Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

I had a good idea last night:

The two great pre-election indicators are polls and punters. Shanahan says News Ltd understands polls coz they own one, and that imbues the GG editorial team with the authority to dictate interpretations. So... why doesn’t Uncle Rupert open a book on the election? Surely that is not just the ultimate show of faith in his loyal scribes, but also clearly underwrites his faith in their professional judgment.

Dennis and his friends at The Sun King’s Shanabet Co. can offer odds of (say) $1.10 for a Howard victory against $12.55 for a Rudd win.

It's actually pretty frightening to think that people like Murdoch could one day control the betting market in the same way as they now control much of the media (especially with James Packer moving his grandfather's money into gambling). Imagine a world where all the newspapers tell you that everyone loves Big Brother, the TV shows everybody hugging and kissing Big Brother, the polls are concocted to show Big Brother's populatiry at record highs, and even the betting market confirms that Big Brother is due for yet another election landslide victory.