My following article appears in today’s Crikey newsletter: The fate of Labor at the 2007 election is dependent on the performance of John Howard. The Australian’s Steve Lewis recently argued… that the “man of steel” is showing signs of political ineptitude and Kim Beazley is starting to discover his inner mongrel. The NSW Fabian Society’s discussion…
Articles in Crikey
Under-resourced journos = under-sourced journalism
My following article appears in today’s Crikey newsletter: At a time when increased media concentration will only bring less independent and fearless journalism, the Australian Press Council’s recently released report, State of the News Print Media in Australia, makes for sobering reading. It has received virtually no media coverage. Some of the report states the…
Anna Politkovskaya’s legacy
My following article appears in today’s Crikey newsletter: The recent murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya… has triggered, albeit briefly, an unprecedented interest in life under Vladimir Putin. The Sydney Morning Herald has provided particularly decent coverage of Politkovskaya’s death, but perhaps unsurprisingly failed to continue interest beyond the requisite few days. There is much of…
The truth about peace in the Middle East
My following article appears in today’s Crikey newsletter: Soon after Israel’s August 2005 evacuation of its Gaza settlements, then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced the withdrawal “essential for Israel.” The Palestinians were suffering, he said: “We cannot hold onto Gaza forever, more than a million Palestinians live there”¦crowded in refugee camps, poverty and hotbeds of…
The world mourns Anna Politkovskaya
My following article appears in today’s Crikey newsletter: The world has lost one of its finest human rights defenders with the weekend murder of Russian journalist and author Anna Politkovskaya. Gunned down in the elevator of her Moscow apartment, she gained international attention with her scathing reports on Russian abuses in Chechnya and the undemocratic…
Was the Heathrow terror “plot” a political concoction?
My following article appears in today’s Crikey newsletter: Two months ago, the British government told the world it had thwarted plans to blow up US-bound aeroplanes departing from Heathrow Airport. “Put simply, this was intended to be mass murder on an unimaginable scale,” said Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson from the Metropolitan Police at the time.…
Edgar and Adams talk up a storm about TV
My following article appeared in yesterday’s Crikey newsletter: During Wednesday’s Sydney launch of Patricia Edgar’s book Bloodbath – a tale of her years in TV, including being founding director of the Australian Children’s Television Foundation – ABC broadcaster Phillip Adams remarked that “nothing prepares you for the savagery of TV” in both the commercial world…
The values debate we don’t have to have
My following article appears in today’s Crikey newsletter: We live in an age where political insecurity is projected through the “values” debate. When politicians want to instil calm in the electorate, they preach about shared ideas, Australian mateship, tolerance, a fair go, religious freedom and freedom of speech. These are all noble ideals in a…
Time for the media to offer the unvarnished truth
My following article appeared in yesterday’s Crikey newsletter: In the months before the 2003 Iraq invasion, the mainstream media nearly wholly swallowed the premise that Iraq had WMD and only invasion and occupation would alleviate the threat. More than three years later, the country is suffering a civil war and the US-sanctioned leadership is incapable…
The real role of the writer: to cause offence, stir and provoke
My following story appeared in Monday’s edition of the Crikey newsletter: The Brisbane Writer’s Festival, which hosted over 200 writers from Australia and overseas, is over for another year. Controversial London-based American author and Orange Prize winner, Lionel Shriver, gave the opening night address. Her message was blunt: writers should offend, be as politically incorrect…