A NYT editorial has slammed Goldman Sachs for its role in the financial crisis, Ten must work out what to do with Australian Idol in 2010, how the media downturn will affect higher education, newsreaders get emo, and more.
Media briefs and TV ratings
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Posh comes to America with a ”major” bomb. Three new programs popped up in prime time last night. Two were OK — standard commercial TV fare. The third was rubbish, which did the Nine Network no favours whatsoever. Neither of the new programs at 7.30pm — RSPCA Animal Rescue on Seven and Things To Do Before You Die on Nine — were difficult programs to think up or make but they did entertain and hold viewers. Animals in distress do well, so long as there is a happy ending or a message from a sad one. And Things To Do is another version of Getaway, which is sad because the idea had some potential if the producers thought about involving viewer participation along the lines of Backyard Blitz (getting people to nominate others for special holidays). But the Victoria Beckham special on Nine at 9.30pm was an example of conceited TV making. Not so much by Ms Beckham, but by her producer, Simon Fuller, who thinks that coming up with the great idea for the Idol series, and managing the Spice Girls, gives him some understanding of what ordinary TV viewers want. It doesn’t, the program was bagged in the US and it bombed here — averaging 828,000, down in 23rd place, and beaten by Seven’s Crossing Jordan (939,000) and a repeat of Numb3rs on Ten (908,000). Victoria Beckham: Coming To America was a very deliberate attempt to sell her (and the Spice Girls comeback) and further polish the Beckham brand. In Posh’s own words it was “major” — a “major” insult to our intelligence. — Glenn Dyer Rupert’s matchmaker set to join the ABC. The CV issued by the ABC for Bruce Dover, the new Chief Executive of Australia Network (the ABC’s international television service to Asia, the Pacific and the Indian sub-continent), omits one interesting fact. Dover has some small notoriety for being the person who introduced Rupert Murdoch to his current wife, Wendi Deng, at a cocktail party in Hong Kong. That was a fateful meeting for a lot of people. He starts on August 6 and replaces Ian Carroll, who was appointed the ABC’s Director of Innovation earlier this year. Dover will report to the Director of ABC International, Murray Green. Australia Network is supported by funds from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as well as advertising revenue and the ABC retained the service last year after fighting off a determined attempt by Sky News to snaffle the service when it was re-tendered. — Glenn Dyer Wikijournalism strikes at The SMH. Generally I see the SMH as being the better of the three major papers however a recent article called “Eat, drink and be wary” caught my attention. The article writes about the poison of the fugu (puffer fish). I’m an Australian living in Japan and a wealthy friend recently treated me to fugu so I was interested to see what it contained, so followed up the article with a quick Wikipedia search. The SMH’s Guy Wilkinson claims: ”[the fugu] contains lethal amounts of poison in its internal organs, especially the liver and gonads, and also the skin”. Whereas Wikipedia states: ”[the fugu] contains lethal amounts of the poison tetrodotoxin in the internal organs, especially the liver and gonads, and also the skin.” Also in Wilkinson’s article: ”the venom paralyses the muscles while the victim stays fully conscious and eventually dies from asphyxiation.” But Wikipedia does them one better, stating: “The poison, a sodium channel blocker, paralyzes the muscles while the victim stays fully conscious, and eventually dies from asphyxiation.” Maybe I’m paranoid, but to me this is plagiarism and Wilkinson deserves to slapped like any lazy uni student who copies details off Wikipedia without changing them enough to sound like their own words. — A Crikey reader Last night’s TV ratings |
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