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Opinion
The keyboard warrior of Twitter
In this guest post, NBN staffer Scott Rhodie writes an unofficial, personal view on his experience with a hostile Twitter critic.Last night I had a strange incident. While on Twitter I noticed someone saying that Australia’s NBN is already outdated. I wrote a small note back explaining they were incorrect.
And their response? The lovely gentleman (whose Twitter profile says: ‘Father of 5 kids, Loving Grandfather of 10 Grandchildren,and 2 Great Granddaughters. love to give heaps to Pollies and Poofters’) said to me: “Go and lick Gillards C*** out U commie Prick”
What's in a name?
In this guest post, Moensie Rossier wonders about the power of names for brands and marketers.
Brands have been having a bit of fun with names lately, not to mention a fair bit of success. Interbrand just named a headhunting firm Cloak & Dagger. And ‘Share a Coke’ showed how much power there is in a name.
The Coke campaign effectively short-circuited the usual mechanics of communication. It undoubtedly stroked people’s egos. But, I believe, its success stems from the fact that it directly and automatically affected people’s behaviour, rather than doing so indirectly by shaping attitudes.
Best ads from Super Bowl 2012
The Super Bowl is all done and a team from North America won. But as well as some sort of sporting event, it’s the world’s biggest advertising showcase. See the best of them right here… and please tell us what you think.
How to debunk media myths
In this post, UWS’s Ullrich Ecker, John Cook and Stephen Lewandowsky argue that cognitive science can help PRs form strategies in managing media misreporting.
A growing cohort of commentators has bemoaned the descent of contemporary political “debate” into a largely fact-free zone.
How about simply focusing on what consumers want?
In this guest post, Peter Mountford argues that brands should think more about what is really going on for consumers
Who here is hoping their favourite brand of toilet paper is going to be organizing a flash mob on their way home from work today?
What the Optus web copyright victory means
In this analysis first published on The Conversation, RMIT’s Marita Shelly examines the implications of Telstra’s defeat over the online rights to the AFL broadcast deal
This week’s Federal Court ruling that Optus customers are able to view sporting matches minutes after they are streamed live without breaching copyright is a landmark decision that alters our understanding of copyright law, and has significant implications for the AFL’s broadcasting rights deal.
Does Gina Rinehart’s bite of a chunk of Fairfax make her an oligarch?
In an article that first appeared in The Conversation, Mark Rolfe wonders whether the mining magnate’s move could turn Fairfax into something resembling America’s Fox network.
Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart has moved to increase her stake in Fairfax Media, owner of The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and a number of radio stations. Rinehart has already shown her desire to play a role in public life, campaigning against former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s aborted mining tax. She has also demonstrated a willingness to make media investments to ensure her pro-business worldview is promulgated.
What does this latest move by Rinehart mean?
Gillard's Australia Day crisis
PM Julia Gillard’s media adviser Tony Hodges has been forced to resign over the Australia Day tent embassy debacle.
It came after it emerged he had revealed opposition leader Tony Abbott’s whereabouts, leading to both politicians being rescued by police in ugly scenes.
Mumbrella editor Tim Burrowes and advertising practitioner Jane Caro debate the topic on Weekend Sunrise’s masters of Spin segment:
The biggest cock-up I made in business
In this guest post, Chris Savage urges agency staff to live the brand.I still shudder when I think about how incredibly stupid I was when I made the biggest stuff up of my career. And then, 18 years later, I did it again. Do not make this mistake with your clients. Ever.
Hey Groupon. Thanks for fucking up email
In this guest post, Daniel Monheit warns that group deal overload is devaluing email marketingEmail marketing used to be fabulous. Back in the heady days of 2010, brands would work hard to build up well qualified databases, upon which they’d bestow carefully crafted correspondence filled with information, offers and incentives. The recipients, of course would be delighted: “Oh look! An email! From one of my favourite brands! And it’s 40 cents off at Woolies this week!”.
The staggering sway of Harold Mitchell
The Power Index today names Aegis Media chairman Harold Mitchell as the most powerful person in Melbourne. Andrew Crook profiles him.
Harold Mitchell takes pride in dispensing with the niceties. When The Power Index visited his South Melbourne private office before Christmas, fresh remains were scattered all over the boardroom table.
Share a Coke with… the moronic masses
The most-read story on Mumbrella last year, with not far off 100,000 page views, was a fairly humdrum yarn about the launch of Coca-Cola’s name-on-a-bottle campaign.The headline, “Coca-Cola puts people’s names on bottles in ‘Share a Coke’ campaign”, though hated by any self-respecting sub-editor, was loved by Google. And in rushed what can be politely described as the public.
