Samuel's Blog

The US TV networks’ liberal bias

The Culture and Media Institute has a very interesting piece on the liberal bias of the big three TV networks in the US, and how they appear to be deliberately avoiding interviews with conservative authors unless the author can be easily antagonised.

There are plenty of examples of such bias in the book, but the one which I find most stunning (but least surprising) is the complete lack of coverage for Mark Levin’s Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto.

But no matter how commercially successful conservative books and authors have been, they were slighted by the three broadcast networks. The most glaring evidence of bias against conservative books was the networks’ complete neglect of the single most successful book on the list, radio host Mark Levin’s “Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto.” Levin’s book spent 12 weeks at No.1, and as of this writing had yet to fall out of the top 10.
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Reaching No. 1 on the Nonfiction Hardcover List is a notable achievement. To maintain that spot for more than a single week is truly impressive.

Two liberal authors reached the No.1 spot on the List in 2009. Elizabeth Edwards’ “Resilience” was No.1 for just one week and Thomas Friedman’s “Hot, Flat, and Crowded” held that spot for two weeks.

They received media coverage befitting No.1 best-sellers, garnering nine instances of coverage on the networks between the two.

But there was another book that hit No.1. In fact, it held the No.1 spot for 12 of 18 weeks, and has yet to fall under the No. 4 spot. (Also, at this writing, it ranked No. 24 on Amazon.com, and has enjoyed 186 days in Amazon’s Top 100.)

That book, “Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto,” by conservative political commentator and nationally syndicated radio-host Mark Levin, was by far the most successful book on the list – nothing even came close.

What makes the success of Levin’s book more impressive is its subject. It’s a work of political philosophy, a serious, scholarly exploration of conservative first principles. As CNSNews.com recently reported, “‘Liberty and Tyranny’ draws on thinking, and points to the influence, of the 17th century English philosopher John Locke, the 18th century Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith, and the 18th century Irish-English statesman and writer Edmund Burke.”

And as Levin himself wrote on the first page of “Liberty and Tyranny,” “… what follows are my own opinions and conclusions of fundamental truths, based on decades of observation, exploration, and experience, about conservatism and, conversely, non-conservatism – that is, liberty and tyranny in modern America.”

So “Liberty and Tyranny” is an improbable best-seller. And that makes it all the more newsworthy.

Yet Levin’s book received zero coverage from any of the networks since its release on March 29. Nor did his name appear on any of the news programs since the release.

Contrast that with Edwards’ and Friedman’s nine instances of coverage for books that spent one and two weeks respectively at the top of the list. Equivalent coverage for Levin would require 36 mentions on the networks.

And the media blackout of “Liberty and Tyranny” extended beyond the networks and has been nearly complete.

Levin confirmed to CMI that “we have not heard from any of the major networks, and the only major newspaper that has interviewed me is Philadelphia Enquirer, and that’s because I’m from Philadelphia.”

The lack of mainstream media attention made “Liberty and Tyranny’s” success the more stunning. “The book is selling by word of mouth,” Levin said. “I’ve done very little media, and its chugging along.”

And the author, whose radio show just celebrated its sixth anniversary, said he wasn’t “stressed about” being ignored. “I don’t need Matt Lauer’s imprimatur to believe what I believe and to speak to my audience,” Levin told CMI.

But he did have thoughts about why Lauer and the networks withheld coverage.

“Maybe the book’s too darned complicated for these people,” Levin said. “It’s not your typical book – not even your typical conservative book, with a laundry list of what’s wrong. It’s a deeper look at the roots of conservatism, of our God-given liberties, of society and civil order and at why conservatism is humane. It’s also a look at the roots of statism and why it’s a threat.”

The morning shows, which Levin said have their talking points and hosts with a clear political bias may have other conservatives on. But they do so if they believe they can marginalize those guests. “But in my case, I think they fear I would marginalize them. They fear me, they fear the message of the book.”

It’s a quite extraordinary analysis of the way liberal and conservative authors are treated by the so-called mainstream media. It’s well worth a read when you have a spare ten or fifteen minutes.

Samuel

September 9th, 2009 at 08:18am

I thought it was a Prime TV ID

The first story on A Current Affair last night, which was about the damage speed humps can do to your car, featured the song “Streets Of Your Town” by The Go-Betweens quite prominently. I haven’t heard this song in yonks, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard the full version…and it was driving me nuts…”I know this song, but why?”. I had the vague notion that it may have been from one of the old Prime TV IDs, but I couldn’t place it, as I recall the “this is where we live”, “millennium television” and “bringing it home to me” campaigns, each of which had their own song, so I dismissed the idea.

