News.com.au editor David Penberthy has offered an unconventional response to critics of News Limited: they can go start their own paper, reports Jeremy Sear.
November, 2011
On the death of Google +
Google only launched its social network Google + in June, but is it already dead? Forty million people joined, but Google failed to provide a credible alternative to Facebook, argues Farhad Manjoo.
film reviews 
Moneyball — a home run for Bennett Miller and Brad Pitt
Capote director Bennett Miller demonstrates how to take a potentially cheese-ridden real life sports story and turn it into a sharp and compelling drama, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Rohan Lund: Yahoo!7′s man at the top is on the acquisition hunt
Yahoo!7’s lawyer turned digital chief can build a new platform and perform a swift deal – all while convincing two different shareholder groups that it’s a good idea, writes Angela Priestley.
Clarence by-election: Barry O’Farrell’s first electoral test
Eight months after its resounding state election victory, Barry O’Farrell’s government faces its first electoral test next Saturday with a by-election in the north coast seat of Clarence. The Nationals are the clear favourite, writes William Bowe.
Nielsen: strong improvement for Gillard, modest for Labor
The latest Nielsen poll has Julia Gillard’s personal ratings up six points on approval and down five points on disapproval but Labor’s primary vote — 32 percent — is still dreadful, reports William Bowe.
A candid conversation with Bob Dylan (the painter)
Aside from being arguably the most acclaimed songwriter of the 20th century, Bob Dylan is also a painter. In this candid interview with John Elderfield Dylan discusses painting techniques, films of the 50s, miniature golf courses and more.
Feeney: why I support a conscience vote on gay marriage
I have been particularly struck by the testimony of same-sex couples about their desire to see their relationships treated with the same dignity and respect as heterosexual relationships, writes David Feeney, Labor Senator for Victoria.
Stewart grilled over sources in Artz case, but won’t have a bar of it
Amid a torrid exchange between The Australian’s Cameron Stewart and Bill Stuart, for Artz, Stuart repeatedly pressed the journalist to broadly disclose his sources among Australia’s key counter-terrorism agencies.
News International: no mafiosi, just a regular corporation
The ability of corporations to evade responsibility for their actions is central to modern corporate governance.
John B Fairfax stops the bleeding
News that Fairfax family elder John B. Fairfax and his family interests have sold the vast majority of their stake in publishing giant Fairfax Media have been met with predictable headlines this morning.
Media power shifts: watch for a Stokes move on Fairfax
Control of Fairfax Media’s sprawling newspaper, online and radio operations is suddenly available for as little as $500 million.
Sideshow Alley: Barnaby Joyce on wind chimes and Angelina Jolie
Bye bye Australia, bye bye Newcastle, every time you turn a power point on, you’ll all be eaten alive by zombie carbon monsters springing from dishwashers across the nation…
JB Fairfax, flick go the shares, while masthead editors in power struggle
The internal machinations at Fairfax and News Limited surely tell us that we live in an age where the newspaper business is increasingly devoid of sentiment.
How lipgloss-smeared Albo got Dolly’s motor running
Dolly was busting out. Her bus was too big, our roads were too small, her tour was at risk of deflating. Now Parton will meet the man who made it happen — transport minister Anthony Albanese, writes Harrison Polites.
Maley: feuding over a French firewall
Tensions between Paris and Berlin are set to flare, as fears grow that the flames of the debt crisis now engulfing Italy could soon spread to Belgium and France.
Black, white and read all over … not so say circulation figures
The latest metropolitan newspaper circulation figures provide the newbie CEOs at News Ltd and especially Fairfax Media with their biggest and most important tests.
Cox: wheels slowly in motion for equal pay for women
Even if a rise is granted, it will be phased in over six years and not apparently starting until December next year. While this seems reasonable, the slowness again exploits the goodwill of a sector of powerless workers.
James Murdoch escapes, but leaves many hostages
News International chair James Murdoch is either a liar or an utterly incompetent executive. Those are the only two conclusions you can take away from his evidence to the House of Commons select committee.
The Power Index: digital deities, Aunty’s innovation leader at #7
Abigail Thomas leads the crack team at the ABC that gives Mark Scott his glory strategy. It’s in her office that the broadcaster’s digital media ideas are first conceived, and where the commercial networks would love to plant a spy camera. “The ABC is really influential, they inspire others, they show other people what can be done,” says John […]
Power Shots: Power Shots: ‘Mafia boss’ Murdoch … Aunty’s digital ideas … is Alan Jones the answer? …
Nil-nil: ‘Mafia boss’ Murdoch convinces no one. James Murdoch utterly failed to convince British MPs last night that he is telling the truth about the News of the World phone hacking scandal. But neither did he run up the white flag, accept he’d lied to parliament or admit he’d been caught red-handed. So I guess […]
Video of the Day: Mexico’s War on Drugs turns families into investigators
In this moving four minute mini doco, Human Rights Watch investigators talk to families in Mexico who, without support from police or authorities, become their own investigators in order to gather information about lost loved ones killed in the War on Drugs.
