Here’s my thinking about news “paywalls”

by | Aug 24, 2009 | Australian media

Pick any mainstream news brand site – News.com.au or TheAge.com.au – and take a look at the front page. Now, tell me – if you had to pay to read each of those articles, how many of them are SO RELEVANT to your life that would you pay to read them right now?

Here’s my quick analysis for today’s sites (click to zoom):

GDay World 391 – Jon Dee, Founder of Planet Ark and Do Something

by | Aug 24, 2009 | activism, climate change, environment, Podcast

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Jon Dee

A few days ago I had a chance to chat with Jon Dee, founder of Planet Ark and the new Do Something! initiative, about his life and goals. We talked about everything from his involvement in Rock Aid Armenia (where he pulled together a list of top Brit Rockers to perform a charity concert and record a new version of Deep Purple’s “Smoke On The Water” to raise funds for earthquake victims in Armenia) to deciding, with friend Aussie tennis pro Pat Cash, to start Planet Ark, and his new venture Do Something!, which aims to create positive social and environmental change.

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Here’s the version of Smoke On The Water that Jon produced back in 1992!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odeztf1nK8s&hl=en&fs=1&]

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FBI Paid, Trained Right-Wing Hate Blogger

by | Aug 22, 2009 | US politics

That’s the allegation made by Hal Turner’s lawyer in his defense. If it turns out to be true – and I’m sure the FBI will deny it until the cows come home – it’s just more evidence that Governments like conflict. If they keep us fighting amongst ourselves about Right vs Left, it leaves us less time thinking about how to get on with building a fairer and more just society. 

It reminds me that we often need to scratch the surface of news stories – sometimes there is a story behind the headline – people who stand to profit from an event, people who were manipulating an event.

It’s like the current rash of angry, outraged women speaking out at the "town hall" meetings in the United States who get lots of coverage on Fox News. I’ve been wondering whose payroll they are on.