Daily Tele pictures censored! The below image was published in today’s Sunday Telegraph on a story around ‘pre-teens’ getting ‘fake tans’. I have blacked out certain parts in the event that any prosecution occurs and to keep the child in question anonymous. It is naturally of some concern. I will be seeking some legal advice on whether to make a complaint to the NSW Police. The photo online is not as revealing as the paper version which shows most of the girl’s body in what could be called a ‘blue swimsuit’. — Sydney arts journo

 

Rupert loses his ring. Check out Reuters’ MediaFile blog, where the uptight wire service lets its freak flag fly, just a bit. Just enough for reports like this one, from Ken Li:

Attention media reporters: Rupert Murdoch, probably the most important man on your beat, has lost his wedding ring. Last seen in the Sun Valley Lodge lobby. Murdoch stumbled out of the Lodge bar on Thursday around midnight, where a ridiculously high-powered assemblage of media and tech moguls got sloshed. Instead of making a bee-line for the exit as most of the guests were doing, Murdoch, married to third wife Wendi Deng, was spotted hunting around the lobby. He told us he had lost his wedding ring. — Silicon Alley Insider

Typo of the week. Now for some quite glorious proof that machines can’t be trusted with snubbing out errors … This gem of an entry from the brilliant Regret the Error blog explains that the over-cautious chiefs over at OneNewsNow didn’t ever want to use the word ‘gay’ when referring to a homos-xual. How best to achieve this small detail? Simple: Use a machine to change it automatically! Genius! Genius, that is, until a rapid young chap named Tyson Gay won a race…

 — Daveleejblog

Get ready for a black, tongue-in-cheek version of Dateline. Chocolate News, a new sketch comedy series on Comedy Central, will made its debut in October, just in time for the presidential election. The show, starring David Alan Grier, will pretend to offer news from an African-American perspective. Speaking to reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour on Wednesday, Mr. Grier said that if Barack Obama wins the presidency, it would be a windfall for his show. “That would be like a monumentous occasion culturally and comedically,” he said. — New York Times

Learn To Translate Reporters’ Lies And Threats! Us Weekly’s lead story right now is a rather substance-free bit on Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo shopping for a birthday present for his girlfriend, pop tart Jessica Simpson. But Us is doing its best to drum up something better; a reporter sent a vaguely ominous letter to Romo’s dad encouraging him to talk, because “Jessica Simpson’s side is controlling the media right now.” Which is actually very good reporting! Any journalist worth his paltry salary knows how to use veiled threats, scary insinuations, and bluffs (lies) to get reluctant sources to speak up. We’ve compiled a handy translation guide; how to decode the most common threatening reporter doublespeak: “I think it’s important for the public to hear the other side of the truth.” [From Us’ letter] Translation: We already have the other side of the story. So speak now, or don’t complain when you see a one-sided slam piece. (The trick: the truth actually only has one side!) — Gawker

Last night’s TV ratings:
The Winners: 13 programs with a million or more viewers, topped by 60 Minutes with 1.821 million and tailed by Big Brother’s Live Eviction in the same timeslot at 7.30 pm with 1.017 million. Domestic Blitz averaged 1.680 million for second and the Nine News was next with 1.641 million. Seven News averaged 1.576 million and CSI Miami averaged 1.478 million; Seven’s Battle of The Chorus averaged 1.241 million at 7.30 pm. The 7 pm ABC News averaged 1.142 million viewers in 7th spot and next came Without A Trace at 9.30 pm on Nine with 1.142 million as well. Dr Who averaged 1.101 million at 7.30 pm on the ABC and Rove lifted to 1.073 million at 8.40 pm. Seven’s J.K. Rowling special at 6.30 pm averaged 1.059 million viewers in 11th and 12th was Seven’s Private Practice with 1.023 million and improved on last week. The Big Brother Live Eviction was 13th. Then came The Einstein Factor at 6.30 pm on the ABC with 908,000 viewers and the Dr Who filler at 8.315 pm or so with 875,000 people.

The Losers: Losers? Lipstick Jungle: 655,000. Still lousy numbers. The Golden Bowl, ABC TV, 8.30 pm 614,000. Henry James is a writer from another age and best ignored if you like something to happen in your stories. Dexter: 862,000 at 9.50 pm. OK numbers, lousy program. Big Brother Sunday from 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm, 826,000.

News & CA: Nine News won Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. Seven won Brisbane and Perth. Ten News At Five averaged 654,000. World News Australia on SBS, 258,000. Weekend Sunrise on Seven at 8 am, 415,000. Landline on the ABC at Noon, 289,000; Insiders at 9 am on the ABC, 185,000, Weekend Sunrise Early, 165,000, Inside Business 157,000, Offsiders, 156,000; Sunday, 136,000, Meet The Press, 70,000 at 8 am.

The Stats:  Nine won with 6 pm to midnight All People with a share of 32.3% (33.9%) from Seven with 22.7% (21.9%), ten with 20.5% (19.1$), the ABC with 16.5% (18.7%) and SBS with 8.0% (6.4%). Nine won all five metro markets. In regional areas a similar result except that Nine won with NBN/WIN on a huge 38.2%, Southern Cross (Ten) was second with 19.2%, Prime/7Qld was on 19.0%, the ABC was on 15.5% and SBS on 7.7%..

Glenn Dyer’s comments: A slightly better Sunday night for Seven, but not by much. Ten also did bit better than a week ago, but not by much. Nine still has Sunday nights. Viewers even liked CSI Miami, which was the program they rejected last year. In the end Nine had to run it with the help of another program last year. It did lose over 300,000 viewers from 60 Minutes, but more than held its own. It remains pretentious and unlikeable, much like Big Brother. It used to have some Australian charm, but to boost ratings Ten and the producers decided to take it down market into real hardcore Bogan territory where it foundered. This year’s inmates are also unlikeable. Dr Who was classy: Pompeii and Volcano Day! Slapstick at its best. Rove lifted; was that because viewers realised that its lead in would be departing the Ten House next week? Tonight City Homicide on Seven, Andrew Denton talking to the Silver Bodgie at 9.35 pm, The Farmer Wants A Wife on Nine at 8.30 pm and Top Gear on SBS at 7.30 pm.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports.