Short & Sweet - week beginning November 14

Let's catch up: Why do I write sooooo much? Is it covering all bases in a journalistic sense or covering up for some inadequacy issue? Why do I find it a psychological strain to update social media accounts? Is it wrong to pillage someone's personal life for the purpose of a story, let alone a flash-in-the-pan blog post? These are some of the questions that came up last week as I navigated my way around JUSTB and had behind-the-scenes chats with journalists. Besides that, I attended a book launch for my dear friend Aliki Flodine, who is unreal, and some other Christian authors published by Wombat Books. More on her book, Fine Lines, to come. (That's her signing a book just for me!).

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Aesthete: Golden opportunities

Aesthete: Golden opportunities

Hello, did you hear the Gold Coast won the Commonwealth Games bid for 2018? Of course you did! So a moment to revel in this golden opportunity for the economy, tourism and Gold Coastian self-esteem, and to consider the aesthetic delight to be found in a pair of golden Converse kicks (The Sartorialist), a yellow feature wall (care of T Magazine) and Inside Out's Christmas cover.

Girl With a Satchel

Book Shelf: Maggie Alderson's Evangeline a Christian allegory?

Book Shelf: Evangeline - a lovely Christian allegory?

Maggie Alderson's debut children's novel, Evangeline: The Wishkeeper's Daughter, introduces us to a toy African elephant with a timid demeanour called Evangeline. For a very long time, Evangeline has been "lying around on her own with no one to talk to and nothing to do", long since discarded by the little girl with the big, brown eyes who used to cuddle her in bed at night, and replaced by a toy duck. One day, Evangeline finds herself at the foot of the bed with a bunny rabbit called Robert. 

Evangeline had taught herself to make the best of things on the floor, counting the slats in the bed above her head and watching dust balls and such. She was a good little elephant to her core, though she'd been cast aside and flung around and trampled by the world. 

Evangeline then finds herself inside a black plastic bag. Could she be "Upstairs" in the secret place where toys go to when their child owners no longer have need for them? What is to become of her?

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Film School: I Don't Know How She Does It

Film School: I Don't Know How She Does It

New York streetscapes! Snowflakes! SJP! What more to a movie could there be? A lot, according to some reviewers, including the Herald Sun's Leigh Paatsch, who called I Don't Know How She Does It "sappy and crappy"; Variety's Ronnie Scheib, who called it "out of step with contemporary reality and humorless"; and The Vine's Sinead McFly, who called it "unsatisfying". 

Defiant of the negative reviews, I decided to take in a screening with my husband in tow this week. We both thought it was charming.

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Media: Which magazines are Aussies reading?

Media: Which magazines are Aussies reading?

Just as less Aussies bought up newspapers over the past year (with the exception of The Age and Sunday Age in Victoria), they were also reluctant to snaffle up gossip titles on the shop floor, with women's weekly magazine sales falling 4.2% across the board in the year to September.

While Pacific Magazines' Who and ACP's Grazia made nominal gains, shoppers were right off NW, which lost 15.4% of its circulation (now 105,000 per week), according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation's September report.

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Covers: TimeOut Healthy Living Supplement

Covers: TimeOut Healthy Living Supplement

TimeOut really is doing a great job of navigating the print/digital divide, demonstrating that with a strong brand it truly can be done. In June, the British edition won a PPA 'International Consumer Magazine of the Year' award for the second successive year. And now the Australian operations have expanded into a print edition in Melbourne, which launched on October 26, edited by former Triple J magazine editor Jenny Valentish, off the back of an iPhone app and website.   

"Original journalism and awesome photography is at the heart of everything we do and Melbourne will deserve the best that we can deliver," said TimeOut Australia managing director Justin Etheridge. "We're starting with a monthly magazine, weekly newsletter, daily tweets with website and a free app updated hourly. And all written by locals, for locals."

A recent collaborative effort saw TimeOut Sydney publish a 'Healthy Living' guide in association with Weight Watchers (tagline: "Eat well, live well this spring").

With the cover photography shot at Glebe Point Diner and editorial that matched activities (a seaside stroll; golf at Moore Park; cultural sight seeing in the city; bowling at Balmain; picnic at Lady Robinson Beach; dancing at Walsh Bay; bike riding at Manly Beach) with foodie haunts, the mini magazine made an impressive addition to the TimeOut package. Well done to creative director Phil Bunting, editor Nick Dent and the team. It's this sort of synchronicity that keeps mags in business.

