http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/abc/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-team-flagging-the-pm-as-a-sexual-being/ Are you shocked that tomorrow night’s episode of At Home with Julia shows ‘Prime Minister Julia Gillard’ tabling her man in Parliament*, with a post-coital cuddle under the Australian flag? Monarchist David Flint was – he says it shows a lack of respect. Not to the PM, but to the flag. An ABC spokesman defended the skit, and said the flag was a “symbol of love” draped over the PM. Ms Gillard, unsurprisingly, declined to comment. Here’s The Punch team’s take. What’s yours? feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-team-flagging-the-pm-as-a-sexual-being/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-team-flagging-the-pm-as-a-sexual-being/#item6755 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan said that the medium is the message. I’m not really sure what it means but it seems a suitably pretentious way to start a column about the condition of pretentiousness; that is, the state of being up one’s self, a show pony, a poseur. The particular class of poseurs I would like to discuss today belong to a group called the Friends of the ABC. I used to live among their number while a resident of the People’s Republic of Leichhardt, in Sydney’s groovy and organic inner west. It’s a terrific part of Australia, marred only by the presence of an old Volvo on every street bearing bumper stickers saying “No Aircraft Noise”, “The Goddess is Dancing” and “Hands off our ABC.”  So that people didn’t think less of me, at neighbourhood barbecues I would tell folks that I worked in a laboratory rubbing cheap cosmetics into the eyes of bunny rabbits, rather than admitting to editing The Daily Telegraph. You can understand why people don’t like aircraft noise and support dancing goddesses but I am buggered if I can see why people will develop an impassioned lifelong commitment to an organisation which like any organisation does some things extremely well and some things really badly. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bourgeois-wankerdom-and-friends-of-the-abc/ The Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan said that the medium is the message. I’m not really sure what it means but it seems a suitably pretentious way to start a column about the condition of pretentiousness; that is, the state of being up one’s self, a show pony, a poseur. The particular class of poseurs I would like to discuss today belong to a group called the Friends of the ABC. I used to live among their number while a resident of the People’s Republic of Leichhardt, in Sydney’s groovy and organic inner west. It’s a terrific part of Australia, marred only by the presence of an old Volvo on every street bearing bumper stickers saying “No Aircraft Noise”, “The Goddess is Dancing” and “Hands off our ABC.”  So that people didn’t think less of me, at neighbourhood barbecues I would tell folks that I worked in a laboratory rubbing cheap cosmetics into the eyes of bunny rabbits, rather than admitting to editing The Daily Telegraph. You can understand why people don’t like aircraft noise and support dancing goddesses but I am buggered if I can see why people will develop an impassioned lifelong commitment to an organisation which like any organisation does some things extremely well and some things really badly. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bourgeois-wankerdom-and-friends-of-the-abc/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bourgeois-wankerdom-and-friends-of-the-abc/#item6727 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan said that the medium is the message. I’m not really sure what it means but it seems a suitably pretentious way to start a column about the condition of pretentiousness; that is, the state of being up one’s self, a show pony, a poseur. The particular class of poseurs I would like to discuss today belong to a group called the Friends of the ABC. I used to live among their number while a resident of the People’s Republic of Leichhardt, in Sydney’s groovy and organic inner west. It’s a terrific part of Australia, marred only by the presence of an old Volvo on every street bearing bumper stickers saying “No Aircraft Noise”, “The Goddess is Dancing” and “Hands off our ABC.”  So that people didn’t think less of me, at neighbourhood barbecues I would tell folks that I worked in a laboratory rubbing cheap cosmetics into the eyes of bunny rabbits, rather than admitting to editing The Daily Telegraph. You can understand why people don’t like aircraft noise and support dancing goddesses but I am buggered if I can see why people will develop an impassioned lifelong commitment to an organisation which like any organisation does some things extremely well and some things really badly. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Why-is-the-ABC-screening-this-crap/ When The Chaser had an epic humour fail with their Make a Realistic Wish Foundation skit, the consensus was that they missed the mark because good satire picks a target worthy of lampooning. Sick kids and the charities which raise money for them didn’t come close to that. On that score, Australia’s 27th Prime Minister Julia Gillard should be a prime target for satire. If you can’t have a good old fashioned crack at a Prime Minister who has stumbled from disaster to disaster, who can you have a crack at? Heh heh. We just said “crack”. Geddit? Cos, you know, the PM’s a woman? Excuse the puerile sexual innuendo. Mind you, anyone who laboured through the satirical show At Home With Julia on the ABC last night had to tolerate much, much worse. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Why-is-the-ABC-screening-this-crap/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Why-is-the-ABC-screening-this-crap/#item6671 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan said that the medium is the message. I’m not really sure what it means but it seems a suitably pretentious way to start a column about the condition of pretentiousness; that is, the state of being up one’s self, a show pony, a poseur. The particular class of poseurs I would like to discuss today belong to a group called the Friends of the ABC. I used to live among their number while a resident of the People’s Republic of Leichhardt, in Sydney’s groovy and organic inner west. It’s a terrific part of Australia, marred only by the presence of an old Volvo on every street bearing bumper stickers saying “No Aircraft Noise”, “The Goddess is Dancing” and “Hands off our ABC.”  So that people didn’t think less of me, at neighbourhood barbecues I would tell folks that I worked in a laboratory rubbing cheap cosmetics into the eyes of bunny rabbits, rather than admitting to editing The Daily Telegraph. You can understand why people don’t like aircraft noise and support dancing goddesses but I am buggered if I can see why people will develop an impassioned lifelong commitment to an organisation which like any organisation does some things extremely well and some things really badly. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/at-home-with-a-pm-whos-lost-all-of-australias-respect/ Perhaps the most damaging outcome of all the dysfunction wrought by the Gillard Government is the shocking loss of respect for the office of Prime Minister itself. If the headlines of “Dead Woman Walking” and the litany of ridicule in the weekend papers wasn’t enough to convince you that respect is lost, then tonight the ABC launches At Home with Julia - a sitcom, mockumentary, call it what you will, about the private life of Gillard and her partner Tim Mathieson. Of course, I haven’t seen it - it may well be a touching tribute. Just as Spinal Tap was an erudite tribute to those much misunderstood rockers. Point is, it’s playing for laughs. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/at-home-with-a-pm-whos-lost-all-of-australias-respect/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/at-home-with-a-pm-whos-lost-all-of-australias-respect/#item6646 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan said that the medium is the message. I’m not really sure what it means but it seems a suitably pretentious way to start a column about the condition of pretentiousness; that is, the state of being up one’s self, a show pony, a poseur. The particular class of poseurs I would like to discuss today belong to a group called the Friends of the ABC. I used to live among their number while a resident of the People’s Republic of Leichhardt, in Sydney’s groovy and organic inner west. It’s a terrific part of Australia, marred only by the presence of an old Volvo on every street bearing bumper stickers saying “No Aircraft Noise”, “The Goddess is Dancing” and “Hands off our ABC.”  So that people didn’t think less of me, at neighbourhood barbecues I would tell folks that I worked in a laboratory rubbing cheap cosmetics into the eyes of bunny rabbits, rather than admitting to editing The Daily Telegraph. You can understand why people don’t like aircraft noise and support dancing goddesses but I am buggered if I can see why people will develop an impassioned lifelong commitment to an organisation which like any organisation does some things extremely well and some things really badly. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/QA-is-the-equivalent-of-intellectual-McNuggets/ Mainstream media holds a mirror up to society. If we take a look into that mirror, we see what is preoccupying our attention. On a deeper level, we can gain significant insight into the way we tend to investigate and argue. Monday’s Q and A episode provided great insight into the superficial way we tend to approach philosophical and ethical topics. The fast paced program is geared towards political discussion, but for this episode, the topic was God, Religion and Ethics. Disappointingly, There was a focus on sound bites, concrete current affairs and controversy, and as a result, many of us went away no more enlightened on the topics than before. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/QA-is-the-equivalent-of-intellectual-McNuggets/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/QA-is-the-equivalent-of-intellectual-McNuggets/#item6322 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan said that the medium is the message. I’m not really sure what it means but it seems a suitably pretentious way to start a column about the condition of pretentiousness; that is, the state of being up one’s self, a show pony, a poseur. The particular class of poseurs I would like to discuss today belong to a group called the Friends of the ABC. I used to live among their number while a resident of the People’s Republic of Leichhardt, in Sydney’s groovy and organic inner west. It’s a terrific part of Australia, marred only by the presence of an old Volvo on every street bearing bumper stickers saying “No Aircraft Noise”, “The Goddess is Dancing” and “Hands off our ABC.”  So that people didn’t think less of me, at neighbourhood barbecues I would tell folks that I worked in a laboratory rubbing cheap cosmetics into the eyes of bunny rabbits, rather than admitting to editing The Daily Telegraph. You can understand why people don’t like aircraft noise and support dancing goddesses but I am buggered if I can see why people will develop an impassioned lifelong commitment to an organisation which like any organisation does some things extremely well and some things really badly. