The popular ABC show is a ratings winner and counters the nastiness that dominates other current affairs programming. But has Aunty gone too far to give its subjects a golden glow?

How much power do the nation’s tabloid editors really wield when it comes to influencing our electoral process? Plenty, if you believe political operatives. Not only for what’s in print but how they influence the agenda for the rest of the day. For Labor it’s a lost cause.

The Obama administration is engaged in a war on investigative journalism, backed by national security laws. The internet may free up information, but it also aids government surveillance.

Fairfax columnist Mike Carlton is a staunch defender of the ABC, but not last night’s Australian Story program on 2GB’s Ray Hadley. He plans to lodge a formal complaint.

Freelancers have been among the victims of Fairfax’s consolidation drive, with regular contributors describing the payment system as a “shemozzle”.

Chinese-language newspapers are blatantly stealing copy from Australian publications. They say they want to expose good work to non-English speakers, but freelancer Sian Powell isn’t buying it.

Crikey examines how media and culture organisations fared in this year’s budget. The ABC and SBS are smiling — and the ghost of Simon Crean lives on.

PolitiFact Australia’s launch has been marred by controversy over one of the site’s first rulings. Was Labor wrong to say penalty rights can’t be “stripped away”?

Australian publishing assets are dragging News Corp down, and hiving them off can’t come soon enough for shareholders. Plus, some shareholders want to ditch chairman Rupert Murdoch.

Sydney University tasked students with planting stories in rival student paper Tharunka as part of an assignment, leaving students outraged.

The Left is dead — hopelessly lost in the minutiae of gestures, rainbow crossings, political correctness and confected outrage about the latest Geoffrey Barker piece. It’s time for the Left to think about material conditions and macroeconomics.

John Garnaut, one of Australia’s most respected foreign correspondents, is heading home after a stint in China. Who will Fairfax pick to replace him?

News Limited, Fairfax and other big media companies say the government’s proposed whistleblower laws need major changes. It’s brought them together to fight for whistleblower protection.

Metro Media Publishing, battling a sea of red ink in its suite of former Fairfax suburban mastheads, is slashing staff costs. A sell-off could also be on the cards.

The ABC has announced a new team dedicated to checking up on pollies’ spin, and US website PolitiFact is also opening an Australian division.

Claims that women are being sent to the back of the room at some Islamic events at Melbourne University should be addressed. But other religions also discriminate on gender.

All media eyes will be on the announcement of a new host for Media Watch, with Jonathan Holmes set to stand down soon. Who will the ABC pick?

In an age of fragmentation and financial difficulties, court costs for media lawsuits are becoming prohibitive. What impact will this have on what journos dare to write?

Paddy Manning exposed the incestuous nature of business journalism in Crikey. It raises bigger questions about who finance journalists represent, writes ex-business hack Jim “Mr Denmore” Parker.

How much power do the nation’s tabloid editors really wield when it comes to influencing our electoral process? Plenty, if you believe political operatives. Not only for what’s in print but how they influence the agenda for the rest of the day. For Labor it’s a lost cause.

ASIC has been revealed as the agency behind the blocking of a Melbourne education website, using a hitherto-unused internet censorship power.

Crikey examines how media and culture organisations fared in this year’s budget. The ABC and SBS are smiling — and the ghost of Simon Crean lives on.

PolitiFact Australia’s launch has been marred by controversy over one of the site’s first rulings. Was Labor wrong to say penalty rights can’t be “stripped away”?

US agencies are grappling with the same technological challenges as British and Australian agencies but have the advantage of being able to act beyond the law.

The UK and US appear to have diverged on the issue of internet surveillance, and that has serious implications for the efforts of Australia’s security establishment to impose data retention.

This week the How Fast Is the NBN website has got both Liberal politicians and the media up in arms about its accuracy. But the site’s creator, James Brotchie, defends the speeds shown.

