Crikey

Q&A watch. As a public service, Crikey will each week subject questioners on ABC1’s Monday night gabfest Q&A to a rigorous Googling. This week’s winner is Kieran Morris, who threw a suspicious Dorothy Dixer Tony Abbott’s way from the Ultimo back benches:

TONY JONES: We’re going to go to Kieran Morris at the back.
KIERAN MORRIS: In the last week, we have seen a number of escapes from immigration detention centres. Even on one occasion, a detainee escaped whilst on a day trip to the Melbourne Aquarium. Is this another sign that under Kevin Rudd Australia has become a soft touch for illegal immigration? And what plans have you got to stop the flow of illegal boat people?

Abbott answered by claiming Labor’s “compassionate” approach to boat people had created a “product” for people smugglers to infiltrate the Australian mainland. Working beautifully, especially when some casual research reveals Kieran is not only committed supporter of NSW upper house hardliner David Clarke, but also runs the Tony Abbott Appreciation Society on Facebook.

Morris has previously taken a special interest in Abbott’s stance on population policy, posting his hearty congratulations over his party’s apparent commitment to “stand up to boat people”. Not surprisingly, Kieran’s Facebook profile includes a cosy picture of himself and his hero arm in arm.

In the wake of the debacle over Kevin Rudd’s grilling at the hands of undeclared Young Lib Angela Samuels,  Q&A management reportedly launched a valiant attempt to weed out partisan hacks from its studio audience. But last night wasn’t Kieran’s first appearance on Q&A. Last August, he appeared in the audience to lob a question at Christopher Pyne over the left’s “hypocrisy” on Stern Hu, channeling a line trotted out by Julie Bishop just days before. — Andrew Crook

Are Age readers more conservative than SMH readers? The debate over the sale of soft porn continues, after a group of child advocates, psychologists, academics and other experts called for a ban on its sale in newsagents and supermarkets. Two Fairfax websites polled their readers on the issue, but with rather different results. On The Age website, 48% of respondents agreed that ‘soft’ porn should be banned from sale in newsagents, milk bars and service stations. A similar poll on the SMH portal found only 32% of respondents would support a ban. — Crikey intern Elizabeth Redman

Finally, the iPad launches. More than 300,000 iPads have been sold on the device’s first day on the market, the New York Times reported. But analysts expected this figure would be even higher:

Because Apple is hoping to popularize a new kind of computing device, one that combines elements of a laptop and smartphone, acceptance among consumers is likely to be slower than with previous Apple devices, said Michael Abramsky, an analyst with RBC Capital.

“This device is the leading edge in a market that is still being created, so lots of folks are still trying to figure out the relevance of the iPad to them,” he said. “But given that not everyone understands what it does yet, it’s a pretty good launch at the end of the day.”

Some buyers may be waiting for future versions of the iPad, perhaps with a camera or other new features, Mr. Abramsky said. His firm had been expecting Apple to sell 300,000 to 400,000 iPads over the whole weekend.

The first reviews are mixed. The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg points out the iPad isn’t for everyone: “My verdict is that, while it has compromises and drawbacks, the iPad can indeed replace a laptop for most data communication, content consumption and even limited content creation, a lot of the time. But it all depends on how you use your computer.”

Meanwhile, Silicon Alley Insider praised the design: “The display is incredibly beautiful, and both text and graphics look very nice on it. Web pages are fun to zoom around. It’s zippy. And the battery life is more than enough. The iPad user interface — in some senses, a sized-up version of the iPhone, but with new techniques — was really done well. The natural textures, which grace the UI in a few places, are a nice touch.”  — Elizabeth Redman

ABC staff use lego for team-building exercise

“The ABC’s NSW director, Mike McClusky, has sent a memo to all staff, asking them to see the future of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in the form of Lego’s colourful plastic building blocks.” — The Australian

Will Twitter replace the White House journalists?

“Is the White House press corps teetering (possibly tweeting) on the brink of obsolescence? That is, are Twitter, Facebook and YouTube — to say nothing of slick video vignettes and candid shots of a triumphantly appealing President Obama on WhiteHouse.gov — poised to supplant the often-skeptical journalistic stylings of CBS, CNN, and The New York Times?” — The Daily Beast

AP tells staff: we’re investing in investigative journalism

“Today, AP is making a significant commitment to this kind of journalism by creating four regional investigative teams to complement our existing national and Washington-based investigative reporting operations.” —  PoynterOnline

How to deal with information overload

“According to one estimate, mankind created 150 exabytes (billion gigabytes) of data in 2005. This year, it will create 1,200 exabytes. That ‘s an eight-fold increase in the global generation of data in five years.” — Huffington Post

Surfing journalism not just about dreams

“So what happens when the dream is shattered, as it was recently by the alleged racism of a popular world champion, or, to take two other examples from recent years, a former world champion dropping off the tour allegedly to go into drug rehab, or an influential photo-journalist being kicked off the tour for life for repeated sexual misconduct?” — The Australian