The truth about welfare reform
August, 2009
Death of newspapers: it’s the advertising, stupid
Newspapers aren’t dying because readers are no longer buying them. The main problem is that advertisers, whose ads have always paid the cost of journalism, are deserting newspapers.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Climate change, dog eating and female wage parity
A Crikey apology to Oscar Humpries. Plus, Crikey readers weigh in on eating dogs in Vietname and female wage parity.
Media briefs: A storm in a vegie pot … Obama a ‘homeboy’
Don Burke and Donna Hay debate parsnips, Aussie newspapers kill the Kindle, a new scandal for Kyle and Jackie O, and more news from the media.
Cubbie Station out to con the taxpayer, says Heffernan
Senator Bill Heffernan opposes a Commonwealth purchase of Cubbie Station, the vast water cotton farm, and instead calls for it to be scaled back to a sustainable level.
The poker night I faced down Le Schiffre and made rent
Poker is becoming more popular and women are placing their bets with purpose. Helen Razer entered a tournament in the hope of improving her game, but then things got out of hand.
What would Warhol think of the Web?
The internet has made Andy Warhol’s famous prediction that “In the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes” a reality. So what would the pop artist himself make of the web today? Would he be blogging? Tweeting? Digg-ing? Former friends share their opinions.
Going, going, gone: 40 technologies on life support
Do you remember receiving a grainy fax? Using a public phone booth? Making someone a mix tape? PC World examine the top 40 nearly obsolete technologies.
Five more reasons newspapers are dying (and why no-one’s talking about them)
Another day, another “why newspapers are dying” op-ed — but here are some arguments you may not have heard before from former Salon and NPR writer Bill Wyman.
Archie comic fan gets mad, even over Veronica engagement
Comic book store owner Dave Luebke was a huge fan of the long-running Archie comic books — until he saw the latest edition, in which Archie proposes to Veronica! His revenge? Auctioning off his rare copy of the series’ first edition for $38,837. Yeah, that’ll learn em’…
TechCrunch: The “media bundle” is dead
The era of readers getting all their daily news from a single site is long gone, says TechCrunch’s Erick Schonfeld. Newspapers can either sit around blaming aggregators, or learn how to take advantage of them.
Lolcats no epic FAIL for founder
How did Ben Huh use quirky cats, badly spelt English and streakers in wedding photos to tap into the zeitgeist and create a successful business? By making people laugh for five minutes per day, writes Laura Fitzpatrick.
Watching my first abortion
Sarah Kliff has been writing about the issue of abortion for two years — the politics, the procedures, the proponents and opponents. So why was she so reluctant to watch one for herself?
Milking the cash cow: MasterChef the magazine
Evidently not familiar with the concept of “less is more” or “too much of a good thing”, FremantleMedia is shopping around a MasterChef Australia magazine, looking to further capitalise on the phenomenal success of the TV show and ensure we’re all sick of it by the third season.
Crossing the Floor with Bernard Keane: More is less
Bernard Keane takes a look at the first week of the Spring parliamentary session — and discovers nothing happened.
Cooling down by opening up: AC, windows and petrol
Okay, so you’re probably wishing it was warm enough to even worry about. But with summer round the corner, does turning up the AC or opening the window save more petrol while driving? Slate investigates.
Australian newspapers reject Amazon’s Kindle
Tens of thousands of Americans now read their news via Amazon’s Kindle e-reader, but as Australian newspaper publishers gear up to deliver their content digitally, both Fairfax and News say they’re looking at other brands and models, with Sony and Apple;s products now more likely contenders.
VIDEO: Social media: fad or revolution?
Still dubious on the so-called “social media revolution”? Online marketer Eric Qualman has a few statistics for you.
The youth of today? Quite similar to yesterday
The criticism of Generation Y as over communicators, incapable of political engagement or analytical thought, is all just a little bit of youth bashing history repeating, writes Barney Langford.
The Foundation for Public Interest Journalism board announced
Swinburne Uni’s new Foundation for Public Interest Journalism has announced its board members, drawn from a selection og Australia’s leading journalists, new media innovators, community advocates and journalism academics.
India: Lower the birthrate by watching more TV
India’s health minister has proposed a new plan to tackle the country’s over-population problem by hooking every village up to electricity so people spend more time watching TV, and less time having sex.
Renewable energy target: a political greasy breakfast
It’s expected the renewable energy target will be passed quickly and quietly by Parliament, which will help Malcolm Turnbull not look like the climate change bad guy, writes Lenore Taylor.
Should England have kept faith with Ravi Bopara?
The London Times’ cricket correspondent Mike Atherton questions England’s decision to leave Ravi Bopara off the squad in favour of Jonathan Trott.
