ABC could miss out on the next Chaser

The ABC could lose the ability to foster and discover new talent, such as The Chaser, due to cutbacks at the national broadcaster’s internal television program production operations, the public sector union has warned.

Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) ABC section secretary Graeme Thomson says there needs to be a full and open inquiry into the issue.

“It loses the ability for the new Chasers, the new Andrew Dentons to actually be found and actually be developed and I think that’s sad,” he told a Senate hearing on Monday in Canberra. (more…)

Sultans of spin – SMH – 25 Sep.11

GRUEN PLANET, which starts its eight-week season this week, applies the framework of The Gruen Transfer – discussing and illustrating the power of persuasion – to the world of spin, public relations and branding.

Where The Gruen Transfer considers a product or service – say, the carbon tax, toothpaste or bottled water – and examines the advertising strategy surrounding it, Gruen Planet will escalate that conversation.

The core trio of host Wil Anderson and slightly combative panellists Russel Howcroft and Todd Sampson remain and their mission, once again, is to get insiders to explain how something is sold. (more…)

Haunted by Burma’s past, a new voice explores its struggle for reconciliation – SMH – 17 Aug.11 (John Buencamino in a play at the New Theatre)


AMID Burma’s monk-led Saffron Revolution in 2007, the country’s military rulers began offering prisoners their freedom.

It was not an attempt to pacify the regime’s critics, for release came at a price. The prisoners had to agree to shave their heads, dress in robes and spy on the real monks.

That was just one of the dirty tricks by which the military spread suspicion and reasserted its iron grip, says playwright Katie Pollock. (more…)