Girl With a Satchel

Media & Culture: A good magazine for kids (an oxymoron?)

Media & Culture: A good mag for kids? 

No junk mail: the ad-free FamilyFun Kids magazine

"He wore jeans and sneakers and a bag slung across his t-shirted chest (heavy with graphic novels). I watched him go. He looked so happy. He was happy to have a sushi interlude, he was happy that it was after school, he was happy to see his friends and he was happy to have somewhere to go where he could be independent and feel grown up. I watched him bumpily scoot away." 

I just love these words by Pip Lincolne, in a post called 'Lighten Up', about her 11-year-old. They paint a portrait of boyhood unhindered. Of a child who reads and scoots and wears sneakers and eats sushi.   

Any media that supports the boundless possibilities of childhood is Tip Top great (brand pun intended) in my view. So imagine my delight with the news of a kids’ magazine with NO ADVERTISING (hello, you might say, would make it a book!), which joins PLOC on the block. 

FamilyFun Kids is geared towards six to 12-year-olds and published by Disney in America (its parent publication, Disney FamilyFun, is published by ACP in Australia). "Many studies show that creative thinking is critical for kids to develop as students and thinkers, yet unfortunately, U.S. creativity scores are declining, and arts programs are being cut," says Ann Hallock, the Editorial Director for the magazine. 

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Media: John Hartigan steps down as News Limited Chief Executive

Media: John Hartigan steps down at News

Amidst the media maelstrom that is the Independent Print Media Inquiry, Rupert Murdoch today announced that John Hartigan will step down as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of News Limited. Here is the word from News Corporate Affairs verbatim:

“John’s decision will end a distinguished 41 year career with News in which he has given us exemplary service and incredible leadership,” Mr Murdoch said. 

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Arts, Media & Culture: Glamour, Muppets, Mindy Kaling & Oprah Magazine

Arts, Media & Culture Update: Glamour, Muppets, Mindy Kaling & Oprah Magazine

Gloria Steinem, Glamour Lifetime Achievement Award winner showcasing The Australian

Glamour magazine has hosted its Women of the Year awards, recognising achievers in politics, design, art, science and the performing arts. The event, as always, attracted many high-profile women, including trailblazing feminist and Lifetime Achievement Award winner Gloria Steinem. Other Award winners included Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona politician shot in the head earlier this year, Egypt's "Facebook girl" Esraa Abdel Fattah and Arianna Huffington, who said, "There is not a successful woman who has not failed along the way. Failure is not the opposite of success. It’s a stepping stone to success." Glamour editor-in-chief Cindi Leive quoted Madeline Albright when she said, "There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women."

It's the time of year when Oprah gets to play Kris Kringle. Actress Emmy Rossum is lending her support to O The Oprah Magazine by appearing in an eight-page holiday fashion feature, which shows you how to work glittery pants, bow ties and head-to-toe white (keep mum's trifle away from that ensemble!). Without Oprah's show to support her magazine's 'Favourite Things' issue this year (cue audience hysterics about receiving EVERYTHING on her list), we don't know how popular it will be, but the team has still gone to the effort to select "Gifts for you and the people you love". I wonder if Santa is budgeting this Christmas? Thank heavens love is for free.

Entertainment Weekly recently dubbed Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, Mike & Molly, SNL) the 'New Queen of Comedy'. Meanwhile, Helen Lewis Hasteley writes, 'Why aren't funny women on TV?' for the New Statesman. 

Actress/comedian/shopper Mindy Kaling is the darling of the books scene right now thanks to the debut of her book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?Entertainment Weekly's Aly Semigran includes it in a roundup of 'books that make you lose it in public'. You can read the chapters 'Best Friend Rights and Responsibilities' and 'Don't Peak in High School' online. 

To complete the funny lady trifecta, Tina Fey is taking to the airwaves with a radio special for girls. Returning to her Mean Girls roots (did you know she wrote the script?) The Huffington Post reports that Fey will narrate two hour-long specials for NPR's The Hidden World of Girls, a program produced by Peabody Award winners, The Kitchen Sisters. "According to the producers' website, The Hidden World of Girls aims to report "stories of coming of age, rituals and rites of passage, secret identities—of women who crossed a line, blazed a trail, changed the tide." Awesome. 

