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111,000 comments later, the Punch has its 1st birthday

The Punch Team

by The Punch Team

01 Jun 06:00am

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Filed under: Journalism, Media, The Punch

80 comments

The Punch turns one today. We launched on June 1 last year and, 365 days later, here we are, all of us diagnosed with a bad case of RSI at wading through just over 110,000 reader comments since we turned the thing on.

Just one of the many highlights from last night's Punch drinks. Photo: AP

We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to The Punch as a writer, a reader and especially as a commenter over the past 12 months. We have had a lot of fun setting up and running the site, and have been blown away by the level of reader engagement.

Thanks to you all.

Most commented

80 comments

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    • Chris Khalil says:

      07:12am | 01/06/10

      May I be the first to say, congratulations!!  I think you’re all doing a brilliant job and you’ve genuinely found a place in my life, whether that be reading you on the way to work every day or catching up on opinion come the evening.  I really enjoy the pluralism and tone the Punch has, I think it marks it out as unique in the Australian landscape.  Here’s to many more years.

      Reply

    • Gary Cox says:

      07:25am | 01/06/10

      I second that. Well done, I really enjoy the punch.

    • Dianne says:

      08:34am | 01/06/10

      thirded or fourded, or whatever, well done to the team.

    • Lyndon Maher says:

      08:39am | 01/06/10

      Here here - fantastic effort. Really enjoying the Punch, also love seeing who you have in the lineup “punching on” each day.

    • byro taknemi says:

      11:30am | 01/06/10

      We love reading the Punch but we would like a more rounded view on some issues, specifically:

      As a small business in the Australian whale meat industry, I wish to strongly protest about the “anti-whaling activist” Paul Colgan’s blatant un-Australian misrepresentation of our industry and cheerleading of pro- Rudd views last weekend. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/at-last-something-that-might-actually-stop-japans-whaling/

      Paul Colgan and News Limited, amongst other mono-tonal Aussie media, have continued to lazily copy each others stories on Whales and tell the Whale “story” from the point of view, or in reaction to, the legal Japanese Whale meat industry that legally ships to 38 countries around the world. What about the Australian Story - instead of being Japan-centric and Whale-Shepherd-centric, News Limited?

      Counter-intuitively, we support Japan AND Sea Shepherd’s actions, as any mention of “Whales” in the media, translates into sales and Aussie jobs for us. We do not support the absence of the Australian meat story. And, we condemn wide-spread whale-killing techniques, that prolong the death of the whale thereby “stressing” out the meat (releasing stress hormones into the meat before death) or in other words reducing it’s quality. (A principle common in most meat killing practices.)

      We call on Paul Colgan to support Aussie jobs in the industry and to push for value-adding through improved industry practices to increase meat quality through faster kills.

      http://www.whaloking.com/

    • Swinging Voter & Former snag says:

      12:29pm | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday maybe? Somebody has to be “the Grinch”.

      Shane from Melbourne, has the best comment. While i mostly prefer to enjoy “the punch”. Sadly, it has become a battleground for stooges from both Major Mistakes.

      When i phone people with my mobile phone, the number pops up on your screen, so you know its me calling. If the Internet had this, then “the Punch” could weed out comments from political staffers.

      Then more of us ordinary swinging voters, concerned, caring, citizens could get a better go.

      Instead of the endless Krudd’s a Dud, but Tony’s a Phony drivel.

      As much as i grudgingly admire the skill of Persephone’s work, the punch would be a better place without her kind of Paid, Professional Blogging.

      The Fauxmanista’s will ALWAYS disagree with me but Eric’s work is always fair & reasonable.

      The Punch’s moderation has been all over the place of late. I have had softer comments unpublished, with harder comments published & vice versa.

      There are other blog sites that do not moderate anybodies comments, at all, but put them live online as soon as you hit the send button. Then remove them later, if complaints come in, if you do, “go too far”.

