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: 28 February - 6 March 2009

Victorian bushfires: Cool weather and even some light snow on alpine peaks provided some desperately needed relief for those still fighting bushfires across Victoria last week, as memorial services commenced across many parts of Australia, relief efforts continued and coronial services tried to complete the grim task of identifying the bodies of all those who perished on Black Saturday.

Terriorist cricket attack: The coordinated terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore left the cricket world shocked and angry. Six Pakistani policemen died repelling the attacks, which involved machine gun fire and rocket propelled grenades. Several Sri Lankan players and officials were injured and the driver of the small van carrying Australian umpires Steve Davis and Simon Taufel was killed. The umpires strongly criticised the security arrangements as the media speculated on a potential complete collapse of order in Pakistan.

Pacfic Brands job cuts: Union officials were still organising protests across the country at the end of last week to protest the announcement by Pacific Brands that its Australian manufacturing plants would be closing with over 1,800 staff losing their jobs. Meanwhile the Government has been hosing down any speculation of further assistance for the company to try and salvage the jobs, while leaving the door open for possible future discussion.

Sydney shark attack: There was yet another shark attack last week, this time at Avalon on Sydney’s far northern beaches as a 15 year old was dragged from the water by his father with multiple puncture wounds from what was reported to be a great white. The NSW Government came under extensive media criticism over its beach netting and shark warning systems.

Queensland election: The polls were showing a very tight race in Queensland after the first full week of the State Election campaign, with the continually worsening economic news and the distraction of Pauline Hanson’s candidacy overwhelming many of the messages of both sides, although the Liberal National Party opposition seemed to be slowly gathering momentum.

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 - 20 February 2009

DOMESTIC
Victorian Bushfires: Grief has turned to anger as much of the focus of bushfire coverage this week was on the accused arsonist Brendan Sokaluk, who is accused of lighting the Churchill fire in which 11 people died. Thousands of people posted messages of hate and threats on the internet towards Sokaluk. While the suppression order on Sokaluk's name was lifted on Monday, his image and address remained suppressed. However, images of the accused were readily available on the internet, apparently taken from his Facebook account.

Qld/NSW Floods: Areas of the NSW mid-north coast have joined northern Queensland in being declared natural disaster, with about 370 millimetres of rain falling since last Friday. The council areas of Bellingen, Coffs Harbour, Nambucca, Kempsey, Bourke and Port Macquarie-Hastings have been the hardest hit. While further showers in the affected regions are predicted, the heaviest storms have now abated.

Economic Stimulus Package: Friday the 13th became lucky for the Federal government with Nick Xenophon finally giving the nod to its $42 billion economic stimulus package. The independent Senator gained concessions of more than $900 million for the Murray-Darling, with the agreement bringing forward $500 million over four years from 2008-09 for water buy-backs from farmers. As a result of the concessions, the $950 tax bonuses will now be reduced by $50.

Julie Bishop Treasury Position: Deputy Opposition leader Julie Bishop's decision to step down as Treasury spokesman, a decision she claims was hers alone, has incited further leadership speculation for the party. This followed revelations that Malcolm Turnbull asked Peter Costello to take on the role, only to be knocked back, with the former Treasurer reportedly only interested “in one job”. New Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey has since been tarnished as the ‘second best’ option.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Japanese Economy: A major slump in the Japanese economy will hit Australian export earnings next year, Trade Minister Simon Crean has warned. Japan, the biggest customer for Australian exports, is facing its worst economic performance since 1974. The government’s troubles continued after its finance minister resigned after appearing drunk at a recent G7 summit.

Afghanistan Troop Deployment: US decision to send 17,000 troops to Afghanistan will significantly increase pressure on its allies, including Australia, to step up their commitment to the war. While Australia has not committed to additional troops, Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon says Australian troops are likely to remain in Afghanistan for years.

US Stimulus package: US President Barack Obama signed a $787 billion economic stimulus bill into law on Tuesday as global markets plunged on fears that the recession would deepen despite government action in many countries. Obama has staked his political reputation on the package, a mixture of tax cuts and spending projects, saying its success will determine his success as president

BUSINESS NEWS
Virgin Blue Staffing: News of up to 400 possible job cuts Virgin Blue is a big loss for the nation, Treasurer Wayne Swan says. Australia's second largest airline has said it will remove eight per cent of capacity, or as many as five aircraft, from its domestic fleet from May in response to a forecast fall in domestic demand

SPORT
A-League Soccer: Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick says he has no preference who his high-flying side meet in the A-League grand final as Adelaide United and Queensland Roar prepare for the match which will decide the remaining spot. Merrick's side destroyed Adelaide United 6-0 on aggregate in the major semi-final.

