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      <title>Who We Are</title>
      <link>http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/</link>
      <description>Who We Are: A weekly column about Australia, by David Dale.</description>
      <language>en</language>
      <copyright>Copyright 2010</copyright>
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            <item>
         <title>The Who We Are update: MKR approaches MC status</title>
         <description><![CDATA[To discuss if Oscars boost Australian audiences, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/03/tribal_oscars.html">The Tribal Mind</a>.
To explain why Australians don't report serious crimes, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/03/who_we_arecrime.html">Who We Are</a>.

<b>What Australiawatched, Tuesday</b>
<img alt="isaiahwashington.jpg" src="http://blogs.smh.com.au/entertainment/isaiahwashington.jpg" width="130" height="175" /> Description   Total   Sydney   Melbourne   Brisbane   Adelaide   Perth   
  1   MY KITCHEN RULES   Seven   1,563,000   444,000   513,000   260,000   152,000   194,000   
  2   SEVEN NEWS   Seven   1,446,000   351,000   411,000   289,000   168,000   227,000   
  3   TODAY TONIGHT   Seven   1,423,000   363,000   404,000   277,000   164,000   214,000   
  4   NCIS   Ten   1,409,000   393,000   389,000   275,000   159,000   193,000   
  5   TOP GEAR   Nine   1,314,000   317,000   380,000   287,000   148,000   182,000   
  6   NINE NEWS   Nine   1,159,000   331,000   357,000   222,000   110,000   139,000   
  7   A CURRENT AFFAIR   Nine   1,097,000   326,000   314,000   234,000   86,000   137,000   
  8   GREY'S ANATOMY   Seven   1,084,000   279,000   340,000   218,000   101,000   147,000     
  11   BONDI RESCUE   Ten   1,025,000   314,000   281,000   227,000   93,000   110,000      
  13   BROTHERS & SISTERS   Seven   899,000   247,000   315,000   141,000   83,000   113,000      
  18   SURVIVOR: HEROES VS VILLAINS -EP1   Nine   735,000   244,000   216,000   121,000   66,000   88,000   
  19   SURVIVOR: HEROES VS VILLAINS -EP2   Nine   710,000   234,000   212,000   118,000   59,000   86,000      
  21   THE 7PM PROJECT   Ten   694,000   171,000   174,000   197,000   84,000   68,000     
  60   BIG LOVE   SBS ONE   139,000   41,000   44,000   25,000   13,000   17,000      
  70   UGLY BETTY   7TWO   125,000   46,000   36,000   19,000   12,000   11,000      
  85   24   7TWO   97,000   21,000   37,000   16,000   10,000   13,000   
Continued <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/03/the_who_we_are_71.html">here</a>   ]]></description>
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         <pubDate>Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:52:22 +0900</pubDate>
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         <title>The Tribal Mind: How do we love Oscar? Count the ways</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<strong>by David Dale</strong>
THE OSCARS exist for one purpose: to boost audiences -- at the cinema, on TV and for DVDs. They achieve that goal pretty effectively in America, but what happens 12,000 kilometres away from LA's Kodak Theatre? Are Australians moved by the Hollywood hype?

On television, yes we are. Between noon and 4pm last Monday, 527,000 people in the mainland capitals sat through the live presentations from the Kodak, and later that same night, another 701,000 sat through three hours of edited highlights. In this year of sagging TV numbers, that makes the awards ceremony a huge hit. Mind you, last year Hugh Jackman attracted 1.2 million to the late night version alone, and another 545,000 to the daytime version. But he's always exceptional. It was still worth Channel Nine buying the rights this year.

