The West KOs itself on Frazier’s ‘death’. American sports blog Deadspin drew our attention to an amazing gaffe by The West Australian online yesterday, chasing the scoop for the death of ailing boxing great Joe Frazier. The link to the story is now dead, unlike Frazier, who, despite battling liver cancer, is still fighting …

Onya Rupe, for a generous ‘gift of love’. News Limited editors know which side of their bread is buttered. With the patriarch stalking the halls of News’ Melbourne HQ yesterday, Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers lined up to congratulate their boss on finding $10 million in his wallet for a Melbourne hospital. There was Rupert playing with the sick kiddies in the Herald Sun, The Daily Telegraph, The Advertiser and The Australian, where Chip Le Grand best captured the moment:

“FOR any large family, the hardest thing about a reunion is getting everyone together for a picture. For the Murdoch family, yesterday was no different.

“Gathered on the sparkling steps of the newly built Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne, all the clans dutifully squeezed in to capture the moment; the Murdochs and Handburys, Kantors and Patersons, the Calvert-Joneses.

“The families were there to tip good money into a good cause — funding needed to fit out the expanded digs for Australia’s biggest children’s health research institute.”

But it was The Tele that summed up the mood of the faithful empire — its website headline reading: “Onya, boss: Murdoch donates to kids’ health”. Onya Rupert, indeed.

Ludlam and the News-employed Marxist. You can’t fault the Herald Sun for crazy-bravery — they must have known that going after Senator Scott Ludlam for buying books — books! — on expenses was own-goal territory, but they did it anyway. They were particularly exercised by a work called 50 Years of Recuperation of The Situationist International, with assigned hack Padraic Murphy breathlessly noting that: “Situationist International is an obscure movement of revolutionary Marxists in 1950s France that sought to overthrow capitalism.”

Actually, they’re called The Situationist International, the clue being in the title where they’re called, um, The Situationist International. Situationist International is almost certainly a promising band in Portland, Oregon. Anyway who would be writing such scurrilous stuff? That would be Australian academic McKenzie Wark. And who would employ such a man? That would be, um, The Australian, where Wark had a column in the Higher Education supplement throughout most of the 90s — one liberally sprinkled with references to Guy Debord, and the other wacky dudes who founded (The) Situationist International.

The book in question is a look-back at how the works of the enormously influential group have been drawn back into the opportunist maw of late capitalism, though there’s no indication as to whether Professor Wark, now of New York University, offers it as a critique or a how-to guide. — Guy Rundle

Spot the difference: Age plays ladyboy card. Considering the beauty pageant is a transgender one, it’s no surprise that a “ladyboy” won it, despite The Age‘s headline. Is spot the difference supposed to be where The Age readers can compare how feminine these transgender women look?

On the plus side, the clickbait features box and headline might get more people reading the quite interesting and respectful article on Thailand’s international transgender beauty pageant, written by Lindsay Murdoch. In fact the “spot the difference” headline might refer to the numerous scars the representative from Nigeria hides under her evening gown that she received from beatings and harassment for being overly feminine as a child. Luckily The Age headlines are helping break down stereotypes and discrimination. Oh wait … — Amber Jamieson

The Department of Corrections. The Guardian this morning ran a correction reassuring English readers that the Queen remains its sole head of state. This news will also comfort Australians to know that, despite the original Guardian article, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has not become our sovereign leader.

Meanwhile, Canadian newspaper The National Post was forced to apologise today for including “happily married” dermatologist Dr Jason Rivers in its list of the 30 most eligible bachelors in Canada …

Front page of the day. The guilty verdict for Michael Jackson’s doctor Conrad Murray was perfect timing for UK tabloid the Daily Mirror today:

NotW hired investigators to spy on hack victims’ lawyer

“The News of the World hired a specialist private investigator to run covert surveillance on two of the lawyers representing phone-hacking victims as part of an operation to put pressure on them to stop their work.” — The Guardian

Bali boy parents deny Nine Network deal

“The parents of the 14-year-old Australian boy awaiting sentence in Bali for marijuana offences have denied selling his story to the Nine Network, or any other television outlet.” — The Australian

Government terminates Australia Network tender

“The Government has terminated the tender process to find a new operator for the Australia Network due to “significant leaks” relating to the contract to run the broadcaster.” — Media Spy

AP Stylebook dictates journos use ‘illegal immigrant’

“The AP Stylebook advises journalists to use ‘illegal immigrants.’ But some journalists and news consumers say this term is dehumanizing and legally inaccurate. And because it’s a civil — and not a criminal — violation in the U.S., some argue that ‘illegal immigration’ wrongly implies criminality.” — Poynter