Cricket: Australia coach Tim Nielsen says his team are under pressure to hold onto their top ranking in Test cricket and it will be "hard work" to beat South Africa on their home turf. Having been upset 2-1 at home by Graeme Smith's Proteas in December and January, Ricky Ponting's 14-man Test squad arrived in South Africa on Monday.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"He has declined and said that he has no interest in a role on the frontbench or indeed a leadership role. That's the position he's taken and I respect that," Mr Turnbull said of Peter Costello’s political future.

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

Yearly Media Index: Top 10 stories of 2008

(click image for larger view)

Thanks to Patrick Baume of Media Monitors for putting together this list of Australia's top news stories for 2008.

1) Global financial crisis: Despite a low level of coverage surrounding the subprime mortgage loan initiated credit crunch in the U.S. for most of the year, the wall to wall coverage across all forms of media once the crisis spread to the major financial institutions of Wall Street and across the global financial system in early October was enough to make this the largest story in volume terms across the entire year.

2) Climate change: Media discussion of the climate change issue was also relatively quiet early in the year, but it became the dominant domestic political issue in the middle of the year as Professor Ross Garnaut delivered his initial report on the economic steps needing to be taken to combat climate change in June, followed by the Government’s Green Paper on possible structures for an emissions trading scheme, while Professor Garnaut’s second more detailed report on an ETS was somewhat swamped by the global financial crisis.

3) Beijing Olympics: Another solid performance at an Olympics from the Australian team, although this time the expected swathe of gold medals from the pool came almost exclusively from the women’s team, Stephanie Rice, Libby Trickett and Liesel Jones among the multi medal winners, while the second week sprang up the usual amount of surprise winners including pole vaulter Steve Hooker and diver Matthew Mitcham. The Olympics was surprisingly the only sporting event this year to make the Top Ten.

4) Petrol prices: The issue of petrol prices continued to dog the new Federal Government throughout most of the year, as the international oil price spiked to over US$150 a barrel in the middle of the year, leading to prices at the pump as high as $1.80 and a commitment from the Government to introduce an online FuelWatch scheme, which they later abandoned after failing to gain the support of the Senate.

5) U.S Presidential race: In the most globally watched and seemingly longest presidential race in history, Senator Barack Obama from Illinois made history in November, becoming the first African American to be elected President of the USA, easily defeating Republican Senator John McCain after narrowly beating the early favourite Hillary Clinton in her attempt to become the Democrat nominee and first female President.

6) Afghanistan: Several Australian servicemen lost their lives to Taliban attacks in Afghanistan during the year, and general media coverage of the conflict grew in Australia in 2008, as it became the prime overseas theatre of operations for our troops, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd calling on European countries to increase their troop presence with little result.

7) Iraq: After dominating the list of major stories for the previous four years, coverage of the Iraq War slipped to seventh this year, following the election of the Rudd Labor Government and its commitment to withdraw troops by the middle of 2008. There was an increase in level of coverage around the time of the official withdrawal, but overall coverage dropped significantly from previous years.

8) Murray Darling Crisis: The unprecedented drought across inland areas of Eastern Australia and its devastating effect on the Murray Darling Basin and the availability of water for both irrigation and human use, plus the rapid deterioration of the state of the wetlands at the lower end of the system received coverage throughout the year, although coverage was far stronger on regional radio than any other medium, with the issue not even making the top 25 in terms of television coverage.

9) Zimbabwe: After losing both a parliamentary and presidential election, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe managed to cling on to power with the support of the army, despite condemnation from around the globe, with Opposition Leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulling out of a “run-off” election for the presidency. A power sharing deal brokered by the South African President is still being negotiated as the country’s economy slides further into disaster.

10) Housing Affordability: While it may seem long ago now, rising interest rates were one of the huge issues of the first half of the year, as home repossessions increased in the outer suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne and rents skyrocketed as more and more people competed for fewer vacant properties.

QUOTE OF THE YEAR

“For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry"
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (the indigenous apology was 11th biggest issue for the year)

About this index:
This index is based on Australia's top press, television and radio news stories from January - November 2008.

Click here to see Top 10 of 2007.

