Weekly media index: 20 - 26 June 2009

Utegate: The political debate over alleged improper influence favouring a car dealer in Brisbane by the Treasurer and Prime Minister, that has almost inevitably become known as Utegate, ended up being seen by virtually all the media as a major tactical blunder by the Leader of the Opposition and a win for the Government after one of the key emails upon which he based his claims against Kevin Rudd was shown to be a forgery. This revelation also led to serious doubts about the evidence of Treasury official Godwin Grech, while separate claims against Wayne Swan have been completely overshadowed by the forged email.

Wimbledon: After a strong performance by Australians at the French Open, the traditionally most watched foreign Grand Slam has achieved plenty of coverage across all forms of media in its first week despite there only being one Australian male in the singles draw for the first time in 70 years, with Samantha Stosur and Lleyton Hewitt once again sailing through the early rounds, while Jelena Dokic lost in the first round amidst coverage of her father’s serious illness and her rejection of any reunion.

State of Origin: Queensland wrapped up an unprecedented fourth series victory in a row with a solid if uninspiring win over New South Wales in the second match at ANZ Stadium. After racing out to an early 18-nil lead, the Maroons held on for a 24-14 victory, with the match winning the ratings and receiving wall-to-wall coverage in the rugby league states but far less interest outside Queensland and NSW.

Swine influenza: Swine flu coverage has dropped down the list again this week, despite claims of the first deaths in Australia from the virus, disputed in one case. The death of a 25 year old indigenous man has led to concerns over the comprehensiveness of the response to the potential spread of the virus in remote communities and amongst groups more susceptible to respiratory illness.

Iran: After a week of largely peaceful but widespread protests, the Iranian police and militias have cracked down hard on public protests, with footage of people being shot in the streets being accessed via social media sites and shown on mainstream media across the world. The U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the violence against protesters, following criticism from Republicans and parts of the media that his response had been weak, while the Iranian government blamed British and American influence for the unrest.

Quote of the week:

“I wanted to have a place that I could create everything I never had as a child." – Michael Jackson tells why he built his Neverland ranch

"When I saw him move, I was mesmerized, I knew that's what I wanted to do for the rest of my life because of James Brown." – Michael Jackson discusses what made him want to be an entertainer

About the index
This list reports Australia's weekly top news stories by volume across thousands of newspaper, magazine, television, radio and Internet news sources monitored by Media Monitors, including international and domestic, business, sport and entertainment news.

Data and analysis provided to Slice Media by Media Monitors Australia

Media monitoring

Weekly media index: 6 - 12 June 2009

Swine influenza: As swine flu started to affect sporting fixtures across the country, with a swimming meet cancelled and several football matches in doubt, media coverage focused on these sporting disruptions and continued to debate the severity of this form of influenza, as health authorities watched for any signs of the virus mutating into a more dangerous strain.

Twenty20 World Cup: Despite Australia falling at the first hurdle in the Twenty20, it still received plenty of coverage across all forms of the electronic media, with discussion of whether the team were properly prepared and whether Andrew Symonds sacking from the squad at the last minute affected their performance.

Ministry reshuffle: Following the resignation of Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon last week, Kevin Rudd announced a wider reshuffle of his ministry, with John Faulkner moving to the Defence portfolio, Joe Ludwig taking his Special Minister of State position, promotion for Chris Bowen and the promotion of NSW right wing powerbroker Mark Arbib and left wing powerbroker Greg Combet into the ministry.

Indian student attacks: Several attacks on Indian students in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide over the past two weeks has led to street protests by Indian students calling for greater protection and continued coverage of the issue in Indian and other Asian media. State and Federal government leaders have deplored the attacks and attempted to reassure students that Australia is a safe option for education.

Socceroos qualify: In a much less dramatic fashion than last time, the Socceroos have sailed into the 2010 World Cup with a draw in Qatar on the weekend, reasserting their dominance with an unexciting but easy two-nil win over Bahrain in Sydney during the week. The Socceroos were the second team to officially qualify for the tournament, just hours behind Japan.

“fair shake of the sauce bottle” – Kevin Rudd tries (incorrectly) to channel Dad Rudd

About the index
This list reports Australia's weekly top news stories by volume across thousands of newspaper, magazine, television, radio and Internet news sources monitored by Media Monitors, including international and domestic, business, sport and entertainment news.

Data and analysis provided to Slice Media by Media Monitors Australia

Media monitoring

Weekly media index - 30 May - 6 June 2009

Swine flu: Swine flu remained easily the most reported story across the country, although with significantly lower volumes than last week, as the number of cases headed quickly towards four figures, most of those still in Victoria, although most other areas of the country have been affected to some degree. Predictions in the media of how severe the outbreak would be continued to vary, although many experts are now likening the outbreak to a regular flu season.

State of Origin: Despite the recent bad publicity received by rugby league, the State of Origin was a ratings and publicity success, also achieving strong crowd figures at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne. The NSW media tended to focus on controversial refereeing decisions while the Queensland media were basking in another win by their team, looking for an unprecedented fourth series victory in a row.

No recession: The Government were cock-a-hoop about the quarterly GDP figures showing the economy had grown in the first quarter of 2009, confounding most business and political commentators who felt sure the figures would confirm a second quarter of negative growth, the common definition of a recession. The Prime Minister immediately claimed the positive figure was due to the stimulus payments and first home owners grant while the Opposition claimed they showed that less could have been spent.

French Open: Samantha Stosur’s run at the French Open finally ended in the semi-finals against Svetlana Kuznetsova in a tough three set match, Kuznetsova facing Safina in the final, while interest was strong in who would earn the title on the men’s side of the draw following the early exit of Rafael Nadal.