Assumptions kill creativity
In this guest post, Gual Barwell disagrees that the sales success of the Old Spice social media campaign was overstated.Yesterday’s post from Cathie McGinn suggested the Old Spice campaign failed to connect with consumers. Based on the facts and figures, I disagree.
What Old Spice and Wieden + Kennedy has done and done phenomenally well is to create a franchise.
The SMH's readers (are wrong) editor
We are now about five months into the reign of Australia’s first readers’ editor. And I don’t think it is working.
It struck me at the time of Judy Prisk’s appointment to the Sydney Morning Herald that the fact that her boss was editor-in-chief Peter Fray was not going to be ideal if she was going to be the independent voice of the reader.
The emperor's new fragrance: Old Spice’s campaign failure
In this guest post, Cathie McGinn slays a sacred cow of 21st century marketing – the highly awarded Old Spice campaign.One of the biggest myths of recent times (by which I mean a story of great heroism and triumph we’d all like to believe but deep down know to be untrue) is the Old Spice social media campaign. It’s been much lauded and awarded as an example of outstanding content, a creative and collaborative way of connecting with consumers and driving a record increase in sales.
Ten’s Hugh Riminton wins Fairfax apology over Sam De Brito column
Ten’s political correspondent Hugh Riminton has revealed that he took legal action after being defamed in a column by Fairfax writer Sam De Brito earlier this month.
Writing in today’s edition of The Australian, Riminton said that De Brito had alleged that he had used the words “Don’t you know who I am?” in a bust-up with airport custom officials.
De Brito’s column – All Men Are Liars (Except Sam De Brito) runs in both the Sun-Herald in Sydney and Sunday Age in Melbourne.
But Riminton said that the incident never took place and he was not even at an airport at the time De Brito claimed he’d uttered the words.
In his item for the Australian, Riminton said: “My faith in the management of the Fairfax press has been dented and I would rather it had not happened.”
August 16th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
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Comments
16 Aug 10
12:20 pm
So, All men are liars (including Sam debrito)?
16 Aug 10
12:21 pm
Ironically, it seems Sam de Brito doesn’t actually know who he is.
16 Aug 10
12:25 pm
Hard-hitting affair.
16 Aug 10
12:55 pm
Nice one Hugh! Now maybe Fairfax will think seriously about scrapping DiBrito’s awful column. One of the worst in Australia – and that’s saying something!
16 Aug 10
1:37 pm
Retch! Can’t stand thin-skinned journos who threten legal action, particularly over something so trivial.
16 Aug 10
1:40 pm
Hi Pooten,
It’s worth a read of Hugh R’s piece on The Australian. He makes the point that he never expected to be one of those journos…
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
16 Aug 10
2:25 pm
As a fan of Sam’s blog I don’t remember this one – have you got a link?
It does sound poor and sloppy, and a shame that once something like that is in print, no amount of apology can retrieve it.
16 Aug 10
3:05 pm
@malcolm Disagree with your assessment of Sam de Brito. As a leftleaning femonazi, I love his column – he’s not one of the namby pamby PC commentators. Always a bit of fun, honest (usually) and irreverent.
16 Aug 10
3:05 pm
Completely agree with Malcolm. Sam’s column is truly awful and I won’t print an apology for saying so. He is a smug bastard.
16 Aug 10
3:08 pm
Probably one of the nicest and most respected journos in the business. He has a great reputation that’s worth defending.
If Hugh was a muck raker for a tabloid or 6.30 program you may have a point Pooten but he’s about as far from that as a TV journo can be without being on ABC. Good on you Hugh.
16 Aug 10
3:15 pm
I might have missed something here…but hasn’t The Australian’s media diary (formerly by Amanda Meade, now by that gawd-awful vain Caroline Overington) gone downhill ever since Overington took over? It’s puff, it’s soft, it’s all hot air and souffle…all the substance and meat has gone out of it. What a shame. It’s no longer even worth reading, what with all its anti-ABC bile and pro-Sky guff.
16 Aug 10
3:22 pm
Finally there’s a deluge of the public’s opinion on Sam de Brito – his arrogance and smug attitude makes me feel ill, and it brings down the intellectual atmosphere of both papers he appears in – get rid of him. No-one is interested!
16 Aug 10
3:24 pm
Fair play Hugh!
I am an online journalist and was shocked that one journo would sue another.
But I was wrong. It was not another journalist, it was Sam de Brito.
Perhaps this will break down the ‘throw it up and fix it later’ approach of some online scribes.
16 Aug 10
3:44 pm
Couldn’t agree more with Kate and Malcom. Sam de Brito is a complete hoax and how he got a gig as a journalist is anyone’s guess. His column is extremely mundane and his books are even worse. Get rid of him. Stat!