Tracking the media, monitoring the message

Weekly media index: 1 - 5 December 2008

DOMESTIC
Interest rates: In a move that was this time widely anticipated by the business media, the Reserve Bank again cut interest rates a full percentage point to 4.25%, with much of the coverage focusing on whether the combined cuts of 3 full points over the past four months have been enough to stop the economy from sliding into recession, and specifically whether the housing market will hold up or still drop significantly as it has in the US and Europe.

Recession: The R word overtook the D word (deficit) as buzzword this week in the business and general media, as a stream of economic figures, some very grim like car sales and other more equivocal came out pointing generally to a rapid slowing of the economy, which may indeed have started in the second quarter of 2008, well before the global financial crisis hit.

Schools curriculum: At the last minute the Government’s new school funding package, including funding for the promise of computers for every senior high school student, passed through parliament, despite controversy over the national curriculum aspects of the Government’s plans, with Julia Gillard promising some flexibility for private schools.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
The Mumbai attacks remained easily the biggest story across Australian media last week, as the ramifications of the attacks on international counter-terrorism measures, India-Pakistan relations and even future sporting ties were discussed in detail, as well as further extensive eyewitness accounts from Australians caught up in the attacks, while several high ranking Indian security officials resigned as questions were asked about why the attacks were not uncovered and how the police operations were handled.

Thailand is yet again in political disarray after the ruling People Power party was banned by the Supreme Court and its members banned from holding office for five years, while the efforts to get Australians home continued, with people bussed from Bangkok to Phuket to catch emergency flights out of the country.

Climate change: The climate meeting in Poznan dragged on through the week with few concrete agreements for limiting global carbon emissions or working towards a comprehensive carbon emissions trading scheme in preparation for the Copenhagen meeting on targets next year.

Hillary Clinton: President-Elect Barack Obama was again in the news worldwide this week with his official nomination of Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State, Ms Clinton promising to work with her former rival to restore US standing across the globe.

BUSINESS NEWS
Qantas – BA merger: According to some business media, the big merger news of the week is far from a done deal, with some analysts questioning the value of the merger and others questioning whether the merger will get through the series of regulatory hoops.

BHP-Rio bid ends: after around $100million in advisory fees, BHP has called off its bid for Rio Tinto, the share market applauding the decision to not attempt to change regulators minds about the merger by increasing BHP’s share price, while the debt laden Rio Tinto saw its market valuation drop 40%.

TALKBACK
Local and regional topics tended to dominate talkback this week, with the interest rate cut the only national issue to get over the 200 call mark, with the situation in Thailand also receiving some coverage.

SPORT
After a relatively promising start, the Black Caps surrendered more meekly than in the First Test to be beaten by an innings in the Second Test to wrap up a disappointing series for them and a morale boosting one for the Australians in the lead up to the test against South Africa and following the losses in India.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I hear she's tested very well as Catwoman"
Deputy PM Julia Gillard avoids the Christmas cheer while talking about opposite number Julie Bishop

Tracking the media, monitoring the message

Weekly media index: 24 - 28 November 2008

DOMESTIC
Deficit: Australian political coverage this week was dominated by the D word, with the Prime Minister finally admitting what many commentators felt was already a foregone conclusion, that the budget may go into deficit for the 2008-09 financial year in an attempt to alleviate the expected slowdown in economic growth. The Opposition jumped on the admission, claiming that the Government’s own forecasts showed no need for deficit spending.

Australia: Strong coverage continued into the week of the wide release opening of the movie Australia, following last week’s rain soaked premiere, with reviews ranging across the full spectrum from strong praise to open-throated attacks on Baz Luhrmann’s vision of 1940’s outback Australia.

Queensland storms: The clean-up continued across South East Queensland continued in the wake of last week’s storms, with heavy intermittent rain further hampering the efforts of emergency service workers.

Workchoices gone: The Government’s new industrial relations legislation was introduced to parliament this week, establishing a new oversight body named Fair Work Australia, replacing the structure put in place by the previous government’s WorkChoices reforms, although some unionists continued to describe the reforms as WorkChoices lite.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Mumbai attacks: Three Australians have been confirmed dead, and an unknown number may remain as hostages in Mumbai after a coordinated terrorist raid involving bombs and teams if gunmen rampaged across several hotels and restaurants in downtown Mumbai. The attacks began on Wednesday evening, with terrorists thought to be specifically targeting US and British passport holders.