Indian student attacks: There has been widespread concern of a possible drop in international student numbers after a series of attacks on Indian students in Melbourne, with the Government being heavily criticised in Indian media reports, while Victorian police maintain theft rather than ethnicity was the motivating factor in the attacks.

Quote of the week:

“I have at least two or three Judases in my midst and they had the drip on me” – Former Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon

About the index
This list reports Australia's weekly top news stories by volume across thousands of newspaper, magazine, televion, radio and Internet news sources monitored by Media Monitors, including international and domestic, business, sport and enterainment news.

Data and analysis provided to Slice Media by Media Monitors Australia

Media monitoring

Weekly media index: 23 -29 May 2009

Swine Influenza: As the number of confirmed sine flu cases moved swiftly past 100 in Australia, the story returned to complete dominance of radio news in particular, with almost hourly updates on the status of the epidemic. Health authorities across the country have warned that there will be many more confirmed cases with some reports predicting up to 20% of the population could eventually catch the virus.

Emissions Trading: Once again the media is reporting an impasse in the Senate on the Government’s proposed emissions trading scheme, with the Nationals and Greens both firmly against it for opposite reasons and the Liberal Party attempting to delay a vote for another six months. Political commentators have focused on the likelihood of the issue being used to force an early election.

NSW Floods: Three major rivers in northern New South Wales broke their banks and caused millions of dollars of damage, with large town centres such as Kempsey, Grafton and Lismore hit by floodwaters along with extensive damage to surrounding farm land. Emergency centres have been set up to assist with the clean-up but the full damage bill may not be known for several weeks.

French Open: Australians performed well in the first week at the French Open tennis, with Jarmila Groth and Smantha Stosur winning through to the third round along with Lleyton Hewitt, who will face world number one Rafael Nadal. Jelena Dokic was forced to retire with an injury while leading in her second round match.

North Korea: There has been almost universal condemnation of a further nuclear test by North Korea, with media commentators describing the move as the first major test of Barack Obama’s presidency, with the UN Security Council quickly condemning the test and warning of further action if testing continues.

“Its all in French so you don’t know what’s bloody going on…then everybody stands up and claps, and its like ‘oh my god we’ve won something’”
Warwick Thornton describes winning the Camera D’Or at Cannes for his first feature film Samson and Delilah

About the index
This list reports Australia's weekly top news stories by volume across thousands of newspaper, magazine, televion, radio and Internet news sources monitored by Media Monitors, including international and domestic, business, sport and enterainment news.

Data and analysis provided to Slice Media by Media Monitors Australia

Media monitoring

Weekly media index: 16 - 22 May 2009

Swine flu: Swine flu has returned to prominence in the media with a number of confirmed Australian cases across several states, including three children in Melbourne, leading to the closure of the Primary School attended by two of the children, as the number of global swine flu cases went over 10,000.

Queensland storms: South East Queensland is yet again suffering through an extreme weather pattern, with massive storms and the worst flooding in thirty years taking one life and causing millions of dollars of damage, while several dams are overflowing less than a year after the breaking of the area’s worst drought on record.

Sri Lanka: There were celebrations in the capital of Sri Lanka after the government announced it had killed the Tamil Tigers leader and taken the final rebel stronghold in the north of the country, although international aid organisations warned of the massive humanitarian effort required to protect and rehome refugees from the thirty year long civil war.

Annice Smoel: Melbourne woman Annice Smoel received a huge amount of coverage across all traditional media after she was arrested for stealing a bar mat in a bar in Phuket. After pleading guilty she was released with a good behaviour bond and fine.

Cronulla Sharks: In the wake of the group sex scandal involving Matthew Johns and another ten unnamed Cronulla players in 2002, a current player has tested positive to a banned substance, the media uncovered a payment to a former employee injured in an incident involving the Club CEO and the club’s major sponsor announced they would not be renewing their sponsorship at the end of the season.

Quote of the week:

“Let's see if it ever happens” – Sol Trujillo’s view from San Diego on the Australian Government’s planned National Broadband Network

About the index
This list reports Australia's weekly top news stories by volume across thousands of newspaper, magazine, televion, radio and Internet news sources monitored by Media Monitors, including international and domestic, business, sport and enterainment news.

Data and analysis provided to Slice Media by Media Monitors Australia

Media monitoring

Weekly media index: 9 - 15 May 2009

Budget: While the coverage was wall-to-wall last week, there was not a huge amount of new information in Budget coverage, with almost all of the major initiatives and even the deficit figure itself being leaked well beforehand. Even the one major surprise of a lift in the pension age to 67, phased in from 2017 to 2023, did not receive a huge amount of ongoing debate across talkback, blogs and other social media.

Matthew Johns: Matthew Johns made two public mea culpas on Channel Nine this week, one very brief and the other 20 minutes long, after ABC program Four Corners revealed he had been involved in a group sex incident while playing for Cronulla in 2002. The issue sparked off a massive debate over consent, the culture of rugby league clubs and treatment of women by sportsmen in general.

Bushfires Royal Commission: The Black Saturday Royal Commission into the Victorian bushfires once again received strong coverage throughout the week, the Commission hearing differing views on what level of threat the CFA were expecting on the day and claims of serious deficiencies in Victoria’s 000 emergency call system.

Alcopops: Immediately after the Budget the Government reaffirmed its commitment to send the Alcopops legislation back to the Senate unchanged in what some commentators claimed was an attempt to create a trigger for a Double Dissolution election.

