Before we move onto nominations from this week, and really, once again, there’s a blizzard of options as the white noise reaches a crescendo, here’s master of ceremonies Lindsay Tanner’s top three so far:

The gold medal in the first Sideshow Alley awards goes to The Daily Telegraph for taking the concept of a carbon footprint literally. A template example of how to trivialise a serious issue.

Silver to Senator Nigel Scullion, who has clearly worked out that creative use of crocodiles is a sure path to prominent coverage in the NT News.

Bronze to The Daily Telegraph (we may need a handicapping system in this competition) for Kristina Keneally’s hair extensions. That’s what the front page is for, right?

And now, to the week that was. And the nominations are … *opens envelope*

  • SurlySimon: News Ltd (all of it) #SideshowAlley
  • AgentDeclan: @crikey_news I nominate your previous tweet
  • Tagalongtess: The media and reader obsession with ALP leadership. If a change is made all will rant about it #sideshowalley
  • Thatfleminggent: The anti carbon pricing zombies & Mirabella vs Albanese #SideshowAlley
  • AnnashiHade: #SideshowAlley Tony Abbott’s head contemplating the a-se end of power. Dumbing down or totally in the gutter?
  • iBleeter: Can I nominate the #SideshowAlley tag itself for best example of dumbing down politics this week?
  • liamvhogan: #sideshow: The High Court battle turns into a leadership one for Gillard: Crikey’s morning media wrap

ALP leadership obsession wins it.You are well and truly over it.

Nominations include us, for our own wrap headline: “High court battle turns into a leadership one.” Which should have read “High court battle fuels leadership speculation”. Our bad. We’ve changed it now.

As for whether we should be reporting that at all, our morning wrap is just that, a wrap of the big story of the day and if you’re not convinced that this is the biggest —  for better or worse — take a gander at the front pages today:

We’ll end with the wisdom, and welcome nuance, of Michelle Grattan, who put it so succinctly this morning on Breakfast with Fran Kelly, when asked this question:

Fran Kelly: “Well it’s not hard to read the headlines … The Daily Telegraph ‘Gillard on notice’, Hobart Mercury ‘Rudd return looms’ and the most ominous of all I think the Melbourne Herald Sun ‘Tick tick tick’. From what you’re hearing, you say it’s hard to read, but is there talk, is there open serious talk of any kind of leadership change, or just troublemaking and panic?”

Michelle Grattan: “There’s a lot of panic, I haven’t seen all those newspapers physically but you do get a situation where one story goes national because the concentration of the media … it can sometimes seem greater or more widespread than it is …

“…there has been of course for quite a while, general chatter about whether Labor will change its leader before the election and that question remains open but there’s little doubt that Julia Gillard’s leadership situation has deteriorated over recent times and it’s not just this issue but this issue has made it significantly worse.”