16 Aug 10
3:47 pm
@Claudia Don’t you mean irrelevant?
16 Aug 10
4:04 pm
The column in question appeared in Sunday print editions only – not in de Brito’s online blog.
This was an elementary mistake by an experienced journalist, a real shocker. No alarm bells heard by the editors either.
Which is ironic – de Brito’s online work is frequently outrageous. Sure, it can be self-serving and smug, and like all opinion writing tends to be, well, opinionated.
But he’s been mining a very interesting vein of Aussie male self-analysis, and if the columns aren’t always entertaining – they usually are – the comments they provoke make for fascinating anthropological study.
16 Aug 10
4:56 pm
Look, I declare my interest and say I am a friend of de Brito and work with him. Whatever your take on his column, let’s be clear – he’s been a journo for almost 20 years and this is the first time he’s been sued, and only the second time he’s ever had to publish an apology.
How many times has Riminton been sued? So much for the “confidential settlement” eh, Hugh?
16 Aug 10
5:04 pm
Hat trick Jones,
You’re right about the Australian’s Media Diary under Caroline Overington. Take today’s:
Item 1: Talking up News Limited; Item 2: Talking up a friend (or it certainly sounds like it); Item 4: Putting down News Limited rival Fairfax; Item 6 Talking up News Limited; Item 7: Talking up News Limited AND putting down Fairfax; Item 8: A disguised correction to a knocking piece about the ABC from last week; Item 9: Knocking piece on the ABC; Item 11: Snide swipe at Fairfax.
16 Aug 10
6:14 pm
Craig, sometimes it’s who you know, you know? Sam de Brito only got a journalism gig because his daddy was a well known journo. As a writer, he’s about as talented as a turnip. The funniest thing is the man’s ego is so enormous he probably thinks it’s his brain that got him where he is today. He’s an uneducated swine.
16 Aug 10
6:54 pm
Thank you all for your interest.
For the record, the Sunday Age also ran the de Brito article but edited out the false references to me.
The Sunday Age was plainly awake at the wheel, where the Sun-Herald editors were not.
My appreciations to Gay Alcorn and her team.
Hugh Riminton
16 Aug 10
6:55 pm
Oh, and to “The Lurker”, I have never been sued.
16 Aug 10
7:02 pm
+1 to the brito-bashing, maybe he is actually reasonably smart but I don’t know how he willingly publishes such generic, meaningless topics. quote from his latest blog synopsis: “How’s this for a theory? The more obsessed a woman is with clothes, shoes and handbags, the more utterly barren her interior life.” I think there are a few other issues here especially the way The Age has let their weekend supplements turned to s—.
If anybody deserves a column it’s Schembri or David Cameron tbh.
16 Aug 10
7:44 pm
go Hugh
16 Aug 10
8:14 pm
Good on you, Hugh. This may seem trivial to some but most of us know better – an outright fabrication, and such a personally damaging one at that, is where you gotta draw the line. I don’t care who was the journo at fault. You did it right.
16 Aug 10
8:31 pm
Jesus Jack – journos get let down by their sources. I very much doubt de Brito fabricated anything, it sounds like he just had bad information.
16 Aug 10
9:49 pm
Sam de Brito is a bit like the big-mouth drunk who gives lectures at the bar to anyone who will listen. He thinks he knows stuff. He never shuts up. If people disagree with him in “his” bar he abuses them, and he goes home every night thinking he’s proved himself the big man yet again, when all he’s done is shown how sadly limited his thinking really is.
16 Aug 10
9:59 pm
Oh, and Sam, I don’t work in a call centre.
16 Aug 10
11:38 pm
I could not agree more with the sentiments expressed above by both Hat trick Jones and Anonymous about the decline of The Australian’s Media Diary under Caroline Overington. This week’s attempt to talk up a fellow journo’s chances of landing a new gig was embarrassingly transparent. Sending out public cheerios to your friends… isn’t that what Facebook is for? Certainly fails to make for interesting reading for the general public in a newspaper
17 Aug 10
9:02 am
Hi Brett,
While that’s fair comment, one thing to bear in mind is that I suspect the reason they’ve put Caroline Overington on the diary is that she’s a good writer. But what she doesn’t (yet) have is the detailed knowledge of having been on the beat.
I suspect that in six months it will be a much better offering.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
17 Aug 10
10:52 am
The problem isn’t DeBrito, although he did get it wrong.
The problem is with Fairfax, which has laid off so many subs that basic standards of fact-checking are no longer observed. Once upon a vanished time, a sub would have read the copy and asked the reporter, “You sure about this? He could sue.”
Sam, presumably, would have responded that he got the info second-hand, and the sub would have changed to “a well-known” media personality.
The real problem with Fairfax is that there are no longer any decent backbench editors to ask the right questions.