Jumps Racing: The Victorian Racing Board once again delayed a decision on the future of Jumps racing in that state after claiming it needed more time to consider all of the submissions to its Jumps Review Panel.

About the index
This list reports Australia's weekly top news stories by volume across thousands of newspaper, magazine, televion, radio and Internet news sources monitored by Media Monitors, including international and domestic, business, sport and enterainment news.

Data and analysis provided to Slice Media by Media Monitors Australia

Media monitoring

Weekly media index: 2 - 8 May 2009

Swine flu: Remarkably, discussion of swine flu was still at number one last week, despite a huge amount of speculation surrounding Tuesday’s Federal Budget and the announcement of major changes in the Government’s emissions trading plans. Both infection rates and confirmed deaths in Mexico were revised downwards during the week, although concern continued that cases may be confirmed in many more countries in the coming week, while some commentators accused the media of damaging its own credibility with the amount of coverage given to the outbreak.

Budget speculation: Leaks aplenty were seen across the media, with the Government succeeding in presenting the Budget as a Robin Hood exercise, with commitments to raise the pension certain to be kept while superannuation tax benefits introduced by the previous government seen as most likely to come under attack in an attempt to limit what all business commentators say will be a record deficit.

Emissions trading: The Government announced it would be breaking a key election commitment to introduce a carbon emissions trading scheme by 2010, with the scheme now to be phased in from 2011, with full trading from 2012. Support was gained from a number of business and environmental groups for the move, which also committed to a higher cut by 2020, dependent on international agreements, although both the Greens and Coalition maintained their opposition to the scheme.

Unemployment figures: Many commentators expressed amazement and some pure disbelief as latest job figures from the ABS reported a drop in the unemployment rate to 5.4%, while most were expecting a figure heading towards 7%. Even the Government urged caution over the figure, maintaining that it expects unemployment to rise considerably, but unsurprisingly putting the current figure down to the affect of the stimulus packages.

Logies: While it didn’t come close to making the top five in any other media, very strong coverage on television of their own awards night pushed the Logies up to number five for the week, with most coverage related to the frocks and the performance of this year’s host Gretel Killeen, although gold Logie winner Rebecca Gibney did get to share some of the limelight.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I told reporters that I would fire a "wasp" (rocket launcher) at her (the ambassador) when I was upset and as a joke.” - Damir Dokic tells a Serbian court he was only joshing about firing an RPG into the Australian Embassy in Belgrade

About the index
This list reports Australia's weekly top news stories by volume across thousands of newspaper, magazine, televion, radio and Internet news sources monitored by Media Monitors, including international and domestic, business, sport and enterainment news.

Data and analysis provided to Slice Media by Media Monitors Australia

Media monitoring

Weekly media index: 25 Apr - 1 May 2009

Swine flu: Australian and global news has been totally dominated by the outbreak, initially in Mexico, of a new influenza variant, now widely known as swine flu. Concern over the possible rapid spread of the disease and significant confusion about its current impact and death toll characterised the media coverage. Political leaders around the world have been touting their preparedness for any widespread outbreaks and the availability of effective medication, while also warning that the effects could be significant.

Richard Pratt: Melbourne billionaire Richard Pratt lost his battle with cancer during the week following an eventful few years in which the head of the huge cardboard manufacturing and recycling company Visy, well known for his philanthropy to the arts and involvement in football, was involved in price fixing investigations by ASIC which were then followed by criminal charges, dropped only hours before Mr Pratt’s death.

Bduget speculation: Budget speculation continued to ramp up in the last two weeks before what is expected to be a record deficit, with the Opposition continuing to strongly attack the amount of Government spending in the last six months, while women’s advocates have warned the Government against going back on its commitment to introduce paid parental leave.

Border protection: Media discussion of the asylum seeker issue and border protection dropped off significantly last week, although the swine flu concerns and claims of government payments going to asylum seekers in detention on Christmas Island kept the issue in the news.

Bushfires Royal Commission: Coverage of the Bushfires Royal Commission has focused this week on the perceived lack of early enough and prominent enough warnings, in particular through state wide and local broadcast networks, while the Government announced bushfire relief was set to be extended.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

This is the freedom ride, We will not go and hide
We have just come over here, To keep the public occupied
We are going to ride, Around the Adelaide Hills
We are hardworking people, Who pay the bills

SA bikie leader Alex Vella revs up the troops with some poetry before the “freedom ride” to protest anti-bikie gang laws

About the index
This list reports Australia's weekly top news stories by volume across thousands of newspaper, magazine, televion, radio and Internet news sources monitored by Media Monitors, including international and domestic, business, sport and enterainment news.

Data and analysis provided to Slice Media by Media Monitors Australia

Media monitoring

Slice like a pro: Using the 'test' function for a sneak peek

Slice subscribers have access to a fantastic 'test' function, that allows you to see brief summaries of the news for the past 30 days based, on a specific search.

This feature was originally designed as a guide to test how accurate your search string is for a given tracking folder. Doing a test before you save a tracking folder helps decrease the likelihood of irrelevant news being delivered to your tracking folder once it is saved and running in live environment.

But have you thought about using it simply as a research tool - a way to take a sneak peek at what happened in the last 30 days? 'Test' will allow you to do a quick and dirty search on your competitors, industry thought leaders, key spokespeople and past campaigns. What about doing a quick 'test' to see how the brands and potential business that you are trying to win have performed recently? Why not investigate industry issues, potential employers, evolving trends?

To do a 'test' simply:

• Login to slicemedia.com
• Go to My subscription > Tracking folders
• Select the 'Add new folder' folder button
• Enter in your search string, select your media scope
• Go to Step 5 and hit 'test' and you're on your way

The 'test' function gives you a brief window into the past, so you can be on track in the future.

