DogBitesMan » Entries tagged with "Sydney Morning Herald"
Welcome to journalism-free journalism
Encouraged to embrace social media, are real journalists now paying too high a price for the convenience of “information everywhere all the time”? Serious journalists – i.e. those who think news should be fair, accurate and based on facts – have long been urged to integrate social media into their work. It’s a great tool for digging into events and harvesting opinions that might otherwise be “mediated out” by gatekeepers who don’t want inconvenient truths exposed. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, General, Journalism
Clouds of war gather over the Internet
The Internet is approaching a crisis. Authoritarian regimes censor and manipulate it to suppress dissent, western governments pursue online whistleblowers and Wikileakers, big business wants to track consumers’ every move. Supposedly liberal governments from the United States to Australia have proved as eager as their conservative predecessors to constrain it. And the media? They have largely been silent, uninterested, distracted or disempowered by the rapid collapse of the “free Internet” dream. Government of any kind has … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, General, Journalism, Media, Society
Others in the schoolyard created this radio bully
Sydney radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands shows all the signs of being a classic bully, but it is hard to argue he is an entirely self-made one. For although he’s bright enough to be a successful bully – just bright enough to be dangerous, as the saying goes – he has had considerable help along the road to being a thoroughly unlikable tormentor. One does not need to probe his childhood, ask whether he was picked on … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, General, Journalism, Media, Society
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 »
Media generals leading from the rear
If the price of freedom really is eternal vigilance, then many in the media are not paying their dues. Admittedly, the arrest of journalist Ben Grubb by Queensland police and the confiscation of his iPad sent momentary frissons of outrage through parts the Australian media establishment, but almost all of them just as quickly doused their fury in favour of business as usual. Yet in the New Information Age, the incident should have remained one of the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, General, Journalism, Media
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
Blogroll
Recent Comments
- Bernard Sinai on Goodbye Mr Grass Roots
"With the Queen's public birthday coming up I'm just picturing how Rootsie would …" - Phil Ryan on Cheers or tears for SBS?
"I look forward to more productions of similar nature and quality to "The First A…" - Paulo Alberton on About
"Thanks David for the insights... I just discovered you and will explore more of …" - topdog on Endless war between newsroom and classroom
"The problem, Shameless, is that the academics generally see the freedoms and res…" - Shameless on Endless war between newsroom and classroom
"I cant see what the problem is. The academics say they believe in free speech an…"