      Also some aspects of your site design are clunkier, slower, less efficient than other sites.

      Want a “Performance Bonus” from Rupe, Colgo? Follow my advice & you can simultaneously increase popularity of your site while also decreasing costs.

      It was a good start, hopefully some improvements can make it even better.

    • Born Again Tails says:

      01:02pm | 01/06/10

      Hallelujah, praise the former snag. Amen.

    • persephone says:

      01:26pm | 01/06/10

      Swinging V

      by your criteria, I’d still get a gig here.

      Oh, how I wish I was paid!!! (Hint, Punch: I write very nice articles…..)

      But the suggestion that I’m a professional is a big compliment.

    • antiperspirant says:

      02:03pm | 01/06/10

      Don’t take it as a compliment.

      Being paid to lie is pathetic pers. And no, you used to write some stuff that was interesting. Now you write from desperation.

      Tracking the slide in the polls for Labor is the slide in your believability quotient and content.

    • Seano says:

      06:20pm | 01/06/10

      The bile from the conservatives over someone who can support their arguments with facts and figures is a sad indictment of them.

    • Rob r Charteris says:

      07:19am | 01/06/10

      Happy birthday Punch may you have many more. So 111 000 eh’ what was the tele for censored posts? lol.

      Reply

    • DJ says:

      07:24am | 01/06/10

      Great stuff . mandatory reading for me, stuck here on the computer for most of the day. Congratulations and keep up the good work.

      Reply

    • Against the Man says:

      07:47am | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday!

      Reply

    • Steve says:

      07:52am | 01/06/10

      Given the quality of the comments by political staffers, I think you should have photographed the other end of the elephant.

      Reply

    • Adam Diver says:

      07:58am | 01/06/10

      Congratulations to the political staffers for 100,000 of those comments and a special mention to Perse who contributed over 90,000 of them smile.

      Also there is an annoying typo that should be edited (does the punch have them?)

      “The Punch turns one day” is hardley an achievement smile

      Reply

    • persephone says:

      08:44am | 01/06/10

      Thank you to all my fans.

      Oh, how I wish I was a political staffer!! The money would be most welcome.

      Adam - you know that bit about splinters in other people’s eyes and planks in your own? - ‘hardley’ is not a word…but an annoying typo which should be edited…

      Anyway, happy birthday, Punch.

      The more ways people have of expressing their opinion, the better off we are as a democracy.

    • Adam Diver says:

      09:42am | 01/06/10

      True but I am not being paid to mix up the word day with year. Secondly I don’t have an editor to re check my work, which to be fair I don’t do either.

      Also Perse your first line is incorrect as well, you don’t have any fans smile at least outside labor offices

    • Nicole says:

      10:01am | 01/06/10

      Oh Adam, speak for yourself. Just quietly, I’m a fan of Pers. Just don’t tell her.

    • persephone says:

      12:33pm | 01/06/10

      It’s OK, Nicole - I’m reading this with my eyes closed.

    • Super D says:

      01:02pm | 01/06/10

      I’m a fan of Persephone too.  I mean her positions are entirely predictable but the passion with which she won’t allow a single point to stand against the worst government in the nations history, well thats the spirit of ANZAC right there…

    • Adam Diver says:

      02:04pm | 01/06/10

      Would it be any fun without different points of views? Plus I think the goal of the site is to get some of the hard core commentators to admit they are actually wrong (even just once). Me thinks this is the Holy Grail of the punch.

      Unfortunately they are a wily punch and its proving increasingly difficult and frustrating but nothing good in life comes easy. Just have to wait about 5 minutes for the next politically inspired punch piece.

    • stevie says:

      08:05am | 01/06/10

      Hi Penbo - do you remember last year how I got stuck into you for your comments about the English cricketer and the timewasting in the Cardiff test! Anyway, happy birthday boys - water under the bridge as always - I really enjoy looking at the Punch site everyday and appreciate your hard work!