The latest Audit Bureau of Circulations results show massive drops in print circulation and reveal, finally, how many readers are paying for the Herald Sun online. Hint: it’s not very many.

A clever website purporting to show the difference between the speed of Labor’s NBN and the Coalition’s broadband plan has gone viral — but is it a fair and accurate representation? We fact-check How Fast is the NBN.

Australian publishing assets are dragging News Corp down, and hiving them off can’t come soon enough for shareholders. Plus, some shareholders want to ditch chairman Rupert Murdoch.

Australia’s largest companies say they’re using social media, but they’re not using the networks most Australians use. Twitter rules, ahead of Facebook.

Tom Waterhouse has to be stopped, according to one gambling industry insider. His pervasive brand of promotion is giving everyone in the gambling game a bad name. Now Tony Abbott is on the case.

Drug dealing thrives in secret corners of cyberspace, but hackers have interrupted business on The Silk Road — known as the eBay of drugs — with only theories on who’s behind it.

Here’s a first: there’s paid advertising appearing on a federal government website (the Bureau of Meteorology). Does this pose a problem — and who might be next?

How much power do the nation’s tabloid editors really wield when it comes to influencing our electoral process? Plenty, if you believe political operatives. Not only for what’s in print but how they influence the agenda for the rest of the day. For Labor it’s a lost cause.

Freelancers have been among the victims of Fairfax’s consolidation drive, with regular contributors describing the payment system as a “shemozzle”.

Chinese-language newspapers are blatantly stealing copy from Australian publications. They say they want to expose good work to non-English speakers, but freelancer Sian Powell isn’t buying it.

The latest Audit Bureau of Circulations results show massive drops in print circulation and reveal, finally, how many readers are paying for the Herald Sun online. Hint: it’s not very many.

Australian publishing assets are dragging News Corp down, and hiving them off can’t come soon enough for shareholders. Plus, some shareholders want to ditch chairman Rupert Murdoch.

Sydney University tasked students with planting stories in rival student paper Tharunka as part of an assignment, leaving students outraged.

Sycophantic journos at anti-News Limited have fallen in line to praise their colleague Nick Cater’s new book to the skies. It’s a Culture clash that deserves greater scrutiny.

Female writers have stormed back into contention for the Miles Franklin — this year it’s the men left off the shortlist. So is it reactionism or simply a stellar year for women authors?

A Melbourne doctor with stunning claims about gender-based abortion didn’t tell News Limited about his pro-life views. Or that he’s a member of the anti-abortion Democratic Labor Party.

The line from News Limited on recognising local government in the constitution doesn’t make much sense given the value of councils to the company’s vast community newspaper network.

Australia is a culture of collectivism, not individualism, and no matter what Nick Cater says in his new book, we will never be American go-getters.

Paddy Manning exposed the incestuous nature of business journalism in Crikey. It raises bigger questions about who finance journalists represent, writes ex-business hack Jim “Mr Denmore” Parker.

Fortescue Metals Group paid for travel and accommodation for multiple journalists at the Bo’ao forum, but you wouldn’t hear it from News or Fairfax.

Should journalists accept leaks in exchange for not seeking critical comment? Crikey examines the pros and cons of the media “drops” that you’re not told about.

The fashion industry is demanding ever-thinner models. But Crikey publishing director and former women’s magazine editor Marina Go says jutting bones and hollowed cheeks are bad for business.

Editors at The Australian Financial Review have hit back at claims there is creeping advertorial in the business paper, after dismissing journalist Paddy Manning for public criticism.

Australia’s female cricket team has won a pay rise that means some players will be able to quit their day jobs. But other female athletes struggle to balance training with work.

Metro Media Publishing, battling a sea of red ink in its suite of former Fairfax suburban mastheads, is slashing staff costs. A sell-off could also be on the cards.

The fashion industry is demanding ever-thinner models. But Crikey publishing director and former women’s magazine editor Marina Go says jutting bones and hollowed cheeks are bad for business.

