DogBitesMan » Entries tagged with "Sydney Morning Herald"
Suffer little children
People in most walks of life suffer moments when they wish they were doing something else. Sometimes it is because they’re bored or they want more money, they are not achieving or their job no longer excites them. And sometimes it is because they are utterly ashamed of the behaviour of others in their particular field of work. In journalism, these moments come more often than in most professions. In the annual Ipsos MORI survey of trustworthy professions … Read entire article »
White-anting starts early for new SBS boss
SBS’s managing director-designate Michael Ebeid is still two months away from getting his feet under his new desk but already the white-anting has started. Nothing surprising in that; it’s an important job in Australia’s media and cultural landscape, so anyone taking it on is bound to come under scrutiny, especially someone as relatively unknown as Ebeid. [For more on Ebeid's appointment, see DogBitesMan or New Matilda] And inevitably there will be some who see his qualities and qualifications … Read entire article »
The end of humanity? Maybe it’s time to shoot the messenger
Ask scientists, economists, sociologists, futurologists and most other expert-ists what is the greatest single threat facing the human race and the overwhelming response is likely to be “climate change”. There are plenty of other contenders; financial crises, international terror, religious fundamentalism/atheism, poverty, pandemics, overpopulation, nuclear disaster, moral decline, the list is long. But when push comes to shove, when Torquemada applies the thumbscrews for an answer, climate change is the one most experts choose. With only a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, General, Journalism, Media
2010: That was the year that wasn’t
Had it not been for WikiLeaks, 2010 might have gone down as another forgettable year for the media in Australia and around the world. There were few outstanding examples of great journalism,[i] no breathtaking, game-changing technical innovations, not even any great “end-of-an-era” events at which we could pause and take stock. Admittedly, the human inclination to see the start or end of decades as somehow symbolically significant is irrational and therefore it shouldn’t surprise us when years … Read entire article »
Filed under: General, Journalism, Media
Don’t try this at home, children
The release by WikiLeaks of tens of thousands of confidential US government emails has turned the spotlight on some serious and long-submerged issues about honesty in public life. The US Government and many others mentioned in these supposedly secret emails are genuinely embarrassed and understandably angry that they have been made public. They and their supporters outside government – including sections of the media – say it is impossible to undertake sophisticated modern diplomacy if everything one … Read entire article »
Too little too late for SBS?
After years of downplaying SBS’s multicultural credentials, managing director Shaun Brown now wants to be besties with the ethnic lobby. It might be too little, too late. Speaking at a recent symposium at Murdoch University entitled “Racism Revisited”, SBS managing director Shaun Brown made a case for allocating more funds for multicultural broadcasting at Australia’s second national network. Many in the audience would have been a little taken aback. Was this the same Shaun Brown who, in … Read entire article »
Filed under: Media






