Trust in Australia’s commercial media continues to slump despite the industry’s insistence all is well.
Television news
Bye George (Negus), it wasn’t that bad, just not enough viewers
6:30 with George Negus died a slow death by viewer indifference. Negus, however, said that at least Ten had a go and the product he fronted most nights wasn’t that bad.
Wankley Awards: And the Wankley goes to… a press packed with Rafters
Mel Rafter, a character from TV soap Packed To The Rafters, has been written out of the script so an actress can try her hand at Hollywood. So, who cares? Well, we do apparently. Why else would the media relentlessly cover the ‘death’ of a television character as news?
Why can’t we watch American TV online?
Good question: TV news outlets in Australia, the UK and the Middle East allow anyone to stream their content online — so why do all US broadcasters lock the rest of the world out?
ABC News 24 line-up announced
The ABC has announced a predictable line-up of familiar faces for its new 24-hour news channel. The only real surprise is the absence of “Australia’s Anderson Cooper”, Tony Jones, and ties, says Dan Barrett.
Video of the Day: News reporting for dummies
Ever noticed how formulaic news reporting is? From the ‘walking through a busy crowd and talking with your hands’ to ‘shots of headless obese people’, Charlie Brooker shows how the news is made.
Fox News: America’s most trusted news source. Eep.
A new survey has found that Fox is the only TV news network that more Americans trust than distrust, with 49% of all people — and 79% of Republicans — saying they trust the station.
Mark Scott: In defence of 24-hour news
ABC chief Mark Scott hits back against critics who say the braodcaster’s recently announced 24-hour news channel violates the ABC charter: read the damn thing.
24 hours of limp, under-funded news?
Should the ABC really be throwing its future — and its cash — into a 24-hour news channel when its current news and current affairs programming is already undernourished? asks Jason Wilson.
A taxpayer-funded declaration of war
The Australian has come out swinging in defence of Murdoch’s Sky News and its battle with the recently announced 24-hour ABC news network, but it’s pushing a fairly weak line, says Jeremy Sear.
VIDEO: If today’s news outlets covered the moon landing
How would Fox, CNN et al. cover man’s first walk on the moon if it happened today? SlateV make an educated guess: with Twitter, holograms and inane vox pops.
Bath to get Seven’s coveted 6pm gig?
Should the Seven Network be getting concerned about the damage being done to Mark Ferguson by his continuing association with THISafternoon on Nine?
Who’ll land Seven’s coveted 6pm news job?
Everyone in TVland is watching the Seven Network to see what it does to its 6pm Sydney newsreader’s job.
ABC on WIN TV deal: “we will keep control”
The ABC’s David Pendleton responds to controversy caused by the news that the broadcaster will by part of a joint venture with commercial network WIN TV.
SBS News used as vehicle for Top Gear
Why did SBS news include a three-minute story on putting automatic stabilisers into Australian cars? Perhaps because it was just a convenient cross-promo for another SBS show.
Shepard Smith: the black sheep of Fox News
Fox News anchor Shepard Smith has drawn in thousands of hate letters and death threats to the network — but he also draws in the viewers. The NY Times profiles the presenter Fox viewers love to hate.
Insiders tell: Westacott killed News at Channel Nine
John Westacott presided over the most dramatic demise in Australian media history, say some disgruntled Channel Nine insiders.
Fox News: the angriest news team on TV Fox News weathers any political climate
Peacetime, boom and recession, Republicans or Democrats — Fox News’ ratings continue to boom in any climate, despite warnings the change in administration would be its downfall.
CBS News goes live online
CBS News is set to live-stream all of its Evening News broadcasts and breaking news reports over the Internet via Ustream.
Fox News caught out editing the truth
Media Matters have captured some pretty appalling Fox News edits, twisting and misrepresenting the words of Al Gore and Barack Obama.
Ten’s 90-minute news “just doesn’t work”
Insiders say Channel Ten’s attempts to revamp their afternoon news to extend into the 6pm time slot “fell flat on its face”.
CNN struggles on the middle path
With Fox and MSNBC veering to the right and left respectively, CNN are struggling to pull the ratings by steering a middle ideological path.