In other international news: The Thai Prime Minister has returned home from the APEC meeting and refused calls for him to resign from a large group of protestors that have occupied both airports in Bangkok; unsurprisingly the global financial crisis was the dominant topic at the APEC meeting in Peru, although Kevin Rudd called on the group not to ignore the threat of climate change; and another Australian soldier has been killed in action in Afghanistan, the seventh Australian to die in combat since the start of 2007.

BUSINESS NEWS
ABC Learning: Up to a third of ABC Learning’s child care centres may close, after the receiver confirmed that the business would continue to operate and would attempt to trade out of its current situation.

BHP-Rio bid ends: after around $100million in advisory fees, BHP has called off its bid for Rio Tinto, the share market applauding the decision to not attempt to change regulators minds about the merger by increasing BHP’s share price, while the debt laden Rio Tinto saw its market valuation drop 40%.

TALKBACK
Unsurprisingly it was the (reformed) bad boys of AFL and cricket that dominated talkback this week, many callers on both sides of the debate about whether Ben Cousins and Andrew Symonds should be playing at the top level once more.

SPORT
Most of the discussion in the lead-up to the second test against New Zealand (apart from the Andrew Symonds incident) revolved around whether Jason Krejza would be fit to play his second test after injuring his ankle, with Nathan Hauritz eventually earning the nod; while Andrew Symonds was cleared of any wrongdoing following an incident in a pub; and Ben Cousins looked set for the AFL Draft, although where he may end up remains a mystery; and John Daly was well off the pace after the first round of the Australian Masters golf.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I was playing a gay guy. I actually took it as a compliment"
Hugh Jackman responds to rumours about his sexuality while he was appearing in the Boy from Oz

Tracking the media, monitoring the message

Weekly media index: 17 - 21 November 2008

DOMESTIC
Queensland storms: A series of storms that have been reported as the worst in over thirty years hammered South East Queensland throughout last week, the first storm causing damage to over 8,000 homes, with a second deluge bringing the reported claims bill to somewhere between $125-200million. Storm damage spread to other parts of the state, with the Central Queensland mining town of Blackwater hit hard on Thursday, and there were fears of more wild weather to come.

Australia: In probably the most hyped film opening ever in Australia, the movie “Australia”, directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman opened in Sydney last week assisted by over 10,000 media mentions across the week. Reviews were widely described as good but not great and the possible positive effect on tourism was widely discussed.

Climate change: There was more speculation that President-Elect Barack Obama would agree to an emissions trading scheme and targets, although climate change was not a hot topic at either the G20 or the APEC agenda.

Tathra tragedy: Two small boys were swept off a pier and drowned at the small NSW South Coast town of Tathra, their father also drowning after he followed them into the water in an attempt to save them.

HMAS Sydney: Several commemorations were held for the crew of the HMAS Sydney, the wreck of which was found earlier this year off the Western Australia coast.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
G20 Summit: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd returned from the G20 summit early last week, after the meeting had settled on a series of international agreements on broad policy principles for tackling the global financial crisis, but no specific measures on increased regulation or an international framework.

California bushfires: More million dollar homes were razed to the ground and thousands of people evacuated as bushfires continued to rage across Southern and Central California.

BUSINESS NEWS
ABC Learning: Concern and uncertainty continued for many parents this week, as the future of all the child care centres owned by ABC Learning remained uncertain, despite assurances from the Government and a funding package organised by its chief creditors.

Car industry assistance: Debate continued over the wisdom of spending more money to attempt to prop up the Australian automotive manufacturing industry, particularly given the troubles of two of the three local manufacturers parent companies in the United States.

TALKBACK
The future of Ben Cousins and the movie Australia got plenty of talkback discussion along with all of its general media coverage, but longer term issues that continued to be discussed included concern over the future of ABC Learning’s centres and general economic conditions.

SPORT
There was intense speculation throughout the week leading up to the decision to allow Ben Cousins to play the 2009 AFL season, with the League putting strict conditions on his return; Australia and New Zealand cruised into the Rugby League World Cup final, with the Kangaroos the short priced favourites after beating the Kiwis easily earlier in the tournament; and in what was widely reported as an undeserved victory, Marco Bresciano scored in the third minute of stoppage time to secure a one-nil win for the Socceroos over the luckless Bahrain, the win putting Australia in a strong position to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, while the Bahraini campaign is effectively over.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“At the end of the day, all you've got is your story, so try to make it a good one" Australia Director Baz Luhrmann

Tracking the media, monitoring the message

Weekly media index: 10 - 14 November 2008

DOMESTIC
Remembrance Day: The 90th Anniversary of the end of World War I was commemorated across the country on the 11th of November at 11a.m, with former PM Paul Keating sparking a flurry of criticism and debate with his claim that too much historical emphasis was placed on the events at Gallipoli and their role in defining the nation.