      Reply

    • centurion48 says:

      08:18am | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday to Punch.
      A great forum for people to have their say on a range of topics from flummery to serious.
      I don’t know how some of your columnists churn out so much (yes, Penbo, I am looking at you) but am happy to read a lot of it. A special mention must go to Damien Leith who is the find of the year. Articulate and thoughtful, I always look forward to his columns.
      Many happy returns.

      Reply

    • acker says:

      08:25am | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday..will Punch TV get cracked out for a Birthday Edition ? ....Best Story ...Godwin Grech’s involvement with the Western Bulldogs Football Club

      Reply

    • Nicole says:

      08:27am | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday!!! My housekeeping has gone completely down the crapper since I discovered you guys. Oh well, I don’t really care. I luv you kids.

      Reply

    • persephone says:

      09:09am | 01/06/10

      Oh, too true.

      I always say that I got involved in politics because it got me out of the housework.

      But alas, it’s still there, waiting for me.

      I’d better get on with it.

    • Kordez says:

      08:36am | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday Guys!

      Reply

    • Macca says:

      08:56am | 01/06/10

      Well done Team, may your endless quest to hamper Australia’s workplace productivity continue. Kudos!

      Reply

    • Isabel says:

      08:58am | 01/06/10

      LOL I am with Nicole!

      Reply

    • Damo says:

      09:10am | 01/06/10

      Great stuff guys - congrats!

      Reply

    • Philip Crowley says:

      09:14am | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday to The Punch crew. I don’t always agree with your views, but I’ve grown to love you all smile

      Reply

    • casey. says:

      09:15am | 01/06/10

      Punchy, dollface, you made it. Good to have you.

      Reply

    • Sherekahn says:

      09:17am | 01/06/10

      Only one year old!  Keep going, I reckon you are or should be essential reading for all our Politicians.  They would know what is going on around them if only they logged-on.

      Reply

    • Gordon Akman says:

      09:17am | 01/06/10

      Do we get cake?

      Reply

    • BTS says:

      07:32pm | 01/06/10

      E-cake!

    • Sarah says:

      09:23am | 01/06/10

      Can anyone explain why my Punch daily email still has a set of headlines at the bottom including “Kyle Sandilands: Girl’s Rape Revelation Stunned Me”? It’s months since anyone commented on that story but it’s at the bottom of every daily email…

      Reply

    • casey says:

      10:35am | 01/06/10

      From memory, it lists the pieces with the highest comment tally, regardless of age.

    • Drewboy says:

      09:36am | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday Punch!!

      Reply

    • Jenni says:

      09:42am | 01/06/10

      hippy birdy guys smile I spend a large proportion of my day at work stuck at a computer, and The Punch is always one of the first places I visit each day smile good work!

      Reply

    • OldGirl says:

      10:00am | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday and thanks for a great deal of enjoyment

      Reply

    • Zeta says:

      10:01am | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday Punch. Only 17 more years before we can start legally dating. 15 if I get that Bulldogs contract in the meantime.

      Reply

    • Craig says:

      10:19am | 01/06/10

      Well done on a smashing first year - it’s quite an achievement and I reckon many of the articles posted have been world class. I recall when it was launched, you said a subscriber fee or paywall was likely in the future, as per Murdoch’s vision for content online. Is this still the plan? If so, when will it start and what will you charge?

      Reply

    • Trent says:

      10:33am | 01/06/10

      Happy birthday guys!! You rock!! Thanks for the laughs - all good fun!! smile  smile

      Reply

    • TheRealDave says:

      10:33am | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday Punchers.

      Reply

    • GraemeH says:

      10:35am | 01/06/10

      U have been in Saigon for a little while and enjoy The Punch daily for news
      of home. As a Rudd doubter, I enjoy your insights into his bad government.
      I am old enough to remember the Whitlam disaster years and this guy is even worse. Whitlam was at least an academic and honest compared to Rudd
      The people will decide at the election but his chicanery is amazing.
      Well done and happy birthday from Vietnam

      Reply

    • SR says:

      10:56am | 01/06/10

      TP has already lost control of user ‘identity’. NC probably hasn’t. Well done TP, but try to keep things in perspective.

