Trevor Cook on public relations, social media and politics

Monthly Archives: June 2009

Reediculous: more bureaucracy is a reform?

June 11, 2009 – 5:54 am

You can’t make this stuff up:
NATHAN REES will announce the most comprehensive overhaul of the public service in decades by merging 160 government agencies into 13 super-departments – but no one will lose their job and he is not planning to axe any of the agencies.
Mr Rees will face accusations he squibbed major reform and [...]

By Trevor Cook | Posted in NSW politics | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Is the Woman’s Day a magazine of repute?

June 10, 2009 – 3:41 pm

Sandy Alioisi is co-host of the 2GB breakfast program, she is the one that works hard. Yesterday, in the wake of the (gasp) Therese Rein gym photos scandal, Sandy rose to her full (metaphorical) height and declaimed that the Woman’s Day had to decide whether it was a magazine of repute or not. No kidding. [...]

By Trevor Cook | Posted in Media | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Media response: Wahhhh! I want a recession

June 4, 2009 – 8:14 am

After all, everyone else has got one mummy.
The media is at its rancid worst this morning bemoaning the technical absence of a recession when everyone reeaalllly knows the whole place is f#cked.
Ross Gittins defends his right to call it a recession no matter what the data say. Interestingly, a week ago he was writing on [...]

By Trevor Cook | Posted in Advertising & marketing, Business & economics, Federal politics, Media, Politics | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

A triumph for Australian economic policy makers

June 3, 2009 – 12:05 pm

Today’s news that the Australian economy actually grew during the March quarter is remarkable. Sure we’re not out of the woods yet but the contrast between Australia’s performance and that of much of the rest of the world is notable. It appears that exports and consumer spending have been the main factors in the favourable [...]

By Trevor Cook | Posted in Business & economics, Federal politics | Tagged , | Comments (0)

NSW government tries to stay relevant in health system future

June 3, 2009 – 7:12 am

In a well-executed media stunt (labelled an ‘exclusive’ by the Daily Telegraph, LOL) the NSW Government has come up with an idea to try and carve out a future in the (mis)management of the state’s health system. Apart from being an ‘exclusive’, the stunt also has two other elements designed to give it media appeal: [...]

By Trevor Cook | Posted in Federal politics, Media, NSW politics, Newspapers, Public Relations, Social issues | Tagged , , , , | Comments (1)

Is Oakes too kind to Rudd?

June 1, 2009 – 8:37 am

Yesterday, Andrew Bolt got a bit scathing and dirty on the ABC’s Insiders about veteran press gallery journalist Laurie Oakes. Bolt said that Liberals were  ’concerned’ about Oakes’ reporting, whatever that amounts to.   The immediate cause of Bolt’s attack was Oakes’ ‘ambush’ of Turnbull during the week over the Opposition Leader’s inclusion on the [...]

By Trevor Cook | Posted in Federal politics, Media, Politics | Tagged | Comments (4)

Simpsons and smoking; public health research sinks to a new low

June 1, 2009 – 7:36 am

From the ‘who funds this nonsense’ file comes this  ludicrous  quote:
The researchers noted that even “in instances of smoking being reflected in a negative way, particularly among younger characters, could have an impact on prompting children to smoke cigarettes.”
If anyone really believed this then surely we would immediately cancel all those anti-smoking ads?
The research found that [...]

By Trevor Cook | Posted in Advertising & marketing, Media, Social issues | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Silly me, I thought Rudd was serious on defence

June 1, 2009 – 5:20 am

Last month, I was alarmed by the Rudd Government’s expressed intentions to arm us to the teeth at great expense in response to some supposed ‘China threat’. I wrote a stream of alarmed posts. Not only didn’t the Government’s position make much sense in strategic terms, but I just couldn’t see how we could afford [...]

By Trevor Cook | Posted in Federal politics, Foreign policy | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)