Climate change: Ross Garnaut was out and about this week, defending his plan for Australia to commit to keeping emissions below 550ppm from both those who want to see far deeper cuts in emissions and those who believe any cost placed on emissions will damage the economy, some manufacturing industries continuing to claim they will be forced offshore if an ETS is introduced.

Petrol prices: FuelWatch was officially killed off by the Government this week, after they accepted they weren’t going to get the numbers in the Senate to pass the legislation, as petrol prices continued to drop sharply across Australia following recent heavy falls in the international oil price.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
President-Elect Obama: There has been continuing strong focus on the first days in waiting for Barack Obama’s administration, as he prepares to take over from George Bush in late January, with focus on his early staff choices and the length of the “lame duck” period before the new Democrat administration can make binding decisions.

Bali Bombers: The three men convicted of planning and carrying out the 2002 Bali bombings were executed in Indonesia over the weekend, with media coverage focusing on the possibility of reprisal attacks on tourists and the debate over the death penalty itself, concerns increasing for the Australians convicted of drug trafficking on death row in Bali.

In other international news: New Zealand has a new government after Helen Clark’s Labour Party was solidly defeated in last weekend’s election, bowing out after nine years, with the National’s John Key becoming the new Prime Minister; and China has announced a $600billion economic stimulus package to tray and stave off the effects of the international economic downturn.

BUSINESS NEWS
Share markets: The volatility on international share markets continued this week, with the overall trend continuing slightly downwards, but with wild daily swings of 5% and more, seeing billions of dollars of company value destroyed and recreated day by day. The media has had little time to do anything but report the wild swings as traders continues to try and pick the bottom of the market.

ABC Learning: The Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard spent much of the week trying to calm parents who have children enrolled at one of the hundreds of ABC Learning child care centres, ensuring them that the centres were viable although giving no government guarantees, while the future of the company itself remained extremely uncertain.

Car industry assistance: The Federal Government announced a $6bn assistance plan for the Australian automotive industry, with some media commentators quick to criticise the move as preferential treatment, while others defended the role of a car industry in Australian manufacturing.

TALKBACK
The execution of the Bali bombers was the leading one of a wide range of topics covered on talkback radio this week, with Remembrance Day commemorations and Paul Keating’s comments not far behind, as was discussion of the collapse of ABC Learning, with climate change also making a return to the Talkback Top five.

SPORT
Cricket in India – As the Australians slumped to a convincing defeat in the fourth test in Nagpur to lose the series in India two-nil, skipper Ricky Ponting received an avalanche of criticism from media commentators and former players for his decision to bowl part timers on the fourth day to avoid a possible ban.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“he’s declared war on drugs…war on inflation…war on unemployment…war on whalers…a war on downloads, pokies, doping in sport and on bankers’ salary deals. Prime Minister, how goes the war on everything? "
Opposition Frontbencher Joe Hockey mocks the PMs tendency to declare “war” on individual problems

Tracking the media, monitoring the message

Weekly media index: 3 - 7 November 2008

DOMESTIC
Interest rates: In any other week or before the onset of the financial crisis, a 75 point drop in the official interest rate would be expected to easily be the number one story of the week, however the second huge drop in rates in as many months by the Reserve Bank could only manage third, with much of the coverage surrounding the banks refusal to pass on the full amount of the cut, a stance quickly criticised by both the Treasurer and Opposition Leader.

Climate change: Climate Minister Penny Wong is starting to talk tougher on both climate change and water, as the States jockey for preferential treatment on both of those issues, while some conservative and business commentators continue to call for the abandonment of any emissions trading scheme.

Budget review:There was extensive cynicism from both the media and the Opposition over the timing of Wayne Swan’s press conference detailing new budget forecasts, just as results were coming in from the US Election. Treasury now predict the budget surplus will be below $6billion and unemployment is expected to rise above 5%.

