ABC TV is advertising for a new head of marketing. Has the overhaul of ABC TV senior management finally begun in earnest? One can only hope looking at the ABC’s performance so far this year this is the beginning of a comprehensive review.

But the major hiccup with this position is that the ABC’s marketing budget for third-party advertising has over the past 15 years been reduced to virtually nothing and the ABC has been forced to rely upon its own usually unco-ordinated media platforms and the goodwill of newspaper and radio reviews (a dangerous practice for a network).

Is the ABC board ever going to realise that if you want an audience, you need a broad and diverse marketing platform for it and, yes, sometimes you need to pay?

Let’s hope things are on the up.

Internet prankster David Thorne yesterday posted up an email exchange with the South Australian Police on his website where they threatened to take his website down if he didn’t remove a satirical blog post where he offered people the chance to invest in his business idea to buy and sell drugs.

David eventually agreed to change the word “drugs” to “cats” in his post but then posted up the entire email conversation. Today his website has been suspended.

It seems despite his healthy margin in the seat of West Torrens, Tom Koutsantonis has been rattled by newcomer Jassmine Wood. Like many election candidates, Tom had his team erect high numbers of newly printed posters all over the electorate the night before the issuing of the writ.

Midway through the week, Jassmine’s team erected a conservative 300 posters around the electorate, which must have bothered Tom so much that he was forced to dig out his old original posters from the 2002 election (sporting a babyfaced Tom) and have his team again blanket the electorate with yet more posters.

A friend of mine is talking at a forum tomorrow (Pursuing Innovative Community Engagement for the Public Sector) which includes a “unique opportunity” to attend a three-hour site visit at the Collingwood Public Housing Estate for $695 + GST. Not sure if any of the proceeds go to residents on the estate…

Victoria’s health department was in chaos this morning following a garage door malfunction at its headquarters, the state-of-the-art “Urban Workshop” building in Lonsdale Street. Eyewitnesses told of a foyer packed full of sweaty bike riders after their usual entry point was jammed shut, forcing them into the freight lift. Meanwhile, elective surgery waiting lists in Victoria continue to spiral out of control.