BOM nickname ridgey-didge. Bureau of Meteorology needs un-corporatising not rebranding

by Michael West | Oct 24, 2022 | What's the scam?

Australians love a nickname and recoiled in indignation at the farcical rebranding of the BOM. What’s the scam?

The scam is that the rebrand is just the latest plank in the corporatisation of the BOM. They tried to do away with climate change too.

Former MWM editor Sandi Keane and her contact, former BOM operative Stephen King, broke the story here two years ago of the infiltration of BOM by global oil and gas funders such as Shell, Santos, Woodside and Chevron.

Further, that the words “climate change” had been excised from BOM published materials. Too sensitive apparently for BOM’s new corporatist management. The controversial rebrand of BOM to “The Bureau” is merely the latest dip on the slippery slope which is corporatisation of an essential government service. And the exercise has been parodied from coast to coast, perhaps no better than here on surfers’ website Swellnet:

“There’s a lot to unpack here. For one, it’s a complete misread of Australian culture, where protesting about a nickname virtually assures it will stick. Getting angry about that teenage epithet will only see it engraved on your epitaph seven decades later. There’s also the matter of the re-branding agency. Company name: ‘The C Word Communication Agency’. ”

There was no disclaimer by Swellnet that, unlike most coastal dwellers who fear the advent of tropical cyclones, the surfing demographic starts licking their lips at the prospect of large waves.

Zero Attribution: Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology keeps silent on climate science

 

Michael West established Michael West Media in 2016 to focus on journalism of high public interest, particularly the rising power of corporations over democracy. West was formerly a journalist and editor with Fairfax newspapers, a columnist for News Corp and even, once, a stockbroker.

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