A new committee is being set up to pursue equal rights for women writers in Australia. There are many books written and published by women – it’s just perception that’s the problem, writes Angela Meyer.
May, 2011
infographic 
Prison food vs cafeteria food
Thanks to Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, we’re aware that cafeteria food in US schools aren’t the most nutritious meals. But how do they compare when slopped alongside prison food?
The (faulty) formula for hit TV shows
Every year TV network executives pick and choose out of hundreds of pitches, and the subsequent ‘successful’ shows almost always fail. Amy Chozick explains how things go right…and wrong.
Facebook busted trying to smear Google
Facebook recently hired a PR agent who has been quietly encouraging journos and bloggers to write anti-Google stories questioning whether Google’s new social media strategy violates people’s privacy.
Online news readers: where they come from and where they go
Understanding the navigational habits of news website readers is crucial to the future of journalism. Here are some findings from a Pew Research Centre study of 25 major sites.
comedy 
First impressions of Angry Boys
Comedian Chris Lilley returned to Australian TV screens this week in his highly anticipated new show Angry Boys. He’s still in form but Lilley’s wow factor has faded a little, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Front seat witnesses to political history
Driving politicians around may not be the most exciting job, but every once in a while ministerial drivers find themselves witnessing pivotal moments in political history, writes Giles Edwards and Ben Wright.
Ahmadinejad in the crosshairs of political assassination
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s dismissal of his intelligence minister has caused a high profile spat with supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Conservatives are seizing the opportunity to try and seal Ahmadinejad’s fate, writes Geneive Abdo.
Holmes: FoI doesn’t mean freedom to spice up the facts
Just because Freedom of Information requests cost lots of money and time, doesn’t mean that journalists should give in to temptation and beat up the facts to make the story ‘worth’ the effort, writes Jonathan Holmes.
Abbott’s pitches to the “forgotten
families”
Crikey media wrap: Opposition leader Tony Abbott summoned the ghost of Liberal great Robert Menzies in his budget reply speech last night.
On ya ABS: keep the trends a-comin’
The ABS goes to great trouble to provide trend figures for major statistical series, and the value of this exercise was again highlighted with the release of the figures for employment and unemployment in April, writes Richard Farmer.
Slide night: baby elephants take a bath
Opened in 1975, Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage is now Sri Lanka’s best known and most popular tourist destination. Crikey reader Beryce Nelson was there, taking happy snaps for Back in a Bit’s ‘slide night.’
Mildura council bombshell: what will Karl Stefanovic say this time?
Gold Logie winner Karl Stefanovic copped plenty of flak when he declared that his wife, Cassandra Thorburn, has the “best arse I have ever seen”. Karl doesn’t mind talking frankly about the Thorburn family…
Budget: spending pledges need to be backed with hard evidence
Given the salubrious set of economic circumstances the government faces , this was a shamefully loose budget, writes Adam Creighton, research fellow (economics program) at the Centre for Independent Studies.
Job numbers take a sharp tumble
So what will the “Rate Rise Looms” mob do with the April labour force data, which showed there was a sharp fall in job numbers created last month?
Why Labor now owns middle class welfare
Labor inherited middle class welfare from John Howard, but it has nourished the entitlement mentality. Don’t households earning over $100,000 and receiving benefits deserve the “bludgers” tag?
Qantas looking to fill the ‘can’t stand Jetstar’ gap
Qantas is now working on a low-cost yet high-quality Asia-based, single-aisle airline for those travellers who can’t tolerate low-quality, low-fare Jetstar.
Maley: QE3 or bust, warns US funds manager
The Fed’s policy, says US funds manager Jeremy Grantham, holds an implicit promise to speculators that they’ll be bailed out in the third and fourth year of the presidential cycle, writes Karen Maley.
Photoshopping the news … send in the clones
The camera may never lie, but Photoshop can tell some outrageous porkies.
Banks, on IT, enough with the excuses
NAB, and as was revealed last week, Westpac, are loath to cut over to disaster-recovery mode, writes Charis Palmer.
Deaths in custody: in safe, monitored rooms prisoners still hang
The deaths of prisoners in cells specifically designed to prevent self harm raises doubts about supervision and monitoring practices in NSW prisons, reports Inga Ting.
