Scooped Again

Several reports have appeared today on the ABC, in Fairfax Media, in Rupert Murdoch's Australian paper, on the Crikey website and distributed far and wide via AAP : Britain's Guardian Newspaper is to set up in Australia with an on-line newspaper publishing local content.

Graeme Wood

The project is a joint venture with Guardian Newspapers and multi-millionaire philanthropist Graeme Wood who has invested around $20M in his Global Mail digital news magazine.

Annabel Crabb

None of this is news of course for regular Social Shuttle readers who were brought this exact news on the 31st December last year.

The Oz Guardian is expected to employ up to 35 to produce local journalism and already leading ex- Fairfax writers- some who took a nicely padded redundancy package last year including Annabel Crabb and David Marr have been offered posts by the Guardian's deputy editor Katherine Viner.

Media Madness *2

Lord Leveson

The first part of the much anticipated Leveson Inquiry into press standards is to be published next Thursday in the UK and the very next day it's author Lord Leveson will jump on a plane to Sydney. The  world's most colourful tabloid, the Daily Mail mischievously puts it thus : :
Leveson to head on expenses-paid trip to Australia for speech on media freedom.
leading many readers to think it is a UK government funded trip.

The Daily Mail recently ran a superbly crafted hatchet job on Leveson weaving together a conspiracy that the wacky reptile hunter David Icke would have been envious of.   

Leveson will be the guest of the Sydney University of Technology at the Privacy in the 21st Century conference on Sunday 7th December and they will pay all his costs and fees.
Other speakers include 'lock 'em up and throw away the key' former NSW AG John Hatzistergos, former Federal AG Robert McLelland MP and the chair of the toothless Press Council, Prof. Julian Disney.
Also included are several journalists : the recently retired Fairfax writer David Marr along with several from Rupert Murdoch's baby The Australian : Janet  Albrechtsen, Mark Day and Chris Merritt.
News Ltd boss Kim Williams has been frothing at the keyboards over rumoured press standards that may be introduced on recommendation of our own media inquiry, the Finkelstein Report.And who pulled off this remarkable coup in getting Lord Leveson down-under ?. None other than the popular media critic, crikey columnist and  UTS Faculty for Arts and Social Sciences Advisory Committee member , the fearless writer Margaret Simmons.
The Australian has run a relentless campaign ala Daily Mail against Simmons over the past 2 years.
  Sounds like a conference not to be missed !. Tickets can be obtained here.   
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COMING SOON : The CHARLES BILLICH art extravaganza party..uncensored !!!

 

Magic : Miriam Margolyes & Barry Humphries

It's usually a political grab fest with a variety of politicians going head to head: ABC TVs Q&A.

Tonight it was pure cabaret with a Barry Humphries and Miriam Margolyes dominating a panel that consisted of host Tony Jones and fellow panelists, former politician John Hewson, Oscar nominee Jackie Weaver and journalist David Marr.
Miriam spoke of her lesbianism, her anti-Zionism, her Canberra born partner and her wish to take out Australian citizenship.(she knows Don Bradman's batting average in anticipation of the citizenship test).
There are still tickets available for her Dickens' Women show at the Sydney Opera House this Thursday and after watching her performance as Ruth Pinch from Dicken's Martin Chuzzlewit at the end of Q&A , it's a must see.

Q&A can be watched now on the ABC Q&A website.

## In 1991 David Marr published his best selling biography of Australia's Nobel Prize winning author Patrick White. Today is the 100th year anniversary since White was born in Knighstbridge in London in 1912. He emigrated with his parents to Australia when he was 6 months old, living in a Sydney flat with servants and a nanny while his parents lived in the next door apartment.

This Sunday ABC TV screens In The Eye Of The Storm. Fred Schepisi's adaption of White's 1973 book of the same name. The film stars Charlotte Rampling, Judy Davis and Geoffrey Rush. Not to be missed.

Julian Assange's Dangerous Ideas

There are still seats for this long weekend's Festival Of Dangerous Ideas with Julian Assange (by video link-up) as a key speaker.

David Marr

Phillip Nitschke

Other speakers include gay former High Court justice Michael Kirby, former leader of the Democrats Cheryl Kernot, asylum seeker advocate and barrister Julian Burnside, journalists Catherine Lumby, Kate Adie and Roy Masters, the man who wants to force the wealthy to pay more taxes Dick Smith and assisted suicide campaigner Phillip Nitschke.

Subjects discussed will include All Women are Sluts, Footballers are Barbarians, The Media Have No Morals, Psychopaths Make The World Go Round and many more.

Cheryl Kernot

One very popular discussion will be Gays And lesbians Have no Place in The Class Room with gay Sydney Morning Herald writer David Marr and Jim Wallace from the Australian Christian Lobby. And one to take your rotten fruit to: Is Torture Necessary? with Marc Thiessen a former speechwriter for George W.Bush who will tell us why he advocates water torture.

Everything takes place at the Sydney Opera House so book now as it's going to be a wet weekend and the event will be a sell out!

Tickets here.

surely some mistake...

In May 2008 a controversey over some nude teen photographs by internationally aclaimed artist Bill Henson swept the nation as the Ros Oxley Gallery in Paddington was raided by police with the offending items carted off to assess whether they could be deemed to be illegal porn. Self appointed child advocate Hetty Johnson demanded that heads roll, shock jocks went into screech mode, State and Federal politicians weighed in and the owner of the gallery, Ros Oxley who resides in Sydney's, if not the countries most splendid harbourside home, the gothic pile Carthona, decamped with her family to Switzerland for a few months.

Oxley friend and Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Turnbull declared the photos to be art and confided that the walls of his Point Piper mansion hosted a few Henson items. But newly elected Prime Minister Kevin Rudd weighed into the frenzy describing the photos (without actually seeing them) as "absolutely revolting".

Fast forward to the present date and the soon to be announced Prime Minister's Literary Awards  which has a $100,000 prize up for grabs. And there amongst the contendors- Henson vocal defender David Marr with his latest book 'The Henson Case' in which the brilliant Sydney Morning Herald journalist and former Media Watch host dissects the whirlwind that surrounded the whole affair. Winning the prize would catapult the book into instant best seller status.

A prize giving ceremony not to be missed.