Advice to wannabe writers: ignore all my previous adviceOnce upon a time, the advice New Yorker writer Susan Orlean gave to young journalists was pretty stock standard: move to a medium sized city, work at the local paper etc. But that won’t cut it anymore, writes Orlean.
September, 2010
The perils of filming in Afghanistan
Filmmaker Sonia Nassery Cole achieved a rare feat simply by shooting her feature The Black Tulip on location in Afghanistan. Cole grasped the severity of the challenge when militants tracked down her original leading lady and cut off both her feet.
Why Obama should re-watch The Godfather
Barack Obama once named The Godfather as his favourite film. Roger Alan Stone suggests why the US President might want to take heed of some of the “lessons” the story espouses, such as calling in favours and ensuring every deal has strings attached.
Crikey Clarifier: why is Fiji so unsafe?
The suicide of a Fijian man at Villawood detention centre is a sharp reminder that many Fijians are forced from their homeland as a result of long-standing political unrest. So just how unsafe is the island nation? Crikey intern Nick Johns-Wickberg asks Fijian expert Professor Brij V. Lal.
How researchers and journals fail their audiences: not disclosing conflicts
Beginning in 2013, the law requires pharmaceutical and device companies to disclose payments (including those made in kind) to doctors, writes Dr Lesley Russell, the Menzies Foundation Fellow at the Menzies Center for Health Policy.
2 deaths, 10 years, what have we learned?
The death of a 36-year-old Fiji detainee at Villawood detention centre bears disturbing similarities to the death a decade earlier of a Tongan man on the day he was due to be deportation from the Maribyrnong detention centre in Melbourne. Inga Ting reports.
What Australia can learn from Sri Lanka about ‘security’
The cream of Australia’s security establishment are gathering for their annual shindig, the “Safeguarding Australia Summit”, writes Jake Lynch, associate professor and director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney.
Rupert’s going to war … and he’s taking Blair with him
Rupert Murdoch, I hear, is on the phone again. He’s annoyed by the way the phone hacking scandal has been dealt with by James and his No.2, Rebekah Brooks, writes Michael Wolff .
Income inequality is increasing, so let’s stick it on the agenda
In all the discussions about health care reform, there has been so little about addressing the social determinants of ill-health, writes health economist Professor Gavin Mooney.
Kohler: can anything stop US deflation?
The US Fed has dramatically changed its language: it now says inflation is too low. No wonder the Federal Open Market Committee’s hand wringing has become more urgent, more fretful.
And then there were three waiting in the wings…
Call it the MIT Mafia, but there are now three senior officials at the Reserve Bank, including two leading candidates for the governorship, who all obtained their PhDs at the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in the US.
Adventures in anti-siphoning — politicians playing TV programmer
Anti-siphoning changes bring out the TV programmer in every politician. It seems this time around is no different.
The Media Monitors' Top 20: Coverage goes to the bovver boys
This week, the bovver boys of the respective Parties are the biggest movers.
Ketchup not sauce? Boo f–king hoo … here’s a language to lament
If only we Aussies weren’t all so overwhelmingly monolingual and realised that you can function happily knowing two or more languages, writes Greg Dickson of language blog Fully (Sic).
Guy Rundle: Rundle: Swede smell of success as Social Democrats collapse
The modest victory of the Sweden Democrats has gained the attention of the world media, but the real story was the further collapse in the Social Democrat vote.
Labor’s form on climate policy: what not to do next
If inroads are going to be made, Labor needs to show some backbone on carbon pricing and mitigation objectives, writes Andrew Macintosh, associate director of the ANU Centre for Climate Law and Policy.
Private contractor Serco escapes scrutiny in the detention debate
Effective mental health services, despite Immigration Department spokesman Sandi Logan saying they are first class, are sadly lacking because mandatory detention exacerbates trauma.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Harry Jenkins’ tubthumping
Crikey readers have their say on Chumbawamba, Labor and the unions and auction clearance rates.
Morning Market Report: Markets up, Aussie Dollar pushes past 95c
The Aussie dollar has continued its good run — now above 95c.
Media briefs: Paris and the RBA … #optusfail …
Nobody wants to hear about what Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens has to say, right? But what if you made some tenuous link with woman-about-town Paris Hilton, with accompanying illustration? Plus, other media news of the day.
Video of the Day: Making it with Mark
A chat with Mark Frauenfelder, editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine and a co-editor of Boing Boing, on creating a back-to-basics DIY lifestyle, full of keeping chickens, making furniture by hand and gardening.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours
No-fly zone. Word from a Customs employee is not to fly the first week in November … WorkCover bullying problems … Today’s front-page spread on WorkCover’s problems with internal bullying allegations is only the tip of the iceberg. There are other cases but the problem is systemic and it will take more than an independent […]
Daily Proposition: Read a sensitive artist’s portrait
Whether or not you are familiar with the work of Clarice Beckett, this sensitive novel about that talented young painter will captivate. Kabita Dhara reviews Kristel Thornell’s Night Street.