Anyway, I found the song, and listened to the whole thing, and the visuals started flooding back…it was a Prime ID…but I still had no idea where in the line-up it fitted. YouTube to the rescue. It looks like the song was used in the early stages of the “bringing it home to me” campaign, before they found somebody to sing “bringing it home to me…bring-ing it home to meeeeee”.

And just for fun, here’s the song.

Prime also had an instrumental-only version which used the bridge of the song up around the 2:10 mark. It’s the last one in this compilation of Prime IDs.

I suppose I should thank A Current Affair for bringing back memories of music I loved hearing between shows, and never realised was a real song until now.

Samuel

September 9th, 2009 at 03:42am

How to get a job: let ACA follow you in to the interview with a large camera

A Current Affair had a story this evening about tips for job interviews. It was the usual fare…make eye contact, dress appropriately, etcetera, but what made this interesting was that they found two people who have been unsuccessful in job interviews for some time, gave them a crash course in interview technique, dressed them, gave them a haircut, and sent them in to job interviews that they (the people, not ACA) had already lined up.

One of the people went for an insurance job in a “Sydney skyscraper”. The candidate told us that the interview was short and to the point…he got the job, apparently. The other person went for a customer service job with Woolworths, and the ACA camera followed her in to the interview which just happened to be with a “HR executive” which one can only assume is code for “a high-ranking HR person” in the Woolworths organisation. ACA interviewed the executive after the interview and showed us a snippet of her describing the candidate with positive remarks. Not surprisingly, she also got the job.

A Current Affair then told us that they didn’t influence the outcome of the interviews. For the first job, that may very well be true…but highly questionable for the second. There is absolutely no way that Woolworths would allow a camera in to a job interview and then turn around and not hire the candidate, unless the candidate had done something on-camera to make them unemployable.

The Woolworths executive makes the whole thing even more suspicious. Either ACA took a camera in to the job interview and forced Woolworths’ hand in doing so, or the candidate got the job, and Woolworths agreed to a dummy interview for the sake of publicity…in which case ACA have misled their viewers by claiming that they were in the real interview, and claiming that the executive was the original interviewer (they had previously gone on and on and on about “first impressions).

Either way, it was a dodgy story, which is a real shame considering that, until then, the episode had been pretty good.

Samuel

September 8th, 2009 at 11:41pm

How not to advertise takeaway food

I’m glad I wasn’t eating at the time when I saw this ad, as my gastrological needs would probably have reversed…I was about to have dinner though, so I did delay eating.

The ad was on WIN TV’s Shepparton service during the news this evening and was for one of the kebab shops and featured a voiceover touting the excellence of their food and service…sadly the video didn’t back up the claims. The video showed some rather pale looking greasy meat being “cooked” (sorry, I’m just not convinced that the meat was actually being cooked…it looked like it was merely rotating), which was followed by a shot of the meat dripping.

Yes, dripping! Perhaps they were thawing it. Whatever was going on, the sight of pale greasy meat dripping some sort of gunk is rather off-putting.

Unfortunately I have no idea which shop was being advertised as I had to turn away. I suppose I’ll just have to avoid all kebab shops for a while, lest I get that awful mental image again.

Samuel

September 8th, 2009 at 10:01pm

So where is the real AFL Premiership Cup?

Either the AFL have an amazing Premiership Cup which can be in many places at once, or they’re using a fake cup.

This week and for some of next week, the AFL in partnership with Toyota are sending a bunch of AFL players around Victoria and bits of New South Wales for footy clinics with school kids and I had the opportunity to meet up with them when they came through Deniliquin this afternoon. As part of their show, they get the kids to make as much noise as they can to coax a “mystery guest” out of a box…the mystery guest being the AFL Premiership Cup. The kids are told that this is “the cup which will be won at the Grand Final”.

You can imagine my surprise then, when I saw on Nine News this evening, a story about an announcement by the AFL that performers from the stage show Jersey Boys will be singing the national anthem before the match starts…and they were posing with the Premiership Cup in Melbourne…a cup which I was led to believe was travelling through Cobram, Deniliquin and Echuca throughout the day, and more importantly, the school kids were led to believe was right in front of them.

So, Australian Football League, where is the real cup?

It looks like I have some extra phone calls to make tomorrow.

Samuel

September 8th, 2009 at 07:59pm

Good evening to 99.3FM listeners in Sydney

A quick hello to the listeners of 99.3FM in Sydney. With any luck today’s segment will become a regular or semi-regular thing…we’ll see how it goes.

Also a thank you to Oly Peterson for having me on the show this afternoon.

Samuel

September 8th, 2009 at 07:47pm

2QN/Classic Rock Regional News September 8

More than half a dozen AFL players will visit Deniliquin, Echuca and Cobram today to run specialised footy clinics with school kids, giving them a rare opportunity to learn from players at the elite level.