Fairfax journalist Paddy Manning fears the incursion of The Australian Financial Review in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. He writes scathingly of his employer for Crikey.

The real issue with the offensive Ford ads is not that they were leaked to the internet. It’s that they were created at all, writes Crikey publisher Marina Go.

The Ten Network is in deep despair with an enormous job for new CEO Hamish McLennan ahead. So why is the company firing off legal letters around commentary of its woes?

The furore over drug use in (male) sports creates an opportunity for women — ignored by the media and sponsors — to win more attention. Crikey publisher and Netball Australia director Marina Go makes the case.

A funny ad promoting Dick Smith Foods has been rejected for early-evening broadcast by the Advertising Standards Board. The entrepreneur says he’ll fight the attempt at censorship.

What were the 10 worst public relations disasters of 2012? Well, it depends on what you classify as PR — and how the company/person/show is faring publicly once the scandal has died down.

A new Australia Day ad campaign from McDonald’s features plenty of ockerisms — but not much ethnic diversity, writes Greg Dickson.

Debt-plagued Fairfax has moved to a full sale of profitable Kiwi classifieds site Trade Me. Was it the right move, as the company seeks to pay down debt in a troubled market? Myriam Robin and Matthew Knott report.

Fairfax’s The Australian Financial Review will adopt the same subscription strategy online as The New York Times — but will it have the same positive impact?

The Advertising Standards Board has moved into the online sphere, with a number of high-profile Facebook incidents in recent months. SmartCompany’s Cara Waters examines the difficulties.

Crikey got its mitts on the latest media buying data — and it doesn’t make for pretty reading for print publishers. Foxtel and digital titles, however, have plenty to crow about.

Not merely did The Australian Financial Review ad woes continue over the weekend, it found itself scooped on its key area of coverage, write Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane.

Nine’s owners CVC and Goldman Sachs lost big in yesterday’s deal. Crikey intern Nicholas McCallum breaks down what happened, and who now owns the former “number one” TV network.

Environmental writer Graham Readfearn tackles some Australian companies on their enviro-friendly spin — and finds the reality doesn’t always match the rhetoric.

The compassionless young dolts at the Sydney University Liberal Club described Alan Jones’ speech as “brilliant”. But we should not forget his shameless remarks.

Paid-for junkets for travel writers are increasingly a part of the business, editors tell Larry Schlesinger. But how does it colour the reviews we read?

Several radio stations have yanked several advertising spots blasting the network failures of regular advertiser and corporate partner Vodafone.

The nightly TV news remains the key battleground for the federal election. So who are the all-powerful news directors who oversee their stations’ coverage of the election campaign at Seven, Nine and the ABC? The Power Index talks to them — as well as some well-placed insiders — to see how they’ll cover election 2013.

The popular ABC show is a ratings winner and counters the nastiness that dominates other current affairs programming. But has Aunty gone too far to give its subjects a golden glow?

Seven West Media has another CEO — the second in less than a year. TV man Tim Worner will take over from Don Voelte in July, the company announced to the ASX today.

Fairfax columnist Mike Carlton is a staunch defender of the ABC, but not last night’s Australian Story program on 2GB’s Ray Hadley. He plans to lodge a formal complaint.

Crikey examines how media and culture organisations fared in this year’s budget. The ABC and SBS are smiling — and the ghost of Simon Crean lives on.

There’s nothing like parental leave. Go to a movie, play squash, wash the car — all these activities lie on the same plane. Put “be with your child” in it, you’ll see the difference.

The American TV networks have announced what they are picking up for 2013-14, and Australian networks will be hoping to get some ratings winners.

Australian publishing assets are dragging News Corp down, and hiving them off can’t come soon enough for shareholders. Plus, some shareholders want to ditch chairman Rupert Murdoch.

Tom Waterhouse has to be stopped, according to one gambling industry insider. His pervasive brand of promotion is giving everyone in the gambling game a bad name. Now Tony Abbott is on the case.