Media not extinct yet

Niall Clugston writes: Re. “Brave News World: whose voice will still be heard?” (yesterday). Gideon Haigh’s article hardly inspires confidence in the “new media”.

There is plenty online of public relations press releases, and there’s plenty of commentary and personal opinion. But there’s very little media conveying news in a way that would be called journalism. There are many criticisms that can be made of journalism, but none of them convinces me that we want to become extinct.

Off the Richter

Neil Hunt writes: Re. “Hurricane Sandy: why good government, not luck, saves lives” (yesterday). I just wanted to correct Alan Davies on his use of 7.0 vs 8.8 magnitude.  This is measured on the Moment Magnitude Scale, not the Richter scale. Seismologists have not used the Richter scale since the early 1980s. While the two measure at a similar magnitude for a particular earthquake, how they’re derived is completely different.

Packer casino

John Richardson writes: Re. (Media briefs, yesterday). I was really quite shocked by Matthew Knott’s less-than-kind appraisal of the relationship between Sydney’s great social benefactor, James Packer, and The Sydney Morning Herald. As we all know, the Packer family dynasty has selflessly sought to contribute to our great state and to help Sydney become a better place than Melbourne for generations.

I was almost brought to tears by James’ heartfelt plea to the people of Sydney to support his generous offer to build a desperately needed casino for them at Barangaroo Point, which took pride of place in Saturday’s Herald. That the scion of this great family felt obliged to plea for public support for his latest altruistic venture on behalf of the people of Sydney, surely says more about their shameful and cynical ingratitude for his family’s ongoing benevolence than it does about him?

Notwithstanding his astounding generosity, and in spite of the very best efforts of that civic-minded tag team, Karl Bitar and Mark Arbib, strengthened by the Herald’s assistance, we still have the likes of that wicked spoilsport, Greens MP John Kaye, demanding an ICAC investigation into the proposal. Absolutely outrageous!

Matthew, like John, needs to get with the program and give poor James a break. There are no CRVs here; no coal mines and fortunately for us all, the processes that have been followed by Premier Barry O’Farrell and his enlightened government are as robust, open and transparent to the people of NSW as they’ve always been.

Dangerous Remedy

Robin F. Howells writes: Re: “Glenn Dyer’s TV ratings” (yesterday). I presume Glenn Dyer has wiped my old mate Kevin Childs out of his Dangerous Remedy wrap because he is too young to remember. Those of us around and working in Melbourne media at the time know that Kevin as a journalist at The Age was an integral and even involved part of the story. He fearlessly covered the story and refused to be muzzled. My eagle eye noted that he was given a special mention in the end credits. He also wrote the amazing book Why Isn’t She Dead with Peggy Berman in 1972.

Which horse is Abbott?

Dan Smith writes: Re. (Tips and rumours, yesterday). It would have to be the one that always says “neigh”, surely …