Cam in Computer Trader
If you are in Australia, look out for this week’s edition of Computer Trader magazine. Paul McKenna asked me to write something about the Vint Cerf interview. Thanks for the opportunity Paul!
G’DAY WORLD #249 – The Future Of Newspapers
Ryan Sholin wrote this post “10 obvious things about the future of newspapers you need to get through your head” on June 2 about the future of newspapers. It ended up on the front page of TechMeme and obviously struck a chord with lots of people. So I invited him onto the show to explore his key points in some more detail.
Ryan is a graduate student in Mass Communications at San Jose State University, working on a thesis about the adoption of weblogs at U.S. newspapers and he works at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
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Packer jumps ship while he still can
James Packer is selling down another 25% of PBL, taking his ownership to a minority share. I predicted this last October when Packer first announced he was selling off PBL.
As I pointed out back then, you probably won’t hear the mainstream media talking about the real reason Packer is selling down. They will focus on the his interest in gambling. Sure sure. Gambling is swell. But Packer doesn’t need to sell off PBL to get into gambling. He is James Packer. This isn’t like your university drop-out brother selling his PS2 so he can upgrade. The real reason (IMHO) that Packer is selling off PBL is that he wants to get out while he still can! He knows what we know, what Buffett and Gates and Murdoch know. The old media business is dead in the water. It’s a floater, just waiting for CSI to come along and fish it out with a long gaff so someone can autopsy the corpse.
Murdoch is the only guy who is still buying old media assets (apart from the vulture PE firms who can’t wait to pick the flesh off the bones… oh and Sam Zell). That’s because Rupert thinks he can just buy EVERYTHING. This is his last great gasp before he shuffles off to the Great Satellite Network in the Sky. He’s like Kane, buying all of the antiques of Europe, and then stuffing them into a warehouse somewhere in New Jersey, where a few years from now, a handful of guys will be sorting through them, chucking them into a great oven. I wonder if Rupert’s last dying words will be “Advertiserrrrr….”??
So anyway… I guarantee you won’t see a single mainstream media article in this country talk about the real reason why Packer is getting the hell out of dodge. Why? Because no-one wants to admit that their industry is on its last legs. The only old media guys I’ve met who are able to admit that are the ones that have resigned and walked away before the crash. Like Hugh Martin. I’m pretty sure Mark Jones would, but he’s still apparently counting on them for a pay cheque until he’s earning his keep from Yahweh.
And you won’t see Today Tonight, the kids that LOVE to throw the book at drunk drivers, talking about how their boss, Peter Meakin, has been sentenced to 18 month jail (on weekends) for trying to dodge a booze bus while he pissed behind the wheel. Nice one Pete. Nice to see his former colleagues at Nine News dancing on his grave as well. Classy, fellas.
And I doubt you’ll see any of them talking about the privatization of Iraq oil that I mentioned this morning.
Prove me wrong.
Channel 7 news chief gets part-time jail
Channel Seven’s head of news and current affairs, Peter Meakin, has been sentenced to up to 18 months’ periodic detention for drink-driving and dangerous driving.
I thought it was for producing Today Tonight.
Ms Culver said Meakin accelerated past a random breath testing site at North Narrabeen when police signalled him to pull over.
He forced two police officers off the road in a bid to avoid being tested, she said.
Who Pays Alan Jones?
Scienta makes a good point that I hadn’t considered: should we hold 2GB responsible for keep Alan Jones on the air or should the companies that continue to support his show with their advertising dollars be held just as responsible?
According to Scienta’s research, the following companies buy advertising on 2GB:
Addbuild Additions, Blue Haven Pools, Dedes Restaurant, Doors Plus, Dyldam, Flying Fish, Health & Image, MBT Centre, Heart Check Medical Clinic, L.J. Hooker, Nature Bee, Nick’s Seafood Restaurant, Nimbo Fork Luxury Fly Fishing Lodge, Officespace Australia Wide, P&O Cruises, Park Trent Properties Group, Premier Cabs Pty Limited, Sam the Paving Man, Switzer Financial Services, The Eye Institute, The Gazebo and Woolooware Shores Lifestyle Village.
I wonder if any of these companies considered pulling their advertising support from 2GB in the wake of ACMA’s finding that Jones and 2GB breached the Commercial Radio Code of Practice in 2006, with their broadcasts on the Cronulla riots.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to contact each of these companies and ask them? There are only 22 companies listed and their phone numbers are all here on 2GB’s website. I guess we could call them and ask? Who wants to lend a hand?
G’DAY WORLD #229 – Sunshine and Dark Clouds
No guest today, just a bit of a chat about:
- Robert Rodriguez’s cooking show on the Sin City Recut DVD
a review of “The Receipt” by Will Adamsdale and Chris Branch, currently showing in the Melbourne Comedy Festival
- my review of George Romero’s 1985 classic “Day Of The Dead”
- my review of Danny Boyle’s current film “Sunshine” starring Aussie actress Rose Byrne and Cillian Murphy
- the spoof website MiningNSW which the Mining Council of NSW has been trying to shut down
- and then I finish with a little chat about my friend, the darkness, and what to do about it.
Don’t forget to make use of my new comments line – Aussies can dial into +613 9016 9699. The rest of you can either pay international charges (cmon, what price can you put on being on my show??) or just start begging me to set up an international number.
If you enjoyed this podcast, make sure you don’t miss future episodes by subscribing to our feed and leave us a voice comment!
- Subscribe to TPN::G’day World by Email
- If you use iTunes, click here.
- If you use another aggregator, grab our RSS feed here.
- If you don’t know what I’m talking about, read this description in Wikipedia.
The G’Day World Theme Song is “Save Me†by The Napoleon Blown Aparts.