Obscure Box

All these reports from the US media on the presidential campaign (enough already) has brought to light a new meaningless media cliche. Along with “it remains to be seen” and “only time will tell” is another phrase that allows a reporter to say something when they’re really adding nothing to a story. The US media [...]

The Queensland Opposition issued a statement today saying “Bligh sools solicitors onto Gubi Gubi people over Native Title”. I wasn’t sure whether congratulate or condemn the Premier for doing this to the solicitors. After almost a decade in Australia I thought I heard just about all Aussie slang words and phrases. “Bludger” and “wowser” I’d [...]

What’s going on at the Nine Network newsroom in Brisbane? Final payoffs from local reporters have dropped the “national” tag. No longer is it “blah blah blah, National Nine News”. Tonight it was just “blah blah, Nine News.” Wonder where the “national” has gone?

A little snippet in a Careers in Journalism guide available in Australian universities made me laugh. Published by the Graduate Careers Council of Australia – and last updated some time ago by the way it reads – the document contains a number of comments from cadet journalists. Here’s what one cadet at a major metropolitan [...]

Channel 10′s early evening news today committed one of the cardinal sins of broadcast journalism. A reporter in the US ended his report with that horrendous expression “it remains to be seen”. The oft-heard phrase usually means the reporter has no idea what to say next, or how to end the report. No idea what [...]