The Concatenate

Dear Concatenate subscribers and readers,

It has now been over a year since I launched this service/site and sadly while there have been numerous successes, attracting enough subscribers to make it financially viable has not been amongst them.

Over the next few days we will be turning the site into a more open one, albeit with less frequent updates.

Subscribers who have received less than their full year’s subscription and wish to seek a pro rata refund should email concat@theconcat.com.au and we will return the undelivered portion of your subscription.

Thank you very much for your encouragement and support in the last year.

Regards,

John Griffiths.

The Guardian informs us that François Fillon has been appointed the Prime Minister of France by his long term boss, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Fillon is unusual in having a British wife and being a professed fan of Tony Blair.

The following media release is doing the rounds:

FRIDAY 18 MAY 2007

EDDIE MCGUIRE CHANGES ROLE AT

NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA

Eddie McGuire, AM, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nine Network Australia today announced that he would move from his Chief Executive role at the Network to an increased presence on air and the provision of creative and programming services.

Mr McGuire said the change in role would take effect from June 30, 2007.

“The Network is well positioned for growth,” said Mr McGuire. “There has been significant restructuring and Nine is on track for an improved profit in 2006/07. The Network will also benefit in 2007/08 from increased investment in local programming and I am confident that the Network is in a strong position.”

Mr McGuire said he had greatly enjoyed the executive role but said: “I am of the view that my best contribution to Nine is in the creative elements of the business and that has prompted this change.”

“I am looking forward to the change in role and to continue working with the executive team at Nine. I have made a commitment for the next 5 years and we have a clear mandate to produce the best local content in Australia.”

Ian Law, the Chief Executive Officer of PBL Media Pty Limited said that Nine had benefited greatly from Mr McGuire¹s expertise.

Mr Law said: “Mr McGuire will continue as a key member of the executive team of Nine, and will work closely with the Director of Programming on concepts and ideas for new shows.”

“During Mr McGuire¹s tenure as CEO the company has gone through significant structural changes and in that time Nine has been able to out perform the financial benchmarks set. This is a great achievement given the circumstances of the past 12 months.

“It has become clear over the past 12 months that Mr. McGuire’s absence from on air as a key host has impacted on the ratings of the Network.

“The performance of 1 v 100 in addition to his executive duties shows how significant Eddie¹s contribution can be to our on air line up.”

Mr Law said the change in role of Mr McGuire would bring some changes to the management structure at Nine.

“We are not proposing to directly replace the role of CEO of Nine. The existing Nine Network management team headed up by Jeffrey Browne (Executive Director) will take the Network forward.

“The new management structure at Nine will also continue the process of integrating all the media properties in PBL Media Pty Limited including the Nine Network Australia, ACP Magazines, and our interests in ninemsn, carsales and myhome.com.au.

“We are committed to using our various media platforms to add value to advertisers, viewers and readers,” Mr Law said.

Ends.

For further information or interviews, contact:

Arabella Gibson, Nine Network Australia

P: 02 9282 8884 M: 0412 906 157 E: agibson@pblmedia.com.au

And that, dear reader, is how you polish a turd.

The ABC has the astonishing news that the introduction of shield laws protecting media sources is going to be delayed in Western Australia because the WA Attorney-General, Jim McGinty, dislikes the West Australian newspaper so much.

“The so-called shield laws which protect journalists from having to reveal their sources are being discussed nationally, and would require state-based legislation. Mr McGinty says until standards improve at The West, he won’t support the new laws.

PC World has a take on Google’s very brave radical overhaul of it’s most popular feature, the search engine.

It is much needed as the noise filling up Google’s results has dramatically worsened over the last 12 months with the explosive growth of the Search Engine Optimisation business (SEO).

Time will tell if the public like the changes with lots of mixed media thrown into the results instead of just links to other web pages.

[First filed: May 17, 2007 @ 11:56]

AAP, via News, reports that the Robertson children, at the centre of recent media attention for their unplanned trip to Tasmania with their dad, have gone missing again.

“The children’s mother, Philippa Yelland, reported her children missing from an address in Wooloowin, in Brisbane’s north, about 8am (AEST) today… Queensland police said Mr Robertson was not considered a suspect at this stage in the latest disappearance.”

UPDATE 1: The SMH now reports that the children have been found and police are questioning the man they were found with.

The Courier Mail has a funny story on the trouble Manchester’s David Williams got into when he left his life size Tomb Raider model in the window, complete with replica guns in Lara’s hands.

“When police saw a gun-wielding suspect lurking in the shadows of a suburban front room, their response was swift.

Armed officers burst into the house, shouted at the owner to lie on the floor, and ordered him to surrender his weapon.

There has, of course, been no apology and David spent 13 hours being questioned and has now been bailled on a firearms offence. This being the UK he should consider himself lucky he didn’t get bullets pumped into his head.

Harry

The SMH joins in the hoopla surrounding Prince Harry being barred from serving in Iraq after all. This is why princes used to serve in the navy where the action is robust but kidnappings are rather harder to organise.

—-

Red tape

The Age is dismayed by the volume of regulatory agencies and regulations plaguing business in Victoria.

—-

Miners exemption

The Australian brings word of a plan for a Labor Government to give the mining industry a special exemption to keep using AWAs until 2013. There are many other businesses which would also like to keep using AWAs, one wonders why mining is so special.

(more…)

AAP, via News, reports that John Howard is flying a kite about meeting the Dalai Lama on his upcoming visit to Australia.

Things are grim when we’re willing to jeopardise the China relationship for a couple of votes. On the other hand things are so tight in the commodities market there’s little to lose right now.

But the Chinese have very long memories.

The Daily Telegraph informs us that the franchise which saved the Xbox, Halo, is getting another rev. Halo 3 will launch on 23 September.

“Halo 3 is much more than a video game release, it’s potentially the biggest entertainment event of the year,” says Nick Segger, Microsoft group product marketing manager.

“There are those who said this day would never come. What are they to say now?”

The Register brings the happy news that rival makers of George W Bush themed “butt plugs” are threatening to take each other to court for copyright infringement.

A case for the ages.

Macbank

The SMH is carrying on about the multiples of an average wage that the Macquarie Bank’s Allan Moss earned last year, 747 times the average wage. With the bank’s booming profits shareholders might well feel he’s worth twice that.

—-

Top silk poisoned

The Age is alarmed that the prominent Melbourne QC, Peter Hayes, is fighting for his life in hospital after being poisoned by a suspected prostitute in Adelaide. Hayes was found unconcious in his hotel room by the ex Gypsy Joker gang member he was in Adelaide to represent.

—-

Saudis turn off the tap

The Australian has word that fundamentalist Islamic groups in Australia are feeling the pinch with Saudi Arabia finally cutting off their funding.

(more…)

The Daily Telegraph brings news that Sylvester Stallone has plead guilty to importing a controlled substance.

A sentence is due to be announced later today.

Extradition could get exciting if there’s a custodial sentence.

Town Hall

The SMH is very concerned that Sydney’s very busy and very old Town Hall railway station is prone to accidents (people falling onto the tracks) and lacks the wherewithal for evacuations.

—-

Bad cops?

The Age reports that Victoria’s Detective Inspector Bernie Rankin and three of his detectives have been charged over the beating of a suspect. Rankin is currently on secondment in the Solomon Islands.

—-

Building costs

The Australian is trying to scare us senseless with fears that Labor’s highly fluid IR policies could lead to industrial chaos in the building industry, in turn driving up the cost of constructing housing developments.

(more…)