. No doubt Kenny, Bolt and Blair would argue that the difference in this case is that tax-payers fund the ABC, and should not have to hand over their hard-earned cash for this type of trash.

And I tend to agree. Let’s see the ABC give back every cent of what it cost them to use Photoshop for thirty seconds. Maybe I’ll spend the spare change on a bus to go see the Great Barrier Reef before it, like the Chaser’s dog, is completely fucked in the arse.
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Liam Kenny studies in Sydney. He is Chris Kenny’s son.

http://junkee.com/in-defence-of-the-chasers-picture-of-my-dad-having-sex-with-dog/19967

 

[ChargerWA]

Chris Kenny tweeted a link to Liam's band afterwards, since we are all so interested in him today.

 

[vidiot]

I wonder if the Chaser would have been so righteously defended had they lampooned Julia Gillard in the same way.

 

[boyo]

It's as tasteless as superimposing politicians' heads on Hogan's Heroes characters.

 

[Bruwheresmycar]

The ironic thing about these newscorp journalists arguing for abc spending cuts, is that if you listen to any of them for 5 minutes you can see exactly why we need the abc. It's just about the only branch of sanity left in the mainstream media, hence why all these political hacks want it gone.

 

[Runner]

The ABC is not main stream only 2% of the population watch them while we all pay for it.

I remeber the hospital skit and these guys should not have access to nations taxes to do this type of act. If I don't like what the Telegraph did I don't have to buy it.

 

[Bruwheresmycar]

What else don't you like Runner? Any hospitals you don't personally use that could do with the chop?

 

[terry j]

don't use a library? we all pay for that too.

likely to die of cancer? If not, then no need for cancer wards, we all pay for that even tho the vast majority of us will not get cancer.

Don't drive a car? Stiff, your taxes pay for that infrastructure.

I find *that* particular argument very tedious. It's often not thought thru at all, only directed when we want it.

 

[Runner]

What else don't you like Runner? Any hospitals you don't personally use that could do with the chop?

Now that is just stupid.

A simple comment about a particular point and you want to go off onto hospitals in general rather than the very offence show about the child they did which caused them much trouble and incomes another ( terry j) with equally silly points.

The point was about ABC funding of The Chaser and its style of program. I equally don't like Kyle S but I don't fund him.

 

[I like to watch]

I agree it's not sensible comparing the ABC to funding of hospitals.
The ABC should be funded by the Gov,and they should be allowed commentary/satire or whatever, otherwise all they could air is re runs of the Bill all night.
It's not possible to reflect the opinions of the entire population,at the same time.And if it did,it would be batshit boring.

 

[Bruwheresmycar]

Now that is just stupid.

A simple comment about a particular point and you want to go off onto hospitals in general rather than the very offence show about the child they did which caused them much trouble and incomes another ( terry j) with equally silly points.

The point was about ABC funding of The Chaser and its style of program. I equally don't like Kyle S but I don't fund him.

A lot of people don't like the Olympics.....

As ILTW says, it's a pretty boring world when you only fund things the majority find interesting.

 

[Braveheart81]

The ABC is not main stream only 2% of the population watch them while we all pay for it.

This statistic sounds like a complete load of crap.

A quick google search suggests that 988,000 people watched Gruen Planet on Wednesday night. That's already over 4% of the population tuning in at one specific time.

 

[terry j]

Now that is just stupid.

A simple comment about a particular point and you want to go off onto hospitals in general rather than the very offence show about the child they did which caused them much trouble and incomes another ( terry j) with equally silly points.

The point was about ABC funding of The Chaser and its style of program. I equally don't like Kyle S but I don't fund him.

Well it ain't our fault that you are unable to see the weakness of your own argument. We were NOT talking about hospitals, the example was used to show your argument about who uses *it* and who pays for *it* is not limited to our individual hobby horses.

Open that can of worms and you back off straight away.

 

[Braveheart81]

Maybe Runner should have a go at foreign aid next. I mean, how many Australian taxpayers have ever used Australian foreign aid?

I'm still not sure if Runner is just trolling or if he is actually serious. It baffles me a little that the only thread he contributes to (as far as I can see) on a rugby forum is one about politics.

His political ideology seems to be a mix between conservatism and anarchism. He wants to overthrow the government but not until he's finished his cup of tea and a discussion about how good life was in the 1950s.

 

[boyo]

The ABC is not main stream only 2% of the population watch them while we all pay for it.

???

 

[Runner]

Thank you for your positive, witty and highly intelligent remarks.

The Chasers are offensive and I don't like their style.

Don't draw in a lot of other red herrings and try to stay focused on the topic of Kenny and the Chasers

If you had seen Media Watch on Monday you would have seen that if Kenny had sued then he would have most likely won a defamation case.

 

[Sully]

You're the one who started talking about funding. Not them. If you can't stay on topic why should they?

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[Sully]

Btw of you added a zero to your viewing percentage you'd be a lot closer than you are now..

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[terry j]

Thank you for your positive, witty and highly intelligent remarks.

The Chasers are offensive and I don't like their style.

Don't draw in a lot of other red herrings and try to stay focused on the topic of Kenny and the Chasers

If you had seen Media Watch on Monday you would have seen that if Kenny had sued then he would have most likely won a defamation case.

well there ya go, I happen to think too that often the type of humour employed is hardly clever, a lot of it simply requires you to 'gate crash' and cause unease on the part of the other party.

To do that successfully does NOT require wit, only a lack of concern for others feelings. Simply walk on stage and make an arse of yourself during the orchestra rehearsal (or whatever), see? no greater allotment of wit than the rest of us required, just greater balls if you will.

When it comes to personal taste, you can never be in error.

I am certain if you had stuck to this completely acceptable position not one person would have said a thing.

 

[Sully]

Yes I agrre I am also no fan of the Chaser either.

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