I was features editor at .net magazine in Bath and, as several of my stories about internet dramas had been followed up by News of the World reporters, I applied for a job there and got an interview on December 22, 1999. I was a fan of Mazher Mahmood, their “Secret Sheikh” investigative journalist who had a silhouette byline due to his undercover work and last year exposed the cricket match-fixing scandal. At the time, it was the largest selling paper in the English-speaking world and was renowned for getting truthful scoops. Its motto: “All human life is there.”
Continue reading When I went for a job interview at the News of the World
A.A. Gill at the Sydney Writers’ Festival
Went to see A.A. Gill, restaurant, TV and travel critic, at the Digital Dinosaurs talk, Sydney Writers’ Festival. [Coincidentally, have been watching Civilisation, Lord Kenneth Clark’s 1969 series, which was produced by his dad, Michael Gill.]
Gill was in great form and very witty (which I haven’t included here, it was “in the moment/context” wit.) He wasn’t in a dandy-ish outfit, but smart casual (white shirt, brown jacket, jeans.)
He hates the fact the internet means people write nasty comments, anonymously.
Continue reading A.A. Gill at the Sydney Writers’ Festival
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Changing Role of the Editor
Went to the roundtable talk organised by Peter Fray on the changing role of the Editor. Speakers were Fray – Editor-in-chief of the Sydney Morning Herald; Rick Feneley – Editor of the Sun-Herald, Angelos Frangopoulos – CEO of Sky News; Helen McCabe – Editor-in-chief of the Australian Women’s Weekly; Kate Torney – Director of ABC News.
Fray is a ‘‘First Decade’’ Fellow at the Department of Media and Communications at the University of Sydney.
The editors encouraged us all to be blogging, tweeting, on various platforms, etc, and held up Annabel Crabb and Mia Freedman as the ultimate examples.
Continue reading Changing Role of the Editor
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Intersex/transgender dinner
Went to an intersex and transgender dinner last Saturday to support the cause and met some lovely people and old friends too.
Support for this case was also mentioned: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/transgender-inmate-suicide-not-preventable-20110407-1d5oo.html
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Welcome to ABBAWhirl! (ABBAWorld parody)
AN ABBAMAZING INTERACTIVE AND OVERACTIVE EXHIBITION
MORE than 30 years since ABBA’s first live performance in Australia at the Sydney Showgrounds in Moore Park on that wet evening of 3 March 1977, ABBA fans can relive the hormonal, adolescent dramas of being desperate teenage ABBA fans who just wanted to go to a pop concert, any pop concert, but got sucked into a black hole-ish vortex from which they would emerge singing “Mamma Mia, here I go again.” And again and again.
Cotton Ward, curator of ABBAWhirl, said: “This is a unique opportunity to see original ABBA fan material. For more than 35 years, ABBA has been one of the top three selling artists in the world, having sold 375 million records worldwide, mostly to people I know.”
“No expense has been spared in staging ABBAWhirl in my flat — genuine ABBA scrapbooks from the era, and the ABBA dolls are sitting on top of the telly.”
ABBAWhirl examines the early days of sending letters and waiting breathlessly for the latest edition of the Swedish Pop Import, the official ABBA Fan Club’s buy and swap columns, and Record Collector ads. There is a blaring, wind-up alarm clock to remind you of the many early mornings of getting up for record fairs at town halls to be among the first to get to Parramatta or Kur-ring-gai, and endless scouring through secondhand shops for memorabilia. The lunchbox, dolls, socks and full set of bubblegum cards were the holy grails. The usual finds were a couple of singles, which you already had, and maybe an old edition of an ABBA Annual or a copy of TV Week or Spunky!
A rotary dial phone reminds you of all the times fans would ring each other up with news of the latest overseas bootlegs available at Red Eye Records, or the next performance of Bjorn Again at small venues, for $10 a ticket.
Continue reading Welcome to ABBAWhirl! (ABBAWorld parody)
Cotton Ward 