"Youse All Should Be Able to Speak Good!" was the catchcry of the ABC's Style Forum, which showcased a "word nerd" panel, including legendary crossword guy David Astle and linguist Kate Burridge, who debate the pros and cons of mass media and its influence on modern English." Crucially, the eloquent panel asks, "Is the influence of mass media on our language making us myopic, superficial and obsessed with gossip? Or have we always been this way?" In the words of a true Queenslander, "Sounds good, hey." 

Frank Oz (the original voice of Miss Piggy) isn't the only one who's less than thrilled with The Muppets. The new movie, starring Amy Adams and Jason Segel, has been ill-received at the Savannah Film Festival where the cinephiles are cruel. Oh, Kermie! But film student Caroline Nead put the high-brow haters in their place: “If the Muppets can’t brighten your day, you need to go see more Muppet movies.” The Muppets aren't alone in attracting cinematic derision: a movie poster for Larry Crowne, starring Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks, has been given the thumbs down in Spain for their lack of motorcycle helmets. Like the Euro, advertising doesn't always translate across country borders.  


Probably the most handy and helpful thing I've read for teens on body image of late is Consume magazine, which is published by the Eating Disorders Association and edited by Desi Achilleos. It is full of down-to-earth material that takes a broad brush-stroke approach to modern life for teens covering everything from self-esteem and self-care to nutritional information, spirituality, politics, social responsibility, bullying and 'Pornography in the digital age'. 

Speaking of which... Agony Aunt E.Jean from American ELLE magazine has a few things to say about porn. See also the comment thread about porn creep in advertising and marketing at mUmBRELLA.


Visiting Bondi? Live in close proximity? Melbourne Gastronome recommends the ultra-laidback Jed's Food Store for a bit of tasty nosh. "I can recommend the Zapatista Eggs (Chiapas style scrambled eggs and corn tortilla, served with pickled cactus and white corn, coriander, avocado, crumbled cheese and green salsa for $16.50). For a bit of extra kick, season to taste with any of the FOUR El Yucateco hot salsas on offer." 


The Sartorialist Scott Schuman may lost the plot temporarily, posting a picture of a tiny tot with a pacifier in her mouth for ogling (we really need to refine the parameters for publishing children's images, I think – it's a warped webby world out there). The funny thing? Fashionista notes negative comments that went up about the fact that little ones should lose the dummy by the time they're three. So, judgement for mums, but no mention of the objectification of a girl who can't be more than four years old (i.e. challenging this new cultural standard). Tiny Tots in High Heels? This obsession with youth is just getting worse.  

Street style has become entrenched spectator sport – footy for the more fashionably inclined (and a religion unto itself). An international photographic exhibition of street fashion called 'Meet The Locals' is taking place at The Camera Club, Bondi Beach, from Thursday December 1, which could prove interesting. Amongst the images will be 80-year-old Joyce clutching her Chanel bag by Ari Seth Cohen of advancedstyle.blogspot.com, New York. 

On that note, savvy Aussie blogger Camilla Peffer has shared some thoughts on the negative effects of personal style blog iconography and Tumblr thinspiration. Disturbing. And diminishing. What would Gloria Steinman say? We get liberation and then enslave ourselves to something else! Insane. 

A new documentary film pays tribute to New York Times style snapper Bill Cunningham, the original sartorialist. He's an odd kind of bloke has made a career out of chasing aesthetically intriguing people around New York, from charity event to runway show, and writing commentary too. And yet, he sleeps in a less than salubrious setting, pedals around town on an old bike, owns minimal clothing and accepts no payment for his work. "His life is one of monastic solitude and simplicity," one reviewer said. This reminds me of a unique man named Arthur Stace who went all about Sydney scribbling the word 'Eternity'. 

"I see it. I like it. I make it," is Erica Domesek's mantra. The P.S. I Made This' creator is leading the DIY charge in New York, turning pencil cases into clutches (sponsored by Sharpie) and canvas bags into Hermès-like totes. A trend prime for recession-weary fashion lovers, Domesek and her ilk have given a boost to craft suppliers. She's profiled by The Wall Street Journal and Teen Vogue's November issue features a story called 'Craft Work' which tracks Domesek's time in a Guanacaste elementary school.

"Doing well by doing good is one of my mantras, especially when it focuses on children and art," she says. "We take things for granted. The larger-than-life reactions from these kids remind me to be grateful and appreciate life every day – which they clearly do." She helped the kids make personal messenger bags.

