It might be wishful thinking, wild speculation or even fake news, but the suggestion that talks are going on in Townsville to set up a news source to challenge the Murdoch Townsville Bulletin in particular and ginger up the rest of the northern media in the process has created much interest . The first inkling of such a much needed development surfaced in North Queensland's liveliest and most (im) peck-able website , The Magpie's Nest , run by veteran journalist Malcolm Weatherup, a former Townsville Bulletin reporter, who is owed more than $500,000 by the Murdoch stable for defaming him .
Correspondence sent to the aggressive bird included the claim that some reporters made redundant at the Townsville Bulletin are engaged in talks to start up a news centre . Fairly regularly ( almost every week ) , using a mixed non- avian expression , the Magpie aims a peck of pickled peppers and pungent pars at the The Bulletin , calling it the Daily Astonisher.
The Magpie recently took the Bulletin to task for sensationally running a map showing Cyclone Debbie tracking straight at Townsville saying all of North Queensland was panicking in expectation of 280kph destructive winds.
Also given a serve by the feathered one , with a typically clever drawing by the in house ( nest ) cartoonist , Bentley , were television reporters who stood out in the open covering the cyclone story , further south , risking life and limb , while saying people should stay inside because of the danger of flying debris .
Darwin readers of this blog well know that the local Murdoch paper, The Northern Territory News , for years has used the possibility of a cyclone, no matter how far away , as great front page news to boost sales when crocs and aliens from another planet have not been sighted for a few weeks .
The Magpie also got stuck into the Townsville City Council for paying for a Townsville Bulletin reporter to accompany the mayoral party which flew to India with the Queensland premier , Annastacia Palaszczuk , like a cage of tame Mynah birds singing a song of sixpence , to further roll out the red carpet for Adani . If the giant Murdoch empire cannot pay for a reporter to go on such a jaunt , it is a wonder that the Wall Street Journal did not start an immediate in depth probe into the financial viability of the outfit, but then Rupert owns the Wall Street Journal .
The Magpie rightly made great play over a strange editorial in the Townsville Bulletin which carried an implied threat to Adani that if it did not make Townsville the FIFO hub for the proposed highly contentious Carmichael mine there would be consequences...presumably the sky could fall in on the company , as predicted by Chicken Licken , and nasty things would undoubtedly be written about it in the paper .
"Geez,Adani must be shitting themselves," was how the relentless media bird responded . The editorial said ... It is to be hoped Adani does not forget who backed it when it desperately needed local support . Townsville is a generous city with a big heart . But it also has a long memory . Failure to anoint Townsville as the FIFO choice will have consequences .
Each edition of The Magpie's Nest ends with a reminder that a donation from any reader would help the old bird's pecker to continue functioning , enabling him to occasionally indulge in a second caraway seed.
BREAKING NEWS
There is a huge flap in Townsville media circles over the following announcement in the Magpie's Nest :
The Magpie’s site will now have the flexibility to add new pages as the need or whim dictates. We hope in the near future to persuade Terry Butts to return with his own page, with news from his crowded world. Other possible pages in the future could be restaurant reviews (fair dinkum ones), book reviews, a travel page, perhaps a DIY page.
( Darwin readers will recall that Butts , well known in horse racing circles, once worked in Darwin . He and a former NT News editor , the late John Hogan , a former editor of the Townsville paper , were close friends . Butts was involved in an incident related to Peacocks which spooked nags at the Townsville racetrack , so working with the Magpie, who spooks the local paper and its editor , plus numerous others, would be a good match .)
The announcement goes on to say this expansion will be of interest to the Magpie’s growing and merry band of readers. Suggestions welcome, especially from anyone who would like to contribute on a specialist subject. Contact the old bird at townsvillemagpie@gmail.com
The Magpie recently took the Bulletin to task for sensationally running a map showing Cyclone Debbie tracking straight at Townsville saying all of North Queensland was panicking in expectation of 280kph destructive winds.
Also given a serve by the feathered one , with a typically clever drawing by the in house ( nest ) cartoonist , Bentley , were television reporters who stood out in the open covering the cyclone story , further south , risking life and limb , while saying people should stay inside because of the danger of flying debris .
Darwin readers of this blog well know that the local Murdoch paper, The Northern Territory News , for years has used the possibility of a cyclone, no matter how far away , as great front page news to boost sales when crocs and aliens from another planet have not been sighted for a few weeks .
The Magpie also got stuck into the Townsville City Council for paying for a Townsville Bulletin reporter to accompany the mayoral party which flew to India with the Queensland premier , Annastacia Palaszczuk , like a cage of tame Mynah birds singing a song of sixpence , to further roll out the red carpet for Adani . If the giant Murdoch empire cannot pay for a reporter to go on such a jaunt , it is a wonder that the Wall Street Journal did not start an immediate in depth probe into the financial viability of the outfit, but then Rupert owns the Wall Street Journal .
The Magpie rightly made great play over a strange editorial in the Townsville Bulletin which carried an implied threat to Adani that if it did not make Townsville the FIFO hub for the proposed highly contentious Carmichael mine there would be consequences...presumably the sky could fall in on the company , as predicted by Chicken Licken , and nasty things would undoubtedly be written about it in the paper .
"Geez,Adani must be shitting themselves," was how the relentless media bird responded . The editorial said ... It is to be hoped Adani does not forget who backed it when it desperately needed local support . Townsville is a generous city with a big heart . But it also has a long memory . Failure to anoint Townsville as the FIFO choice will have consequences .
Each edition of The Magpie's Nest ends with a reminder that a donation from any reader would help the old bird's pecker to continue functioning , enabling him to occasionally indulge in a second caraway seed.
BREAKING NEWS
There is a huge flap in Townsville media circles over the following announcement in the Magpie's Nest :
The Magpie’s site will now have the flexibility to add new pages as the need or whim dictates. We hope in the near future to persuade Terry Butts to return with his own page, with news from his crowded world. Other possible pages in the future could be restaurant reviews (fair dinkum ones), book reviews, a travel page, perhaps a DIY page.
( Darwin readers will recall that Butts , well known in horse racing circles, once worked in Darwin . He and a former NT News editor , the late John Hogan , a former editor of the Townsville paper , were close friends . Butts was involved in an incident related to Peacocks which spooked nags at the Townsville racetrack , so working with the Magpie, who spooks the local paper and its editor , plus numerous others, would be a good match .)
The announcement goes on to say this expansion will be of interest to the Magpie’s growing and merry band of readers. Suggestions welcome, especially from anyone who would like to contribute on a specialist subject. Contact the old bird at townsvillemagpie@gmail.com