Media monitoring

Weekly media index: 18 - 24 April 2009

Border protection: There remains some uncertainty about the exact details of the incident near Ashmore Reef 10 days ago that lead to the deaths of five people onboard the boat now known as SIEV 36, although intense debate has continued in the media about Australian border protection laws and whether they are having an effect on the number of attempted illegal entries into Australia, with the Opposition maintaining strong criticism of the Government, while news of another boat detained during the week added to the level of coverage.

Recession: The Prime Minister finally mentioned the “R” word just a day before the IMF confirmed it believed Australia was already in recession, markets showing absolutely no surprise, although the further downgrading of most growth figures led to media speculation of further interest rate cuts and another increase in government spending.

ANZAC Day: ANZAC Day on Saturday continued the trend of increasing coverage of the 25th of April, with marches and events across the country, as well as announcements from the Government of improved facilities for those visiting battle sites in Europe, while some organisations were criticised for using Anzac Day in marketing campaigns.

Bushfires Royal Commission: Submissions have commenced at the Royal Commission in Melbourne into the Black Saturday bushfires in February, with some initial concern in the media over who is able to provide submissions and how they will be treated and the Commission itself hearing criticism of the early warning system from first submissions.

Sri Lanka: Sri Lankan Government forces appeared to be closing in on the last strongholds of the Tamil Tiger rebels in the north of the country, with fears that civilian casualties could be high in Tamil dominated areas after many years of fighting.


About the index
This list reports Australia's weekly top news stories by volume across thousands of newspaper, magazine, televion, radio and Internet news sources monitored by Media Monitors, including international and domestic, business, sport and enterainment news.

Data and analysis provided to Slice Media by Media Monitors Australia

Media monitoring

Weekly media index: 11 - 17 April 2009

Border protection: A broad week of news coverage became completely dominated at the end of the week by an explosion onboard a boat filled with asylum seekers being towed to port by an Australian naval vessel. The WA Premier Colin Barnett claimed there were reports people on board the vessel had doused it in petrol, a claim the Navy and Government refused to verify, while the Federal Opposition stated the general increase in attempts to reach Australia by boat was due to the softening of the Government’s stance on illegal entry.

Qantas job losses: Another tough week for Qantas in the media and on the markets as they announced the shedding of a further 1,750 jobs and a significant profit downgrading. There was considerable media speculation that the company may be restructured more along the budget carrier lines of its subsidiary Jetstar following significant drops in higher fare travel revenue.

Thailand unrest: Following the forced cancellation of an ASEAN meeting in Thailand the week before last the civil unrest continued, with supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra continuing to occupy official buildings and staging mass protests. The siege of the current Prime Minister’s office was raised by the end of the week and Shinawatra’s passport has been revoked.

Fiji media crackdown: Regional leaders have been loud and long in their condemnation of Fiji military leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama after the Fijian President abrogated the constitution and gave Bainimarama full control of the Government. Strict controls have been placed on Fiji’s media and several international correspondents have been expelled from the country, with moves already underway to suspend Fiji from the South Pacific Forum.

Mel Gibson divorce: While it received relatively minor levels of coverage in radio and press bulletins, television news strongly featured the impending divorce of Mel and Robyn Gibson after 28 years of marriage.

About the index
This list reports Australia's weekly top news stories by volume across thousands of newspaper, magazine, televion, radio and Internet news sources monitored by Media Monitors, including international and domestic, business, sport and enterainment news.

Data and analysis provided to Slice Media by Media Monitors Australia

Media monitoring

Weekly media index: 4 - 10 Apr 2009

Interest rates: The Reserve Bank stuck with the law of averages as far as media speculation went, going for a quarter of a per cent cut in rates, the middle of the range of expectations, although it was the major banks’ decision to not pass on most of the cut that captured the majority of media coverage. The Treasurer and Prime Minister both talked tough, while the Opposition claimed the banks’ move had rendered monetary policy next to useless in tackling the domestic effects of the global recession.

Broadband network: The Federal Government shocked almost all commentators with its decision to build a fibre to the home network itself, committing to a $43billion project, after it rejected all of the submissions from private consortia as not providing value for money. The Government blamed the difficulty of funding private infrastructure at the moment and said its decision was vital for Australia’s development, while the Opposition said the move was too risky and would be too expensive for taxpayers and consumers.

Italian earthquake: The earthquake that all but flattened the central Italian town of L’Aquila over a week ago has claimed over 270 lives, with relief efforts now concentrating on assistance for the thousands rendered homeless by the earthquake. Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi claimed the town would be rebuilt within two years, a claim met with some scepticism in the Italian media.

Unemployment rate: Australia’s unemployment rate jumped half a per cent to 5.7% a figure worse than expected by most economists, with NSW recording a full per cent increase to 6.9%, with commentators predicting the jump would lead to further interest rate cuts in coming months, and the Opposition quick to claim the figures showed the economic stimulus payments had not worked.

Thomson claims: Federal Labor MP for the NSW Central Coast seat of Dobell, Craig Thomson, faced allegations of misuse of a union issued credit card while he was General Secretary of the Health Services Union. He has denied the claims while the Union continues an investigation into the card usage.

About the index
This list reports Australia's weekly top news stories by volume across thousands of newspaper, magazine, televion, radio and Internet news sources monitored by Media Monitors, including international and domestic, business, sport and enterainment news.

