Hobart Mercury editor Garry Bailey responds to our Spinning The Media study findings that many of the articles analysed in his paper were initiated by public relations.
March, 2010
Why is equity relevant to paid parental leave?
Health policy consultant Jennifer Doggett weighs in on the paid parental leave debate, arguing that the potential benefits of paid parental leave may outweigh any concerns about it being inequitable.
Editor of The West Australian, Brett McCarthy, responds
The West Australian editor Brian McCarthy responds to our Spinning The Media study findings that 55% of the articles analysed in his paper were initiated by public relations.
Lehman: taking ineptitude to a whole new level
The final autopsy report on the death of Lehman Brothers is in: the top chief was even more dodgy and inept than previously thought, with an accounting gimmick covering up the true size of the Lehman bank sheet.
Twitter a force for good not meal updates
In an interview with the Beeb, Twitter founder Evan Williams spruiks that Twitter can help spread democracy and how all the best tech services are still independent companies. Listen to the whole interview here.
Stott Despoja: Winning Senate friends and influencing cross-bench people
Publicly attacking Senators who block government plans is a fairly novel way of winning their support, when all they need is a bit of charming, explains former senator Natasha Stott Despoja.
David Smith: Malcolm Fraser is lying about the Whitlam dismissal
Malcolm Fraser’s account of what then Governor General John Kerr said to him on the morning of 11 November, 1975, is not true, says Kerr’s former secretary David Smith.
Tea Party backlash brewing: meet the Coffee Party
Has the American conservative Tea Party movement boiled over into a bevvy of beverage-based politics? Meet the Coffee Party: a pro-democracy, anti-corporate movement building grass-roots traction across the States,
The bewildering search for Abbott’s agenda
The Senate obstructionism has hit the headlines this week, further highlighting that Tony Abbott has yet to figure out exactly what he stands for as leader apart from opposing everything the government suggests.
Chinalco: It was the economic forces whodunnit
The official Chinese government findings are in: the Australian government and Rio Tinto are not to blame for the collapsed Chinalco deal. Rather, a combination of economic forces brought it down. John Garnaut reports.
First Dog on the Moon draws the Western Bulldogs’ NAB Cup win
Crikey cartoonist and Doggies tragic First Dog on the Moon has drawn the Bulldogs’ emphatic victory over St Kilda in Saturday night’s NAB Cup grand final.
Gorbachev: Old Russia has returned
Twenty-five years after the Soviet Union’s perestroika reforms, Mikhail Gorbachev reflects on the repercussions of the social and economic policies he implemented and how the country has become stagnant again.
Wilson: Bingle is not fair game
Lara Bingle may have given the AFL a free kick in standing by its pin-up boy Brendan Fevola — but her “dubious scruples” don’t justify the AFL in taking it, says Caroline Wilson.
Grattan: Yes we can’t compare state and federal elections, but we will anyway
The soon-to-be-held Tassie and SA elections will have major implications for the upcoming federal election. Like, how will it impact Rudd’s negotiations with the states over hospitals? asks Michelle Grattan
leaked Possum: Wading through the leaked Qld polling
Possum Comitatus wades further into the leaked polling from the Queensland unions, finding the Bligh government’s privatisation plans could have some serious political consequences for Kevin Rudd at the federal election.
Milne: Gillard holds Rudd’s power in her hands
Expect NSW to be the major battleground for Kevin Rudd in the federal election, with internal rumblings weakening Rudd’s power. Julia Gillard brought NSW support to Rudd and she can take it away just as easily, writes Glenn Milne.
Inside SA Labor’s last supper
Michael Owen reports on the somber and pessimistic mood of ALP politicians at the big media and pollie schmooze at the V8 Clipsal motor race as they digest the idea of a hung parliament.
Penberthy: How SA got its groove back (but Rann lost his)
South Australia is booming, says David Penberthy: property prices are up, the resource industry is going strong and there are more cultural festivals than you can poke a stick at. Yet Mike Rann has still managed to bugger it up.
How Dubai cracked the Mossad assasination case
A fascinating look at how Dubai police used “a mixture of high-tech razzle-dazzle and old-fashioned investigative work” to identify the spies behind the now infamous assassination of a Hamas commander.
Film review: The Men Who Stare at Goats — WTF?
The Men Who Stare at Goats is a window into a strange-but-we-swear-it’s-sort-of-true world, where soldiers control minds, run through walls and telepathically murder animals. WTF? asks Luke Buckmaster.
Liberals take the lead in SA
The latest Galaxy poll has the SA Liberals take a 51-49 lead in the two-party preferred vote for Saturday’s neck-and-neck state election. William Bowe has all the numbers.
Organising the Obamas: the crucifixion of their social secretary
The Obama’s social secretary is a long time friend of theirs, Desirée Rogers. Which makes it even sadder as the Washington political pool sucks her in and spits her out for her flashy clothes and love of the ‘Obama brand’.
The madness of Marrakesh’s market
The main square in Marrakesh was a riot of colour and action, with street boxers, snake charmers, food and drink stalls and people speeding by on motorbikes, writes Amber Jamieson.
Vega: a bright star ahead of its time?
Vega, that contemporary music for older listeners station, has closed after four years and $158 million dollars in license fees. It’s a great concept, it just needed a few more years, says Camille Alarcon.
Do you have what it takes to be a billionaire?
You don’t have to be born into money to become a billionaire — but you do have to be born with the right kind of smarts and personality to make it big. Forbes has a blunt breakdown of what it really takes.