An edit of this post appeared this morning at JUSTB. 

Girl With a Satchel

Covers: Spectacular Jenny Kee for Sunday Life

Covers: Spectacular Jenny Kee for Sunday Life

A big thumbs up to Sunday Life magazine (published in the Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age) for this fantastic Jenny Kee cover. Kee wears a range of scarves artfully put together to form one spectacular dress... A colourful celebration of fashion without the generic sexy-face pouts? Whee... that's what we like to see!

Girl With a Satchel

The Media Satchel - November 8

This morning, while not at the Media Inquiry, I was witness to two groups of men in a cafe bantering about theology and politics. "Where are the women to banter with me?" I lamented in my best Eeyore voice. And then I went online and stumbled across some impressive things. Depression somewhat abated.  

Anyway, this is the Google Book blurb for Women's Press Organizations 1881-1999, which looks to be a GWAS must-read: "This book is a description and analysis of forty women's press organizations that have been key to the development of women writers of the press since the first established organization in 1881... The main purpose of these organizations was to provide women with a place where they could discuss professional issues and career strategies at a time when they were largely excluded from or marginalized by male-dominated media institutions." A timely find, indeed! 

The Independent Media Inquiry held its first public hearings in Melbourne today. This follows the Greens' call for investigations into media bias off the back of the News of the World saga... which was about unconscionable behaviour. Officiated by Federal Court Judge Ray Finkelstein, the Inquiry aims to examine the contemporary state of the print media, including print and online, and the operations of the Press Council as a regulatory body. Issues of bias, ownership and diversity have been raised. Professor Robert Mann (La Trobe University), Dr Martin Hirst (Deakin University) and Crikey's Eric Beecher and Steven Mayne have already come before the Inquiry. Where are the women? 

The Sydney Morning Herald has called the inquiry unnecessary. The Law Council of Australia agrees, the Press Council is idealistic, The Australian is decidedly sanguine and the (News Limited owned) Herald Sun's Neil Mitchell had a few stern words for Bob Brown.  

Herald Sun deputy editor Jill Baker won the Sir Keith Murdoch Award for Journalism at the News Awards last week for her feature about losing her husband 12 weeks before she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Simon Eroro from the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier won Scoop of the Year. He was circumcised with bamboo sticks to get his story.Yikes! Now that's something to really cry about. 

The New Yorker is getting its first creative director as the masthead now stretches across a magazine, website, iPad edition, other tablet editions, e-books, hard books, cards, calenders, The New Yorker Festival and so on, reports WWD. Wyatt Mitchell will be responsible for the look of all but the covers and cartoons. Speaking of which, on Saturday night Australian cartoonists will celebrate The Stanleys.

The Enchanted Times - a fairytale satire of news media.

Zines are all the rage with disenchanted media consumers who like their media personalised, niche and on paper. This is contributing to "a flowering in print", according to one New York librarian. "Lately, it seems, the zine is enjoying something of a comeback among the Web-savvy, partly in reaction to the ubiquity of the Internet," writes Jenna Wortham for The New York Times. "Their creators say zines offer a respite from the endless onslaught of tweets, blog posts, I.M.’s, e-mail and other products of digital media." GWAS is enamoured with The Enchanted Times. 

The 7PM Project's extended hour and move to 6.30pm has proved a boon so far for Network Ten. The less formal news panel style show has attracted more people in Ten's key demographic, ages 16 to 39, reports mUmBRELLA.

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Culture: Agony, mistakes and misogyny (as seen at JUSTB)

Culture: Agony, mistakes and misogyny

It's not just women bloggers who face trolling issues and not just men who perpetuate unthinking misogyny. As noted in Pip's blog and the JUSTB Facebook page yesterday, women and women's media are highly capable of conveying ideas that undermine women, whether intentional or not. Sometimes it starts in high school (Princess Bitchface Syndrome and Queen Bees and Wannabees) and doesn't stop.

Pictures that pit one woman against another; celebrating beauty, hotness or thinness at the expense of character strengths or achievements; unnecessary attention to flaws; playing on weaknesses; spreading rumours; Schadenfreude... Capital ick!

Archaic patriarchal business models, 'this is just how we do things' mindlessness or fear of challenging the status quo all contribute to the problem. It's very few women's magazines, websites or blogs who can confidently say, 'I do nothing to the detriment of women!'.

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