September 17, 2004

HANDS-ON JASPAN

The Melbourne Age’s next editor-in-chief isn’t exactly up to speed on all of this Dan Rather business:

The real cause for concern is that three full days after the CBS Rathergate fraud regarding Bush's military records was revealed, two days after it was confirmed, and one day after CBS itself had started to hedge and fudge just a little bit ("Yeah, well you know, we stand by the story, but we might have been fooled, too"), Andrew Jaspan's paper repeated in explicit detail every single, discredited charge and dismantled piece of evidence that CBS had broadcast.

Fairfax scoured the globe for three months to find a replacement Age czar. Wonder how long he’ll last.

Posted by Tim Blair at September 17, 2004 05:37 AM
Comments

Mr Jaspan said he wanted to work on building a new generation of readers.

What ? He's going into the SMS caper ?

Posted by: jafa at September 17, 2004 at 07:01 AM

He'll still be living in the Windsor and trying to find a rental house when they fire him. Six months tops.

Posted by: superboot at September 17, 2004 at 07:11 AM

I think he'll fit in perfectly. They'll all sit around agreeing with each other about what bastards Howard and Bush are for stealing another election each.

They'll foam at the mouth when Bush proceeds with his middle eastern agenda free from any election constraints and Howard will back him.

Apoplexy will be rife in Specer Street.

Posted by: Fool to Himself & Burden to Others at September 17, 2004 at 10:49 AM

Happy the new editor of my local paper isn't that fussed about the non-issue.

He can get stuck into more colour liftouts for me & and my mates in the ABs. Oh, and important issues as well.

Posted by: chico o'farrill at September 17, 2004 at 03:51 PM

Turning Jaspanes
I think they're turning Jaspanese
I really think so ...

Posted by: EvilPundit at September 17, 2004 at 04:04 PM

An ideal choice I would have thought.Over the past 5 years the readership of his current fish-wrapper has gone backwards some 18% to a circulation of less than 90000 per issue.He should have no difficulty achieving the same outstanding result at The Age or any Fairfax rag for that matter as they are already heading in that very direction.Just a matter of steady as she goes and don't lose your nerve.It should prove no challenge at all to get The Age down to 150000 or less fairly rapidly after all this is a paper for the "elite" not the peasants and even the thought of their being 150000 "elite" in Victoria stretches the imagination.

Posted by: Lew Carroll at September 17, 2004 at 04:53 PM

Just Another Soviet Politburo Age Nutter.

Posted by: ilibcc at September 17, 2004 at 08:44 PM

Not a surprise though. Have you actually read the Sunday Herald - even if you're not a Scot, online? Scotland on Sunday is a much better read, for my money.

Posted by: Alex at September 18, 2004 at 11:01 AM

Poll suggestion

Dan Rather has the journalistic integrity of

• Andrew Gilligan
• Jayson Blair or Howell Raines
• Peter Arnett or Robert Fisk
• a three-dollar bill
• a whore
• Comical Ali aka Baghdad Bob
• a filthy screaming drunk old French whore strung out on crack cocaine
_______ _______
| Vote | | View |

Posted by: ForNow at September 18, 2004 at 12:26 PM