Police continue to be frustrated by the spate of assaults in the region, with more assaults recorded on the weekend.

Deniliquin North Public School is one of only twenty schools across the country to receive a 25 thousand dollar award for community partnership.

Country Energy will spend $440,000 in the coming months to upgrade the high voltage power grid from Deniliquin, which feeds Barham, Moulamein and surrounds, to ensure that it is up to scratch before the summer peak usage period arrives.

Murray Shire Mayor Brian Sharp has sought to clarify the confusion surrounding the proposed fluoridation of the Moama and Mathoura water supplies.
Mr. Sharp says the Council still intends on going ahead with the fluoridation, which would bring Moama and Mathoura in line with a large number of other towns including Echuca, which has had fluoride for 25 years, and Deniliquin, which has had it for five.

Round two of Campaspe Shire’s community grants program opens today, with applications welcome in the categories of heritage, cultural, environment, assistance, events and recreation.
Details and the application form can be found on the Campaspe shire website www.campaspe.vic.gov.au…applications close on Friday October the 2nd.

In round 12 of Deni Mixed Indoor Netball, wins went to The Hot Shots, Band Aid, The Magnums and The Easy Beats.

The Deni Sports and Entertainment Stadium will be holding a short pre-season indoor cricket season on Tuesdays from 6pm, and are looking for a few more players.
If you’re interested, give John a call at the stadium on 5881 4100 for more details.

Samuel

September 8th, 2009 at 09:47am

Mondays With Maritz: Mr. Boss is do of away times

Much hello to the all do reading today,

The week of gone has been a time of the interesting as I have been do of some workings but Mr. Boss has been need to see me go to the time off away from the workings as while he does urgently visiting to relative of interstate. This is of the probably two weeks as he has said to be paying me for two weeks time of workings without the doing come to the workings and then to be see of what does do happen.

I am did have interesting of time for gardenings in the working as there is big parts of garden which in two parts are to be for different plantings with one for the flowers and other for compost so I have did do build the compost placing first as is the easier and more of urgent but was strangeness as Mr. Boss did do of say to be putting of compost next to house door which is where I would be do of put the flowers but was do the follow for instruictings and did do build of the compost there next to doo front house of do and started with the building of placing the manure, cough syrup and vodka mix which I am do first with all compostings as I am do find that this is for the speeding as the worms are much happy with mix for making attract them and so they then do find to do work in more quickly and then eat of vegetable scraps.

I am did do this building on Tuesday time of last week after before when Mr. Boss was do out for the vists to Mr. Nathan of the parliamentary and did do finish workings that day and then did do come to workings of day in next time and Mr. Boss was much of not happy as he did do mistake of the tellings and did not want the compostings and smells in gradren out of front of house and was much confused to as thinking of me and I had been do of mistakings which was correctioned for later when he did do realise of calimg and them did do say of interstate vists and to be for me to taking week of time off please which I am do and enjoying time with nice cat Slavcatchski.

I am do hope that all is well with you and that you are doing compostings in your gradrens which are of good and I can be do provide in next week time of writing for the good compostings mixtures and methods which are do of help.

Please to be weeks of lovely much.

From Maritz
Ms. Maritzkrozlavsky Throrglasnishozly

2 comments September 7th, 2009 at 05:48pm

2QN/Classic Rock Regional News Headlines September 7

Owners of electric scooters and wheelchairs will find life a little bit easier in the shire of Campaspe thanks to the shire’s introduction of the RECHARGE scheme, placing recharge points for the scooters and wheelchairs in public and private building.

The state-wide embargo on the sale of water licences in New South Wales might not be lifted until the end of the month.

Goulburn Murray Water has come under fire for an apparent decision to send 40 gigalitres of water to Melbourne, but not allocate any water to local irrigators.

The Goulburn Ovens Murray region has been the second hardest hit in the country by the economic downturn, according to a study by Bankwest. The region has recorded a 10 per cent fall in employment since November 2007, which is only beaten by the mining area of Western Australia.

The report also found that Conargo has the highest concentration of a single industry in the country, with 81.4 per cent of people in the area employed in agriculture, far exceeding the next highest concentration which is 31% in Holroyd, Sydney, working in manufacturing.

The battle over the proposed Echuca Moama Bridge continues after VicRoads briefed the Moama Council on their preferred option last week.
Moama councillor Tom Weyrich says VicRoads option is simply not good enough.

Six AFL superstars will visit Deniliquin and Echuca tomorrow to hold specialised footy clinics with kids as part of the Toyota Aurion V6 All Star Footy Bus program.

Jerilderie are the premiers in this year’s Picola District Football League after they kicked a goal in the final moments to defeat Berrigan 9.14 (68) to 8.17 (65) in the grand final on Saturday.

