Former editorial director of News Corp in Queensland David Fagan expressed both optimism and realism about the future of journalism in Australia when he addressed an audience of academics at Queensland…
Giant iPads: the only way to make Shepard Smith’s tan look subtle.
Fox News
In the autumn of 1997, a group assembled from across the BBC and beyond gathered to take part in a seminal moment of broadcasting history: the launch of the BBC’s first 24-hour news channel. The 24-hour…
Are Tony Abbott’s early ‘missteps’ on media management - which some have criticised him for - more about co-ordination than control?
AAP/Alan Porritt
Is Tony Abbott really trying to gag his ministers when, under the Howard government, he and his ministerial colleagues enjoyed relative freedom to handle media interviews and issue press releases? This…
The first annual “Don’t Read the Daily Mail” day was held recently, organised by @DMReporter, a twitter feed that critiques the paper every day. The organisers announced the day of action because, even…
Framing with disaster may not be the best option.
Lone Primate
How does newspaper coverage affect how we view climate change? A new report has estimated that 82% of articles about climate change are framed in the context of “disaster” and “uncertainty”. The report’s…
Former News Corp Australia chief executive Kim Williams speaking with journalist Kerry O'Brien at a QUT business leaders’ forum.
Kim Stephens/Brisbane Times
In his first major speech since his sudden resignation last month as News Corp Australia’s chief executive, Kim Williams had the packed Grand Ballroom at Brisbane’s Hilton hotel abuzz with speculation…
There’s no easily defined line between ‘fact’ and ‘non-fact’, so how do journalists make judgements about factual accuracy?
Image from shutterstock.com
A posse of fact-checkers has been riding the boundary of the federal election. Not happy with the standard of honesty in political discourse, the ABC, this website and PolitiFact.com.au, a localised version…
If the war in Syria is to end, it is the media’s duty to broadcast graphic, uncensored images and the public’s duty to look.
EPA/Local Committee of Arbeen
Horrifying photographs and videos emerged yesterday from what appears to have been a chemical attack on thousands of civilians in Syria. It is still unclear who committed the atrocity, with both Syrian…
We take a closer look at the claim the prime minister has made on the Murdoch press in Australia.
“Mr Murdoch is entitled to his own view… he owns 70% of the newspapers in this country.” – Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, press conference, 6 August. One of the more spirited discussions of the first week…
Learn from the master to take over the world.
fugutabetai shyashin
The Washington Post’s purchase by Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos is the latest example of a new generation of internet moguls spending big on pet projects. It was also revealed this week that Google…
Washington Post: yours for a mere $250m.
Daniel X O Neil
Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon, has bought iconic newspaper The Washington Post for US$250m. Cash. The first question to ask, then, in age where newspaper readership and sales are plummeting…
Rooney: rumoured to have once been bald.
Martin Rickett/PA
Summer’s football transfer rumour season is in full swing; an annual activity as predictable as strawberries and cream at Wimbledon or suntans and sports cars at the Monaco F1 Grand Prix. World Cup years…
“The swinging voter is often very disengaged [and] very hard to get to.” - Former ALP campaign adviser Neil Lawrence, ABC TV’s Q&A, 1 July. There are two parts to this statement from Neil Lawrence…
UK news outlet The Guardian launched in Australia this week to much fanfare, but will its reporting hit the mark with Australian audiences?
The Guardian Australia
For many of us who have long read The Guardian online or, in my case, had the print edition delivered once a week, the Australian edition - launched earlier this week - is disappointing. But there is also…
While young women are rising through Australian media ranks, the old glass ceiling remains.
Woman reporter image from www.shutterstock.com
Women now outnumber men in the Australian media, but they are typically younger, earn less and have less powerful positions than male colleagues. A new national survey shows women now make up 55.5% of…
The Channel 9-Cricket Australia broadcast rights dispute drags on, now reaching the courts: could cricket broadcasting icon Richie Benaud soon be lost from our screens?
AAP/Dean Lewins
Cricket Australia’s Supreme Court legal action against its host broadcaster of the past 36 years, Channel Nine, is the manifestation of an identifiable pattern. It continues a time-honoured practice in…
Misinformation reported by a media beast hungry for any news on the Boston bombing had the potential to compromise the subsequent manhunt.
EPA/Matt Campbell
Last week’s Boston Marathon bombings and the manhunt that followed showed all too starkly the challenges government agencies faced as they responded to the attack and sought to identify the perpetrators…
The Climate Commission is leading the way on climate change communication with its latest report providing scientific context for extreme weather events.
Climate Commission
The Climate Commission’s latest report, released recently, and some of the media that arose from it are excellent examples of science and journalists working together to talk about climate change and extreme…
People with schizophrenia are still perceived as dangerous and unpredictable, and these perceptions have increased in recent years.
JD Hancock
Stigma can take a heavy toll on people who suffer from mental illness. Being shunned, feared, devalued and discriminated against can impair recovery and deepen social isolation and distress. Many sufferers…
Former News International executive Rebekah Brooks leaves the Old Bailey after appearing on charges of conspiring to bribe public officials. It was revelations about journalistic practises at News that inspired inquiries in Australia and the UK.
EPA/Andy Rain
There are at least two points of convergence in this week’s parliamentary deliberations on media freedom in Australia and the UK. Both are driven by reports – Finkelstein and Leveson respectively – responding…