Data and analysis provided to Slice Media by Media Monitors Australia

Media monitoring

Weekly media index: 28 Mar - 3 Apr 2009

Bikie violence: New “terrorist-style” laws have been introduced in NSW following continued violence between rival bikie gangs, with the brother of the man bashed to death at Sydney Airport shot several times outside his home in Sydney’s south west suburbs. Both sides of politics have supported tougher laws, while legal and civil rights commentators claimed the laws could be ineffective or even counterproductive.

G20: The Group of 20 leading economies meeting in London dominated international news for most of the week, with extensive demonstrations in the British capital by anti-capitalist protesters, and a commitment to significantly increased funding for the IMF and a range of other stimulatory measures, with the media and stock markets generally seeing the meeting as a moderate success.

World Cup Qualifier: The Socceroos beat Uzbekistan 2-0 in Sydney last week, bringing Australia to the brink of being the first team to qualify for the football World Cup in South Africa in 2010. The Socceroos only need a single point from their three remaining games to book a place in the tournament.

NSW floods: Less than two months after the devastating floods in Queensland and Northern NSW, large parts of the NSW mid North Coast were once again under water, with torrential rain seeing flood levels rise significantly higher than six weeks ago in and around Coffs Harbour, with damage again thought to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Australian Grand Prix: The Australian Grand Prix saw the brand new Richard Branson-backed Brawn team come in first and second, British driver Jensen Button getting his first win in Australia.

About the index
This list reports Australia's weekly top news stories by volume across thousands of newspaper, magazine, televion, radio and Internet news sources monitored by Media Monitors, including international and domestic, business, sport and enterainment news.

Data and analysis provided to Slice Media by Media Monitors Australia

Media monitoring

Weekly media index: 21 - 27 March 2009

Afghanistan: Afghanistan continued to be a focus of media coverage last week, as the bodies of Sergeant Brett Till and Corporal Matthew Hopkins were brought home, while three more soldiers were injured by a roadside bomb. The expected request for more soldiers by the U.S. administration did not occur, although media speculation remains high that there could be an increase in troop numbers soon.

Queensland Election: Although most pundits were expecting a cliff-hanger in the Queensland Election, it ended up a relatively comfortable victory for Anna Bligh, the first State Election victory for a female leader and the fifth in a row for the ALP in Queensland. The LNP picked up around half of the massive 8% swing required but only picked up half a dozen seats with the third time not being the charm for Lawrence Springborg, who immediately announced he was stepping down as some called for a metropolitan leader.

Rudd in US: Kevin Rudd arrived in the U.S. for his first meeting with President Obama with that country’s focus entirely on the $1trillion package aimed at stabilising the banking sector just announced by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. The PM received wraps from Geithner, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama, who all praised his response to the financial crisis.

Sydney airport violence: The AFP has received strong criticism this week, along with Federal and State Government authorities over the violent bikie gang brawl in Sydney Airport’s domestic terminal that led to the one man being bashed to death in front of hundreds of airline commuters. Commentators called for a complete review of security arrangements and staffing levels.

Fitzgibbon spy claim: The simmering tension between Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon and his department following the SAS pay dispute boiled over into the media again last week, with claims that Defence intelligence personnel had accessed the Minister’s records and were investigating his links to a businesswoman of Chinese heritage.

About the index
This list reports Australia's weekly top news stories by volume across thousands of newspaper, magazine, televion, radio and Internet news sources monitored by Media Monitors, including international and domestic, business, sport and enterainment news.

Data and analysis provided to Slice Media by Media Monitors Australia

Media monitoring

Weekly media index: 14 - 20 March 2009

Afghanistan: In the worst week yet for Australian forces in Afghanistan since their first deployment in 2001, two soldiers were killed, one leaving behind a new born child, as the Government claimed there was no guarantee they would agree to increasing troop levels if asked by the U.S. Administration, while the media continued to focus more heavily on the security situation in both Afghanistan and Pakistan following recent events.

Queensland Election: The country’s media started to heavily focus on the Queensland Election as polls continued to show an extremely close election, despite most commentators’ early expectations of an easy win by the Labor Government. Both leaders tried to fit in as much campaigning as they could in the last few days before Saturday’s poll, with previously safe Labor seats expected to be threatened up and down the coast as well as the South East corner.

Alcopops bill: All the national political focus was on the Senate this week, as Family First Senator Steve Fielding refused to give support the tax changes to ready-mixed alcoholic drinks, joining with the Coalition to defeat the legislation, leaving the government $1.6 billion short on revenue estimates. Health groups criticised the rejection of the bill while industry representatives called for the already collected $300million to be spent on anti-binge drinking programs.

Pauline Hanson: There was intense self examination in the media this week, as the debate over whether photos claiming to be of a scantily-clad 19 year-old Pauline Hanson should have been paid for, or published, or whether the photos were indeed of Ms Hanson, a claim she immediately rejected.

Industrial relations: The next big battle in the Senate came close on the heels of the alcopops issue, with the cross benchers and Opposition making amendments to the Fair Work Bill the Government has introduced as a replacement to WorkChoices legislation. The Government immediately rejected the amendments, with another showdown in the Senate likely to follow in the Budget session.

About the index
This list reports Australia's weekly top news stories by volume across thousands of newspaper, magazine, televion, radio and Internet news sources monitored by Media Monitors, including international and domestic, business, sport and enterainment news.

Data and analysis provided to Slice Media by Media Monitors Australia

Media monitoring

Weekly media index: 23 - 27 February 2009

Victorian bushfires: There were still more than 3,000 firefighters working across four major fronts in Victoria at the end of last week as the nightmare month of February ended with serious blazes still endangering parts of the Yarra Valley, the South West and Gippsland. Meanwhile the media has turned some of its focus to the recovery efforts in the worst hit areas and fundraising efforts for the thousands of people displaced by the fires.