Does anyone know if the column was subbed by PageMasters? If so, it makes my point: comma crunching, not editing.
17 Aug 10
1:59 pm
Bold Type: the Sun Herald article would have been subbed by Pagemasters, but I believe the Sunday Age copy is still being subbed in Melbourne.
17 Aug 10
3:58 pm
French maid: Thanks for that info. If the Sunday Age is subbed in Melbourne or elsewhere, it is very hard to tell.
17 Aug 10
4:08 pm
Can anyone show me what was actually said? and with context?
It seems Sam has pissed a few people off (he’d like that) but I expect from the amount of hate he cops on his blog most of this predates the Hugh issue.
Personally I read his threads each week and find them equal parts of interesting, amusing, entertaining and insightful.
Oh and I really enjoyed his novel “The lost boys” judge me on that as you will its probably not destined to become the literary classic of our time but I don’t know anyone who has taken more than 4 days to read it.
17 Aug 10
6:40 pm
“Writing in today’s edition of The Australian, Riminton said that De Brito had alleged that he had used the words “Don’t you know who I am?” in a bust-up with airport custom officials”
OK, so the implication here is that Hugh is a “tosser”.
By reacting with “legal action” doesn’t he more or less validate the implication rather than completely ignoring, and therefore, downplaying the issue.
17 Aug 10
8:40 pm
The funniest part is that by writing his little get square for the Australian, he’s ensured the phrase “Do you know who I am?” is now linked to Hugh Riminton on search engines. I’ve Googled the original column and it looks like Fairfax aren’t putting it online, so he’s given it life on the internet where it would have died with the print version.
18 Aug 10
6:42 am
Ah yes the typical online over reaction, under cowardly anonymity. Easy isn’t it?
I really enjoy Sam de Brito’s AMAL blog. It’s entertaining. I suspect the detractors here find him equally entertaining to read, or they wouldn’t know his work.
18 Aug 10
8:21 am
Maybe Belinda Neal could sue for plagiarism. Isn’t that HER line?
18 Aug 10
8:27 am
That’s a fair point, In A Perfect World.
I find his column preachy and annoying – and read it every week.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
18 Aug 10
8:55 am
#38 mumbrella
I know.
Thanks for entertaining us Sam.
18 Aug 10
9:14 am
Can someone explain this to me?
In that link to the Australian article, Hugh Riminton says “the paper offered an apology and the rest is covered by a confidentiality agreement.” And then he goes on to write about the whole thing? Isn’t that “covered by a confidentiality agreement?”
I read the piece and find his line that “commentary on my character followed. It was nasty stuff,” rather amusing.
The commentary was “Do Hugh Riminton’s neighbours even know who he is?” I believe. Sounds like someone’s rather large ego got wounded more than anything.
18 Aug 10
4:26 pm
Sam who?
18 Aug 10
7:21 pm
I think “Hugh who” sounds better, especially if you are trying to attract someone’s attention.
27 Aug 10
3:12 pm
give sam a break, sure h’s got an ego, but who doesn’t in media these days.
I enjoy the good natured banter on his blog each week. I’m sure he would be the first to admit if he was wrong. Elen, how do you have time to be on this blog, aren’t there phones that need answering?
2 Sep 10
1:12 pm
Ahhh so easy to be a hater, especially an anonymous one!
I can understand why Hugh would be pissed at the misquote but by reacting this way he has proved himself to be a bit of a tosser.
I personally enjoy Sam’s blog and style of writing, does he come across as slightly arrogant? Maybe, but he is also a smart, funny and a talented writer.
Sam seems like the sort of bloke you could have an intelligent converstion with, but also a beer or two.
2 Sep 10
4:59 pm
Poor Sam blah, blah, blah… HE WROTE BULL$HIT! He didn’t check it. Are you lot also members of the “But Matthew’s a really good actor” club too? Moving on…
3 Sep 10
6:23 am
DeBrito’s column is great. He made a stupid mistake, but he’ll no doubt be a better journalist from it. Move on, people.
3 Sep 10
4:51 pm
Be interesting to see what columns / blogs those who hate De Brito’s column actually do like. Those who know the least about a subject invariably shout the loudest about it. Maybe they’re just spineless trolls who find it gratifying being nasty and anonymous.
As for De Brito’s dig at Rimington, he admit he made the mistake. He’s human. Flawed like the rest of us. And I’ve never found his tone smug. Glass houses n all that.
6 Sep 10
8:36 pm
@Albers 42 – best comment of the blog.
“Tristan 35 – I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. The old PR saying that “any publicity is good publicity”?
There mere fact that only one of these journalists has found it necessary to comment on this blog speaks volumes.
Hooroo x