Eddie Murphy has quit as host of next year’s Oscars ceremony a day after the show’s producer, director Brett “rehearsal’s for fags” Ratner, stood down after a series of controversial slurs. The Academy is now in crisis mode, reports Luke Buckmaster.
November, 2011
The first Newspoll since the NSW election
Barry O’Farrell’s debut Newspoll net approval score as Premier is plus 29 (53% satisfied, 24% dissatisfied), which was exactly what Bob Carr achieved in his first poll as Premier in 1995, writes William Bowe.
Farewell Big Harto: News Ltd CEO John Hartigan resigns
Rupert Murdoch has delivered a savage verdict on the health of his Australian operation, with veteran News Ltd CEO John Hartigan stepping aside and Rupert taking the company’s chairmanship for himself.
Brett “rehearsal’s for fags” Ratner steps down as Oscars producer
Oscars ceremony producer Brett Rattner, director of the Rush Hour movies, has stepped down from the job after a series of embarrassing gaffes, reports Luke Buckmaster.
The quality journalism project: researching Bill Birnbauer
Investigative journalist Bill Birnbauer’s CV is an intimidating one. The journo with over 30 years experience at The Age and The Sunday Age is the latest expert in Crikey’s quality journalism project.
Media inquiry: why we need greater self-regulation than US, UK
Australia has a greater need for a robust and effective system of media self-regulation, writes Michael Smith, former Fairfax editor and former member of the Australian Press Council.
Real estate wars: Fairfax set to buy back half of Catalano’s Weekly Review?
Rumours are swirling this morning that Antony Catalano’s trailblazing Melbourne property glossy the Weekly Review has been negotiating with Fairfax Media to sell half the publication for between $35 and $40 million, with Catalano slated to return to the company he called home for 18 years.
Simons: Disney defends Press Council on day two of inquiry
The likelihood of a strong move to discourage abusive online comments threads in mainstream media outlets emerged at the media inquiry today, with inquiry head Ray Finkelstein and Australian Press Council Chair Julian Disney agreeing they were damaging to democracy and freedom of speech.
Locking in a surplus with the carbon price pea-and-thimble trick
Forgetting cutting emissions - the carbon price package has a shorter term benefit for the government. There’s one minister relieved that the carbon pricing package is locked in, and not for anything to do with emissions abatement.
Peter Costello confesses: a lesson in revisionism and politicking
There is a terrific piece of rhetoric from Peter Costello today at Fairfax. It is a must read in terms of historical revisionism and politicking, writes David Llewellyn-Smith on Houses and Holes on Macro Business Superblog.
Possum: how Australian pollsters lean
We can never really tell if any pollster delivers results that are actually higher or lower for a party than other pollsters, because we just don’t have elections every week to determine the true state of public opinion.
Guy Rundle: New PM in Italy, but not yet; new PM in Greece, but not yet …
Europe remains — wait for it wait for it — yes, in crisis today, with the announcement that Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi will resign — but not yet, and announcements that Greece will soon announce a new prime minister and Cabinet — but not yet.
The long tradition of union ‘interference’
Advocates of IR reform claim unions traditionally haven’t been allowed to “interfere” in issues such as contracting out. Wrong.
Hi ho, Silvio, away … for isolated Berlusconi, it’s the end
Silvio Berlusconi’s once formidable majority was in disarray and he had failed to win back several disillusioned loyalists who publicly abandoned him, writes Jo McKenna, a Rome-based freelance journalist.
Crikey Clarifier: Crikey Clarifier: what is involuntary manslaughter?
After a lengthy trial, Dr Conrad Murray has been sentenced with committing the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson. But what’s the difference between voluntary and involuntary, asks Harrison Polites?
‘Bali boy’ in grubby TV rights deal: are Nine’s cameras ready to roll?
Has the Nine Network opened its chequebook for the family of the now infamous “Bali boy”? The agent and the network aren’t talking, but network rivals insist it’s been done.
The Power Index: digital deities, Deloitte’s Damien Tampling at #8
Great ideas, big ambitions and wads of cash have made digital media a deal-maker’s delight. And Damien Tampling, Deloitte’s youngest ever partner, is the go-to guy for getting handshakes made across the industry. Sure, he gets much of his power from a powerful and well-resourced organisation, but Damo’s influence also comes down to his reputation […]
Anyone for cricket? Apparently not sponsors for the Big Bash
The majority — if not all — of the Big Bash League teams have been unable to secure sponsors for Cricket Australia’s hyped Twenty20 competition beginning next month, writes Crikey intern Alexander Cornwell.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Media diversity rests with advertisers
The federal government’s media inquiry: Brian Mitchell writes: Re. “Media inquiry: ‘marketplace of ideas’ not working that well” (yesterday, item 3). Robert Manne et al miss the point, as usual, when it comes to diversity in the media. The battle to increase media diversity rests not with editorial, but with advertising. To get more real […]
Morning Market Report: Markets respond positively to Berlusconi resigning
The big news overnight was Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi saying he will resign after the new budget measures currently making their way through parliament is approved.
Media briefs: Oz goes for gold … NotW stalked Harry Potter … Nine for sale? …
The Australian goes for gold … News of the World paid me to follow 90 people, claims private detective … Phone hacking: Tom Crone admits ‘incorrect’ evidence … Nine Entertainment Co “set for assets fire sale” and more …
The Media Monitors' Top 20: Greens make the headlines with carbon tax-mania
The passing of the carbon tax saw the Government and Greens battling each other once again to take all the credit.
Power Shots: Power Shots: NotW scandal deepens … Megaphone Watch … what’s Rupert up to? …
NotW hearing to test Rupert’s would-be heir. Yet more startling revelations in the News of the World scandal overnight, with a BBC report revealing “industrial-scale” surveillance by Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid over an eight-year period. The latest claims — partially admitted by News — come from ex-policeman Derek Webb, who carried out covert surveillance between 2003 and 2011 on 100 […]
Political snippets: Improved consumer sentiment is good news for Gilllard
The Westpac/Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment perhaps provides a clue as to why Labor has been improving its standings in the recent opinion polls.
