It seems the ABC is no longer able to distinguish between a children’s program and an adult one. Plus, Uncle Rupert warns us to avert our eyes from the “digital dazzle”, Conon O’Brien creates a star and other media news of the day.
March, 2010
Media briefs: ABC takes kids’ TV prime time … Rupert wins praise
SA: raining votes but trust looks like an also-Rann
Water is one of the big issues in SA and every little nuance, even a raindrop, is calculated by each party in electoral terms. This is especially true because yesterday’s Newspoll puts both sides neck and neck, writes Hendrik Gout.
Battle of the narratives makes for distracting viewing
Yesterday’s Question Time was the battle of the narratives, with the government focusing most of its questions on health, and the Opposition doing likewise on parental leave.
Ten well-kept secrets about health in Australia
Dr Alex Wodak, president of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, offers 10 well-kept secrets about the state of health in Australia.
Revealed! The most dangerous man in South Australia
Michelle Chantelois’ ex-partner tells of the day he went after the SA Premier with a rolled up magazine: “the injury to his face was because I missed.”
Question without notice to Abbott: what about parental leave?
Questions for Tony Abbott: when the Government brings its parental leave legislation into Parliament, will you support it? Will coalition senators allow the legislation through, so women can plan their next year’s birth possibilities?
Political snippets: Labor need to go back to basics
Back to basics. The slogan is a sure-fire political winner. Plus, a former Labor Premier’s granddaughter gets excited about a funicular railway, when a tax is no longer a tax and other political snippets of the day.
The Media Monitors' Top 20: Abbott’s strange days in the sun
Will a Liberal leader bashing big business work the way Labor leaders bashing unions sometimes has? And will his own party be able to keep quiet all the way to the election? Strange days indeed.
Victorian patient facing three years of pain in surgery wait
A 52-year old Victorian man unable tie his shoes is facing an excruciating 3-year wait for spinal surgery at the Austin Hospital, after he was shunted on a secret waiting list for an outpatient appointment.
Guy Rundle: Rundle’s UK: Game on as Labour fights back in the polls
With eight weeks to go before the near-certain UK election date of May 6, there is panic in Tory ranks at the prospect of losing this one. Guy Rundle reports live from the ground.
This day in Crikey: Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Wednesday, March 10, 2004, It’s not all Iron Mark’s way, writes Hillary Bray.
Daily Proposition: The finest 28-year-old I’ve ever met
The 1953 Tahbilk marsanne was best thing to ever pass my lips, says Michael Vaughan. If he were a wine wanker, then he’d say it touched the palate like the tips of angel wings.
Holding their breath for Palm justice
This latest inquest into the death of Mulrunji Doomadgee is being watched by Indigenous people around the nation for one simple reason: it represents the best chance yet for justice over an Aboriginal death in custody.
Abbott needs to get his policy process in order
There are worrying signs that the Opposition’s policy process isn’t working well, particularly when Tony Abbott insists on doing things Rudd-style.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours: movement in the NSW ranks
Why has Kristina Kenneally suddenly developed a sort of New Zealand accent? Is she getting an accent makeover to sound more Aussie?
Crikey Says: A chance for justice at last in Palm Island inquest
When it comes to Palm Island, at least people are finally paying attention again to deaths of Aboriginal people in custody.
Palm Island inquest, parental leave panned, Abbott’s budgie smuggler diplomacy 
The new global middle class: they’re not like “us”
Developing countries are developing their own middle classes — but they’re not “liberal, democratic, market-friendly bastions not only of Western-style consumerism but also of political liberty” “we” might like them to be, says Newsweek.
How to fake a businesss district
The town of North Tyneside in England is a retail ghost town, full of empty and abandoned shops, but their solution to attracting new business is a stroke of genius: put up fake shopfronts to show what the town could be.
Why coffee in the office is more important than you might think
The choice and quality of coffee available in a workplace can have a big impact on employee morale and productivity — not to mention milk variety, sweeteners, clean cups…
The front cover photo that infuriated Washington Post readers
Which controversial photo on the front cover of the Washington Post would anger readers and cause 27 cancelled subscriptions? Apparently two men kissing was enough to freak out the US capital.
The transparent problems with see-through PCs
The latest gimmick in computers — see-through screens — has actually existed in the aviation industry for years, explains Ben Sandilands. But, impressive as it is, the technology poses some serious safety risks.
Toyota: oh, what a failure
With Toyota having recall after recall, yet still having issues with Sudden Unintended Acceleration, is it a surprise that consumers are so scared of new automobile technology? Glen Fuller explains.
Putting online translators to the test
The NYT pits Google’s new and improved translation tool against Yahoo Babel Fish, Microsoft Bing’s translator and a real-life human. Not bad. Not bad at all.
The story behind Spot the Dog
An audio slideshow of Eric Hill, the creator of beloved children’s book series Spot, and his drawing. The author explains how and why he created the popular puppy and Spot will ever actually grow up (he’s now 91, in dog years).
