Editors’ Rant - Feb 2012
- February, 2012   If you’re a Tribune fan (and we guess you must be since you’re reading this and if you’re not reading this then we... |
Preface to a Counter Protest
- February, 2012  Defence of the Fertility Control Clinic The front gate of the Fertility Control Clinic in East Melbourne is a frontline of... |
I’m not a climate scientist but...
- February, 2012  Anyone who’s ever been in a car with children will know that when they’re not crying, pulling each other’s hair or... |
What We Talk About When We Talk About Socialism
- February, 2012  The taxi driver in Maui picked the accent straight away. “Look out!” he said. “The Aussies are here!” Turns out he used to... |
Science
- February, 2012  First of all, let me make it very clear: I do not have a problem with science. Secondly, let me make it even clearer: I... |
Intelligent Design - It's NOT Science
- February, 2012  Perhaps I should preface this article with “I’m not a scientist, but…”. A long time ago, people used to believe that it... |
Getting Rid of the Ute
- February, 2012  I never used to drive my car. It sat outside my house, different random parts either rusting or drying out depending on... |
Why I Can’t Get Behind Soften The Fck Up
- February, 2012  Soften The Fck Up is an initiative aimed at breaking down the “tough Aussie bloke” façade and getting men to open up to... |
Weddings
- February, 2012  In the last six weeks of 2011, I attended six weddings. Week after week I found myself donning a suit to spend the day... |
On SOPA
- February, 2012  I imagine most of you reading this have a blog or your own little website, a place where you’ve invested time and energy... |
A History Of Stupidity
- February, 2012  In 1796 a very special and very dangerous kind of idiot was born. Smallpox was running rampant throughout Europe until a... |
Gaming is for Grown Ups
- February, 2012  As a full-time technology journalist who has specialised in the critiquing of video games for over a decade, you’d be... |
Simulation
- February, 2012  Oh yes, I’m the great pretender |
Nigella, The Antechinus Family, And The West’s...
- February, 2012  I used to love watching acclaimed kitchen goddess, the luscious Nigella Lawson, when she first appeared on the small... |
Political Affiliation
- February, 2012  Some people hold political affiliations with an almost religious fervour. Their political beliefs shape everything, from... |
Lessons from A Caravan Park
- February, 2012  Most of us have memories of staying in a caravan park. Whether it was as kids, parents, schoolies or backpackers, the... |
Resurrecting the Hors d’Œuvre Course
- February, 2012  An hors d’œuvre course to the French, like antipasto to the Italians, is the start of the midday meal. Individual, small,... |
Wine Online
- February, 2012  Wine retailing, like the rest of the retailing world, is going through a bit of a seismic shift from bricks & mortar to... |
Cryptic Crossword - Feb12
- February, 2012 As always, first correctly completed cryptic crossword sent to |
Political Affiliation
- February, 2012 Some people hold political affiliations with an almost religious fervour. Their political beliefs shape everything, from... |
Preface to a Counter Protest
- February, 2012 Defence of the Fertility Control Clinic The front gate of the Fertility Control Clinic in East Melbourne is a frontline of... |
On SOPA
- February, 2012 I imagine most of you reading this have a blog or your own little website, a place where you’ve invested time and energy... |
Australia’s School Funding Quagmire
- January, 2012  Australia has one of the most complex, inconsistent and opaque school funding arrangements in the developed world. You... |
What We Talk About When We Talk About Socialism
- February, 2012 The taxi driver in Maui picked the accent straight away. “Look out!” he said. “The Aussies are here!” Turns out he used to... |
I Have A Question And My Question Is This:
- January, 2012  Who the fuck am I meant to vote for at the next Federal election? This is not a rhetorical question. I really want to... |
Lessons from A Caravan Park
- February, 2012 Most of us have memories of staying in a caravan park. Whether it was as kids, parents, schoolies or backpackers, the... |
A Conspiracy Of Feathered Simpletons
- January, 2012  And then, of course, there’s the question of the evolutionary future of pigeons. A while ago, through a series of... |
Weddings
- February, 2012 In the last six weeks of 2011, I attended six weddings. Week after week I found myself donning a suit to spend the day... |
Thank You, Batman
- October, 2011  Time is a mighty river, and I am an ominously unpiloted rental kayak floating past the picnic area. It’s my first day at a... |
Science
- February, 2012 First of all, let me make it very clear: I do not have a problem with science. Secondly, let me make it even clearer: I... |
From Swords to Soundbites - HENRY I
- October, 2011  King Henry I of England, known to later generations as Henry Beauclerc, the Lion Of Justice, succeeded his flamboyant... |
Simulation
- February, 2012 Oh yes, I’m the great pretender |
On SOPA
- February, 2012 I imagine most of you reading this have a blog or your own little website, a place where you’ve invested time and energy... |
Gaming is for Grown Ups
- February, 2012 As a full-time technology journalist who has specialised in the critiquing of video games for over a decade, you’d be... |
Why I Can’t Get Behind Soften The Fck Up
- February, 2012 Soften The Fck Up is an initiative aimed at breaking down the “tough Aussie bloke” façade and getting men to open up to... |
A History Of Stupidity
- February, 2012 In 1796 a very special and very dangerous kind of idiot was born. Smallpox was running rampant throughout Europe until a... |
Credentials & Democratic Decline
- October, 2011  ‘People should be aware of what’s out there. And not believe what they read just because it’s written.’ Astro-turf... |
Dear AFL: It's called a DRAW not a network wishlist
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As you know, I’ve always had something to shout about when it comes to the AFL. Many many Tribunes ago I crunched the numbers for a season and put in plain terms how the League was running things for the benefit of a few teams (well, one team: Collingwood), and absolutely fucking most of the rest, but in particular the weaker ones.
So, the 2010 draw is out, and before I launch into it, I have to give some credit for the things they appear to have got right. The timing of Round 22 games is not yet set, allowing a fair break before the finals. Good. The Grand Final rematch isn’t buried in the Season Opening hooplah, instead we wait until Round 13; hopefully the Saints and Cats will both be as blistering as they were this year and the game will deliver.
Righto, that’s the good things, now let’s quickly examine what they’ve done. As we all know, the TV networks have ponied up nearly $200 million a year, so they have a bit of a say in which teams play and when. However it seems that, when it comes to scheduling games for ratings and therefore revenue, the networks are the only stakeholder that’s considered.
Therefore, yet again, Collingwood play the best games at the best venues, and have eighteen games on free to air. Contrast this with North Melbourne, who have eight. We all know Friday night’s the biggest rater of the round, so the Roos have one all year. Collingwood have 5, along with another 7 Saturday nights.
I shouldn’t really need to go into it again, but the simple fact is that if you ain’t on free to air in high-rating slots, your brand is worth less to your sponsors. Collingwood do not need anymore money or TV exposure. North, along with the other financial minnows, desperately do.
Time was, we could, only half-joking, blame the Collingwood bias on the fact that Eddie Everywhere ran the Footy Show and, for a time, Channel 9, so the AFL kowtowed. Now that Brayshaw’s wielding the whip and chair on what is, regrettably, an enormously popular TV show, surely he should be able to get his Roos a slightly tastier piece of the shit sandwich?
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