Oscars: In a surprise to absolutely no-one, Heath Ledger won a posthumous Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance as the Joker in the latest Batman movie, and only slightly more surprising was the dominance of the feelgood movie about a poor Indian boy who wins a fortune on a game show, “Slumdog Millionaire”, which picked up 8 Oscars, although none for its actors.

Pacific Brands: took a battering on talkback and plenty of stern words from politicians after it announced that its Australian manufacturing plants would be closing with over 1,800 staff losing their jobs. While the company announced that the economic slowdown and the high costs of manufacturing in Australia had forced their hand, many in the media criticised the company for taking government assistance in the past.

Cricket: For the first time in more than a decade Australia began a Test series as clear underdogs when the First Test started in Johannesburg last Thursday, with three test debutantes facing the South Africans, the first time that has happened in over 25 years, while the home team looked to build on their defeat of Australia in Australia earlier in the summer.

Queensland election: Despite the bad experiences suffered by the last two Labor leaders to announce an early election, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh called the poll for the 21st of March this week, hoping to become the first female Premier to win an election, while Lawrence Springborg is hoping third time will be lucky for him and first time lucky for the recently created Liberal National Party.

About the index
This list reports Australia's weekly top news stories by volume across thousands of newspaper, magazine, televion, radio and Internet news sources monitored by Media Monitors, including international and domestic, business, sport and enterainment news.

Data and analysis provided to Slice Media by Media Monitors Australia

Media monitoring

Weekly media index: 9 - 13 February 2009

DOMESTIC
Victorian Bushfires: There are fears the death toll could top 300, as entire communities have been wiped out by Victoria’s bushfires. The fires have become Australia’s worst peacetime disaster. Politics were put aside in Federal and several state parliaments as politicians expressed their condolences for the victims. New US President Barrack Obama also sent a message of sympathy. The Victorian government has flagged a Royal Commission into the state’s bushfire response. People are encouraged to donate to the Red Cross.

Economic Stimulus Package: The federal government's $42 billion economic stimulus package has still yet to get the official nod, with two senators, Nick Xenophon and Steve Fielding calling for additional concessions before they give their support. Xenophon called for further support for Murray-Darling Basin communities affected by water scarcity, while Fielding promoted his own $4 billion job creation package. The PM has received some criticism by his linking of the stimulus package with funding for an income support scheme for bushfire–affected residents.

Qld Floods: Flood-ravaged north Queensland may have a two-day reprieve from heavy rain, as many residents have returned to their homes after hundreds evacuated when the river peaked at 12.2m twice in one week. Despite their personal troubles, many of the flood-affected are shrugging off their problems and want to hand over their aid cheques from Canberra to the Victorian bushfire appeal.

Jayant Patel: The committal hearing of charges against Patel has begun. It is alleged Patel performed botched operations that led to death or permanent incapacity for several patients. The prosecution argued Patel had misdiagnosed patients, performed surgeries he was barred from doing in the US and severely harmed five patients, three of whom died. The fraud charges centre on allegations he falsely represented his qualifications. The hearing was told more than 70 witnesses would appear over the next three weeks.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
US Stimulus Package: The US Senate has passed a $US838 billion economic stimulus plan. Obama called the outcome ‘a good start’ to his bid to rescue the battered US economy. Senators voted 61-37 to approve the package, setting the stage for talks aimed at reconciling differences between their legislation and the House of Representatives' rival $US819 billion plan.

Phelps Drug Use: Coverage of the Olympic swimmer’s fall from grace continued this week after being suspended for three months by USA Swimming following a published photograph appeared to show him smoking marijuana. Phelps’s woes continued when US food company Kellogg's said it would not renew its endorsement deal with the Olympian when it expires at the end of the month.

Israel Election: Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and ex-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu have both declared victory in a nail-biting Israeli election, setting the stage for a protracted power struggle. Livni's Kadima party won a razor-thin victory, gaining one more seat than right-wing rival Likud, according to a final ballot count.

Grammys: The partnership of Led Zeppelin frontman Plant and country chanteuse Alison Krauss was a successfully one, with their rock-country collaboration scooping five awards, including album of the year. Other big winners included rapper Lil Wayne with four awards and British group Coldplay with three.

BUSINESS NEWS
Qantas: Qantas Airways' first-half profit slumped 66% as fuel and labour costs adversely affected Australia's biggest airline. Passenger revenue at the Qantas division fell 3.4% to $5 billion. The company also spent $1.38 billion buying new aircraft, including three A380 double deck aircraft, as well as other planes and equipment.

SPORT
Cricket: The Aussies have levelled the five-match Chappell-Hadlee series after a six-wicket win over New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday night. After losing the first two matches, the series will now be decided in Brisbane on Friday.

A-League Soccer: Melbourne Victory beat Adelaide United 2-0 in the A-League major semi-final first leg at Adelaide's Hindmarsh Stadium. They play a re-match next Saturday in Melbourne.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"I was way out of order. I acted like a punk. I regret that. And there is nobody that has heard that tape that is hit harder by it then me” – said a contrite Christian Bale following his expletive laden rant on the set of Terminator Salvation to the hapless director of photography.

Weekly media index: 2-6 February 2009

DOMESTIC
Stimulus Package - Coverage this week was dominated by the Federal Government’s economic stimulus package. While the package has passed through the lower house, it is yet to receive the nod from the Senate. There has been much discussion of the political ramifications of Malcolm Turnbull’s rejection of the package. The issue also prompted the re-emergence of former Treasurer Peter Costello, who argued that the stimulus package will have little benefit to the Australian economy.

