Beware The Courier Mail‘s inflation bogy — a distant relative of the inflation genie perhaps?

Wayne does FM The treasurer on emos, keeping his s-x life private and Bundy and coke  — listen here

Fairfax CEO fighting windmills. Fairfax CEO David Kirk paid for a full-page ad in New Zealand’s Sunday Star Times on behalf of the Save Central group which is protesting the proposed construction of a large wind farm in Central Otago. The donation was made in a personal capacity, Kirk told the paper: “Fairfax media as an organisation has no view on the matter; the matter will be covered in the usual balanced and comprehensive way as our editors and writers choose to do so.”

In the “usual and comprehensive” way the Fairfax papers across the Tasman covered Earth Hour? Journalists at The Age certainly felt obliged to cover that environmental issue in a certain way, strongly encouraged by Fairfax head honchos, a matter they later protested at a stop work meeting. Meanwhile, it’s interesting that Kirk would oppose a wind power scheme after he so strongly supported Earth Hour, writing to staff that:

Our publications and websites have done an outstanding job in promoting Earth Hour and informing readers and online audiences about environmental issues… Through our media, millions more are informed about Earth Hour and are learning more about global warming… I join the entire Earth Hour team in inviting you to participate and observe Earth Hour and the hope it expresses for our environmental future.

Clearly Kirk doesn’t see wind farms in Otago as part of that environmental future. — Jane Nethercote

Satin watch. Some recent instalments in the series: Presenting Satin. Last night, TT‘s Anna Coren was playing it sombre in black silk. No defaming of satin there.

And, bright and perky on Monday morning, Kerri-Anne Kennerley was doing her best bullion impression. Absolute gold.  

 

 

Last night’s TV ratings
The Winners: Seven News was top of the pops with 1.690 million viewers, with Today Tonight next with 1.599 million. The final David Attenborough’s Tiger – Spy in the Jungle at 7.30pm to 8.30pm averaged 1.543 million and Border Security on Seven at 7.30pm to 8pm averaged 1.514 million. 5th was Nine’s Sea Patrol which averaged 1.473 million at 8.30pm and Seven’s Surf Patrol at 8pm averaged 1.377 million. Nine’s repeat of Two and a Half Men at 7pm averaged 1.316 million and beat Home and Away with 1.306 million for Seven. Nine News was 9th with 1.289 million, Desperate Housewives was 10th for Seven at 8.30pm with 1.273 million and A Current Affair was 11th with 1.249 million. The 7pm ABC News averaged 1.204 million and CSI New York averaged 1.102 million. More than Enough Rope averaged 957,000 on ABC 1 at 9.35pm. Good News Week on Ten at 8.30pm, 936,000, and deserved more. Boston Legal on Seven at 9.30pm, 850,000.

The Losers: Big Brother, 957,000, which was verging on the OK, but again just no oomph for Ten. Big Brother Big Mouth, 617,000 at 9.30pm. Why Tony Squires and Rebecca Wilson front what’s the most appalling, banal program on TV is a mystery. The pair of them must be 15 to 25 years older or more than the target audience’s average age. Million Dollar Wheel Of Fortune, 602,000 (718,000 a week ago for the debut episode). Seven’s Deal or No Deal with 943,000 is still pacier and better produced. And has Andrew O’Keefe. Ten’s How To Look Good Naked, 836,000, it’s being hurt by Big Brother and deserves better. It’s a positive program in a way BB will never be.

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally and in every market but Melbourne. The 7pm ABC News beat Nine into second place in the Sydney news rankings last night behind Seven. Today Tonight won every market and nationally. It hasn’t taken a hit from losing the Corby defamation case. Leila McKinnon filled in for Tracy Grimshaw on ACA last night. Bring back Tracy. Ten News averaged 936,000; the late News/ Sports Tonight, 311,000. The 7.30 Report, averaged 819,000. Four Corners averaged 826,000, Media Watch, 781,000 and Lateline, 322,000 and Lateline Business , 125,000. SBS News, 231,000 at 6.30pm, 169,000 at 9.30pm. 7am Sunrise back over 400,000 for the first time in more than a week with 405,000, 7am Today, 280,000.

The Stats: Nine won with a share of 29.3% (30.2%) from Seven, 28.5% (30.4%), with Ten on 18.0% (18.2%), the ABC on 16.9% (15.7%) and SBS on 7.3% (5.4%). Seven won Sydney by a surprisingly big margin, considering the closeness of the night, Nine won Melbourne well, Brisbane and Adelaide. Seven won Perth. Nine leads the week 30.9% to 27.9% for Seven. In regional areas Nine won through WIN/NBN with 32.5% from Prime/7Qld with 27.4%, Southern Cross (Ten) with 16.7%, the ABC with 15.7% and SBS with 7.8%.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Nine won, but Seven says it won prime time (6pm to midnight) in all people under 55. Shared 16 to 39 with Ten, won 18 to 49 and 25 to 54, which means it is getting more traction with viewers, not just the older ones. In fact Nine seems to have supplanted Seven in appealing to the older viewers in the past couple of weeks. The figures for Seven News in Sydney and Brisbane were dramatic: Seven won by over 170,000 in Sydney: its winning margin was more than 50% of Nine’s audience. In Brisbane Seven News averaged 405,000, and won by 101,000 viewers: in the much larger Melbourne market Seven News averaged 404,000 and lost to Nine by 20,000 viewers. While Nine still is very competitive from 7pm onwards, it is still losing ground from 6pm to 7pm, especially in Sydney where around 37% of all ad revenue is spent on TV. The Brisbane figures for Seven were the best weekday audience figures in memory, according to the Network. Four Corners had a very solid story on a mining industry fraud with a strong Australian central theme. It makes you wonder where ASIC has been in all of this, even though the claims relate to events in South Africa and London. With Sue Spencer in charge this year Four Corners is far more relevant and on the pace than it has been for four years. Tonight. Say bye bye Bert at 7.30pm on Nine, see if All Saints can offend another group in the community after offending those with Downs Syndrome; Nine has Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares Revisited, Seven also has Australia’s Got Talent, Ten has NCIS and The Simpsons. And the ABC has a doco called Animal Pharm at 8.30pm before Foreign Correspondent.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports