NIT runs undisclosed spin. A bollocking from Media Watch earlier this year doesn’t seem to have cured all the ills at The National Indigenous Times, a modestly-staffed weekly paper devoted to coverage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues. The paper tells readers this week that a story on changes to the Northern Territory income management regime was “supplied by Kate Thwaites”.

It doesn’t tell readers, however, that Thwaites is a media adviser to Indigenous Affairs minister Jenny Macklin and that the article is a media release issued from Macklin’s office. Crikey suspects many of the NIT‘s readers would be keen to know this — especially as the spin doctor’s piece ran directly below an op-ed by Macklin. The NIT has softened its line on the intervention after the departure of previous editor (and regular Crikey contributor) Chris Graham. The NIT‘s current editor Stephen Hagan was travelling this morning and unavailable for comment. — Matthew Knott

News invests by slashing regional subs. News Limited continues to hack away at its staffing levels, with subediting duties at nine regional newspapers to be outsourced to AAP subsidiary Pagemasters. The Media Arts and Entertainment Alliance estimates that 60 positions will go from Hobart’s The Mercury, The Cairns Post, Geelong Advertiser, Townsville Bulletin, Gold Coast Bulletin, NT News, Centralian Advocate and these papers’ Sunday sister publications. A News Limited spokeperson said yesterday’s announcement “is about investing in journalism”.

Crikey is tracking the slow-drip departures from News Limited. Karen Cross, the editor of Adelaide’s Sunday Mail, is among the recent additions to our Murdoch migration list. Regional subeditors are fast becoming extinct in this country. In May, Fairfax announced it was outsourcing around 60 regional subeditors from The Newcastle Herald and The Illawarra Mercury, a decision that saw protests and strikes at Fairfax papers across the country. — Matthew Knott 

Nothing like a Dame. With the passing of Dame Elisabeth, the race has been on in the Murdoch press to ensure they do a good job celebrating the life of Rupert’s famous mum. Points so far have gone to the Herald Sun, which managed to rush out a tribute front page on Thursday and then back it up with an eight page-splash in today’s edition. A syndicated tribute has also run in most of the dailies.

Correction of the day. We doubt Rupert Murdoch would have been impressed by this howler in yesterday’s Australian.

Front page of the day. On the day he is finally buried, nine years after he disappeared, the local newspaper captures Daniel Morcombe in hundreds of photos …

Video of the day. The lead negotiator for the Philippines at the Doha UN climate talks broke down while pleading for the world to take action on climate change. Rescuers are still searching for survivors from a typhoon that killed around 400 Filipinos earlier this week. He issues his call to arms from around the 1:50 mark.