Crikey » Media

Why I quit my job as a national newspaper editor to be a blogger

Crikey — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:31:14 +0000

Why would any self-respecting journo leave their job as an editor at one of the US's largest national newspapers, the LA Times to work for media gossip site Gawker? To be part of the nation's "cultural conversation".

From stone throwing kids to online activists: the e-Palestine movement

Crikey — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:49:21 +0000

Palestinians have figured out one the most effective methods of mobilising the youth: bringing their activism online. They foster an international diaspora and avoid the traditional Hamas and Fatah tensions and talk in chat rooms. Can they mimic the success of Obama's online campaign?

Why Murdoch wants to destroy the NY Times

Crikey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:39 +0000

News Corp's Wall Street Journal is stepping-up its New York coverage, and it's all part of Rupert Murdoch's single-minded plan to strike a massive blow against the liberal world by buying-out or destroying the NYT, says Michael Wolff.

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...

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age and location – he hasn’t lived in Australia since the early 1960s – mean that his criticisms of the local media are outdated.

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.

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?

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?

Google’s next target: Facebook

Crikey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:15:57 +0000

Google is making moves into the social networking world with a bunch of improvements to its Friend Connect feature. It's a blatant "declaration of war" on Facebook, says Douglas Rushkoff, and one Google will most likely win.

Why newspapers act like political parties

Crikey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:04:29 +0000

British PM Gordon Brown has hit out at The Sun newspaper for trying to "become a political party". Where has Gordon Brown been living all his life? asks Roy Greenslade: newspapers have been acting like political parties for more than a century.

Stilgherrian: What do journos do better, exactly?

Stilgherrian — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:41:48 +0000

The "bloggers vs. journalists" debate is stupid, says Stilgherrian: of course journalists are better at journalism -- they're the ones doing it. But that doesn't mean there aren't other important roles people can play in the broader media community.

The highlights and lowlights of Media140

Margaret Simons — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:24:53 +0000

Margaret Simons wraps up the recent social-media-types-get-together-to-tweet-about-talking-about-Twitter Media140 conference in Sydney. Where is social media headed in Australia? Can it save journalism, or will it just kill it faster?

Stephen King writes poetry? For Playboy?!

Crikey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:16:56 +0000

Curiously, sci-fi/horror Author Stephen King has turned his hand to writing poetry. Even more curiously, his literary medium of choice to share his rhyme doggerel with the world? Playboy magazine. Read his effort, The Bone Church, here.

Google Dashboard: what is it and do you really need it?

Crikey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:07:49 +0000

Google has released its latest toy: Google Dashboard, a one-stop-shop for users to access all their Google-related junk (gmail, Google docs, chat, etc). It's neat, and potentially time-saving, but do you really want so much personal data in one place?

The ABC plans for world domination

Crikey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:40:21 +0000

Yesterday, ABC chief Mark Scott announced the broadcaster's plans to become a global media force. Is the ABC pitching to become a propaganda arm of the Australian Government? asks Karl Quinn; and is that really something taxpayers should be funding?

Caroline Overington drops some hints on Rupert’s paywall plans (and tangles with Annabel Crabb)

Margaret Simons — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:00:06 +0000

Margaret Simons reports live from the Media140 conference in Sydney, where journalist Caroline Overington pissed off News Ltd by talking about its paywall plans, had a crack at the ABC, and clashed with Annabel Crabb.

Why Vogue is still in vogue

Crikey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:51:27 +0000

Despite the global media downturn, glossy fashion mags like Vogue are still doing relatively well. How have they avoided the fate of their less glamorous counterparts? By providing a "cheap treat" in lean economic times, says Roy Greenslade.

All locked away in our digital ghettoes

Crikey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:30:00 +0000

With the decline of the mainstream media, we’re also losing something social media cannot provide. What about the viewpoints that we don't want to hear, but should?

Great moments in advertising: Viagra’s 10th birthday

Crikey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:00:25 +0000

Viagra celebrates 10 years of hard work (boom tish!) with a predictably innuendo-laden ad. It left us a little flaccid at first, but now it's growing on us...

The ABC needs a Pacific Solution

Bernard Keane — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Mark Scott is pitching for a dramatic expansion in the ABC's international presence, but Australia just isn't enough of a cultural heavyweight to compete with America or the UK. Why not focus on the Pacific region, where we actually have some cultural credibility?

The science of Chinese whispers gone wrong

Crikey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

It all started when Reuters published a story about the positive cognitive effects of bad moods. Too bad the "study" doesn't exist and neither does the journal it reportedly comes from, says science blogger Michael Slezak.

Mark Scott on merging media professionals and their audience

Crikey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

The ABC will be experimenting with new methods of producing journalism through "pro-am" collaborations between media professionals and the audience, the ABC managing director Mark Scott said at the Media140 conference in Sydney this morning, writes Margaret Simons.

News International to drop freebies to airlines, hotels

Glenn Dyer — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

In a move that strikes fear into the hearts of The Oz execs, News International in the UK, will stop distributing bulk copies of newspapers sold for a nominal amount to hotels and airlines, which give them to clients as complimentary offerings.

Sesame Street vs. Fox News

Crikey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:41:15 +0000

Is Sesame Street anti-Fox? That's what conservative pundits reckon, but as Mediaite point out, it's more like the other way around, with Fox taking several stabs at the beloved kids' show over the years.

Corporate blogging: Telstra tries again

Trevor Cook — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:32:16 +0000

After its last disastrous attempt, Telstra is having another crack at social media. Full marks for effort, says Trevor Cook, but it's still little more than a bit of gloss on a dull, besuited corporate empire.