Category Archives: Media

New thinktank, anyone?

Posted on October 12, 2006 by andrewleigh

My brother in-law used to work for a US-based thinktank/lobby group called Free Press, which campaigns on ownership and local coverage issues in US media. One of the issues they work on is the homogeneity of coverage in local news broadcasts. … Continue reading →

Posted in Media | Comments Off on New thinktank, anyone?

Correlation Leads, Causation Buried

Posted on September 19, 2006 by andrewleigh

The editorial in today’s Crikey email contains the best advice to journalists reporting on social science that I’ve seen in a long time. The headline last week promised exciting news: “Geniuses ‘less prone to hangovers’.” Could it be that the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Media | 10 Comments

Double chins

Posted on June 28, 2006 by andrewleigh

Ross Gittins today writes up research by David Cutler, Ed Glaeser and Jesse Shapiro, which suggests that the obesity increase over recent decades is largely due to improvements in food technology. Just goes to show that in the Sydney Morning … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics Generally, Media | 25 Comments

Academics – you just never know when they'll turn on you

Posted on June 28, 2006 by andrewleigh

According to an editorial in the Australian today, I’m part of the solution, and part of the problem. According to research carried out by a pair of economists, Andrew Leigh and Justin Wolfers, Australians are a happy lot, coming in … Continue reading →

Posted in Media | 13 Comments

Nic Off

Posted on June 21, 2006 by andrewleigh

I don’t often feel sorry for celebrities, but the media pack swarming like flies around Nicole Kidman’s house is a bit over the top. No great surprise that she doesn’t spend more time in Australia if she can’t even go … Continue reading →

Posted in Media | Comments Off on Nic Off

Oldest profession boosts earnings of second-oldest profession

Posted on June 2, 2006 by andrewleigh

Who would’ve thought that Merrick & Rosso would be the next ones to test the boundaries of the implied freedom of political communication in the Australian Constitution?

Posted in Australian Politics, Law, Media | 3 Comments

Poll dancing

Posted on May 22, 2006 by andrewleigh

In a discussion about whether journalism students should know more about economics, Mark Bahnisch said this morning: “I think one thing aspiring journos need is a grasp of social and behavioural statistics and how to interpret them.” And as if … Continue reading →

Posted in Australian Politics, Media | 19 Comments

Reporter, school thyself

Posted on May 20, 2006 by andrewleigh

Greg Mankiw makes a suggestion that’s apt on both sides of the Pacific. There are probably many reasons why the quality of economics journalism is not better than it is, but an article in today’s Wall Street Journal suggests one … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics Generally, Media | 13 Comments

Richard Carleton

Posted on May 7, 2006 by andrewleigh

It’s just been announced that 60 Minutes reporter Richard Carleton has died, minutes after asking a question at a press conference at the Beaconsfield mine. He was one of the towering figures of Australian journalism over the past few decades, … Continue reading →

Posted in Australian Politics, Media | 5 Comments

Op$Ed

Posted on April 2, 2006 by andrewleigh

In Slate, Timothy Noah discusses the case of the two US thinktankers who were paid to write op-eds favourable to particular clients – Cato’s Doug Bandow, and Peter Ferrara of the Institute for Policy Innovation. My understanding is that this doesn’t occur … Continue reading →

Posted in Media, Thinktanks | 9 Comments

Zoe Hall

Posted on March 31, 2006 by andrewleigh

Crikey has been reporting on the Bulletin‘s bizarre decision to publish a 12-page profile of Martin Bryant, the Tasmanian serial killer (more from the Hobart Mercury). Herald Sun editor Peter Blunden has been one of the strongest critics of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Media | 3 Comments