The Sydney Morning Herald is a Disgrace

Locals channel their disapproval (Andrew Taylor) runs the headline on page 12 of the print edition of yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald.

"Residents," it goes on to tell us "are not impressed with the developer's latest plan for the Channel Nine site on Sydney's north shore." The report, which dominates the page, is accompanied by a photograph of 11 residents, one of whom displays a placard which reads, 'Channel 9 is back again: it's too high, too dense'.

Well, good on those residents! I wish them and their cause well. It's not them but the Sydney Morning Herald itself that is the subject of this angry post.

On the very same day (17/12) as those 11 residents gathered for their north shore photoshoot, thousands of Sydney residents, largely from Western Sydney, gathered at Sydney Town Hall to protest Trump's decision to recognise Israeli control over Jerusalem. They flooded Town Hall Square, and then, after speeches, marched down George Street to the American consulate in Martin Place, chanting their outrage all the way.

And yet, incredibly, there wasn't so much as a mention of their presence or outrage in the pages of the SMH.

Not, mind you, that the Herald ignored the local response to the issue entirely. After all, they saw fit to devote an entire opinion piece, Recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital is a welcome, symbolic move  - by Israel lobbyist Colin Rubenstein, executive director of Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) - to it.

Of course, you could conclude that the Herald is simply under the thumb of the Israel lobby, but I'm inclined to see an element of racism here. Whatever the precise motive, or mix of motives, behind the Herald's appalling failure to report the spirited activism of thousands of protesters in Sydney's CBD, the Herald, which claims on its masthead to be 'Independent. Always.', is an utter disgrace.