SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2010 . THE AGE theage.com.au News 13 MEDIA BROWSER LAWRENCE MONEY The new news, with Kevin24’s help It was a good way to kick off, On the evidence of this first Matthew Reilly, a Foreign The titles on screen howled How to get that circulation cooking REVIEW though the official honours 24 hours, that blurring of Correspondent-style piece on ‘‘breaking news’’, and in that By KARL QUINN went to Kerry O’Brien, who boundaries would appear to be David Higgins, the Australian moment it all made sense. IN THE golden days of women’s glossies it was Prin- How many MC yarns can you cram in to one publi- opened the broadcast with a a key hallmark of the ABC 24 executive in charge of London’s There may be a lot of dead time cess Diana who was the magic circulation ingredi- cation? A Browser survey yesterday found that in the IF 24 HOURS is a long time in suitably momentous air. ‘‘Wel- approach. A news report gives Olympic Delivery Authority, and repeats and BBC feeds in politics, it’s an eternity when come to a special moment in way to an interview cross and and a recycled piece on astro- between the big moments, but ent: put the queen of hearts on the cover and sales past week The Age had 43 MasterChef stories, the politics takes a break. Espe- ABC and Australian television that opens up to analysis and naut Michael Barrett, which being able to carry them live as started thump-thumping. Danish Princess Mary, letters and features, the Herald Sun had 61, The cially if you’re just about to history,’’ O’Brien said. discussion. The tone is dynamic had played on The World 90 they happen, and for as long as the Aussie export, has proved a fair successor and Australian 21, MX 12 and even The Financial launch a new non-stop news Soon we were in the brave and discursive rather than minutes earlier. There’s a lot of it takes, is what this new channel. And maybe even new world of ABC digital news. didactic, but it could be a stum- that on ABC 24. Recycling. adventure is all about. over the years there have been many others with Review found sufficient pecuniary angles in the longer if you’re going to spend Coming soon, an endless chat- bling block for anyone wanting There’s also an awful lot of varying degrees of circulation clout (in their prime, circulation magnet to warrant 12 reports. the day watching it. ter of type at the bottom of the simply to catch a concise bul- cross-promotion. A round- Bert Newton and Derryn Hinch were two). But it’s not just during finals week. In the previous The ABC’s 24-hour TV news screen told us, to mobile phone letin. They are, surprisingly, in up of the newspapers on However, right now there is only one word that three weeks The Age printed 43, the Herald Sun 96, channel ABC 24 went live at and iPads (mention of which relatively short supply. News Breakfast (6am) with 7.30pm on Thursday. It should brand name, incidentally, is in The schedule mixed it up, Michael Rowland and opens the Aladdin’s Cave: MasterChef, the TV show The Australian 25, MX 33 and the AFR 11. have been perfect timing, a Virginia Trioli was that pushed even tomorrow’s Great Debate into Total number of MasterChef reports, features, week into the federal election genuinely that, but a second place. Put the M-word or the M-people on letters and ratings reports in the past 30 days in all campaign, but Murphy’s Law The official honours went to Kerry O’Brien, who opened round-up of news dictated this was the day the ‘the broadcast with a suitably momentous air. on the web in your cover, your Page 3, your back page, your liftout Melbourne daily papers: 357 or an average of 11.9 campaign went on hold as a Afternoon Live — and your reader eyeballs overfloweth. a day. And that’s not counting the three in The Age mark of respect for Private ’ hosted for four So it has been a MasterChef pigout for newsprint today. Four if you include this column. Don’t know Nathan Bewes, the 17th Digger breach of the ABC’s guidelines). too. Panel discussion show The hours by Moore — as the series headed towards tomorrow night’s final. about you but Browser’s feeling a little overfed. killed in Afghanistan. The studio looked cavern- Drum had Julian Morrow (The was nothing more At least there were images of ous, with Scott Bevan and Ali Chaser), Annabel Crabb and than a plug for the Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott at Moore — who would prove her- Daily Telegraph columnist Tim ABC’s website. his funeral in Murwillimbah. self by the end of this 24 hours Blair chatting with Triple J’s The presenters But it was Kevin Rudd who to be the hardest working Steve Cannane. As it ended, and the sets changed Thar she blows All clued up dominated, with the channel woman in showbiz — standing Morrow said, ‘‘I’m disappoin- regularly but the Maxine McKew, the journo who won Could she be serious? Catherine wringing every last nuance out in front of a massive blue ted, I thought this went for stories didn’t until John Howard’s seat in the Kevin07 Deveny claimed on Radio 774 this of Chris Uhlmann’s story about screen. They were shot at crazy 24 hours, this discussion.’’ Julia Gillard poll, then vanished without trace, week that she was ‘‘pretty savvy at the former prime minister’s angles so we could be in no The World (10pm) was like outlined Labor’s bobbed up on TV this week ‘‘in con- assessing information’’. Isn’t Deveny patchy attendance record at doubt that this was not simply Foreign Correspondent mixed climate policy. The versation with’’ self-acclaimed ex-PM the twit who Twittered two months national security committee news as we know it. with the 7.30 Report. Newsline schedule went to AhhrJHawkein Sydney. It seems ago about an 11-year-old girl getting meetings. It led every news bul- After a few minutes of pro- (10.30pm) was mostly about pieces as News Breakfast crossed Max is like a slightly more frequent ‘‘laid’’ and joked about Rove letin until 9.47am, was dissec- mos, we got the Rudd story. It China. One Plus One (11.30pm) to Brisbane at 9.12am, and stayed version of Halley’s Comet: she McManus’s second wife dying ted on analysis programs, and was genuine news, but presen- was interviews, with Jane there until she was finished, half shoots across the media firmament ‘‘too’’? The ‘‘information-savvy’’ was cannibalised repeatedly. ted in current affairs style. Hutcheon talking to author an hour later. Scott Bevan and Ali Moore: every three years. Deveny claimed at the time that she Brave new world of digital news. thought Twitter (50 million people and growing) was just like ‘‘passing Media mice notes in class’’. Spare me days! Startled hack in London reports that mice and rats have invaded the Fin- ancial Times building, which triggers memories of similar infestation years ago at the old Herald and Weekly Times fortress in Flinders Street. During the hot-metal days the head- less body of one rodent, found in the Altogether ooky reporters room, was put in a cannis- The Australian Workers Union is ter by a subeditorial prankster and coming the raw prawn with its sent rattling up the pneumatic tube ‘‘Abbott Family’’ viral ad campaign to the composing room on the fourth this week, considering Labor has a floor with a piece of copy paper real live Uncle Fester on its front explaining this was: ‘‘Mouse 1, head bench. Can you pick the difference to come.’’ The linotype boys were up between ‘‘Battman’’ Garrett and and to the challenge. Cannister and the Addams Family original? Hint: mouse came rattling back minutes the real Fester was not in charge of later with a note: ‘‘Story too long, an insulation scheme blamed for please cut tail.’’ 120 house fires and four deaths. It’s war Foiled again Follow the leader It took Tony Abbott to officially rein- As Browser mentioned two weeks Gee whiz, Browser has only been troduce ‘‘factional warlords’’ into the ago, online readership has been covering the media beat for four election. That was Campaign Day 3 bleeding for the Times group since weeks, but it sure has put the wind on 3AW and you can probably credit Rupert installed his Wapping up Murdoch’s Australian. That Labor stalwart Barry Jones for that. great paywall. The Crikey crew paper’s media column has (Old Bazza first banged on about relayed the news this week that appeared on Mondays for the past ‘‘‘factional warlords’’ in 2002 during Times readership had fallen by 10 years but now Oz editor-in-chief his unsuccessful dalliance with two-thirds but the link given by Chris Mitchell (pictured) has Knowledge Nation). Other catch- Crikey for further particulars ordered his media columnist phrases fed to the media chooks connected readers to the Financial Caroline Overington to start this week: ‘‘moving forwards’’, ‘‘dog- Times paywall commanding them writing a column on Saturdays to try whistle politics’’, ‘‘battlers’’ and ‘‘the to register first. Still, you do get to to keep up with Browser. Nice to Austrayan poyple’’. Only three more read ‘‘10 articles free each 30 days’’ have this distinguished pair among weeks of this to endure.