Petrol prices: The future of Fuelwatch was looking dire as the Government admitted it was unlikely the legislation would pass the Senate this year, as petrol prices finally came down to $1.30s in metropolitan areas.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
U.S. Election: In an easy win on top of a record turn-out, Senator Barack Obama became the 44th President-Elect of the United States, and the first African-American to achieve that office. Media coverage in Australia had been slightly subdued in the last two weeks of the campaign, but became wall-to-wall in the 24 hours leading up to the counting of results and coverage of the results themselves.

In other international news: Prime Minister Helen Clark’s Labour Party is trailing well behind the National Party in polls leading up to this weekend’s NZ Election, but was still hoping to be able to cobble together a coalition to remain in power; and the focus quickly turned to Barack Obama’s “preferred war” in Afghanistan, with speculation that Australia would be asked to provide more troops.

BUSINESS NEWS
Financial crisis: Once again it was a week of swings and roundabouts on the Australian and most international share markets, with strong gains early in the week wiped out by renewed pessimism later in the week.

ABC Learning: After months of speculation that ABC Learning was on the brink of collapse, and only weeks after the resignation of founder Eddy Groves from the Board, the company has called in the administrators, with the Government saying it will not take control of ABC Learning’s hundreds of child care centres.

TALKBACK
Talkback interest this week closely followed levels of coverage across the wider media, with the Melbourne Cup and the US Election dominating discussion. The future of ABC Learning’s child care centres was also a hot topic as was the imminent execution of the Bali bombers.

SPORT
Spring Carnival – If anyone needed proof of where Australia’s heart really lies, it was shown by media volumes this week, Bart Cumming’s remarkable 12th Melbourne Cup victory as a trainer, with the unfancied Viewed getting up at 50-1 with Blake Shinn onboard, pipping the election of the first African American as President of the world’s largest economy. Most of the media in the lead up to the race had focused on the horses raiding from the Northern hemisphere, who once again failed to live up to the hype.

Cricket in India - The Australia’s tour of India has come down to a vital final Test this weekend, with Ricky Ponting’s men needing a victory to square the series one-all and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“He is young, he is beautiful and he is tanned"
Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi manages to blow away most of the post-racial optimism within 24 hours of Obama’s election

Tracking the media, monitoring the message

Weekly media index: 27 - 31 October 2008

DOMESTIC
Bank deposit guarantee: The issue of financial security in the Australian non-banking sector remained unresolved at the end of the week, with most investment funds rejecting an approach from the Government to apply for bank status and therefore be covered by the deposit guarantee, while commentators continued to debate whether there should have been a guarantee at all and at what level it should have been capped.

Climate change: Coverage of climate change picked up as the Treasury released its economic modeling showing that only the aluminium industry would be badly affected by the start of an ETS and that the scheme would increase bills for households by about a dollar a day, the Opposition quickly rejecting the modeling as irrelevant because of the financial crisis.

Ice cream poo claim: Independent tests seem to confirm the allegation that a woman was served ice cream with faecal matter in it at the well known beachside Sydney pub, the Coogee Bay Hotel.

Petrol prices: the international oil price slumped to below half its peak level in the middle of the year, with the petrol Commissioner warning that he expected to see significant falls in the price at the pump very soon, as independent retailers took the matter into their own hands, several in Sydney selling for 95 cents a litre.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
U.S. Presidential campaign: As the campaign entered its last few days, Republican nominee John McCain attempted to focus on Democrat Barack Obama’s plans for the economy, making a concerted pitch in key large mid west states Ohio and Pennsylvania claiming Obama would be a high taxing, high spending socialist, while Obama used part of his massive war chest to run a half hour advertisement detailing his plans, claiming McCain would stick with President Bush’s failed economic policies.

In other international news: The American singer and actor Jennifer Hudson has gone into seclusion after her mother, brother and nephew were killed on the weekend; and Syria has strongly criticised the US for killing an Al Qaeda target with a rocket attack inside its borders.

BUSINESS NEWS
Financial crisis: The international financial rollercoaster continued on share markets last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipping sharply mid week but bouncing back strongly as the US Federal reserve cut interest rates to 1%, while our own stock exchange continued following the US trend, dipping below 3,800 mid week before also strongly rallying. Meanwhile figures showed the US officially in recession, while business commentators and politicians argued over how long the inevitable Australian economic slowdown will be.

Packer quits PBL: It was the end of a long era in Australian media when James Packer announced they would not be meeting CVC’s equity call for PBL, resulting in the resignation of James packer from the PBL Board and the end of the Packer family’s fifty year association with the Nine Network.