Samuel

September 7th, 2009 at 09:44am

Mike Carlton is gone

Mike Carlton has announced his resignation from 2UE today so that he can return to The Sydney Morning Herald, although one suspects that there may be more to the story. The Herald previously sacked him, but are now taking him back, presumably to allow their Fairfax stablemate 2UE to relaunch Breakfast and have another go at getting some market share back from…well, every other station in Sydney. It’s not just the market leading Alan Jones show on 2GB which they need to defeat any more.

Mike’s final day with the station will be Friday September 18. John Stanley will fill Mike’s place on Breakfast until the end of the year. Sandy Aloisi will remain as co-host, and “The Two Murrays” Murray Olds and Murray Wilton will fill in for John Stanley on Drive.

According to a story in today’s Brisbane Times (yes, The Brisbane Times…I’m hoping it’s a reprint of a Sydney Morning Herald story), Mike made it clear to station management at the beginning of the year that he wouldn’t continue beyond the end of this year…which really makes me wonder 2UE haven’t tried to make significant changes to Breakfast before now, especially seeing as Alan Jones has had a significant amount of time off over at 2GB.

Meanwhile the Murray Old Appreciation Society informs me that Murray Olds will be filling in for Sandy Aloisi this week.

There is no word at this stage as to who will fill Murray Wilton’s spot on weekends with Clive Robertson…something you would expect 2UE to want to bed down within the next few weeks before network stations (or maybe it’s not plural…perhaps 2CC is the only network station) return to the show when the football finals end. Update: Well it may very well not even reach singular status…2CC are sticking with 2GB’s Weekend Detention over summer, which is a break from what they have done in previous years. See comments below. End Update

Samuel

4 comments September 7th, 2009 at 07:33am

Memo to the Australian Bill Channel

Dear ABC,

If you’re not running repeats of The Bill on Tuesday nights any more, then you do not need to wait until Tuesday to put the episodes on iView.

Please stop annoying me, and put last night’s episodes on iView NOW!!!

P.S. This is one of the many things which is annoying me today. Putting The Bill on iView would help to alleviate the chances of me exploding.

Update: Apparently my memos work…or so says my ego. Last night’s episodes are now on iView. End Update

Samuel

September 6th, 2009 at 11:29am

John Laws does an ad for Legacy

This one caught me off guard yesterday. I turned on the radio just before 3:30 and heard this ad right before my recorded news bulletin was due to air…it took me a moment to work out why John Laws was on the radio as I had tuned in half way through and heard Lawsie talking about how he had worked as a jackaroo…I thought he was talking to a caller at first.

[audio:https://samuelgordonstewart.com/wp-content/JohnLawsLegacyWeek.mp3]
Download MP3

It’s nice to hear John Laws on the radio when he is talking sense, as happened on this occasion.

Samuel

4 comments September 5th, 2009 at 05:40pm

The top 101 failures of Nathan Rees’ 1st year as Premier

This email arrived from the NSW opposition this morning. It came from one of Barry O’Farrell’s media reps, but isn’t attributed to any politician in particular, so I’m hesitant to attribute it to Barry as the rep does produce press releases for other opposition MPs. (Update: It’s from Barry’s office, so it can be attributed to Barry.)

All that said, the list is rather amusing, so I thought I’d give it a run here. Enjoy!

1. 8 September 2008 – Appointing the ‘dodgy brothers’ of NSW politics – Eric Roozendaal and Joe Tripodi to the key economic portfolios of Treasury and Finance Minister. Nathan Rees delegates the responsibility of selecting his Cabinet to ALP boss, Karl Bitar.

2. 10 September 2008 – Forced to new Police Minister Matt Brown after he admits that he danced semi-naked on fellow ALP MP Noreen Hay during June’s Budget ‘celebrations’. Two days later, Noreen Hay is dumped as Parliamentary Secretary, but Rees claims it is purely because he wanted a “fresh face”.

3. 19 September 2008 – Nathan Rees shows he’s got his priorities wrong by calling for an inquiry into the Black Panther sightings in Western Sydney while failing to address the real issues affecting the people of NSW.

4. 22 September 2008 – More than 8,000 cars are diverted from the M5 tunnel in sweltering heat as the second computer glitch in 3 months forces the tunnel’s closure, bringing the city to a halt.

5. 16 October 2008 – Dubbo Hospital nurses reveal that they have been forced to purchase bandages from a local vet to use on patients due to Greater Western Area Health Service’s failure to pay bills on time.

6. 17 October 2008 – The Rees Labor Government’s failure to properly fund NSW health services results in four NSW Area Health Services reportedly owing millions of dollars to medical suppliers, who have been owed this money for up to 6 months.

