Politics has always been an indigestible medium within the news cycle for millennials. Whether it is just a lack of access to appropriate news sources that report on Australian politics, or just a genuine disinterest in the news cycle as a whole. Whatever the case may be, many millennials have chosen the post modern news media as their avenue for daily news. From podcasts to YouTube channels, news media has become abundantly accessible for the millennial market who chose not to sit in front of a TV at a specially allocated time slot or not to read the newspaper as the outdated medium that it is. Instead, millennials choose to acquire a sense of freedom and listen to and watch the news told by groups or individuals who have no corporate or political backing. Individuals like Friendlyjordies.
Friendlyjordies is a political satirist who has used the mediums available to him and his production team to target a millennial audience who requires relevant, influential and trustworthy content. To put into perspective the sheer magnitude of the audience size Friendlyjordies has amassed, here is a breakdown:
- YouTube: 55 million views with over 280,000 subscribers
- Facebook: 228,191 likes
- Twitter: 14,000 followers
- Instagram: 42,000 followers
Political satire has always been a popular medium amongst individuals, specifically millennials. Political satire is awarded its acclaim by the public sphere and critics alike because of its ability to put aside peoples intellect and political ideologies and give people the information they require and need to become informed citizens through the guise of comedy. No one does this better than Friendlyjordies.
From videos calling out the mainstream media to videos placing pressure on voters to hear the facts and figures and go out and vote for political change, Friendlyjordies covers it all. As with all political satirists there is a personal political preference, with Jordies leaning more towards the left and prompting his viewers and fans to vote Labor. However, his ability to equally call out the left wing agenda when he believes it is being just as absurd as the right is what makes Friendlyjordies unique to the media landscape.
The three factors that make Friendlyjordies an impactful figure are as follows;
- Research Ethics
- Diversity In Content
- Left Wing Where It Matters
Research Ethics
Research ethics play a big role in Friendlyjordies’ videos. The fact that he is independently run means that when he and his team partake in the research component during the production of a video; Friendlyjordies is not handed a script at the end and told what to say. He is well aware of the research and understands the source and its credibility. For instance, in his video about the privatisation of prisons in Australia ‘The Worst Prisons in Australia’ where he discussed the unethical and cost savings actions of privatised prisons run by GEO and Serco, he sourced his information from the ‘Parliamentary Inquiry into Parklea Correctional Centre and other operational issues’. Similarly in his video ‘Australia’s Most Barbaric Industry‘ about the live stock export industry, Jordies uses findings from Pegasus Economics, a boutique economics and public consultancy firm which creates informative yearly reports about countless industries within Australia.
These are only a few of the examples of Friendlyjordies citing credible sources throughout his videos in a comedic and ethical manner. He gives his audience the facts and figures they deserve and even points them in the direction to independently find the article or report and further expand their knowledge. This attention to detail sets him apart from many other political satirists who focus too much on the comedy and their subjective views; videos by Friendlyjordies leave viewers with tangible information produced in a satirical approach, therefore educating and entertaining the millennial audience and allowing them to consume political stories in a uniquely packaged medium.
Diversity In Content
Whenever he is not discussing politics, Friendlyjordies is diversifying his content. Whether it is painting Warhammer 40K characters or skits lampooning millennials and their recreational drug use at music festivals, he has content for everyone.
In all seriousness, in regards to his diversity in content relating to politics, Friendlyjordies touches on basically every political issue being discussed in post modern Australian political discourse.
Topics include:
- Privatisation of prisons
- State and Federal Elections
- Nuclear power Use
- National debt
- The problem with mainstream media
- Climate Change
Friendlyjordies is undoubtedly a movement. The audience has a clear interest in learning more about the current state of government and all the nefarious acts committed by corporate conglomerates. This self awareness of what the audience wants is made clear by the abundance of choice in regards to content offered by Friendlyjordies.
Left Wing Where It Matters
Friendlyjordies’ content has proven time and time again that it is not right wing, or left wing. It’s not even in the middle. It is this extraordinary concoction of all three. He is pro environment, pro union and pro welfare (to people that actually need it). These are only three of the many political stances highlighted on Friendlyjordies. Political stances shared by the likes of Buzzfeed, The ABC, SBS and The Project. However, Jordies has made it his mission to educate his viewers on the truth behind Australian media and constantly calls out BuzzFeed, The ABC, SBS and The Project for simply appearing to be left wing but in reality are backed by corporate entities.
For instance, when Streets Ice Cream was cutting their employees wages by 46%, BuzzFeed opted to release articles about the new Streets Ice Cream being released instead of reporting on the issue. This left many to believe that Streets Ice Cream was a possible sponsor due to their high regard of Streets Ice Cream in any ice cream related article.
Similarly, The Project when reporting on the Murray Darling Basin and the 1 million dead fish chose a comedic approach when reporting on the catastrophic issue. Only later to take a more serious tone after receiving backlash on their insensitive reporting.
Jordies openly criticising the left for their improper reporting and in some cases lack of reporting due to corporate ties is something to admire. He does not just blindly follow the apparent left wing news sources, he holds them accountable.
It is clear that political satire is the new manner in which millennials digest news – within Australia at least – and Friendlyjordies seems to be at the forefront educating the masses. From his research ethics, diversity in content and ability to criticise the left when necessary but remain politically left where it matters are only three factors that make Friendlyjordies so relatable. Like it or not he is a political figure who has a bigger audience than most broadcast news channels. Interest in elections and politics as a whole has undoubtedly picked up in Australia, and denying the impact of Friendlyjordies is absurd.
Feature Image: YouTube