Heatwave/Bushfires - Victorians and South Australians continue to swelter though 30 degrees-plus days, with temperatures in both states set to rise to of 40 degrees on the weekend. In South Australia a temporary mortuary is being set up to cope with the number of people who have died during the heatwave. While in Victoria, fire authorities have warned Saturday will be the worst day for fires since Ash Wednesday in 1983. The CFA says conditions will be more dangerous than during last week's heatwave.

Interest Rates - The Reserve Bank has dropped official interest rates to 3.25 percent - the lowest that rates have been in 45 years. Kevin Rudd urged banks to pass on the cut in full. Meanwhile consumer groups argue banks could help reduce Australia's massive household debt by lowering interest rates on credit cards in line with the Reserve Bank's cuts. Westpac and the National Australia Bank say they will reduce rates on some of their credit cards, while the Commonwealth Bank and ANZ say they are reviewing theirs. The Reserve Bank also noted that inflation fell for the first time in 11 years.

Nth Qld Floods - While their southern neighbours swelter through record heatwaves, drought and bushfires; areas of Northern Queensland are in the midst of the worst flood in ten years. The Deputy Premier, Paul Lucas visited flood-effected Ingham, which has been cut off by flood waters after Cyclone Ellie. Such has been the devastation the Army has been called in to help with the clean-up. Large parts of Northern Queensland remain cut-off due to worsening flood conditions.

Darcey Freeman Death - The family of Darcey Freeman, who died after being thrown from West Gate Bridge last week, has released a statement saying there were concerns for her and her brothers' safety for two years and they were failed by the judicial system. Freeman's 35 year old father has been charged with murder. The family are supporting a public memorial service and dedicated children's day be named in her honour.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
USA Economy - Despite the rejection from all House Republicans, the US House of Representatives passed Obama’s $AUD1.23 trillion economic package. US President Barack Obama has declared that any companies receiving a Government bailout will be subject to capping on CEO bonuses and pay packages, imposing a $500,000 cap on salaries of CEOs of banks. Meanwhile the US economy has fallen further into recession.

Phelps Drug Use - Following the published photo of the eight gold medals winner "inhaling from a glass pipe" it looks like the only thing faster than Michael Phelps is the speed with which his endorsement career has gone up in smoke.

Gaza - fighting in the Gaza continues despite a ceasefire. A long range rocket fired from Gaza has struck the Israeli city of Ashkelon with Israel now warning of a response. The US agency which provides aid to Palestinian refugees in Gaza says Hamas gunman have seized hundreds of food parcels and blankets from a warehouse. The UN has condemned the action and called on Hamas to return the goods.

Zimbabwe - Morgan Tsvangirai will be sworn is as PM of Zimbabwe in 11 days time as the two sides come to an agreement to govern the country. NZ Labour Foreign Affairs spokesperson Helen Clark believes the international community will support Zimbabwe if genuine power sharing takes place. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has called on Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe to free all political prisoners ahead of moves toward full democracy. Zimbabwe has drastically revalued its currency, chopping 12 zeroes off its bank notes because of hyper-inflation.

BUSINESS NEWS
BHP Profits – BHP Billiton says its half year profit has more than halved because of the slump in commodity prices caused by the global recession. It's down 57%. Marius Kloppers, Chief Executive, BHP Billiton says the situation is not likely to improve for some time. Meanwhile, Qantas has announced a 66% fall in first-half profit to $210 million.

SPORT
Cricket – International Comp/Alan Border Medal: Australia’s cricketing dominance took a further hit following its one-day defeat at the hands of New Zealand. The Aussies could only manage a paltry 181 against the Kiwis. Cricket’s night of nights, the Allan Border Medal was also held this week. Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke tied to win the Medal.

Australian Open: Serena Williams has beaten Dinara Safina to claim the women's singles crown at the Australian Open. Rafael Nadal has become the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open after a gripping men’s final against Roger Federer. Federer endeared himself to the crowd by crying following his defeat.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

You could tell Michael had smoked before. He grabbed the bong and a lighter and knew exactly what to do. He looked just as natural with a bong in his hands as he does swimming in the pool. He was the gold medal winner of bong hits.
Quoted partygoer at the party where Michael Phelps was photographed smoking marijuana.

Media monitoring

Weekly media index: 26 - 30 January 2009

DOMESTIC
Australia Day - Lots of national and regional reporting on last Monday’s festivities, including the Australia Day speech delivered by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The oath of citizenship was taken by new Aussies including 70s pop star Leo Sayer, witnessed by the PM in Canberra. Fortunately very little reporting of violence or racial tension.

Economic Outlook - Discussion of a lower inflation rate, speculation about tax and interest rate cuts; the government funds commercial property investment by $4 billion; further support for banks; a second stimulus package firmly on the table; and a long list of lay-offs - recession remains prominent media coverage.

Heat wave - Last week it was bushfires, now Melbourne and Adelaide swelter in an exceptionally long run of plus 40 degree heat. Public transport in Victoria ground to a halt, and electricity supply has been patchy. Children flocked to public pools in the last days of the school holidays to cool off.

Whaling - The government was accused of giving-in to Japan by conservation groups. They complained a deal was supposedly on the table to hand Japan’s whaling fleet access to the North Pacific in exchange for leaving the Southern Ocean. Environment Minister Peter Garrett said the proposal had not been put forward by Australia, which is still opposed to the killing of whales for ‘scientific’ or any other purpose.