      Reply

    • Shane From Melbourne says:

      11:26am | 01/06/10

      Congrats on 1 year. Well done to Liberal staffers, Labor staffers, Australian Christian Lobby and Other Corporate Lobbyists for their posts. The one independent person who made a neutral comment right at the beginning, you can go to the corner and hang your head in shame…..

      Reply

    • Sam says:

      11:28am | 01/06/10

      Congratulations on the milestone.

      11am 1st June and still no piece on the Israeli raid of that aid flotilla?

      I’m keen to blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind. Which is… no messiah, no validity. No messiah, no God, no chosen, no devine plan. A two-thousand-plus year old lie won’t survive another century without a messiah. Show me the messiah. There isn’t one, because this whole thing is full of nonsense. God must show his face, or be relegated to the cardboard box full of fiction novels at any garage sale. Where is the real messiah?

      Reply

    • Daddio D says:

      05:55am | 03/06/10

      Sam - The Messiah lives in a Tabernacle of any Catholic Church in your neighbourhood. He’s had almost 2000 birthdays already and will have many more after you and the punch have had your last. Seek and you shall find Him.

    • 6c legs says:

      11:30am | 01/06/10

      The Punch…. my dirty little secret


      Hippee Birdee to ewe
      Hippee Birdee to ewe
      (stops to draw deep breath)

      HIPPEE BIRDEE DEAR PUNCHERS - HIPPEE BIRDEE TO EEEEEWWWWWE

      Reply

    • nic says:

      11:34am | 01/06/10

      I enjoy reading the Punch, many of Penbo’s pieces are very thought provoking and honest and are among some of the best here. Tors is often good too.  However, Messr Colgan and Shanahan’s pieces are often lightweight and superficial and let the side down.

      Reply

    • casey says:

      12:23pm | 01/06/10

      Superficial. My favourite. Means I don’t have to wear the shame of reading anything glossy or gossip columns. It’s a bonus that the topics always have a cultural or artistic significance - looking at the same painting from a different side of the room.

      Perhaps, it’s just a point-of-view? I find Penberthy and Maguire’s articles more often infuriating than thought provoking.

    • luke09 says:

      11:45am | 01/06/10

      The Punch, best online commentry with great topics. Well done penbo and co.

      Reply

    • 6c legs says:

      11:50am | 01/06/10

      and, to “Zeta” and “persephone” and “iansand” - I get a lot from your posts, thanks (laughs and edumakation, whats not to loff?)

      Perse, totally get what you mean about why you got interested in politics; getting out of the house, and away from the bogan-feral neighbours, was my excuse too. (can only work the horses so many times before they start demanding that i give them the RSPCAs phno, sheesh.)

      Onya Punchers, all of yis…. now, lets all link cyber-hands, and sing Kumbahya. . .

      Reply

    • Celebration Tails says:

      11:53am | 01/06/10

      Yes, yes, Happy Birthday The Punch.
      But I’m still mad at you for not posting my “lay off the pies” jokes from last week.
      I look forward to watching everyone count all the typos you make tomorrow with your well-earned hangovers.

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      12:10pm | 01/06/10

      Someone get a chair fer Bert Newton whilst he’s cutting the cake, please.

      And many Happy returns

      Reply

    • Bea Minor says:

      12:15pm | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday and congratulations on a great forum. Like 6C legs, you’re my dirty little secret too…a number of long, boring, technical documents have been interrupted in favour of adding my opinion. I hope you’re having a celebration,

      Best Regards.

      Reply

    • nosthow says:

      12:34pm | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday Punch and the great Punch crew and all its great contributors - an excellent forum to debate the issues of the day - a Trendsetter !

