The Media Glass House crew dips their collective lids to ABC News Breakfast co-host Michael Rowland over a nice piece of attempted deflection of widespread criticism of his “interview” the other day with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

There was so much to be critical of Rowland’s performance and his use of “baseball bats” was really the least of his worries but as his tweet below shows, the blue-suited, pun-cracking media personality had decided that a neat little mea culpa over those words would silence the hounds of dissent; those barking mad Twitterers who took in the interview and quite understandably thought they had accidentally tuned into Sky News After Dawn.

Let’s dissect his tweet. Rowland in his interrogation of Andrews made it clear those countless voters were armed with veritable baseball bats. It’s a metaphor that probably won’t be retired any time soon, despite its shitty American origins.

Rowland’s mistakes as supposedly a fair and balanced ABC journalists went far beyond using that phrase. What was ugly enough was Rowland’s willingness to hop on the bandwagon of The Age, the Herald Sun, 3AW, The Australian and others in trying to tear down the Premier on anything other then what Andrews wanted to talk about – his plans for the state.

Rowland kicked off the interview with “the polls are tightening”. Note the polls, plural. The MGH saw two polls emerged around the time of the interview; a new one with no previous results for this campaign and one that showed Labor’s lead reduced but still with a massive two-party preferred lead. Sure, other polls had tightening too but the still very strong lead to Labor wouldn’t be just as newsworthy? Instead, Rowland preferred “the polls are tightening” suggesting a tight, exciting tussle for the hearts and minds of Victorian voters.

Yes, we are all entitled to wonder exactly what campaign Rowland is watching.

The entire thrust of Rowland’s “interview” was credlinesque, probing Andrews’ personality and his ethics. Did Andrews accept he was a polarising figure; that untold voters even in Labor seats had those baseball bats out for his lockdown decisions (read that everyone hated and he had clearly paid a political price for!) and what did he have to say about being mentioned in four – yes, four! – Independent Broadbased Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) matters. (left unsaid but clearly inferred: where there’s smoke, there’s fire!)

Polarised, Rowland? A community divided (unread: halved) into two totally opposed groups with no middle ground? Andrews’ popularity with Victorian citizens remained high during all the lockdowns. All the polls suggest he’s likely to win Saturday week’s poll with another Danslide. Preferred Premier wise, he’s half way down the home straight and Matthew Guy has yet to appear around the top far corner of the course.

Any pollie seeking reelection anywhere in the world would love to have “polarised” voters to the extent Andrews has these past four years.

Sadly, Rowland probably considers himself a fair, balanced and professional journalist. Instead, the other day he willingly joined in with the Newscorpse/Nine Entertainment Co. obsession with dragging down Daniels and Labor by any means possible. The MGH was surprised Rowland didn’t have time to work in that car crash of Andrews’ missus a decade ago or those two-plank steps that would have been impossible to take a tumble over unless you were pissed or you’re lying your head off!!!

Rowland came across as someone undertaking a dress rehearsal/job application video for Neil Mitchell’s replacement at 3AW.

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While the MGH is sad to read that Christopher Dore is retiring as The Australian‘s editor in chief for “personal health reasons”, the overwhelming response is: Great. Fuck off!

The Bug started calling this Newscorpse brownnoser Christopher “show quality journalism the” Dore when, as editor at The Courier-Mail, he penned a two-page attack on England’s Stuart Broad for having the temerity not to walk in an Ashes Test in England despite clearly nicking a ball straight to first slip! Yes, that Dore! The one who started the childish campaign during the Brisbane Ashes Test in the next series of not naming Broad, instead calling him “the tall English medium pacer”.

Oh, what a inspirational leader Christopher “show quality journalism the” Dore proved with that exercise. The entire thrust of his two-page attack on Broad was based on bullshit. Broad in fact had edged behind so thinly that the ball barely deviated, hitting the keepers’ gloves and deflecting to first slip.

Journalism – not that what The Australian practises comes anywhere near that category – will be undiminished by the departure of a bloke who spent two pages making an absolute fool of himself before his troops, pressing the childish, stupid, notion that Englishmen should always walk, just as Aussies always do (insert prolonged canned laughter here) and that Broad had so damaged the spirit of the gentlemen’s game of cricket that he didn’t deserve to be named.

Fuck off. Good riddance. And that doesn’t prevent us, on a personal note, wishing Christopher “show quality journalism the” Dore the best in overcoming those health issues. On that matter, we wish him and his family well.

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On a lighter note, the MGH understands that up in Brisbane, Peter Gleeson thinks he’s in with a chance of replacing Christopher “show quality journalism the” Dore and has almost completed someone’s else’s application.