7. 18 October 2008 – Rees Labor Government loses former Deputy Premier John Watkins’ seat of Ryde to the Liberals with a swing of over 20%. There are also massive swings against the Rees Government in Cabramatta and Lakemba.

8. 22 October 2008 – Nathan Rees allows Union heavyweight John Robertson fills the Upper House vacancy left by Michael Costa. Despite filling the vacancy, he fails to deliver anything in his portfolio.

9. 23 October 2008 – Nathan Rees ponders Sydney’s traffic congestion problems with the curious phrase, “If you think you are in love, you are in love. If you think you are in traffic, you are in traffic”.

10. 23 October 2008 – It’s revealed trains on the Chatswood to Epping Line will be as loud as a Boeing 737.

11. 24 October 2008 – Nathan Rees announces the Rozelle Metro – but embarrassingly doesn’t know cost or route.

12. 27 October 2008 – It’s revealed that 10 years after unveiling their rail transport blueprint, the NSW Government has failed to build a single one of the 5 major projects promised.

13. 27 October 2008 – Infrastructure Australia submission failed – Sydney was allocated less than 1% of the total road, port and transport funding because of Labor’s incompetent submission, which was riddled with spelling errors.

14. 28 October 2008 – Nathan Rees confirms he had signed off on about $5 million in pay rises for NSW’s senior bureaucrats weeks ago, despite claiming he had only heard about it the previous evening.

15. 31 October 2008 – Nathan Rees axes the North West Metro failing commuters in North Western Sydney.

16. Ongoing – Has still failed to build Kincumber Fire Station, which was first promised by the Labor Government in 2000, then again in 2001, then again in 2008 with not a single sod turned.

17. 7 November 2008 – Nathan Rees fails to honour handshake agreement on campaign finance reform to adopt the Legislative Council inquiry’s recommendations to limit political donations and cap spending during Election campaigns made at the ‘Leader’s Pub Debate’.

18. 11 November 2008 – Nathan Rees sacks Small Business Minister Tony Stewart after he allegedly verbally abused and touched the leg of a female staffer during a function a week earlier. He is suing the State Government over his sacking.

19. 11 November 2008 – Nathan Rees hands down the failed Mini-Budget with a $917 million deficit. It introduces congestion tax, axes the $50 back to school allowance and free bus travel for students, cuts petrol subsidies, closes 8 DPI offices, doubles car parking levies and increases green slip charges, and slugs the coal industry for more royalties.

20. 11 November 2008 – Rees Labor Government fails to provide a ‘Fly Over’ for West Gosford Intersection – promised prior to the 2003 election – all funding removed in 2008.

21. 11 November 2008 – Nathan Rees axes the South-West Rail Link, which was originally promised in December 2004.

22. 11 November 2008 – Introduced a blood tax, to reap $26 million over 4 years.

23. 11 November 2008 – Introduced a 50c levy on ferry fares – taxing people who use public transport.

24. 11 November 2008 – Axed JetCats leaving thousands of commuters stranded.

25. 11 November 2008 – Raised the Waste and Environment Levy without reinvesting it, using it to cover his budget black holes.

26. 19 November 2008 – Fails to prioritise education when it’s revealed the Rees Government plans to sell 140 hectares of the 160-hectare Hurlstone Agricultural High School in Western Sydney.

27. 26 November 2008 – A report on the Epping to Chatswood Rail Link shows there are thousands of defects in the way the tracks have been fixed to concrete slabs.

28. 27 November 2008 – The release of Commissioner Peter Garling’s Report into NSW hospitals contains 139 recommendations for a complete overhaul of the system, which he says is ‘on the brink’.

29. 1 December 2008 – Nathan Rees botches the introduction of the list of the most dangerous pubs and clubs in the State by using flawed data to assemble the list and failing to ensure mechanisms for pubs who clean up their act to be removed from the list.

30. 2 December 2008 – It’s revealed Ian Macdonald’s wife has a $110,000 a year job as a liaison between her husband and the Director-General of DPI. Questions are raised over the potential conflict of interest.

31. 21 December 2008 – Nathan Rees fails to discipline the Minister for State Development, Ian Macdonald after it’s revealed he has used Department credit cards to purchase a TV, cabinets, desks and other furniture for his home, enjoyed upmarket lunches at taxpayers’ expense and hired a helicopter to the Hunter Valley for a $2000 lunch and mining tour. Minister Macdonald is dubbed “Sir Lunchalot” following further revelations he spent $150,000 on accommodation, food and drink for a wine advisory council he established.

32. Ongoing – Nathan Rees allows continued over-development in the Ku-ring-gai Council area, continuing to override local democracy.

33. 5 January 2009 – It’s revealed the NSW Labor Government has spent $2.4 billion on Government funded advertising and consultancy since it was elected in 1995.

34. 6 January 2009 – The Rees Labor Government fails Rosemeadow residents when up to 100 people from a local housing estate are involved in a riot and their local Labor MP Phil Costa refuses to visit the site until shamed into it a week after the incident.

35. 9 January 2009 – Miscarriages at Maitland Hospital show Labor has failed to implement miscarriage protocols that were developed following the Jana Horska case in 2007.

36. 12 January 2009 – Rees Labor Government fails to get its priorities right when it makes the decision to charge patients and their families more for parking at hospitals – costing families an extra $6 million over 4 years.

37. 14 January 2009 – Nathan Rees fails to live up to his promise that his Government will be honest and transparent when it’s revealed the NSW Ombudsman has made a damning provisional report to Premier Rees regarding the interference of former Roads Minister Roozendaal’s office in FOI requests, and referred them to ICAC.

38. 19 February 2009 – New Minister John Robertson splashes out $500,000 on a Ministerial office refurbishment. While initially defending the luxurious renovation, Nathan Rees only axed it after public outcry.

39. 23 February 2009 – Epping to Chatswood Rail Link finally opens – three years late, one billion dollars over-budget, and half its original distance.

40. February 2009 – Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge reveals herself to be incompetent when she bungles referring herself to the ICAC over allegations she used her position to influence the Minister for Police over a decision affecting one of her major donors.

41. 3 March 2009 – It is revealed, Bernie Fraser and Ian Macfarlane, economic experts hired by Nathan Rees, refuse to endorse his failed Mini-Budget. Mr Macfarlane stated in a letter to the Premier’s Director-General: “I would like to point out that I do not have any particular expertise in these areas, and would not like to be cited as having advised on, or approved of policies in these areas”.

42. 5 March 2009 – FOI documents reveal over $20,000 in Back To School Advertisements that advertised the wrong day to return to school.

43. 6 March 2009 – The Rees Labor Government strips the NSW Ombudsman of its ability to review preventable child deaths and reduces the regularity of reports from the Ombudsman, effectively hiding this important information from public scrutiny.

44. 11 March 2009 – Labor’s failure to recruit obstetricians sees Wyong Hospital lose its maternity unit.

45. 19 March 2009 – NSW loses out in the major events stakes when Nathan Rees claims 1970s musician Brian Eno is a bigger draw card than golfing legend Tiger Woods who is to play in Melbourne’s Australian Masters. Premier bizarrely claims, “I’d much rather Brian Eno’s work on display for the people of NSW for three weeks than Tiger Woods for three days”.

46. 22 March 2009 – It’s revealed senior Police raised concerns with the RTA CEO about the employment of Hells Angels’ boss Derek Wainohu, following the brutal murder of a bikie at Sydney Airport.

47. 22 March 2009 – Nathan Rees announces he’ll renovate the Opera House at a cost of up to $1 billion. Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd then hangs Mr Rees out to dry saying he would rather the money was spent on schools and hospitals.

48. 30 March 2009 – It’s revealed Rail Bus and Tram Union boss Nick Lewocki demanded and received a Gold Travel Pass, despite only working for RailCorp for 18 years and taking leave without pay for more than a decade. Rail employees are only eligible for a Gold Pass if they have worked for 30+ years in the network.

49. 31 March 2009 – A major power blackout brings Sydney to its knees, with a third of emergency loudspeakers unable to be used due to lack of battery back-up systems. Faults in four major power cables supplying two major substations caused the disturbance.

50. 6 April 2009 – It’s revealed the Attorney General, John Hatzistergos employed a person with a criminal record in his office.

51. 9 April 2009 – Rees Labor Government shows a failure with its priorities again, when it decides to ban crucifixes and Bibles at the Royal North Shore Hospital chapel.

52. 13 April 2009 – RTA moving offices from the CBD to North Sydney at a cost of $23 million, including nearly $1 million on new chairs.

53. 15 April 2009 – Nathan Rees forced to review car-parking arrangements of Ministers after it’s revealed Ministers had two car spots, one at Parliament and one at their CBD offices in Governor Macquarie Tower. It’s also revealed $1.4 million a year was being spent on 147 parking spaces in GMT.

54. 16 April 2009 – NSW taxpayers foot a $20,000 bill on a personal film crew for Nathan Rees.

55. 30 April 2009 – Rees Labor Government fails the local community when it’s revealed Rockdale Police station has been closed.

56. 5 May 2009 – Rees Labor Government rejects an Upper House Committee’s recommendation that Bundeena be provided with adequate ambulance infrastructure.

57. 12 May 2009 – Finance & Infrastructure Minister, Joe Tripodi defends his $290,000 around-the-world junket, at taxpayer’s expense.

