There are clear signs in today’s media that Melbourne is getting closer to playing its airport-rail corridor cards. It needs to plan wisely from the start, warns Ben Sandilands.
September, 2010
Showmanship and politics: Jon Stewart’s influence on America
After the ripe for parody presidency of George W. Bush, some American commentators predicted comics like Jon Stewart would struggle for material. But Stewart’s savvy shtick remains a powerful mass media force in the US, according to a new profile from New York Magazine.
French tears and Japan’s judo chopping triumphs
At the world judo championships in Tokyo, burly Frenchman Teddy Riner shed a tear or two after narrowly missing out on making the history books. Japan once again dominated the dojo, chalking up a record 10 gold medals.
Hartcher: The one day wonder of the Robb challenge
For about three seconds there, Andrew Robb planned to challenge Julie Bishop for the role of Liberal deputy, as revenge to Joe Hockey. Peter Hartcher reveals how it all fell apart.
All-Australian, all right, apart from one small sin
The AFL’s All-Australian 2010 team is a decent crew with a large smattering of Collingwood and Geelong players. But there was one glaring omission: Saints star Lenny Hayes didn’t get picked.
How Live YouTube can be a success
This week YouTube furthers its experiments in live streaming for third party providers. According to PC World’s Jared Newman there are four key things required for it to succeed: major content, interactivity, brand awareness and reliability.
McKew: Sydney needs to be saved, and this is how
Dick Smith is one of many Australians advocating a “shrink Australia” attitude which may constrain the potential of cities like Sydney. Sydney doesn’t need tight population control - it needs to be redesigned and re-imagined, says Maxine McKew.
revealed 
The book the Pentagon doesn’t want you to read
A former US spy’s memoir revealing the poor handling of the Afghanistan War and how the US military stuffed it up, called Operation Dark Heart, is so damaging to the Pentagon that it is buying all 10,000 copies in order to pulp them.
Grattan: Gillard’s shuffle stumble
Gillard, the so called education PM, screwed up the Education portfolio by dividing into three parts. The symbolic ramifications of this are immense, writes Michelle Grattan
Catholic sex scandals: how much does the Pope really know?
Pope Benedict XVI will arrive in Britain this week well aware that the Catholic church’s reputation has again been badly tarnished by priest sex scandals. Victims are calling for an official apology from the top, but how much does Benedict really know? BBC’s Panorama investigates.
Oprah heads to Oz
Talkshow queen Oprah is heading down under, bringing 300 members of her audience to Sydney as part of a Tourism Australia promo. Watch Oprah give her audience the big news (get ready for the screaming).
Islamophobia, Talibanization and lessons learnt from the US mosque debate
Is American Islamophobic? The question is perhaps more pertinent than ever in the wake of the Ground Zero / Quran-burning mosque debate. Viewed from afar, it appears as if the US is going through a kind of “Talibanization,” writes Mosharraf Zaidi.
A different opinion on gay zombie porn
Cinetology reviewer Luke Buckmaster wasn’t taken in by director Bruce LaBruce’s controversial gay zombie flick LA Zombie, but one of his readers was. Here is a different opinion on the film’s merits (or lack thereof).
Shanahan: Voters back the independents
The latest Newspoll vilifies the independents’ decision to back a Gillard government, because a Abbott government would have headed back to the polls quicker. But Gillard isn’t expected to last a full term, writes Dennis Shanahan.
Is this a solution to the “Timor solution?”
Julia Gillard’s “Timor solution” has attracted much scrutiny, but her proposal to build an asylum seeker processing centre in East Timor has been buoyed with the news that a possible location has been found and official talks are reportedly set to begin shortly.
Newspoll: 50-50
The Australian offers a surprise Newspoll with the two party preferred vote neck and neck, exactly where their (accurate) pre-election poll had it: 50-50, writes William Bowe.
Zuckberg: the private person making everything public
Mark Zuckberg is a leader in information being freely banded about online but personally he is pretty low key and now there is a movie made about him, without his own creative control. Jose Antonio Vargas interviews the elusive Facebook founder to see what he makes of it all.
“As Prime Minister, I…
Julia Gillard is leader of the ALP, first female PM, ready to stamp her authority on the position, etc. Does she need to constantly state and re-state that she is the captain? asks Shakira Hussein.
The best CEOs are like toddlers
Greedy, full of energy, say “No! Mine! regularly and are prone to throw tantrums: the cream of the CEO crop are like a bunch of sooky three-year olds, says Lucy Kellaway.
New political reporting … it’s facts, not fads, that really matter
So what might a new paradigm of political reporting look like? For one thing, it would involve a revival of the old paradigm — that facts matter and it is a journalists’ job to dig them out.
Melb Uni slammed for “greedy”,”myopic” fee for Year 12 maths students
The University of Melbourne’s extension program for gifted high school students is in crisis after some of Victoria’s leading maths teachers withdrew their support over a proposed $800 fee charged to pupils.
Essential: Liberal voters unhappy with outcome — really unhappy
The Coalition has slightly strengthened its primary vote to pull the parties back to level pegging on two-party preferred support, compared to 51:49 last week, according to today’s Essential Research poll.
Kohler: reform is the loser under Gillard ministry
There is no reason to think the ministry announced on Saturday will be a reforming one, says Alan Kohler. The election result clarified that the opponents of reform — that is, economic modernisation resulting in greater productivity — are ascendant.
Next stop, the Darwin Airport Motel: home to 150 asylum seeker teens
There are around 150 boys aged 14 to 17 currently locked up in the Darwin Airport Motel who have not left the building since April. Pamela Curr went to visit them.
Rudd’s East Timor challenge
New Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd will know there won’t be any quick or easy “East Timor solution”, and there may not be one at all. So what will he do?
