Apparently people get drunk on the public lawns at the Melbourne Cup. Who knew? There is no news in this, just a ritualised annual tabloid photo-gallery parade of shame, vulnerability and intrusion. But try telling that to the Hun.
Lazy journalism
Wankley Awards: Photo galleries of drunk people at the Melbourne Cup
Interest rate horse puns: their cups runneth over
The priceless coincidence of two major news events occurring within an hour of each other yesterday had the nation’s top journalists jockeying relentlessly in their favourite pursuit: tenuously-linked punnage.
The long, long knifing of Nathan Rees
NSW premier Nathan Rees’ political death has been much reported, yet oddly slow to happen, writes Crikey intern Aaron Flanagan, with rumours as far back as January yet to bear fruit.
UFC Australia vs. The Moral Minority
Next year, the UFC — the world’s largest Mixed Martial Arts promotion — is coming to Australia. Prepare yourselves for an onslaught of fist waving and moral indignation from the mainstream media, says Ruth Brown.
Has Politico turned tabloid?
It’s generally regarded to be one of the best and most successful political news sites on the web, but lately Politico has slipped into sensationalism, says Splice Today, with headlines like “Roman Polanski backers gave $34k to Barack Obama”.
Dial O for Outrage
The Australian Families Association has denounced John Safran’s new TV show as “filth” in the Daily Tele today — but it hasn’t even aired yet. Does the Tele have “moral panic” on speed dial? asks Dave Gaukroger.
Oz exclusive: Rockpool chef Neil Perry loves the food at Rockpool!
The Weekend Australian had a rather self-indulgent Q&A with chef Neil Perry, owner of Sydney restaurant Rockpool, about where to find his favourite meals, ingredients and other chefs. The shock answer to all three? Rockpool. Perry ended up having to defend himself on Twitter: he’s just keeping it real.
Political snippets: Zen and the art of transdisciplinary studies
Richard Farmer meditates on some suspect climate change opinion polls in the SMH, some even more suspect ones in the Sunday Mail, the good news for Barnaby Joyce, and how St Kilda screwed over punters.
The British press’s school-girl crush on Obama
The British press is obsessed with whether US President Barack Obama loves or hates the UK’s pollies, giggling like schoolgirls at any perceived slight of PM Gordon Brown. Is there genuine public interest, or is it lazy journalism masquerading as political commentary?
The story behind the Sotomayor story
How old video footage dug up by one man of then-Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor ended up running unquestioned on every major news network across the US, unfairly shaping the entire nation’s public perception of the judge. A case study in churnalism.
ROI journalism: pragmatism vs. the public interest
Despite ideals of hard-nosed investigating and serving the public interest, for many journalists, it’s only pragmatic to chase stories they’re sure will end up in print, says Tim Burrowes. But are journalists being lazy, or just efficient?
Time to end the snark
“Snark” — a particularly biting form of sneering sarcasm favoured by bloggers — has infested the media, masquerading as witty commentary, says David Denby; but it’s not clever, it’s not funny, and it’s dumbing down the fourth estate.
Why lazy journalists love Detroit
As Detroit collapses, it is being descended on by a plague of journalists, all looking to write a lazy feature and shoot some “ruin porn”. Locals are starting to tire of their town being treated like an exhibit.
New Matilda / Monday, 2 November 2009
Newspaper editors’ new schtick appears to be giving column inches to commentators whose words are controversial, but intellectually barren, says Jason Wilson. It may pull in more readers, but ultimately, it damages the masthead.