A mention in The Diary, The Australian, 5 September, 2011.
THE DIARY
Leys, Nick. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 05 Sep 2011: 31.
Abstract
[...] this has been padded away.
Full Text
Hands off heads, Pup told
AUSTRALIAN Test cricket captain Michael Clarke has begun his foray as a columnist in News Limited mastheads and Diary hears he has attacked the role with some relish. Currently leading his side in a Test series against Sri Lanka, Clarke's first column appeared under the headline "We're Galle aboard cricket" in the The Daily Telegraph and other News titles a fortnight ago.
Pup fancies himself as something of a hack, apparently, not only issuing ghost writer Malcolm Conn with plenty of helpful advice, but also demanding the right to veto headlines. Naturally, this has been padded away.
As any experienced sub can tell the Australian skipper, mastering the art of headline writing requires a lifetime of cynicism developed while holding up a cheap hotel bar. Better leave that job to the experts, captain.
Side-door stars
THE young and restless types who staff the ACP magazine empire at Park Street in Sydney are abuzz at the moment with word thatthe cast of Baz Luhrmann's Great Gatsby are sweating on the weight machines and treadmills at the infamous Hyde Park Club.
We can only speculate on how much effort is being spent by ACP's young women in trying to make eye contact with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire between bench presses.
However, Diary understands that former Packer lieutenant John Alexander -- who bought the club from ACP during a shakeup in 2009 -- has decreed the superstar cast are only to use the exclusive inner sanctum of the gym and must use a discreet side entrance and not the main front door to reach the gymnasium.
Birthday boys
STILL on matters Packer and Murdoch, James Packer celebrates his 44th birthday on September 8, the same day Lachlan Murdoch turns 40. Packer is helping his close friend mark the occasion, hosting a party on Kerry's floating poker palace the Arctic P somewhere on the Mediterranean on Thursday.
Members of the Murdoch clan attending the bash will no doubt enjoy some relief from events of the past few months. Also attending with be Siobhan McKenna, Lachlan's publicity shy second-in-command at his private investment company Illyria.
Outside Insiders
WHILE Glenn Milne has parted company with the ABC's Insiders, he has not technically been "sacked" as most of the panellists are not ABC staff.
A week after the column in The Australian that sparked this latest rumble between the government and News Limited, Milne has been dropped not just for this incident but apparently for a number of reasons that ABC director of news Kate Torney felt made him too much of a risk on a live, unscripted show.
For example, there is lingering concern about a Milne piece on The Drum about Tony Abbott's chief of staff Peta Credlin, Diary understands.
Sources at Insiders said Milne was regarded as a "street smart" journalist who contributed "flashes of brilliance".
The Sunday-morning panel show has stood by Milne in the past, notably when he attacked Crikey founder Stephen Mayne at theWalkleys several years ago.
In its 10 years on air, the ABC has never been forced to issue an apology or retraction for any Insiders segment and the program wants to keep that record intact.
The other Bolt
ANOTHER Bolt blog has Victorian teachers nervously sipping their lattes.
Last week the state's Education Department announced the appointment of a new secretary, Richard Bolt, teacher, administrator and brother of political commentator Andrew Bolt.
In an email to educators, Teacher Bolt introduced himself and outlined some of his experiences including life with his teacher father and his devotion to public schools.
The new Bolt blog is available to all Victorian teachers and the secretary has invited their comments.
Staff back on board
BACK in the heady days of Kevin07, Labor promised to reinstate the staff-elected director's position on the ABC board scrapped bythe Howard government.
It has taken a while, but legislation to reintroduce the position is listed for September 12.
The unofficial position is currently held by Quentin Dempster, who was elected before it was canned. He has been known to sign off his emails "staff elected board member in exile".
Axe poised
COMMONWEALTH belt-tightening is hitting departments across the board as they try to match efficiency demands made in thefederal budget.
One department tiptoeing through the books is the Australian Communications and Media Authority, which could lose some 20 staff members out of a total of 600 in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.
The department's Tom Burton told Diary the 20 staff members were in "excess" positions and efforts would be made to relocate them elsewhere in the public service to avoid redundancies.
"It's a tight time for us, obviously we don't like losing staff," he said. "But in the scheme of things I've seen much greater numbers lost, in journalism, for example."
Burton was the executive editor of The Sydney Morning Herald during several rounds of redundancies in recent years.
Good men scarce
NINE'S Melbourne newsroom is full of talk of a shortage of male reporters following the resignation of the popular and experienced James Talia last week.
Talia, who was appointed Victorian political reporter in 2006 before a stint as European correspondent that year, leaves a shrinking pool of blokes at Nine, including Brett McLeod, Chris White and Brendan Roberts.
Diary understands Jacqui Felgate will be sent to Spring Street to cover state politics.
Weekly winner
DIARY would like to congratulate Australian Women's Weekly editor Helen McCabe, who last week notched up two years in the chair and celebrated by signing on with ACP for another two.
Sitting on readership of 2,166,000 and circulation of 491,352, it seems ACP wants her at the helm.
One for the books
OF hacks writing books, many in the Sydney media will have fond memories of John Stapleton, the cynical, shambolic and always loveable reporter who worked at The Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald for three decades.
Diary is pleased to report the release of a first book, The Twilight Soi, billed as a "cautionary tale" about the go-go boy bars of Bangkok's red-light districts, based on Stapo's experiences living there.
Less happy is the news that accompanied the release of the book. The author was harassed by parties involved, was followed and threatened and finally fled to another Asian city after an attempt was made to burn his house.
Diary congratulates him and hopes he is safe.
First attempt
FINALLY, this is my first Diary and I hope it fulfils the brief of providing informed and entertaining news. Please feel free to share your thoughts with me or, better still, send in a yarn.
WIT OF THE WEEK
`Nobody has scored yet. It's like a
gamer's 21st'
TIM BLAIR, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, BLOGS THE WORLD CUP FINAL
Credit: NICK LEYS