nyonyamansor09

If Jeff Bezos was prepared to outlay $250 million for The Washington Post, you begin to wonder what price for Tasmania's three venerable newspapers? On honesty, integrity and credibility alone I'd expect no less than two bags of Doritos and a bottle of Coke Zero Lime. While we've long been harangued with the plight of newspapers and their depression like operating environment, the weight of the excuse has become tiresome. Important facts in stories are continually viewed as dust to be swept under the nearest Persian. Pride in your efforts? No need. In two years time the jerk on the local news sausage maker will be fitting themselves out as a social media expert or whispering in the ear of your local MP on a daily basis. Alternatively, they'll still be in the same chook pen, churning out the same garbage, while bemoaning the state of the media on twitter each day. You go, girl! Hating the Rupert ethos, while still trudging into work for him? The equivalent of being tea-b...

When a newspaper croaks, a loyal and important servant to its community is lost. Or that's what the obituaries say. The truth is, a dead newspaper scarcely bears any resemblance to the mythical beast that will be lionised when the printing presses shut down and the plastic bag full of paper and ink stops landing on lawns each morning.  The Advocate, its death assured as a marsupial on a Tasmanian road at dusk, will be one of those lionised newspapers. It shouldn't be. The Advocate's turf is one of Australia's most economically disadvantaged electorates, something that goes hand in hand with low education levels. It's almost assured when The Advocate recycles a press release or culls stats to craft a story, the readership won't find themselves digging any deeper. Forget them trawling ABS spreadsheets for reality.  Sean Ford, senior journalist amongst a bunch of 12 year olds, knows this. He's The Advocate's "resident numbers man" (yep, that's...

"Australian's deserve a lot better, especially on Melbourne Cup day." - Wayne Swan You've really got to wonder about the brain-dead, no real world experience, "thinks they're playing West Wing" staffer, who cooked that one up for Wayne Swan. Really, who has the cheek to raise interest rates on Melbourne Cup day? Clearly it's Australia's right to gamble in peace - on horses and houses. Cheap populism takes no courage. Wayne Swan has no courage and Joe Hockey has no courage, because the easiest scenario here is to hook into a faceless bank and continue to ignore the elephant in the room - Australians are addicted to debt. They continually mainline it into their veins, while hitting a full pipe at the same time. And who acts as the enabler to this situation? The politicians who won't suggest fiscal responsibility. Apparently being so indebted that a rate rise could push you over the edge is someone else's fault. Where is the encouragement to...

They used to tell me I was selling a dream, and so I followed the mob, When there was a home to show, or contracts to sign, I was always there right on the job. They used to tell me I was selling a dream, with riches and glory ahead, Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread? Brother, can you spare a dime? This morning, on the way to work, some guy sporting a bluetooth ear piece and a sharp suit was hassling me for spare change. Confused, I tossed him a coin and thought nothing more of it. By mid-afternoon I knew what was up and I wanted my coin back. Apparently there is a real estate Hindenburg going down in Tasmania (who knew), which some real estate agents finally admitted to this morning. You probably already know about this because it was featured on bubblepedia and delusional economics this afternoon. And right now the web nerds at The Advocate are busy scratching their heads, wondering where all those hits came from. Online , our old buddy, Deanne ' seve...

It’s only taken six weeks and I can officially get high on the smell of my own farts. This morning a North-West reader alerted me the local newspaper, The Advocate, had written a story questioning any housing shortage - going so far as to suggest there might be a bunch of empty houses around the state. I ran out and grabbed the paper, in the process half expecting pig poop to land on my head at any moment. Upon reading the article I found myself as pleasantly surprised as anyone could be in this situation – don’t kid yourself, the weekly Domain real estate lift out is probably the ventilator keeping this newspaper breathing. Now anyone who’s read this mangy mess of a blog would quickly realise The Advocate story had my fingerprints all over it. After all, it was only last weekend I drove a dagger into the heart of any spruiker cunning enough to suggest the North-West had a shortage of housing. And a month earlier I suggested Tasmania was currently building a new dwelling for every 1.84...