Kevin Rudd needs the WA Labor Party to start being a threat, not a liability, writes Western Warrior.
September, 2009
PODCAST: Chaser boys on controversy
Chaser boys Dominic Knight and Chris Taylor discuss the media frenzy surrounding their ‘Make a Realistic Wish’ skit and acknowledge that maybe Chaser outstayed its TV welcome.
The grim reality that is France, happiness indexes notwithstanding
The French way of life can be as brutal and nasty as any other around the world and no amount of papering over with nice talk can avoid the facts.
Morning Market Report: Wall St closes at a new yearly high
With the Dow Futures down over 80 early yesterday, many were expecting a negative session in the US overnight. But it didn’t quite work out that way.
Termination payouts: government policy simply makes sense
The federal government introduced a Bill seeking to limit executive termination payments to one year’s fixed salary. But in a move that’s commercially, morally and politically indefensible, the Libs have opposed it.
The Republic of Australia and New Zealand?
Australia and New Zealand living peacefully as one combined republic? It sounds far fetched, but Rodney Crisp provides a compelling, if odd, economic and historical argument.
Obama provides hope for Wall St change
“Normalcy cannot lead to complacency”. That key line in Barack Obama’s speech one year on from the Lehman Brothers collapse goes to the heart of why financial reform hasn’t worked in the past, says James Surowiecki.
Kyle and Jackie Oh no: ratings plummet
In the wake of the Kyle Sandilands concentration camp debacle, Crikey asked whether it was the tipping point for the Kyle and Jackie O show. Would the tactics that brought in listeners also make the tune out? The answer seems to be yes.
Sugar hit for Australian online media
Allure Media — the company that brought some of Gawker Media’s blogs to Australian shores — is now importing a few from the popular Sugar Inc stable, like Pop Sugar. Is internet franchising the future?
Video of the Day: Tempting kids with candy
Replicating the classic Stanford experiment from the 1960s, some kids can handle sweet temptation better than others. Who knew marshmallows smelt so good?
RIP Patrick Swayze, original Dirty Dancer
The leading man in two enormously popular romantic fantasies — one where he was the first-love fantasy, and one where he was the perfect-martyr fantasy — has died from pancreatic cancer, writes Linda Holmes.
Telstra to be split up
Stephen Conroy has today announced the government will require Telstra to structurally separate its wholesale and retail arms to increase telecommunications competition. Full text here. Telstra shares have dropped sharply in response.
Germany’s elections: more duet than duel
In a fortnight, Germans are heading to the polls in a rather odd election: the candidates have been governing together for four years in coalition.
PODCAST: will hyperlocal journalism save news?
With cities’ newspapers dying, people are seeking out more grassroots ways to find out what’s happening. Jeff Jarvis chats with hyperlocal proponents about why small can be beautiful in the new media landscape.
Only 51% of publishers think paywalls will work
US publishers are unconvinced that putting online content behind paywalls will work. Moreover, there’s little consensus on how to do it. In fact, according to the survey, 71% said their objective is “preserving print circulation.”
Good editors still matter
With the advent of self-publishing and blogs, we need good editors more (not less) than ever, writes Anne Trubek. We did the growing of the web, she says, now we need to do the pruning.
What Obama didn’t say
In his speech to bankers, Obama entirely failed to explain his plans to regulate (or not) how large financial institutions can become or whether some of the biggest ones should be broken up, says Daniel Indiviglio.
An ode to moderation and prudence
Obama delivered a strong warning to Wall Street in his speech in New York yesterday. But is he actually willing to back it up with strong actions? Unlikely, says Justin Fox.
Dowd: Race issues still dragging Obama down
Much of the criticism of President Barack Obama and attempts to delegitimise his presidency has to do with race, writes Maureen Dowd. Senator Joe Wilson yelling “You lie!” during Obama’s healthcare speech is just further proof.
Fairfax’s The National Times tells the same old story
Opinion is cheap in every sense of the word. And it’s what Fairfax’s new National Times gives us more of. But, says Margaret Simons, if you want journalism, in the long term you will have to pay people to do it.
Reform or rhetoric? Obama’s speech examined
Economics experts discuss US President Barack Obama’s speech to Wall Street bankers. Obama had some stern words — but were they stern enough to see real reform and prevent another economic disaster?
Who’s leading the National Party?
95% of Australian voters can’t name the leader of the National Party, Warren Truss. Is it time for the higher-profile Barnaby Joyce to take over as leader? asks Michelle Grattan — after all, 4% of voters already think he is.
Parliamentary sisters are doing it for themselves
The feminisation of the Rudd government “seems to be the end of tokenism, with women pollies no longer a novelty”, writes Dr Paul Williams. Will Julia Gillard and Nicola Roxon be battling it out for first female PM?
Crabb: Mr 70% busts a move
Buoyed by strong opinion polls, Kevin Rudd was pulling out all his classic moves in Parliament yesterday, with the “Dead Spider”, “Glasses Still There?”, and “Fake Finger Count” all on display, says Annabel Crabb.
Essential Report: Coalition makes gains
This week’s Essential Report comes in with a two party preferred of 59-41 -– a 2-point gain to the Coalition. Possum Comitatus has all the figures.
