Our parents used to tell us we’d have nightmares if we watched scary TV straight before bed. If that’s so, clearly many Australians shouldn’t have been watching last night’s Q & A.
Articles by Mel Campbell 
About Mel Campbell
Melbourne journalist and editor of The Enthusiast, an Australian online magazine of culture and entertainment.
Norgs meet nationalism at the Miss Universe pageant
Like the similarly utopian Olympic Games, Eurovision Song Contest and World’s Fairs, the Miss Universe pageant is explicitly set up as a carnival of national virtue on the international stage.
What is excellence in online journalism?
It seems to me that winning an online Walkey requires the creation of a complex web of multimedia elements that scrutinise a single issue from a variety of angles, says Mel Campbell.
Getting sourcey: time to apply ethical standards to ‘bad’ journalism
Many journalists lean too heavily on PR. Surely the excitement of using your own brain to uncover fresh information is the right reason to work in the industry, right?
Hey Bettina Arndt: fertility isn’t a short-odds gamble
Bettina Arnd has proved herself to be just a nutty reactionary who likes to criticise women for not adhering to submissive gender roles, and to blame them for any unhappiness in their intimate lives.
Daily Proposition: Get crafty, and the Force will be with you
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, the Force was strong with craftspeople. Here’s some fun, easy projects floating around the internet, like objects in the air under a Jedi’s mental control.
Midwinter Ball red carpet special: fashions on the hill
After last year’s colourful train wrecks, it seems black, ruffles and old-fashioned glamour were the order of the evening for the Midwinter Ball. With not a fedora in sight.
I couldn’t help but wonder … how much booze makes SATC2 enjoyable?
The Sex and the City franchise has become decidedly uncool — the pleasure lies in anticipating the next catty, bilious review. They’re well deserved, says Mel Campbell from the red carpet.
Daily Proposition: Watch the original sexed-up vampire series
So you like vampires. Well, forget your wimpy Twilight crap. Forget Daylight, Blade, True Blood or even Buffy. Kindred: The Embraced, a cult TV series from 1996, sexed up vampires first.
When online media outlets pay peanuts, they get monkeys
Freelancers are increasingly waking up to realise that if their work is good enough for a commercial outlet, they deserve to be paid.
‘Miaow, Prime Minister’: the bureaucats of Downing Street
As David Cameron prepares to move into No.10 Downing Street, a vastly more important British civil service post has yet to be filled: the resident Downing Street cat. It has strong historical significance.
Daily Proposition: Become the monarch of lame jokes
You don’t have to be a dad to take pride in telling lame jokes. Today, add some joy to your life and learn some terrible gags to impress your family, friends and colleagues!
The forgotten heroes of war. An Anzac Day special
The Anzac legacy is a contentious one, but if there’s one aspect of war we can all agree on, it’s that military animals — goats, elephants, dolphins and bear cubs! — are pretty adorable, writes Mel Campbell.
Daily Proposition: If today’s giving you lemons … make lemonade
Make the most of the last sunny (or not-so-sunny, if you’re drowning in Melbourne) with these homemade lemonade recipes.
Daily Proposition: Fold the perfect paper plane
What are you doing tonight? How about making paper fly? An activity only improved when you’re three sheets to the wind.
Daily Proposition: Get your Zoolander on with a homemade frappé
So it’s stinking hot outside and you need an after-work pick-me-up. Well, you know what really cheers up male supermodel Derek Zoolander? Orange mocha frappuccinos!
The Yaris end of social media
For a company that trades on a ‘feeling’, Toyota does not seem to care about goodwill when it comes to their latest user-generated Yaris commercial. But is it all just a punk on social media and the advertising industry?
There’s a party in my pants
The Australian Sex Party has exploded onto the political sphere, thanks to getting over 3% of votes in both the Higgins and Bradfield byelections. And they aren’t just dirty sexy fun, writes Mel Campbell.
The perils of political photo spreads
Julia Gillard has posed for a Yuletide photo shoot for Women’s Weekly. Compared to previous politicians’ experiences, she got off very lightly.
Offensive Halloween costumes: a Crikey round-up
Halloween is around the corner and there are plenty of racist, sexist and grotesque costumes to pick from. While traditional Halloween imagery revolves around death and monstrosity, there’s often also a suspension of ordinary morality.
Pink bits: the absurd world of gendered consumer products
Marketers have never abandoned the idea that men and women require their own ‘special’ products. Women’s products are often tinted pink and advertised with cuddly names and breathy female voiceovers. Insulting much?
Will Godwin’s Law finally bring down Kyle Sandilands?
Sorry Kyle, it’s Godwin’s Law. The minute you invoke the Nazis, your salad days as a shock jock are over.
Newsreader fashion: a Crikey field guide
Have you ever sent forlorn tweets about Ali Moore’s cravat into the ether? Well, feel alone no longer. Mel Campbellprovides a semi-definitive guide to the sartorial language of news and current affairs.