58. 20 May 2009 – Wrong decision to make patients eat more pre-packaged food in hospitals.

59. 27 May 2009 – Sydney Ferries CEO, Rear Admiral Geoff Smith is sacked for misconduct. It’s later revealed he worked up a $237,000 debt on his taxpayer credit card.

60. 27 May 2009 – It’s revealed Nathan Rees plans to axe 600 frontline rail staff leaving many stations unmanned, particularly at night.

61. 28 May 2009 – Poor prison security sees notorious convicted gang rapists, Bilal and Mohammed Skaf able to stash mobile phones in their cells in a maximum security gaol.

62. 29 May 2009 – Following a fortnight of documented leaks from a water main that were frequently reported to Sydney Water, an enormous crater appears in Bellevue Hill. Sydney Water later admits they failed to assign a maintenance crew to the correct address for two weeks.

63. 2 June 2009 – The entire NSW Roads Budget is leaked to the NSW Liberal/Nationals showing a $160 million reduction in capital and maintenance funding on regional roads. It was revealed the on-again, off-again plans for Sydney’s M4 East extension appeared to be off again, along with a link between the M2 and the M7.

64. 3 June 2009 – Official ABS figures show NSW falls into recession after experiencing two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth in State Final Demand (-0.4% for the December 2008 quarter and –0.2% for the March 2009 quarter).

65. 16 June 2009 – State Budget Day – Includes a “Made in China Ban” policy, which is widely criticised by the Federal Labor Government which warns it will cost local jobs and potentially trigger retaliation from major trading partners.

66. 16 June 2009 – Wrong decision to cut health infrastructure spending in the State Budget by $236 million. Delayed or cancelled vital health infrastructure and promised hospital projects like Wagga Wagga, Bega Valley, Parkes, Forbes, Northern Beaches and Tamworth are all either on hold or delayed.

67. 16 June 2009 – No funding for a public radiology/oncology unit on the Central Coast.

68. 16 June 2009 – No funding in the State Budget to widen Terrigal Drive.

69. 16 June 2009 – Every household in NSW burdened with $30,000 in debt and liabilities from the Rees Government.

70. 16 June 2009 – Rees Labor Government fails to listen to the community and keep Schofields station in its current location, instead building a new station 800 metres down the road.

71. 16 June 2009 – Total cost of the Iron Cove Bridge Duplication has now blown out by $75 million to $175 million, and the community remains vehemently opposed to Labor’s plan to duplicate the bridge.

72. 16 June 2009 – State Budget cuts spending on the Princes Highway by $66 million.

73. Ongoing – The continued closure of Blue Mountains maternity unit, forcing pregnant mothers to drive down the Mountain whilst in labour because of Labor cuts to Katoomba Hospital.

74. 21 June 2009 – Wrong decision to send man with broken neck home with a Panadol after attending Ryde Hospital.

75. 24 June 2009 – Groundhog day in the Legislative Council – Rees Labor Government shuts down the Upper House to avoid losing the vote on crucial legislation.

76. 30 June 2009 – Health Minister John Della Bosca embarrassed after re-announcing GPS systems in ambulances which were promised to be installed a year earlier.

77. 1 July 2009 – The merging of the Protective Commissioner and the Public Trustee to allegedly save only $100,000 but in reality funding the cash-strapped Protective Commissioner out of the funds held by the Public Trustee.

78. 8 July 2009 – Fails to take action on Spit congestion: a total of $31,000 taxpayers money spent on review into whether there can be any reductions in the number of times the Spit Bridge opens on weekdays.

79. 8 July 2008 – Nathan Rees fails to fund much-needed Fourth Pod at Port Macquarie Hospital during a visit to the region.

80. 9 July 2009 – Nathan Rees left red-faced after announcing a bottled water ban despite three companies having contracts with his government to supply it with bottled water until March 2011.

81. 11 July 2009 – A murderer has his sperm smuggled out of a NSW gaol in a serious breach of security allowing him to father a child.

82. 11 July 2009 – Sold Brooklyn Police Station. The Rees Labor Government hid the sale of the Police Station by its listing on websites as a “period residence” with 3 bedrooms.

83. 13 July 2009 – The Auditor-General reveals travel times on seven major traffic routes have reduced to 30 km/h in morning peak and 41 km/h in afternoon peak.

84. 15 July 2009 – It’s revealed Nathan Rees’ new State logo is actually a lotus, not the State’s official emblem, the Waratah.

85. 15 July 2009 – An internal Education Department audit reveals up to 700 NSW public schools face school land sell-off.

86. 21 July 2009 – A proposed merger of 160 NSW Government Agencies into 13 Super-Departments revealed to have been stolen from the Queensland Government. The Rees Government fails to implement the super-ministry structure by the July 1 deadline.

