Crikey

Clash of the media titans at Media140

Crikey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

A certain slack-jawed wonderment ran around the room at yesterday's Media140 conference in Sydney, when a senior News Ltd journalist rose to spruik the vested corporate interests of her employer...

The fast train to nowhere

Crikey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Crikey readers on why Airbus hasn't killed the fast train, the government's Telstra swashbuckling, border protection (or lackthereof) and Rosemary Stanton gets into a food fight.

Wall St up 204, Dow up 211

Crikey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Better than expected economic numbers gave the market a boost last night, with Wall St up 204 and all S&P 500 major sectors closing up. The domestic market is up 61 today, while the Aussie dollar is up to 91.06c.

Insider trading: 14 more, including Octopussy, arrested on Wall St

Glenn Dyer — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Wall Street's biggest insider trading fiasco is growing, with another 14 arrested overnight in charges involving $US33 million in illegal profits. Will this be the scandal to define the noughties' boom and bust?

RBA lifts growth forecasts as economy on the up and up

Glenn Dyer — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

The Reserve Bank has lifted its growth forecasts for the Australian economy and made it clear that interest rates will rise as the economy resumes its expansion.

Getaway gives it to Nine

Glenn Dyer — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Nine clearly won last night, while 7% of the audience tuned in to digital TV. More power to them, as there was greater choice on the new channels than on the old ones.

Rupert’s pay-up model for newspapers on the back-burner

Glenn Dyer — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Amid all the throwaway lines and bullish spin, Rupert Murdoch and his executives always bury some truths in their comments about quarterly profits. Yesterday's quarterly profit announcement was no exception.

Separated at birth? … Murdoch’s Moby Dick

Crikey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

It's celebrity lookalikes, with everyone's favourite toupee wearer, Bert Newton. Is he more Alfalfa from Little Rascals or Darth Vader unmasked? Plus, how are interns faring the the current media world?

Murdoch and Ramsay join for MasterfuckingChef

Glenn Dyer — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Rupert Murdoch is getting into bed with Gordon Ramsay to make Masterchef for the American market. Will Ten swoop in to make sureit doesn't fall in to the hands of Nine?

Memo Rudd: an asylum solution

Bernard Keane — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Bernard Keane offers the Prime Minister a few thoughts on how to resolve the Oceanic Viking stand-off.

Hey Victorian government, leave Britney alone!

Tim Dunlop — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

A Britney Spears concert is presumably a mass of gyrating, fireworks and lip-syncing. But the Victorian government wants concert goers to be made aware when music isn't technically 'live'. Do we really need to be protected?

‘Bludge’ day? Not bloody likely

Crikey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

The Monday before Melbourne Cup Day is now a normal day. Try telling the kids that, writes our long-suffering school teacher Trevor Diogenes.

Why wear the fox hat at the Oaks, I asked?

Crikey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

When Bart’s filly swooped down that long Flemington straight to claim the Group One fillies’ prize, no wonder the Oaks Day crowd stood and cheered, writes TP Maher: They’d taken the poisonous short odds quoted by those legalised vampires in the betting ring and they were happy.

Photo galleries of drunk people at the Melbourne Cup

Jonathan Green — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Apparently people get drunk on the public lawns at the Melbourne Cup. Who knew? There is no news in this, just a ritualised annual tabloid photo-gallery parade of shame, vulnerability and intrusion. But try telling that to the Hun.

The ABC and Australia’s strategic policy — playing our part

Crikey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

ABC insider Wart Snall reports on Mark Scott's proposed expansion of the ABC’s international presence. What part should the ABC play on putting Australia on display?

A neighbourly disinterest

Crikey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Two of Australia's near neighbours are close to a state of war and what can you read about on the home web pages this morning of Australia's newspapers? Not a word at all about the frightening deterioration in relations between Thailand and Cambodia.

Talking the Town: John Pilger receives the Sydney Peace Prize

Margot Saville — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

John Pilger, winner of the Sydney Peace Prize, has always positioned himself as outside the mainstream media. But his age and location – he hasn’t lived in Australia since the early 1960s – mean that his criticisms of the local media are outdated.

Why Karadzic is not getting a fair trial

Greg Barns — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic’s plea to be allowed more time to prepare his defence against serious of charges, including two counts of genocide, is in fact an entirely legitimate one.

The long, plodding March of Patriots

Guy Rundle — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Guy Rundle reviews Paul Kelly's new book, The March of Patriots: the literary equivalent of cleaning out the garage on a grey Saturday afternoon.

Blame it on the Bossa Nova

Firstdog — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

and its magic spell!

Simons: Highlights and lowlights of Media 140

Margaret Simons — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Margaret Simons gives the lowdown on the busy Twitter obsessed Media 140 conference.

Youth still to be seen but not heard

Crikey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Joshua Smith explains how much youth "consultation" is really occurring in Parliament, thanks to his experiences at last week's body image launch. Were students being used as a nice crowd backdrop for the media, rather than listening to any of their ideas?

Melbourne Uni Arts faculty anger at Dean’s re-appointment

Andrew Crook — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Arts faculty staff at The University of Melbourne are in active revolt this morning after the man blamed for implementing widespread sackings and cost-cutting was re-appointed for a five year term as Dean.

‘… on a remote island, behind razor wire’: how the New York Times sees us

Crikey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Australia's refugee problem has attracted global attention. This from the New York Times.

Tips and rumours: When’s Tassie election date?

Crikey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Bookings have already been made for polling booths for the next Tassie election. Plus, some interesting family connections at Peter Costello's new plum job with BKK partners.