[LINK] Fwd: MR 113/07: Australians have a voracious appetite for telecommunications [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

[Stilgherrian]

>> From: "Australian Communications & Media Authority"
>> <media at acma.gov.au>
>> Date: 21 September 2007 11:02:05 AM
>> To: <tony at tony-barry.emu.id.au>
>> Subject: MR 113/07: Australians have a voracious appetite for
>> telecommunications [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

"Voracious"? Isn't that a value judgement?

For me, "voracious" has a flavour of excess about it, or at least implying
that we're somehow greedy or big consumers. Are we? Really?

I guess compared with Namibia we are. But to use the much-loved OECD
comparisons, I thought we were pretty tame.

Certainly a figure like...

>> [snip] and 80 per cent of households having
>> access to the Internet, mostly through broadband.

... doesn't seem "voracious" to me.

When I see someone adding a value-judgement word to a headline, it tells me
that want me to think a certain way before I've seen the numbers for myself.
In this, case, is ACMA wanting me to think we're greedy, heavy comms users?
If so, why? Is it to provide an excuse for the growth of broadband lagging
so much, that our poor over-worked comms companies can't keep up with our
voracious appetites?

Stil


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