If you can't think of anything to write, 'borrow' it from Crikey

Pinching from Crikey? I’m sure every media outlet does it, and Crikey itself contains (with attribution) an awful lot of stuff from other sources. Indeed, it has a media summary on the website most mornings. There’s a limited number of facts, amd a limited number of stories about them, so sometimes media will double up.

The Canberra Times is, however, a special case. It is craven in its dealings with business interest, cowardly in dealing with politics and reticent even on local sport. A fair bit of what it contains could be read earlier (and better written) elsewhere. It is about as likely to break a story (as distinct from rehash a media release) as Josef Ratzinger is to break his duck in the close interpersonal relationships field. It’s a dud newspaper, and a insult to the public.

Johnboy, it took less than a week for you to send an unprovoked cheap-shot in my direction. Was this an attempt to coax me back in to commenting on RiotACT as you said you wanted to see the last time we corresponded? If so, you succeeded, here I am, but only for a short time.

I should make one small correction to your reference to me. I never actually nominated for the federal election last year, therefore I didn’t contest the ballot, nor was I a candidate. “Failed political aspirant” perhaps, but I’m not a “failed political candidate”.

And I could have a go at you for your apparent disregard for the seriousness of depression, but I think you were just trying to ruffle some feathers and would just come back at me with some tripe about how I “misread your comments” and how “I’m still as naive as ever”, so I’m not going to waste my keystrokes.

A belated welcome back to RA Johnboy, it will be interesting to see what you do with the site over the coming months.

The CT is just turning into the SMH anyway since Fairfax bought its parent, stories are the same and 99% of them are now straight from AAP. Strangely enough its website is actually faster at getting Canberra stories out than the ABC.

@tickboom – this is a discussion about how we think about it and I support your comments.

The internet is not restricted by time. Society still needs to grasp this concept (and the ramifications of such avaliability) – I maintain my stance.

Maelinar: I think you’re missing the point. Just because SGS has left the post up there doesn’t entitle JB to mock him for it. Kicking someone while they’re down is pretty low. And you don’t get a much worse example than Johnboy’s oh-so-witty throwaway remark.

Johnboy: I think you were out of line.

And for what it’s worth, I totally agree with SGS on the Canberra Chronicle “buses in the rain” article. Even the CityNews wouldn’t publish that rubbish.

I’ll leave the remainder of the glaring wide open holes you have left for yourself to other Rioters.

Why should we send our whinges straight to the paper when we are aware that they are reading this site – alongside a whole lot more Canberrans than are subscribed to the CT ?

Being a former emplyee of CT i feel i must stand up for it somewhat. amazingly there are just normal everyday people there, they make mistakes. and if you (growling ferret) had any idea of newspaper deadlines and some of the tight turn around you get on stuff there im sure you have a different opinion about the whole thing.

im not saying it’s right to use others material without a credit. but accidents do happen. don’t hang the girl for it.
How about sending your whinges straight to the paper? telling someone they have done something wrong usually helps the problem. they print most of their e-mail addresses. or you can ring and voice your complaint…?? or are you just wanting someone to have a whinge about the local rag, just because its a major business instead of some trendy street press? i’d like to know if you’d be so bias if the same stuff appeared in BMA or citynews for example.

i think if you read a few papers you might see the same story appear just written a little differently. surprise! its called good news!
the CT guys have to write their stuff, get it subbed, past the editor and it has to be printed before it gets to your little clammy hands theres nothing to say they didnt write it first, crikey.com just has the beauty of internet instant upload.

That’s the problem with the internet, there is no such thing as time. Something is either said, or it is not said – such is the way of the bit and the byte.

If SGS no longer wanted to say something – other than trawling through goole cache of course – he’d take down or edit his site.

Personally, I like the way the internet can be used to concatenate (free plug for JB) information regardless of time (with appropriate disclaimer to google labs again with their search:timeline function). Simple things can be linked and we as society can finally move on, learning from our mistakes, instead of making the same ones again, and again, and again…

I’m with Tuggers, and while SGS flashed across my mind as I read the post, I didn’t know you’d actually linkedt o him.

Sure, SGS is a bit wierd, but kicking someone for a post about considering a rather drastic action a while back isn’t really a good thing, Jb.
(Especially considering the readers were just the other day commenting on someone feeling depressed. :|)

Recent posts have became quite heated and became directed at the poster, not the message. Catty comments about SGS by the editor don’t lift the bar.