The Chasers new project The Hamster Wheel premiered last night on ABC1. Anyone familiar with the Chaser saw a show last night that had no real surprises. And that’s OK, says Dan Barrett.
The Chaser
The Chaser pilot: An Unbelievable Truth?
Several of The Chaser boys — and Graeme Garden from The Goodies are recording a pilot show for Channel Seven. Dan Barrett gets speculating.
Media briefs: Adelaide media Facebook ambush … more NotW phone-hack victims
How desperate is The Advertiser for readers? Well, desperate enough, it seems, to post a plug on a competitor’s Facebook page. Plus, Fairfax’s autoplay video ads backfire and other media news.
Hand Jobs some credit: he prefers The Chaser to The Oz
The Chaser launched its iPad app last week, and yes it is shocking that we managed to get it through the rigours of Apple approval faster than The Australian, writes The Chaser’s Craig Reucassel.
Outrage! The scandalous year of popular culture
Was 2009 the year that popular culture pushed the edgy right off the cliff face? From skits about kids with cancer to black face and rape scandal, Mel Campbell examines the power of the media shitstorm.
Video of the Day: Julian Morrow’s Andrew Olle Media Lecture
The Chaser’s Julian Morrow delivers this year’s Andrew Olle Media Lecture, offering a surprisingly witty and insightful take on press freedom, censorship and media ownership.
Guy Rundle: More than red faces with the collapse of TV culture
There have been two recent moments when I’ve gasped at something on TV – one was the mess that was Hey Hey last night and the other was Denton’s baby, Hungry Beast, writes Guy Rundle.
PODCAST: Chaser boys on controversy
Chaser boys Dominic Knight and Chris Taylor discuss the media frenzy surrounding their ‘Make a Realistic Wish’ skit and acknowledge that maybe Chaser outstayed its TV welcome.
Has The Chaser claimed its third victim?
Courtney Gibson, ABC TV’s Executive Head of Content Creation, has resigned after six years with the network. Her departure is curious and raises questions about why and who benefits.
Crikey Says: A tale of two media incidents
Both The Chaser and Austereo’s Kyle and Jackie O show have stepped outside acceptable public standards recently. One dealt well with the fallout, the other, not so much.
VIDEO: Rudd.i.am
The Chaser’s War on Everything thought that PM Rudd should have his own Will.i.am style song treatment. Last night they provided — with help from celebrity friends.
Gerard Henderson's Media Watch Dog: Tim Palmer channels Tammy Wynette
Henderson hits back at Rundle’s Murdoch/Stalin comparison, Leigh Sales’ climate change coverage, Bob Ellis’ return to ABC Unleashed and more.
Guy Rundle: Bruno producers muzzle Chaser: ironic or funny? Neither?
The Chaser’s Julian Morrow accuses the producers of Bruno of lacking a sense of irony after they made the boys sign agreements not to disrupt the film’s premiere. Guy Rundle tells him a thing or two about irony.
Gerard Henderson's Media Watch Dog: (Scoopless) Mr Brissenden Goes to Washington
Michael Brissendon goes scoopless to Washington, cop that Phillip Adams, Chaser returns and more.
Tips and rumours: Another refugee boat intercepted?
Rumours are surfacing that Immigration chiefs are worried stiff this morning about overcrowding on Christmas Island on the back of Unannounced Boat Number 14 (UBN14*)…
The Chaser returns
The Chaser returns to screens tonight after two weeks in the sin bin. They’ve signed a contract with the BBC and are set to take the piss out of a less controversial target, the Morans.
Gerard Henderson's Media Watch Dog: Arise Beatrix Campbell, OBE
John Westacott in “No Apology” zone; (Alleged) Felineicide in Double Bay; Nancy’s “Send ‘The Boys’ to Mecca” campaign continues, and more in this week’s edition of Gerard Henderson’s Media Watch Dog.
Tips and rumours: Who is your editorial manager and what does she do?
Seeing as the ABC in leaking like a sieve over the Chaser controversy, another employee gets in on the act. Plus more Westacott reminiscing, cheeky japes from the cricket world, the next appointee to the WA Supreme Court, and more.
Tips and rumours: Imminent election?
In tips & rumours today: the best indicator of an imminent election has been the Electoral Commission checking if post offices have sufficient enrolment forms. They just checked.
Tips and rumours: Rudd staffers’ high-flying high-tech
More mile-high japes from Rudd and his team, insider news on The Chaser, rotten relations with female employees at ACP Mags, and more from Crikey’s terrific tipsters.
The Media Monitors' Top 20: Rudd shakes his way to the top
After that many shakes of the sauce bottle, the PM’s still on top.
Crikey Says: A week in media: this too will pass
What have we learned this week? That a publicly-funded national broadcaster is as vulnerable to the shrill squawks of the tabloid media; that our PM’s office isn’t lofty; and that none of it will matter in a week.
