In the age of web 2.0, we now demand an increasing level of transparency from our government and corporations — but we’re still not ready for our own lives to be so heavily scrutinised.
Articles by Ruth Brown 
Google vs. Stephen Conroy
Stephen Conroy is taking on internet giants Google and Facebook over their recent privacy breaches. But is he just capitalising on the public sentiment against the two companies to take the heat off his widely-panned internet filter plans?
Twitter does the Logies
For years, the Logie Awards were little more than a tedious tribute to cultural cringe. Then Twitter happened. We wrap the night, as seen through 140-character reports from insiders.
Will Rudd’s ETS woes go up in smoke?
Daily Media Wrap: Less than two days after Rudd’s ETS backflip, the government has pulled a sleight of hand: announcing it will introduce tough new laws for cigarette packets. Ta-da! Health is back on the national agenda.
The media flogs Williams’ bloody corpse
Drug trafficker and hitman Carl Williams met his bloody demise in prison yesterday. It’s the story that has it all: murder, celebrity crims, betrayal, police corruption… but just how far will the nation’s papers go in celebrating the life and death of a murderer?
The secret life of secret-holders WikiLeaks
Whistleblower website WikiLeaks has exploded onto the world’s media stage after releasing classified US military videos online last week. So just what — or who — is WikiLeaks? Where is it getting this stuff? And how does it get away with it?
KFC cooks up a deep-fried marketing win
KFC has released perhaps one of the most terrifying food-like products of all time: a double-cheese and bacon burger with fried chicken in place of a bun. And every food critic in America just had to try one.
Has Australia really banned small breasts?
The internet is buzzing with outrage over claims the Australian Government has banned the depiction of naked A-cup breasts in films in case it encourages pedophilia. Never let the truth get in the way of a good trending Twitter topic.
Media wrap: The iPad
It’s here: The new Apple e-Reader/tablet/giant iPhone that will single-handedly save the media, revolutionise news and make you a sandwich at the same time, has been unveiled. Is it worth the hype?
web exclusive Haiti: which celebs are putting their money where their over-botoxed mouths are?
Which celebs have gone beyond empty platitudes and actually ponied up some dosh for Haiti? And is the amount even a drop in the ocean of their epic bank accounts? Crikey investigates.
Wankley Awards: All the lazy best of the summer news
A salute to the best-of-the-worst articles being passed off as “newsworthy” by the Aussie media during this annual summer suckhole of no news, as submitted by Crikey readers.
News goes on holiday
It’s summer in Australia, and that means shark attacks, bushfires and new years resolutions spreads. Help Crikey name and shame some of the worst fluff the Aussie media is using to pad out column inches and air time.
Wankley Awards: And The Wankley goes to … a cracker story by AAP
This week’s coveted Wankley Award goes to AAP, for a searing investigation into Kevin Rudd’s afternoon tea, which involved a cappuccino and some carefully eaten pastries.
The world sees red over Hey Hey‘s blackface
Whilst reanimating the fetid corpse of Hey Hey it’s Saturday, the show’s producers decided to also revive some ol’ fashioned 20th century bigotry, by putting on a Minstrel Show. Pundits across the pond didn’t quite see the funny side.
A tale of two tablets
As Apple and Microsoft race to release their own tablet computers and get a foothold in the emerging e-Reader market, new leaks and rumours reveal what each party will be offering.
Where NOT to eat in NSW? There’s an app for that!
The NSW Food Authority has just updated its engrossing (and fairly gross) “Name and Shame” list — outing restaurants and cafes that have breached cleanliness and food handling laws. We taste a few of the highlights.
Yes, they really called it that: Vegemite’s new name unites the internet in contempt
Kraft has finally found a name for its “new version” of Vegemite. And it’s horrible.
Vegemite’s new name unites the internet in contempt
Kraft has finally found a name for its “new” Vegemite — and it’s so horrible, the entire internet has gone into snark meltdown.
In the battle of Johnston vs. Palin, the winner is Vanity Fair
America’s favourite redneck and former-future-son-in-law of Sarah Palin, Levi Johnston, has been making waves in the media with a candid interview for Vanity Fair. But the media is divided over whether his “expose” justice served or just sleaze.
Happy birthday, internets!
Just how does the internet celebrate its 40th birthday? By doing what the internet does best: whingeing about how shit it is.
At Stars and Stripes independent, investigative journalism soldiers on
America’s daily military paper Stars and Stripes has been doing some nice investigative journalism recently on the issue of censorship and embedded journalists in Afghanistan.
AP: enemy of freedom or just misunderstood?
The internet exploded in a storm of indignation with news that the Associated Press plans to digitally track and protect all its online content. But is the AP really the greedy News Nazi it’s being made out to be?
Branding Australian cities: pride of place or pointless PR?
Big news in Melbourne today: Mayor Robert Doyle has spent $240,000 on a new logo for the city. But is it any good? We compare and contrast with other city brands from around this wide brown land.
TIME’s top 25 blogs for 2009: the good, the bad, the inexplicable
TIME magazine has once again ranked named their most and least favourite blogs for the year. We take a look at who made the cut.
