As the polls continue to indicate Labor is ahead of the Coalition, Sharri Markson had the “exclusive inside information” certain to cheer up her viewers on Sky News Australia.
“Now tonight I’m going to tell you how the polls you’re reading in the news are wrong when it comes to this federal election and what’s really going on here,” Markson said.
“Polls are simply a national survey of around 1,300 or so voters – it is like a thumb in the wind to see the national mood.”
The Sky News host assured viewers the national polls favouring Labor were “inaccurate” and the Liberals’ internal polling of individual seats indicates Dutton is “within touching distance” of forming a government.
Markson also said it’s “worth keeping in mind” that the people behind Newspoll, Pyxis Polling & Insights, “are being paid by Labor, probably millions of dollars”.
Newspoll may not be owned by News Corp any more but it is still published exclusively by The Australian.
Trumpeting disrespect
On the same day there was “disrespectful” booing of a welcome to country at an Anzac Day service in Melbourne, the Age published a Trumpet of Patriot ad on the front page which said: “We don’t need to be welcomed to our own country.”
But the Nine newspaper was not alone. News Corp’s news.com.au was running the distinctive yellow Clive Palmer ad at the same time as a story about the booing.
In March the Age faced a backlash from staff and readers for running a different Palmer ad but defended its decision.
Pipped to the pope
The Daily Telegraph sent an email to subscribers at 7.10pm on Easter Monday with an arresting subject line: “EXCLUSIVE: World in mourning as Pope Francis dies.”
What a scoop. Now if only it had come an hour or so earlier, before the Vatican announced the reforming head of the Catholic church had passed away at the age of 88.
Meanwhile, the ABC was broadcasting Fran Kelly’s Radio National Hour when the news broke. Unfortunately for RN it was a prerecorded interview about the pope’s autobiography. So while everyone was discussing the late pope, Radio National was referring to Pope Francis as very much alive.
Dore takes on Albo
Albanese was the guest of honour at the West Australian’s business breakfast on Thursday, alongside Seven West chair Kerry Stokes, billionaire Gina Rinehart and Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest.
The West Australian’s editor in chief, Chris Dore, criticised the Labor election campaign as shameless and outrageous while Albanese looked on and maintained a smile.
Dore has fond memories of another campaign, back in 2016, in which he claimed a pivotal role.
“If it were not for the Save Our Albo campaign we ran in 2016, while I was editor of the Daily Telegraph in your hometown, you would have most likely lost your seat in parliament – to a Green opponent,” Dore said.
“You were very generous at the time, sending me a case of Albo lager or was it Albo ale … very average beer … to thank us for helping you get over the line.
“To this day, Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek have never forgiven me.”
In 2016 Albanese got 46% of first preferences and more votes than the Greens and Liberal candidate combined.
In 2013 he got 47.2% of the vote; in 2019 and 2022 he got 50.9% and 53.6%.
Rundle returns to the Arena
In October Guy Rundle apologised for saying “every grope is now a sexual assault” in a text to ABC Radio.
The freelance journalist was sacked by Crikey after he sent the text but he maintained a lifeline to his other gig, as a co-editor at the leftwing publication Arena.
His apology was published on Arena and the co-editors said at the time they had asked him to “step aside” while they have “further discussions” but he was not sacked.
We can reveal Rundle has now returned to the pages of Arena, with an editorial and a long essay on the voice referendum.
Last year Arena said Rundle’s “largely hidden point in the text was that definitions of assault have changed significantly in recent times” and promised to produce a “special theme in the pages of Arena Quarterly over time on the questions raised in this statement”.
Although Rundle is back there has been no sign of the “special theme”. We approached the editors for comment.
Sandilands new face of anti-hate
News Corp Australia, Seven, Ten, Nine, Win and ARN have joined forces for a #StandUpToHate campaign which launched on the front page of the Sunday Telegraph with former Olympian Nova Peris asking Australians to stand up to racism.
But the inclusion of shock jock Kyle Sandilands in the list of 13 prominent Australians who were asked to represent the campaign has raised eyebrows.
The social media and advertising campaign calls on all Australians to “reject intolerance and restore the unity and respect that define our multicultural nation”.
Guardian Australia reported last year that the popular Kyle and Jackie O show mocked Asian people, insulted women and mental health patients, and used vulgar and aggressive sexual language.
Sandilands has been in the news repeatedly over the years for his comments on the show, including fat shaming, asking a 14-year-old about her sexual history and making “offensive” jokes about the Virgin Mary.
End of a ‘new era’
In June last year the Daily Telegraph announced with great fanfare that DTTV or Daily Telegraph TV was “a new era for the masthead”.
DTTV was a new video platform delivering breaking news, analysis, information and entertainment.
“This is the most significant transformation of our newsroom in years. This is the future of news,” editor Ben English said.
English hired Ben Fordham’s executive producer James Willis to anchor the centrepiece of the project, the daily 5@5 Bulletin: five stories in five minutes at 5pm.
But the 5@5 Bulletin has quietly been shelved. The last one went to air more than a month ago, on 21 March.
Sources say the video team is still producing videos for news stories and The Ray Hadley Midday Show, an election special, but no 5pm bulletins.
We asked English for a comment but haven’t heard back.
