Thursday, March 27, 2003
Biggest media shake-up in a decade – Sleep on Fairfax, you crazy cubic zirconia
http://theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,6193796%255E2702,00.html
*If* these changes go through the Senate, then they won’t just be the biggest media shake-up in a little while – in my book, it’s actually the biggest thing since the newsprint kings were handed – almost free – the first (and last) commercial free-to-air TV licences in the 1950’s.
Understandably, the story (even if it’s still speculation, strictly speaking) got a big run in today’s Oz. Today’s Fin write-up, in contrast had the changes road-blocked in the Senate. Meanwhile, today’s Age – true to its wooden spooner form for the past five years or so – just said nothing at all, not even in its business pages.
Perhaps this is because The Age has so slipped from being a jewel in the Fairfax crown, that it’s all a bit too much for them to currently handle - just too sickly-sweet-and-fitting that its long-term future is now in the hands of three (perhaps four – I know nothing about Shayne Murphy) pariah senators.
As to Australia’s already way over-concentrated mass-media being further concentrated, of course this is a worry (and as if more ABC radio is going to ameliorate this, Meg Lees – you fuckwitted, baby boomer arsonist-of-the commons).
The only positive in all this is that mass-media have not so far – and I don’t think ever will – colonised the Internet. I could go on about this forever, but for now, it suffices to say that the “walled garden” model of commercialising the Net has been proved a total turkey.
On John Quiggin’s blog (he’s now on an Iraqi war content strike – which I think has a serendipitous parallel with the hash dealers of Copenhagen going on strike, to protest against police crackdowns), I’ve made come comments on mass media vs blogs in terms of covering the current war.
Also compare and contrast “Internet wins the info battle”
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,6185239%255E7582,00.html with its quite-revealing little peak and reveal at the phenomenon of the white collar siesta (news web traffic usually peaks between 2pm to 4pm), with The Age’s truly sleeping-on the-job observation that the war has *not* been a ratings fillip for TV news:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/27/1048653791598.html
Like derr, Ross Warneke – I wonder why that could be? (Hint: if you're reading this, you’ve magically got the answer!)
http://theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,6193796%255E2702,00.html
*If* these changes go through the Senate, then they won’t just be the biggest media shake-up in a little while – in my book, it’s actually the biggest thing since the newsprint kings were handed – almost free – the first (and last) commercial free-to-air TV licences in the 1950’s.
Understandably, the story (even if it’s still speculation, strictly speaking) got a big run in today’s Oz. Today’s Fin write-up, in contrast had the changes road-blocked in the Senate. Meanwhile, today’s Age – true to its wooden spooner form for the past five years or so – just said nothing at all, not even in its business pages.
Perhaps this is because The Age has so slipped from being a jewel in the Fairfax crown, that it’s all a bit too much for them to currently handle - just too sickly-sweet-and-fitting that its long-term future is now in the hands of three (perhaps four – I know nothing about Shayne Murphy) pariah senators.
As to Australia’s already way over-concentrated mass-media being further concentrated, of course this is a worry (and as if more ABC radio is going to ameliorate this, Meg Lees – you fuckwitted, baby boomer arsonist-of-the commons).
The only positive in all this is that mass-media have not so far – and I don’t think ever will – colonised the Internet. I could go on about this forever, but for now, it suffices to say that the “walled garden” model of commercialising the Net has been proved a total turkey.
On John Quiggin’s blog (he’s now on an Iraqi war content strike – which I think has a serendipitous parallel with the hash dealers of Copenhagen going on strike, to protest against police crackdowns), I’ve made come comments on mass media vs blogs in terms of covering the current war.
Also compare and contrast “Internet wins the info battle”
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,6185239%255E7582,00.html with its quite-revealing little peak and reveal at the phenomenon of the white collar siesta (news web traffic usually peaks between 2pm to 4pm), with The Age’s truly sleeping-on the-job observation that the war has *not* been a ratings fillip for TV news:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/27/1048653791598.html
Like derr, Ross Warneke – I wonder why that could be? (Hint: if you're reading this, you’ve magically got the answer!)