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/angry-boys-lilleys-old-stuffs-better-than-his-new-stuff/ As soon as a mainstream, watermelon-wearing, faux lesbian-curious, pop starlet with abysmal spelling declared her vacant-eyed love for Chris Lilley, you knew he was in trouble. Not only did Katy Perry go all schoolgirl-giggly on Lilley at the Logies, but last night she tweeted her mad enthusiasm for him before the start of his new show, Angry Boys. As did a colossal number of semi-literate Twits, making Angry Boys the top trender in Australia before the show even began. And it hit the top worldwide once it started. For Twitnoramuses, that means it was the most talked about subject IN THE WORLD (forgive caps) on Twitter. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/angry-boys-lilleys-old-stuffs-better-than-his-new-stuff/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/angry-boys-lilleys-old-stuffs-better-than-his-new-stuff/#item5822 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan said that the medium is the message. I’m not really sure what it means but it seems a suitably pretentious way to start a column about the condition of pretentiousness; that is, the state of being up one’s self, a show pony, a poseur. The particular class of poseurs I would like to discuss today belong to a group called the Friends of the ABC. I used to live among their number while a resident of the People’s Republic of Leichhardt, in Sydney’s groovy and organic inner west. It’s a terrific part of Australia, marred only by the presence of an old Volvo on every street bearing bumper stickers saying “No Aircraft Noise”, “The Goddess is Dancing” and “Hands off our ABC.”  So that people didn’t think less of me, at neighbourhood barbecues I would tell folks that I worked in a laboratory rubbing cheap cosmetics into the eyes of bunny rabbits, rather than admitting to editing The Daily Telegraph. You can understand why people don’t like aircraft noise and support dancing goddesses but I am buggered if I can see why people will develop an impassioned lifelong commitment to an organisation which like any organisation does some things extremely well and some things really badly. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/aborted-chaser-coverage-is-no-great-loss/ The Palace is not amused. A royal edict, delivered not by chariot with unfurled parchment, but via grey-suits and sneaky lawyer speak, has decreed there shall be no Chaser royal wedding coverage. Oh, well. No big loss. Let’s face it, you were either going to salivate over every second of the straight Royal Wedding coverage, or you were going to act like someone with a life and ignore it completely. The Chaser’s coverage, despite this week’s massive publicity blitz, was always going to be of minimal interest to the masses. That’s not to say The Chaser’s take wouldn’t have been a laugh. Without doubt, it would have been an amusing enough diversion from the obsessive fussing over the length of the bride’s train, Beckham’s wedding hairdo and other minutiae. But there’s no way it would’ve been must-see TV, and there’s a very simple reason why. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/aborted-chaser-coverage-is-no-great-loss/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/aborted-chaser-coverage-is-no-great-loss/#item5716 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan said that the medium is the message. I’m not really sure what it means but it seems a suitably pretentious way to start a column about the condition of pretentiousness; that is, the state of being up one’s self, a show pony, a poseur. The particular class of poseurs I would like to discuss today belong to a group called the Friends of the ABC. I used to live among their number while a resident of the People’s Republic of Leichhardt, in Sydney’s groovy and organic inner west. It’s a terrific part of Australia, marred only by the presence of an old Volvo on every street bearing bumper stickers saying “No Aircraft Noise”, “The Goddess is Dancing” and “Hands off our ABC.”  So that people didn’t think less of me, at neighbourhood barbecues I would tell folks that I worked in a laboratory rubbing cheap cosmetics into the eyes of bunny rabbits, rather than admitting to editing The Daily Telegraph. You can understand why people don’t like aircraft noise and support dancing goddesses but I am buggered if I can see why people will develop an impassioned lifelong commitment to an organisation which like any organisation does some things extremely well and some things really badly. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-should-get-the-paper-giants-treatment-next/ The ABC mini-mini-series Paper Giants has been a great hit. Funky footage blended with some brilliant performances, fabulous frocks, and an intriguing behind-the-scenes look at the creation of women’s mag, Cleo. On a smaller scale, it did for the magazine industry what Mad Men did for the advertising industry. Here at The Punch, it made us wonder: What’s next? What else could benefit from this historical dramatisation? The ABC is reportedly looking at other Cleo-related or Packer family-related options - but we reckon there’s much broader scope in the genre. Anyway, see below for our thoughts on Paper Giants, and share your own thoughts below. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-should-get-the-paper-giants-treatment-next/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-should-get-the-paper-giants-treatment-next/#item5679 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan said that the medium is the message. I’m not really sure what it means but it seems a suitably pretentious way to start a column about the condition of pretentiousness; that is, the state of being up one’s self, a show pony, a poseur. The particular class of poseurs I would like to discuss today belong to a group called the Friends of the ABC. I used to live among their number while a resident of the People’s Republic of Leichhardt, in Sydney’s groovy and organic inner west. It’s a terrific part of Australia, marred only by the presence of an old Volvo on every street bearing bumper stickers saying “No Aircraft Noise”, “The Goddess is Dancing” and “Hands off our ABC.”  So that people didn’t think less of me, at neighbourhood barbecues I would tell folks that I worked in a laboratory rubbing cheap cosmetics into the eyes of bunny rabbits, rather than admitting to editing The Daily Telegraph. You can understand why people don’t like aircraft noise and support dancing goddesses but I am buggered if I can see why people will develop an impassioned lifelong commitment to an organisation which like any organisation does some things extremely well and some things really badly. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-once-mighty-medium-of-television-is-on-its-last-legs/ Here’s a simple statistic that TV executives are happy you didn’t know. Back in the 1980s the population of Australia was about 14 million. A good TV show would rate about 5 million viewers. Fast forward to 2011. Australia’s population has grown to 20 million and TV execs are dancing on their mini-bars if their show attracts over 1.2 million viewers. The population has doubled, the viewers have halved. The maths is not good. “Masterchef” peaked last year with over 3.5 million viewers. Proportionally, based on 1980’s viewing habits, Masterchef should have rated nine million viewers. The velocity of the decline is increasing. For an industry that was once a sizable chunk of the life and breath of Australian culture, the Australian free TV industry is “circling the drain”. That’s cop show talk for dying. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-once-mighty-medium-of-television-is-on-its-last-legs/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-once-mighty-medium-of-television-is-on-its-last-legs/#item5369 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan said that the medium is the message. I’m not really sure what it means but it seems a suitably pretentious way to start a column about the condition of pretentiousness; that is, the state of being up one’s self, a show pony, a poseur. The particular class of poseurs I would like to discuss today belong to a group called the Friends of the ABC. I used to live among their number while a resident of the People’s Republic of Leichhardt, in Sydney’s groovy and organic inner west. It’s a terrific part of Australia, marred only by the presence of an old Volvo on every street bearing bumper stickers saying “No Aircraft Noise”, “The Goddess is Dancing” and “Hands off our ABC.”  So that people didn’t think less of me, at neighbourhood barbecues I would tell folks that I worked in a laboratory rubbing cheap cosmetics into the eyes of bunny rabbits, rather than admitting to editing The Daily Telegraph. You can understand why people don’t like aircraft noise and support dancing goddesses but I am buggered if I can see why people will develop an impassioned lifelong commitment to an organisation which like any organisation does some things extremely well and some things really badly. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/wake-up-breakfast-tv-plays-a-role-whether-you-like-it-or-not/ Commercial television’s breakfast programs aren’t for everyone. It’s not compulsory to watch and there are plenty of alternatives. But the facts are that they connect with their viewers in a more powerful way than their traditional television news formats. Stop. Don’t start commenting yet. Hear me out and then go your hardest… I’ve broad shoulders (and a sense of humour, check out the clip above). feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/wake-up-breakfast-tv-plays-a-role-whether-you-like-it-or-not/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/wake-up-breakfast-tv-plays-a-role-whether-you-like-it-or-not/#item5078 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan said that the medium is the message. I’m not really sure what it means but it seems a suitably pretentious way to start a column about the condition of pretentiousness; that is, the state of being up one’s self, a show pony, a poseur. The particular class of poseurs I would like to discuss today belong to a group called the Friends of the ABC. I used to live among their number while a resident of the People’s Republic of Leichhardt, in Sydney’s groovy and organic inner west. It’s a terrific part of Australia, marred only by the presence of an old Volvo on every street bearing bumper stickers saying “No Aircraft Noise”, “The Goddess is Dancing” and “Hands off our ABC.”  So that people didn’t think less of me, at neighbourhood barbecues I would tell folks that I worked in a laboratory rubbing cheap cosmetics into the eyes of bunny rabbits, rather than admitting to editing The Daily Telegraph. You can understand why people don’t like aircraft noise and support dancing goddesses but I am buggered if I can see why people will develop an impassioned lifelong commitment to an organisation which like any organisation does some things extremely well and some things really badly.