Ivan Milat - The convicted serial killer sawed off one of his fingers with a serrated plastic knife in the Supermax security facility at Goulburn prison. He then placed the digit in an envelope addressed to the High Court of Australia. Milat has had a history of ingesting various metal objects including razor blades and chains, and he is currently off his food. The reason for this latest outburst is unclear.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Obama’s first 10 days - The world watched in anticipation as the new President began work, after re-taking the inauguration oath due to a minor glitch with the order of wording on the big day. He ordered Guantanamo Bay to be closed as soon as practicable. He also emphasised the need for America to ditch it’s reliance on foreign oil, announcing massive investment in renewable energy whilst US car makers were asked to focus on making energy efficient vehicles. The House of Representatives passed Obama’s $AUD1.23 trillion economic package.

Gaza - Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza strip last week allowed the international media to witness the destruction left behind by Israel’s armed forces. There was further isolated fighting during the week.

Recession - The IMF predicted a deeper global recession as consumer and business confidence drops to levels not seen since World War 2, and warned worldwide growth would drop to below 0.5% in 2009. The update also pointed to a massive dent to Australia’s export revenue due to diminished growth in China.

Afghanistan - President Obama called Kevin Rudd on Wednesday, the first time the pair has talked since the US elections. They discussed, amongst other things, Australia’s ongoing participation in Afghanistan. There was further coverage of the Victoria Cross awarded to Trooper Mark Donaldson.

BUSINESS NEWS
BHP cuts – There was further coverage of the 3,400 job loses at the Ravensthorpe nickel mine in WA. Investment house Storm Financial finally went under this week, leaving investors out of pocket. Investment partner the Commonwealth Bank and the owners of Storm blamed each other for not managing the huge losses

SPORT
Australian Open - Jelena Dokic flounders in the quarter finals in a spirited match against Russia’s Dinara Sufina. The next few days of play look to be exciting with Nadal and Federer tipped to meet each other in the final.

Cricket – South Africa and Andrew Symonds: South Africa win the one-day series 3-1 with one game to play in Perth. Symonds will probably be hit with a $5750 fine for detrimental comments about Kiwi wicket keeper, Brendon McCullum made on-air.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Sooner or later you have to face up to the only sensible conclusion: Australia is no place to host big international sporting tournaments; except maybe the world kangaroo long-jump
A tongue-in-cheek editorial from the Murdoch-owned Times in London commenting on the blistering conditions as the Australian tennis Open.

Media monitoring

Weekly media index: 8 - 12 December 2008

DOMESTIC
Interest rates: As money started flowing into the bank accounts of pensioners, carers and those receiving family tax benefit A, the debate continued to rage over whether the $10.4billion would be saved or spent, whether it should be saved or spent and how it might be spent, with Barnaby Joyce leading a group of Opposition politicians criticising the Government for calling on further spending rather than saving and suggesting much of the money might go on alcohol and gaming machines in some areas.

ABC Learning: As it become clearer that a significant number of centres are considered unviable by the administrators of ABC Learning, the Government committed a further $34million to keep 241 centres open until 31 March, with the Government maintaining that there will be permanent child care places available for all children currently in those centres, while both former Chairman Eddie Groves and Deputy PM Julia Gillard questioned whether those centres were really unviable.

Kerryn McCann: The Commonwealth Gold medallist and mother of three after previously fighting off breast cancer lost her battle with liver cancer on Monday, with a memorial service on Thursday near her home in Wollongong attended by around 1,000 family and friends.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
The Greek riots: Following the death of a teenager during a police operation continued for five days across the country, with millions of Euros damage in Athens as shops were looted and large gangs took on riot police, a general strike was called and two of the police involved in the shooting were brought up on charges, while the intensity of the riots was blamed on general economic conditions.

Climate Change: In the wake of the Poznan meetings, the Government played up its role at the middle of the climate change and emissions trading debate, as critics on the Right questioned the need for any emissions trading before 2012 at the earliest, while the Greens criticised the relatively low targets for cuts set by Ross Garnaut.

BUSINESS NEWS
Rio Tinto: Rio Tinto received a large amount of coverage last week as it announced significant redundancies, with business journalists continuing to comment on the company’s level of indebtedness and preparedness for difficult medium term business conditions

Employment figures: National unemployment figures were better than expected, with a marginal overall increase in unemployment to 4.5% although the increases were much bigger in WA and Queensland, off very low bases. NSW and ACT actually recorded small decreases in unemployment for the period.

China slowing: There is increasing concern over the state of the Chinese economy, with some commentators claiming the slowdown will be much faster and deeper than anticipated by the IMF and World Bank

Qantas – BA merger: Both sides started talking down the prospects of a Qantas-BA merger this week, with Qantas MD Alan Joyce preferring to focus on the tough conditions ahead and the company’s plans for maintaining profitability.

Infrastructure funding: The States are lining up to try and get a slice of the rapidly diminishing Federal Infrastructure Fund, with Victoria putting in bids for over $10bn, more than the fund’s current total, while Minister Anthony Albanese promised the money would be spent effectively and with reasonable haste.

SPORT
John Daly has achieved the aim of increasing media coverage for this year’s domestic golf season, but as usual its had nothing to do with his golf scores, after he smashed a spectator’s camera at the Australian Open in Royal Sydney at the end of a bad round, completely overshadowing the leaders.

Even though a ball hasn’t yet been bowled in anger between Australia and South Africa, the cricket writers were out in force last week speculating about the make-up of both teams, and whether South Africa would provide a sterner challenge than they have in recent tours to Australia, particularly now that Shane Warne has left.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“We not only saved the world, er, saved the banks"
‘not flash, just Gordon’ Brown puts his undies on the outside and claims superhero status in the House of Commons this week.

Tracking the media, monitoring the message