      Reply

    • Ha says:

      12:43pm | 01/06/10

      For some reason I read the title as “111000 Communists later…”, seems to fit don’t you think?

      Reply

    • Barry says:

      12:48pm | 01/06/10

      54673 from the ALP and pers

      Reply

    • Boofhead says:

      01:06pm | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday Punchers!
      (Kate Ellis for Speaker!!)

      Reply

    • Jack from Perth says:

      01:08pm | 01/06/10

      111000? That’s almost half of Bronwyn Bishop’s age.

      Reply

    • Nic says:

      01:17pm | 01/06/10

      Well done team.  Punching above your weight since it all began a year ago.  Happy Birthday, many more to come!

      Reply
    • David Penberthy

      David Penberthy says:

      01:22pm | 01/06/10

      Thanks to everyone for their kind words. Being a journalist and all I often tell people that I’m a child molester who sells used cars so they have a higher opinion of me, so this kind of praise is rare.

      Reply

    • Tails says:

      01:44pm | 01/06/10

      Good one. I’m an excommunicated catholic priest who now writes pop-up banner advertisements.

    • luke09 says:

      01:38pm | 01/06/10

      penbo, why don’t you just tell people you’re a politician.  grin

      Reply

    • Dan says:

      01:57pm | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday Punch - and a Pinch and a Punch for the first day of the month (never really knew what that mean’t but jeez it would shit me when someone got me with that at school).

      Reply

    • antiperspirant says:

      02:05pm | 01/06/10

      Its been fun.

      Well done.

      I will be around for while yet to see if this thing grows into its’ terrible two’s.

      Best wishes.

      Reply

    • Emma says:

      02:22pm | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday The Punch, thank you for a great year of debate. Thanks to all of the readers who comment and make this so much more fun for everyone.

      Reply

    • Julie Coker-Godson says:

      04:26pm | 01/06/10

      Happy Birthday to the Punch Team!  May you have many more.  Best blog I reckon.

      Reply

    • Eric says:

      06:33pm | 01/06/10

      I blame the feminists.

      Reply

    • BTS says:

      07:29pm | 01/06/10

      umm, we know…

    • marley says:

      07:31pm | 01/06/10

      Well, you would. I blame the lizardmen (and women).

    • iansand says:

      07:09pm | 01/06/10

      Congrats.

      How many do you expect when Chairman Rupert makes us pay?  11?

      Reply

    • Andrew says:

      07:50pm | 01/06/10

      Congratulations on an outstanding media product. Long may youse reign.

      Reply

    • Bob H says:

      10:15am | 02/06/10

      Apologies for the late Birthday greeting.
      Thanks to all the contributors on the magnolia background, especially the ones that make me laugh.  The articles are a starter, but the main is the comments and I am amazed at the gold nuggets regularly found there.

      Reply

    • H of SA says:

      10:58am | 02/06/10

      Happy Birthday. My fondest memories of the first year are Joe Hildebrand’s review of Commando. One of the funniest things I have ever read.

      Reply

    • Daddio D says:

      05:41am | 03/06/10

      Not having popped by for a few days (I’m on holidays, ya see) I’m late with the well-deserved congrats. I do find the journos here that bit different, certainly they have class - Colgo continues to amaze with brilliant turns of phrase and thought-provoking, oftentimes funny articles; Penbo is one I highly admire his for writings but not necessarily on all his subjects and Tory and Leo are great members of the team. Well done to you all… Long may you prosper grin

      Reply

    • Congrats to the Team says:

      10:55am | 03/06/10

      What we really like about the Punch as opposed to the other news media out there is that you ‘really’ allow people a voice.

      It is blatantly obvious with other news media that people’s opinions are carefully edited ‘out’ to present the paper’s opinion as opposed to presenting the people’s opinion.

      Thank you for allowing Australians to have their say on important subjects and thank you for intelligent unbiased reporting mixed with a good dash of humor.

      Keep going!

      Reply
 
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