TALKBACK
This week sport finally pipped the financial malaise as the most popular topic for discussion, picking a winner for the Melbourne Cup having many punters nerves just as jangled as the collapse in share markets; while Australia’s poor form in the cricket also fought for time with concerns about retirement savings and the bank guarantee.

SPORT
Spring Carnival: The story of the 2008 Melbourne Cup seems set to be dominated by international horses after last year’s winner Efficient was scratched from the race, leaving foreign horses to dominate betting for the Cup, as sporting writers debated the pros and cons of the increasing strength of the foreign contingent at Melbourne’s Spring Carnival.

Cricket in India: The Australian bowling attack continues to struggle in India, the home team racking up over 600 runs in the first innings of the Third Test, rendering victory for Ricky Ponting’s team extremely unlikely as the Australian batsmen attempted to chip away at that huge first innings total.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“In my 70th year I will still be spending two months a year doing work that is of no interest to me and which is probably slightly spiritually depleting in order to feed the beast"
John Cleese does his bit for gender relations following his most recent divorce settlement

Tracking the media, monitoring the message

Weekly media index: 20 - 24 October 2008

DOMESTIC
Stimulus package: Support for the Government’s $10.4bn stimulus package remained strong across most of the media this week, with many commentators saying the speed and size of the response was more important than attempting to fine tune the package for greater equity, while some criticised the package for ignoring the unemployed and low income singles.

Bank deposit guarantee: In a classic case of who said what to whom and where, Federal parliament was dominated early in the week by the dispute over whether the Reserve Bank and Treasury were behind the Government’s unlimited bank deposit guarantee, while the debate eventually moved later in the week to whether the unlimited guarantee had been good or bad for financial markets overall.

Britt Lapthorne: A service for Ms Lapthorne was held in Melbourne during the week, while a possible coronial investigation in Australia and a continuing investigation in Croatia were widely discussed in the media, AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty criticised for refusing to attack the handling of the matter by Croatian authorities.

Climate change: While Greens candidates have done well in the recent WA and ACT elections, there was further evidence released in polls this week that Australians are cooling to the idea of taking tough steps to control the growth of carbon emissions, with the Opposition claiming the Government’s economic modeling for the ETS has been rendered irrelevant by the global financial crisis.

Xavier mucks up: The Melbourne Jesuit private boys’ school got an avalanche of unwanted media this week after its Year 12 mucked up to the degree of one student’s arm being broken and thousands of dollars of alleged damage to a motor vehicle parked outside the school.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
U.S. Presidential campaign: The task for Republican nominee John McCain seemed to get no easier this week, as the media focused on his running mate’s wardrobe budget and his campaign pulling out of Colorado, Barack Obama’s lead in the polls continued to strengthen heading into the final week of the campaign. Obama has taken two days away from the campaign to visit his sick grandmother in Hawaii.

BUSINESS NEWS
Financial crisis: While some business commentators were predicting the worst volatility for share markets and the crunch on credit may be over, others were warning of further problems ahead, with most global share markets dipping significantly again this week. The US Government announced a summit of the G20 leaders in New York to discuss further coordinated moves to alleviate the crisis, which Kevin Rudd will be attending.

In other business news: Inflation has hit 5% but virtually all commentators believe it will drop sharply from that figure, with the “inflation genie” retreating firmly back into the bottle as commodity prices struggle and spending decreases; and the global oil price has halved since its peaks in the first half of 2008, although prices at the pump have not come back significantly from their July peak.

TALKBACK
Economic matters continued to feature most strongly amongst a wide range of talkback calls this week, with divided opinions on the bank deposit guarantee and the cash rebates, although most felt that some immediate relief for pensioners was long overdue, and there was debate over whether our politicians needed to travel overseas to deal with the crisis.

SPORT
Cricket – In Australia’s biggest Test loss in almost a decade, the Indian team crushed Ricky Ponting’s men in the Second Test at Mohali Stadium by 320 runs. The media focus was on a reported spat between the captain and his strike bowler, Brett Lee, and whether the loss signified the end of our 15 year dominance of world cricket.

In other sporting news: a 50-1 shot from Britain took out the Caulfield Cup as the world’s biggest stable Godolphin finally won a major in Australia; and the Rugby League World Cup kicks off this weekend.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK“

I’m fearful when people are greedy, and greedy when people are fearful"
Warren Buffett again, explaining why he has started heavily investing in stocks

Tracking the media, monitoring the message