The chasm between what newspaper editors select as news and what their readers actually read could not be more marked than what is shown this morning by comparing front pages and the list of most read stories on the websites of the same papers.

Throughout the nation, both tabloids and broadsheets have headlines screaming about $34 billion of promised tax cuts. On seven of the 10 websites in the Crikey Reality Check survey the story does not make the top five of the most read list.

The proposed tax giveaway comes second to some kind of Marcia Hines shock and does no better than a story about Right Brain v Left Brain which is in the top five of some sites for the second day in a row.

What perhaps we political tragics should conclude from this little survey is that promising tax cuts is not likely to have the dramatic impact on voters that some people might expect.

The West Australian Sydney Morning Herald
1. New underground rail stations
in business		 1. Gore gets a cold shoulder
2. Miracle escape after balcony fall 2. 40c top tax rate
3. Family’s survival after boat
capsize a miracle: police		 3. Couple’s long road to
vindication
4. Prison guard charged with
corruption & drug supply		 4. Heathrow plane collision
5. WA ‘must look overseas’ to
find 40000 more workers		 5. First-time powerball
player wins $15m
ABC Advertiser
* Coalition tables tax cut promises 1. Marcia Hines shock: ‘I’ll quit…
* Woman fights off great white
at Byron Bay		 2. Water fine crackdown
* Triple fatal smash feared deliberate 3. Ben dumped in Idol shock
* Labor seizes on Howard’s
interest rate gaffe		 4. Clipsal ‘should go west’
* Two aircraft collide at Heathrow 5. India inflames furore
Sydney Telegraph Melbourne Herald Sun
1. The Right Brain vs Left Brain 1. Right Brain v Left Brain
2. Marcia Hines shock: ‘I’ll quit… 2. Michelle Leslie’s new love
3. Hawko comparison offends me 3. Dons axe Mark Johnson
4. Kidman’s ex and new woman 4. Ben kicked out of Idol
5. Popular pop singer Ben McKenzie… 5. McMahon’s parting shot at Dogs
news.com.au The Age
1. Hines makes an Idol threat 1. Trams crash in city
2. Sex with robots ‘not far away’ 2. Murder trial abandoned
after body found
3. Ben McKenzie a shock evictee 3. Now the PM flunks the
numbers test — on rates
4. Children eat ecstasy at school 4. Children swallowed ecstasy
‘lollies’
5. Hudson ‘wants Owen back’ 5. Melbourne: the sprawl
goes on and on
The Australian Courier Mail
1. PM’s $34bn king hit on Rudd 1. Left Brain v Right Brain Test
2. Beirut won’t drop claim to Mokbel 2. Marcia Hines shock: ‘I’ll quit…
3. Hu exhorts Chinese to go global 3. PM’s tax cut a bold start
4. Jobs boom fuels spend-big policies 4. Indy winner back in fast lane
5. Muslim leader blames women for… 5. Primary school kids take ecstasy