May 27, 2004
DEAD BEFORE CHRISTMAS
John Menadue -- a man with "a distinguished record in public life", according to the Sydney Morning Herald's Tony Stephens -- has a wild and crazy idea:
He is preparing to launch a national, independent electronic political weekly newsletter that, he says, will "break news that is relevant to a more modern and generous spirited Australia and professionally analyse events and issues".
Mr Menadue believes his newsletter, New Matilda.Com, can challenge existing media, which he calls predictable and tightly controlled.
It is -- by the Left, to which Menadue belongs. His supporters include John Button, Elizabeth Evatt, Lowitja O'Donoghue, John Clarke, Robert Manne, Peter Redlich, Ian Macphee, Hugh Mackay, Michael Kelly, Graham Freudenberg, Julian Burnside, Stephen Duckett and Eva Cox. Allow the deluded person to continue:
"Our editorial position will be pluralist, liberal and relevant to a modern and more humane Australia," he said yesterday. "Public life must be based on enduring values - truth and openness, respect for all, justice, fairness and human flourishing."
Lefty Tim Dunlop has already trashed Menadue's idea. Who needs New Matilda when we've already got Fairfax and the ABC?
Posted by Tim Blair at May 27, 2004 04:14 AMI agree existing media is predictable and controlled, but how will putting out yet another left wing rag solve this?
Posted by: Quentin George at May 27, 2004 at 08:26 AMHey, if there's room for Air America . . .
But, there isn't. At least there isn't room in anyone's day for it. Aren't they down already to ony a couple of stations?
Posted by: R C Dean at May 27, 2004 at 10:43 AMThese old Whitlamite apparachiks like Menadue are the detritus of history, but they just won't remain on the scrapheap!
Posted by: Freddyboy at May 27, 2004 at 12:31 PMyeah that's right Tim, most of the media really is controlled by the left. Like, for instance, your employer and noted socialist Kerry Packer, as well as that bunch of Reds the Murdochs of Adelaide, with their politburo of Bolt and Akerman...laugh, I nearly choked. Sorry, must fly, I hear Kerry Stokes whistling the Internationale out in the courtyard...
Posted by: John Sane at May 27, 2004 at 01:27 PMWhy a New Matilda? The old one didn't work. Why don't they get an idea?
You can trace aging lefties by the stultification of their brains as they swan disgracefully into Baby Boomer dementia.
Same old names, same tired old ideas. At least when they were younger their publications were a bit more interesting, like Nation Review.
Posted by: ilibcc at May 27, 2004 at 03:16 PMNotice, a number of lefty mags which are handed out weekly on Streets of Melbourne, for free or as good as. And the pushers to take the whole stack to feed the shredding machines.
Menadue, a bit of history's detritus joins the detritus littering melb.
Posted by: d at May 27, 2004 at 04:46 PMSure Nation Review was good. National Farmer, too, in its day. But we are talking 25 years since then. Actually there IS one such journal worth reading, this is actually surviving.
Quadrant.
Posted by: ChrisPer at May 27, 2004 at 05:25 PMIsn't Menadue also launching a liberal Catholic online periodical called (with tremendous inspiration) "Catholics Online"? (refer this week's Religion Report on Radio National) Busy little beaver isn't he?
Posted by: Waste at May 27, 2004 at 07:59 PMI have an idea - it's a little crazy, so bear with me -
He could call this thing a 'web log', or perhaps 'Wog' for short - maybe someone could come up with software to host it, or even let readers comment on it.
Heck, maybe someone will come up with services to host other such 'Wogs', and public discourse could become greatly expanded.
I can dream, can't I? Thanks, John Menadue, for your earth-shattering, eye-opening contribution to political discussion. Wow. You are truly having yesterday's ideas, today.
Posted by: Parker at May 27, 2004 at 11:43 PM