New allegations have emerged on just how insidious phone tapping was at the News of the World, as one of News Limited’s senior Australian lieutenants suggests editors should have known the practice was going on.
February, 2011
Egypt will feel the pain of BBC’s job cuts
The BBC apparently plans to cease evening radio broadcasts in Arabic, and to cut 650 jobs over the next three years, writes Alex Oliver, of The Interpreter website.
Phones are down, but ‘all is well on Palm’, says Premier Bligh
“All is well on Palm,” said Premier Anna Bligh at a recent press conference, referring to concerns over residents of Palm Island after cyclone Yasi. “Well” means property damage, roofs off, power shortages and phones down, but also, thankfully no reported deaths or serious injuries.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Yasi & floods: it’s time to take a stand against climate change
Crikey readers have their say.
Morning Market Report: Markets up as Yasi clean up begins
We wake up to Anna Bligh’s “Tremendous relief” over tropical cyclone Yasi. Insurance stocks bouncing.
Political snippets: A damning report in polite language
The report of the Commonwealth Ombudsman into the Christmas Island detention centre naturally enough was largely hidden from the public by the coverage of Cyclone Yasi.
Video of the Day: Sign-sational boogie time
It’s sign language as you’ve never seen it before: a student performing Cee Lo Green’s F-ck You for her sign language class. We hope she got an A.
Natural Disasters and You! A Crikey Guide
Due to technical issues here is a larger version of this cartoon…
Daily Proposition: Skip rush hour — walk home
If you live within seven kilometres of the city, just go straight from work. If you live further out, get off your public transport 5-6 kilometres from home and hoof it the rest of the way. Walking to and from work is much better than spending half an hour stuck under a faceless armpit on the train, writes Crikey reader Hannah Pick.
Abbott buggered up his anti-flood levy campaign
By taking an unpopular decision on the flood levy, Labor appears to have wrongfooted Tony Abbott.
Media briefs: Countdown to terror … Nine on Ten …
Scared by cyclone Yasi? Australia’s news websites provided good reason to be by 3:30pm AEST yesterday afternoon. Plus, the first look at News Corp’s The Daily and other media news from around the globe.
Thorpe back in the swim, but drinks business still treading water
Champion swimmer Ian Thorpe has denied his return to competitive swimming is being driven by money, but there is no denying at least one of his business interests has struggled since the swimmer went into retirement in 2006.
Crikey Says: Watch this app
There are easier ways to make a fistful of dollars. The Daily isn’t it. Given the recent stats on iPad app sales, no one could seriously believe it’s just the money.
Apple versus the e-book industry
Apple appear set to aggressively respond to the universal functions of Google and Amazon e-books by requiring sellers to go through iTunes instead of apps, which means Steve Jobs and co. will gobble up 30% of their earnings, reports Farhad Manjoo.
Making an icy story difficult to tell
Global warming is a difficult story tell in the mainstream media. The northern hemisphere fits in easily enough with the simple truth. Ice in the Arctic is declining at 3.5% per decade. It is the southern hemisphere that makes it complicated to explain, writes Richard Farmer.
James Franco to teach how to make documentaries about James Franco
James Franco, who was nominated for an Oscar and will also co-host this year’s ceremony, is set to collaborate with Columbia College for a bizarre project in which he will teach students how to make documentaries about…himself.
Funny and smart: Making News by Tony Wilson
Former professional AFL player, author and columnist Tony Wilson takes the “write what you know” adage to heart, with an intelligent and witty Ben Eltonesque tale of retired soccer playing and aspiring author in his latest book Making News, writes Lisa Down.
egypt protests 
The Guardian’s Egypt protests live blog
The Guardian have compiled an extensive live blog of the latest riot in Egypt, mixing regular updates with video footage, audio files, Tweets, quotes, emails and summaries.
The Televised Revolution podcast
This week’s Televised Revolution podcast takes a brief hiatus from the panel format to bring you interviews with David Taylor from Playmaker Media and Nathan Mayfield from Hoodlum, producers of new Foxtel show SLiDE.
Storm chasers await the eye of Yasi
As Yasi bears down on North Queensland, there are some people defying emergency advice and charging headfirst into the enormous storm system, rather than away. Crikey talks to the Yasi chasers.
The aftermath of Yasi
The full impact of cyclone Yasi will be revealed this morning, as north Queensland wakes up to examine the aftermath of a category five cyclone. Initial reports indicate damage isn’t as bad as originally feared, but thousands have been left homeless.
egypt protests 
Bombs, blood and mayhem in Tahrir as protests rage on
Al Jazeera has painted a scene of violence and bedlam in Tahrir Square, the centre of ongoing protests against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. In the latest mass demonstration one person has been killed and more than 600 injured.
Palm Island ex-mayor: ‘QLD has abandoned us’
Palm Island residents are fearing for the worst from cyclone Yasi. Crikey spoke to former Palm Island mayor Robert Blackley who said: “People are woefully unprepared. The state of Queensland has abandoned us.”
