Why I quit my job as a national newspaper editor to be a bloggerWhy would any self-respecting journo leave their job as an editor at one of the US’s largest national newspapers, the LA Times to work for media gossip site Gawker? To be part of the nation’s “cultural conversation”.
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From stone throwing kids to online activists: the e-Palestine movement
Palestinians have figured out one the most effective methods of mobilising the youth: bringing their activism online. They foster an international diaspora and avoid the traditional Hamas and Fatah tensions and talk in chat rooms. Can they mimic the success of Obama’s online campaign?
The blockage in our skilled migration pipeline
Tens of thousands of highly skilled would-be migrants are living in Australia, unable to contribute their skills to the country’s labour force due to bureaucracy and bad policy. The government happily accepts their application fees, but offers little in return.
How we’re still stuck in a Berlin Wall mindset
East and West Germany were the ultimate economic science experiments, a government controlled economy next to a free market, the free market emerging victorious. But is this black and white look at economics what got us into this GFC mess?
The great atheist debate
Is there an atheist schism? Ophelia Benson explores the different disagreements amongst atheists, from those who just want to not believe and shut up and those who wish to preach the atheist movement. Is there an ironic war brewing?
Memo PM: how to solve the asylum crisis, more trouble at Melbourne Uni, Rundle on Kelly 
No sex education in China = 13 million abortions
A new found sexual liberalism is occurring behind closed doors and under the sheets of students in China. Unfortunately, sex education hasn’t developed as quickly, resulting in a whopping 13 million registered abortions every year.
Why Murdoch wants to destroy the NY Times
News Corp’s Wall Street Journal is stepping-up its New York coverage, and it’s all part of Rupert Murdoch’s single-minded plan to strike a massive blow against the liberal world by buying-out or destroying the NYT, says Michael Wolff.
Classic Crikey presser: Tasmanians unite to free Jason Krejza
Is this Crikey’s funniest ever press release? Join Concerned Tasmanians for Jason Krejza (CT4JK), a lobby group aimed at getting Tassie spin bowler Jason Krejza selected for the Aussie side.
How Bligh blew the QLD premiership
Just eight months after Anna Bligh was elected QLD premier, voter satisfaction has dropped to just 30%, thanks to privatisation of state assets, broken election promises and scrapping petrol subsides. Is her decline terminal? asks Cosima Marriner.
Google’s next target: Facebook
Google is making moves into the social networking world with a bunch of improvements to its Friend Connect feature. It’s a blatant “declaration of war” on Facebook, says Douglas Rushkoff, and one Google will most likely win.
Why newspapers act like political parties
British PM Gordon Brown has hit out at The Sun newspaper for trying to “become a political party”. Where has Gordon Brown been living all his life? asks Roy Greenslade: newspapers have been acting like political parties for more than a century.
Why increased worker productivity is bad for the economy
Worker productivity in the US has jumped dramatically by 9.5% in the last quarter. Employees working harder for less hours, just what the boss wants in a recession, right? Except, morale is down, productivity isn’t sustainable and workers are simply covering their colleagues who’ve been fired.
The untold story behind the words that rocked the Obama campaign
Barack Obama’s notorious campaign remark in that “bitter” Pennsylvania blue-collar voters “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them” was almost his undoing. Mayhill Fowler provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes insight into why he said what he did.
New York Times: Australia fears boat people from Asia
How does the world view Australians following to our treatment of refugees? Here’s the New York Times’s take: “Australia Puts Its Refugee Problem on a Remote Island, Behind Razor Wire”. Super.
Former UK ambassador: CIA sent people to be “raped with broken bottles” in Uzbekistan
The former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan claims the CIA sent terror suspects to the country as part of its extraordinary rendition program, where they were “raped with broken bottles” and were forced to watch their children tortured in front of them, to gather intelligence.
Steve Jobs named CEO of the Decade
Fortune has named Apple honcho Steve Jobs as its CEO of the Decade, and has gone all-out in its celebration of all-thing-Steve. Here’s the interactive timeline, celebrity tributes and the obligatory photo gallery.
Kerr: Rudd gets in a refugee spin
Rudd’s refugee media blitz is just confusing voters, because they don’t want confusing jargon filled explanations, they just want action. Kevin Rudd needs to dump the political cliches and rethink his media strategy, writes Christian Kerr.
Stilgherrian: What do journos do better, exactly?
The “bloggers vs. journalists” debate is stupid, says Stilgherrian: of course journalists are better at journalism — they’re the ones doing it. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other important roles people can play in the broader media community.
The highlights and lowlights of Media140
Margaret Simons wraps up the recent social-media-types-get-together-to-tweet-about-talking-about-Twitter Media140 conference in Sydney. Where is social media headed in Australia? Can it save journalism, or will it just kill it faster?
Stephen King writes poetry? For Playboy?!
Curiously, sci-fi/horror Author Stephen King has turned his hand to writing poetry. Even more curiously, his literary medium of choice to share his rhyme doggerel with the world? Playboy magazine. Read his effort, The Bone Church, here.
Google Dashboard: what is it and do you really need it?
Google has released its latest toy: Google Dashboard, a one-stop-shop for users to access all their Google-related junk (gmail, Google docs, chat, etc). It’s neat, and potentially time-saving, but do you really want so much personal data in one place?
Cassin: Time to reopen the republic wounds
The republic debate has fallen off the national agenda not because of the GFC, but because our nation’s leaders — most of them republicans — don’t want to admit the only preference that would pass involves a president elected by the people not the parliament, says Ray Cassin.
Tiger bites Roo with Melbourne-Brisbane flights
Another Qantas Cityflyer route is being munched on by Tiger, reports Ben Sandilands: this time, it’s the Melbourne to Brisbane route, with the low-fare airline offering flights up to three times daily from 28 March.
Film review: This Is It
The documentary of Michael Jackson’s concert-that-never-was, This Is It might be smashing box office records around the world, but the film’s lack of commentary, insight and context will make it a struggle for most to sit through, says Luke Buckmaster. One for the fans.
