Can You Help?
This website is in imminent danger of being shut down. It has been online since 1995, but the personal circumstances of the owner, Malcolm Farnsworth, are such that economies have to be made. Server costs and suchlike have become prohibitive. At the urging of people online, I have agreed to see if Patreon provides a solution. More information is available at the Patreon website. If you are able to contribute even $1.00/month to keep the site running, please click the Patreon button below.
The Minister for Communications, Senator Stephen Conroy, spoke to the media today about the controversy surrounding the 2DayFM Royal prank call.
The latest instalment in the debate about media standards, practices and regulation erupted over the weekend following the death, reportedly by suicide, of one of the nurses contacted by the Sydney disc jockeys. [Read more…]
The Federal Communications Minister, Senator Helen Coonan, has revealed she is considering changes to media ownership laws that would allow a single company to own newspapers and radio and television stations in the same market.
Addressing the National Press Club in Canberra, Coonan outlined technological changes which she argued have altered the media playing field. She said: “The evolution of media presents both challenges and opportunities for the industry that, in my view, mean we cannot stand still. Digital technologies allow completely new ways of packaging and delivering audio-visual services, entertainment and information.” [Read more…]
An article by Paul Kelly in The Australian on March 3, 2001 is worth reading for its discussion of the influence of talkback comperes on commercial radio.
Kelly argues that the policy reversals of the Howard government during this week is “the purest victory so far for direct democracy.”
Following the trouncing meted out to the coalition parties in the Western Australian and Queensland elections, the Federal government has cut petrol excise by 1.5 cents/litre and abolished the twice-yearly indexation of petrol excise. [Read more…]