87. 21 July 2009 – Meg Makila, a severely disabled 15 year old has her nose almost bitten off in an attack at a Rees Government respite home by a 22 year old disabled man who was housed with her. Government policy dictates that adults must be housed separately from children.

88. 21 July 2009 – It’s revealed no schools in the Penrith Electorate have school zone flashing lights.

89. 3 August 2009 – It is revealed that the cost of the Tillegra Dam in the Hunter Valley has blown out by more than 90% to $477 million, but it has a ‘one in a million’ chance of being needed.

90. 6 August 2009 – Unemployment in NSW at 6.1%, which is higher than the national average of 5.8% – more than 140 people a day have lost their job since Nathan Rees became Premier.

91. 6 August 2009 – Rees Labor Government has bungled the delivery of the Commonwealth’s Building the Education Revolution program, stealing $142 million in ‘project management fees’.

92. 11 August 2009 – NSW taxpayers likely to lose at least $500 million a year in 2010-2011 under new GST carve-up despite promises of a better deal under Federal Labor.

93. 18 August 2009 – It’s revealed Labor mate Bob Ellis is being paid more than $4,000 a month by Nathan Rees – double what Mr Ellis was getting paid when Mr Rees was only a Minister.

94. 18 August 2009 – It’s revealed almost half the planned hazard reduction burn offs were not completed for 2007/08 and it is forecast the figure will be similar for 2008/09.

95. 19 August 2009 – Nathan Rees admits his failure as Premier when he says: “To be honest, I’ve been disappointed with my performance on a number of fronts”.

96. 23 August 2009 – Nathan Rees inappropriately uses his official Australian National Flag Day message to propose the adoption of a new Australian Flag offending organisers and war veterans.

97. 26 August 2009 – It’s revealed the Labor Government’s Anti-Graffiti Action Team has only met twice in two years.

98. 27 August 2009 – Rees Labor Government continues to undermine the independence of NSW Crown Prosecutors by reducing their numbers forcing court cases to be delayed and risking criminals walking free.

99. 31 August 2009 – Health Minister John Della Bosca resigns in scandal forcing Labor to appoint its fifth Health Minister in just four years.

100. 3 September 2009 – It’s revealed hospital waiting lists have grown by nearly ten per cent under Nathan Rees – with an additional 5,200 people waiting for surgery taking the total to 62,890.

101. 3 September 2009 – Nathan Rees ignores growing community calls for an early election by using Labor Party numbers in Parliament to vote down a motion of no confidence in his Government.

Samuel

18 comments September 5th, 2009 at 03:29pm

TV Ratings to include recorded programs next year

Shows recorded and watched later, or “timeshifted” will be included in TV ratings figures next year, according to Media Spy.

The count will now be split in to two categories. One for “live” which for some reason includes programs watched at a later time on the day of broadcast, and one for “timeshifted” which is for programs watched on a day other than the day of broadcast.

This will undoubtedly boost the number of people listed as watching shows, but I have to wonder if it will favour the ABC who do not run advertising or promos during shows. I wonder this because the story says that ratings will only be counted for “content watched at normal speed”. Technically, my skipping of ads, could be considered “watching at an increased speed”, and in my case this would favour the ABC as I timeshift The Bill, MDA and Media Watch on a regular basis on the ABC, as well as programs such as Rush and Law And Order on Ten, and the ones on Ten might not be counted as I skip the ads.

To the same extent, with two episodes of The Bill being screened back-to-back, I usually pause for a coffee break at the end of the first episode…so I could be watching it “at a decreased speed”. The ABC will solve this problem by catching up to the UK air date of episodes shortly, and drop back to one episode per week.

It will be very interesting to see what effect this change has on the ratings.

Samuel

It should be interesting to see what happens

September 4th, 2009 at 02:27pm

KXNT Jerk Of The Week sumbission for September 3

Your “Jerk of the Week” submission
Senator Penny Wong, the Australian minister for Climate Change and Water

Why should this person be the “Jerk of the Week”?
For going on a surprise two day tour of five towns which have been very critical of her policies, so she can “hear from a range of people” only to not actually talk to the people who really wanted to talk to her, and instead make announcements. She’s the Harry Reid of the Australian Senate.

Your Name (Optional)
Samuel Gordon-Stewart

As you probably know by now, Jerk Of The Week with Casey Hendrickson and Heather Kydd airs shortly after 6pm Thursday Las Vegas time, which currently equates to shortly after 11am Friday Canberra time, on Newsradio 840 KXNT in Las Vegas and their webstream, and is podcasted a short time after that. Submissions are welcome by clicking on the large yellow “Jerk Of The Week” image on kxnt.com.

Samuel

September 4th, 2009 at 10:23am