Is Crikey’s TV ratings reporter Glenn Dyer a “Nine-hater”, with a bias towards Channel Seven? That’s what The Oz and ACA’s Leila McKinnon seem to think.
December, 2009
At least the Mad Monk relieves the Rudd boredom
Tony Abbott is like watching a car crash. He’s terrifying, confusing and people will probably get hurt, but it’s very hard to look away. Which is a refreshing change from the Rudd robot.
Bleed them dry: some lessons from the US blood market
The economic crunch in the US has forced more Americans to sell their blood, since they are one of the few countries to pay for plasma. What are the ethics involved in relying on the poor and disenfranchised?
News Ltd’s Xmas gift: new newspaper reader data!
Mark Day explains the long and bitter tale of why Australian newspapers are getting a second set of readership information. It all started with Sir Keith and Roy Morgan after WWII…
Sheehan: Get ‘em in and spit ‘em out: the media churn of politics
Leadership speculation! Spill! New leader! Opinion Polls! Scandal! Rather than focusing on policies, Australian politics is an endless horse race with the media as jockey and lots of blood being spilt, writes Paul Sheehan.
revealed 
The Google phone
It’s official: Google is making its own smart phone. It’s called “Nexus One”. It will be out in January. It looks like this. It’s pretty awesome.
Gittins: Will the 2010 election be the making of Rudd?
The Libs will run a negative election campaign, dissing their ‘great big tax’ policies without really introducing their own. Which means Rudd will have to stand up for his policies and not just rely on Opposition leadership trouble, says Ross Gittins.
Follow Crikey‘s Matthew Knott reporting live from the chaos in Copenhagen Copenhagen cages climate protestors
Reporting live from climate protests in Copenhagen, Matthew Knott shares photos and eyewitness accounts as thousands of peaceful protesters are detained by Danish police and housed in steel cages.
The secret plan to make Wills the “Shadow King”
The Mail says it has obtained private Treasury documents which reveal the Queen is planning to hand over a substantial part of her duties to Prince William in order to groom his as the next monarch, bypassing Prince Charles — though the Palace says “pish tosh”.
The serious science of pizza slicing
Scientists puzzle over the complex mathematics of pizza slicing: how do you make sure everyone gets an equal slice? It’s trickier than it sounds. And don’t even start them on calzones…
Film review: Avatar — beyond blockbuster, beyond epic
Luke Buckmaster reviews the new uber-blockbuster from mega-minded director James Cameron: gorgeously atmospheric and orgies-for-eyeballs good looking.
revealed 
Big Oil continues to gag the UK press
The BBC has deleted an article about toxic-waste dumping by oil giant Trafigura amidst legal threats, according to Wikileaks, which has a copy of the vanished piece.
Total recall in NSW
The SMH has started a petition to demand an early election in NSW. Err, it’s not quite that simple, explains William Bowe.
Live from the demonstrations in Copenhagen
Anna Rose is in the thick of the 100,000-strong protests in Copenhagen, where, contrary to media reports of civilian violence, thousands of peaceful protesters have been arrested by police.
revealed The great carbon heist
Australia’s carbon emissions have increased by 30% since Kyoto, but thanks to the theft of 83.7 million tonnes of carbon credits from family farmers, the government can claim it’s only 9%, reports Steve Truman.
How Obama sold out
Barack Obama was going to be the man who stood up to the Wall St fat-cats, giving hope to hard-working, every-day Americans who had been burned by reckless bankers from the likes of Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, says Matt Taibbi. Then he got elected.
When Google runs your life…
From the Google phone to Google maps to Gmail to Google Chrome to Google News, the Big G is fast taking control of our lives — and it’s not necessarily a bad thing, says Forbes. Just lay back and let the Google Wave wash over you.
Time‘s Top 10 of everything for 2009
Time magazine has released its highly anticipated annual list of the Top 10 of everything for the year. From the top gadgets of the year to the top animal stories, which will come out on top?
Copenhagen: who will dare mention population growth?
All these hours spent discussing climate change at Copenhagen will have been superflous unless there is a serious and frank discussion about population growth, writes Charlie Brooks.
The Coalition’s dangerous new populism
Coalition frontbencher Kevin Andrews has proclaimed he wants immigration reduced from 180,000 people a year to around 35,000 “as a starting point”. This is not just a lurch to the right, says Bernard Keane, it is a shift towards the very crassest form of populism.
Media briefs: Say goodbye to Hollywood Lachlan … The Age goes back in time …
Lachlan Murdoch has abandoned plans to to become a Hollywood media mogul and will instead be a humble Australian radio mogulette. And how do Age insiders see their move to more salubrious surroundings?
Guy Rundle: Tiger’s trysts, no one saw this coming
Two weeks into the Tiger Woods scandal and anguished friends of the sports superstar are all asking the same thing: What is it about the tall, handsome, panther limbed champion billionaire that women find so attractive?
