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 !!!

 

Kathy Lette-Swinging from The Chandeliers

Today is Kathy Lette is 53 and she plans to celebrate her birthday with hubby Geoffrey Robertson QC at London's Savoy Hotel where she says she will be "swinging from the chandeliers".

Kathy has been telling the London Evening Standard about her recent encounter with a would be handbag snatcher in London's East End:
"I think adrenaline kicked in. He grabbed it, but I wasn't going to let him have it, so I fought back, I grabbed it back from him. The handle broke, but at least I got it back.
"I just held on for grim death. I couldn't really give chase afterwards because I had my high heels on. Taking a woman's handbag, it is like you are violating her very body.
"From now if I walk in the East End the only handbag I will carry will be in the form of the arm of a really burly bloke."

Kathy had been on her way to a literary event when the mugger struck and attempted to bag the Moschino handbag. As the writer says :
"You don't come between an Australian woman and her handbag".
PS : Kathy's first husband was Kim Williams who has just become the overlord of News Corp in Australia.

Earth to News Corp #4

Another colourful feature in the glorious Daily Telegraph, Rupert Murdoch's flagship Sydney newspaper.

In a picture gallery titled Celebrities-Then and Now featuring stars when young and how they look today, such as Kelsey Grammer, Drew Barrymore, Andre Agassi etc, this one caught our eye with the caption:

Celebs then and now :  Elijah Wood and Macaulay Culkin as child stars in 1994 film "The Good Sons"

Followed by this one with the caption:

Almost unrecognisable from his years as a child actor..Macaulay Caulkin in 2011.

..err..yes, probably because it isn't Macaulay but his younger brother Kieren Culkin.
Macaulay is still recognisable even at the age of 30 as you can see from this snap from 2011:

 With Fox Studios boss Kim Williams, a stickler for detail taking over the helm at News Corp and all of Murdoch's Australian newspapers, be warned-there will be no more of this nonsense. 

Big News at News Ltd

It was an announcement that caught everyone by surprise today - the resignation of the boss of the Australian arm of News Ltd, John Hartigan.

Kim Williams

Even more surprising was Rupert Murdoch's following announcement in Melbourne today, that the Foxtel boss who also runs Fox Studios, Kim Williams will take Hartigan's place. Murdoch will now takeover as CEO of Australian operations.

It's a sure sign that no matter what happens with News Corp in the USA or UK, Murdoch is ensuring that the highly profitable control of his Australian operations is under his command. A court case in the Melbourne courts is currently tarnishing the image of Murdoch's most beloved publication The Australian, the countries only national newspaper set up by Rupert in 1964.

Gough & Margaret Whitlam

And the choice of Kim Williams who has never worked on a newspaper is an extraordinary departure from standard Murdoch practice. Williams is a no-nonsense boss and considered not only articulate and clever but bordering on the intellectual and certainly not a 'right winger' like most of News Ltd's major executives.

He is also married to Catherine Dovey, daughter of former Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam who broke the Conservative stranglehold on Australian politics in 1972 when the Coalition was finally defeated after 23 years in power.

Whitlam swept into office on a wave of enthusiasm for change and for Australia to get out of the Vietnam War with the backing of the Murdoch media. Three years later Murdoch was to turn on Labor and give his support back to the Coalition.

Cate Blanchett Attends Sydney Film Festival

A freezing Sydney winter night and lots of bare legged girls shaking in the cold wind for their art. The show must go on. The Sydney Film Festival opened at the State Theatre with the espionage thriller Hanna starring Saorise Ronan, Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana. 

Ronan plays a 16 year old assassin who sets out to bump off Blanchett who plays a cold eyed , orange haired spy and Blanchett tries to do likewise to Ronan..

Actor Matt Day & wife Kirsty Thomason

Meanwhile in downtown Surry Hills The Seagull opened at the Belvoir Street Theatre with Judy Davis , David Wenham,Emily Barclay and Bille Brown. Needless to say, a cast like that received a rousing reception and almost a standing ovation.

Maia Thomas* Katherine Hicks * Michelle Vergara Moore * Anya Beyersdorf who star in Black & White & Sex

The notoriously media shy Davis skipped out the stage door-she refused to give interviews for the play while the rest of the cast joined first nighters for champagne and smoked salmon in the foyer.

Film director Gillian Armstrong and daughter Billy

Zoo Lim

actress Sylvia Colloco and husband Richard Roxburgh at The Seagull

Fox Studios boss Kim Williams

Sigrid Thornton & Tom Burstall

Festival director Clare Stuart