The beauty of consuming news from a smartphone, is that you can get a quick overview of the main topics of the day and then choose to dive deeper into the stories that interest you most. I’ve noticed lately that the ABC has recently upgraded its smartphone app, meaning its daily headlines are comprehensive and nourishing. It is now in starker contrast than ever before against the icon that sits next to it on my phone for Adelaide Now, the...

A big thank you to the programmers at Foxtel for making it such an easy family decision to cancel our pay TV contract recently. Not only are we now saving money, I’m finding more time to be productive AND enjoy other forms of recreation, like reading. Here’s what happened. We had been paying almost $100 a month to Foxtel for a few years, for the pleasure of seeing the Free-To-Air channels (we live in a TV shadow), some sport, some...

The Guardian’s two-minute commercial, Guardian open journalism: Three Little Pigs advert – video (view below), attempts to tell the story about how wonderful news coverage is in this age of social media. However, it actually reveals more ugly truth about the media today then was intended. I believe this commercial is the most convincing argument for closing down 24-hour news channels, most of which are responsible for brewing their...

Had a chat with Glen Ridge on Melbourne Tonight (Radio MTR) this evening in the wake of a Herald Sun report that only one in three Gen Ys and about half Gen Xs will bother sending physical xmas cards this season. The theory is that social networks will carry the cheer and this will be good news to the planet because back in 2005, xmas cards purchased and sent by people in just the USA and UK would have stretched around the world 54 times! This...

If you get a chance to watch the Extras Christmas Special, please do. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have produced one of the most exquisite and searing critiques of our celebrity culture I have seen. The beauty of this show is that it is largely bereft of laughs throughout, as the main character, Andy, quits his popular but low brow television show to seek “proper” fame and fortune as a serious actor. However, having burned his...

This is where you will find occassional comments about our beloved media.