<img alt="clooney.jpg" src="http://blogs.smh.com.au/sit/clooney.jpg" width="181" height="242" /> In cinemas, the Oscar effect is powerful. These were the nominated movies showing in Australian cinemas last week  (followed by their total earnings so far and the percentage change in ticket sales since the previous week): <em>The Blind Side</em> ($6.5 million, down 25 per cent during peak Oscar publicity); <em>Avatar</em> ($110m, down 36 per cent); <em>The Hurt Locker</em> ($2.2m, up 12 per cent); <em>A Single Man</em> ($745,000, down 13 per cent); <em>Up in The Air</em> ($8m, down 25 per cent); <em>Precious</em> ($1.1m, down 6 per cent); <em>Invictus</em> ($7m, down 49 per cent). The biggest earner was <em>Alice in Wonderland</em>, which stunned everyone by taking $14 million in its first week, needing no nominations because it has The Depp Factor.

On average, any movie's takings decline about 30 per cent from one week to the next. So a drop of less than 30 (as with <em>The Blind Side, The Hurt Locker, A Single Man, Up in the Air</em> and <em>Precious</em>) means Oscar buzz made a difference, and the punters were apparently saying "I wasn't going to see that, but since it was nominated for awards, I'd better rush off to the flicks and give it a go".

The biggest winner, <em>The Hurt Locker</em>, will go on to even bigger growth  in coming weeks. <em>Precious</em> probably won't be much assisted by its wins for Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay. A low budget tale of squalor and child abuse sounds too much like a typical Australian film to attract Australian audiences.

Of course, the cinema industry doesn't need as much help from the Oscars as does the DVD industry. The multiplexes are holding up brilliantly against the onslaught of alternative media. Last year Australians bought $1.09 billion worth of movie tickets -- 15 per cent more than the record figure in 2008. Last year, we spent $1.58 billion buying 83.02 million DVDs - an impressive score until you discover that in 2008 we spent $1.56 billion buying 85.28 million DVDs. So the sales of the silver disc have started a slow decline.

<img alt="hughnic.jpg" src="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/hughnic.jpg" width="245" height="171" /> DVD distributors would love to be able to attach to their boxes a sticker saying "Winner of three Academy Awards", or even just "Oscar-nominated", which is no doubt why the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this year increased the number of best picture nominees from five to ten.

Last year's top selling DVDs included <em>Australia, Twilight</em>, and <em>Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen</em> -- none of which had won Oscars. The main Oscar winner of 2009, <em>Slumdog Millionaire</em>, didn't make the sales top 30.

This year's DVD chart will doubtless be topped by <em>Avatar</em>, which has already proved it needs no peer approval to saturate the market. But if <em>The Hurt Locker</em> should gather even a couple of thousand extra sales when its disc comes out next month, then all the embarrassment of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin last Monday will not have been in vain.

Go to Comments to discuss how Oscar buzz affects your entertainment choices.
]]></description>
         <link>http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/03/tribal_oscars.html</link>
         <guid>http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/03/tribal_oscars.html</guid>
                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">The Tribal Mind</category>
        
        
         <pubDate>Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:08:42 +0900</pubDate>
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         <title>The Who We Are update: Biffo kicks a goal for Nine</title>
         <description><![CDATA[This week's forum is now a heritage item - worth studying but no longer current. For the latest on Australian attitudes and media trends, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare">blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare</a>.

To discuss if Oscars boost Australian audiences, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/03/tribal_oscars.html">The Tribal Mind</a>.
To explain why Australians don't report serious crimes, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/03/who_we_arecrime.html">Who We Are</a>.

<b>The ratings race, updated 10am Monday</b>
Channel Nine won the week, largely because of the NRL in Sydney and Brisbane (Seven was on top until Thursday). If this column's theory of <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/03/te_tribal_mind_2.html">a political link</a> is correct, Tony Abbott will rise in the opinion polls.

The prime time audience shares for the week went like this: SBSTWO 0.3%; ABC3 0.4%; ONE 0.8; ABC2 1.0; 7TWO 2.5; GO 2.7; SBS1 3.9; ABC1 11.8; Ten 15.1; All Pay Stations: 17.2; Seven 20.6; Nine 21.2.

<img alt="260clarkebingle.jpg" src="http://blogs.smh.com.au/sit/260clarkebingle.jpg" width="157" height="180" /> This was Pay TV's account of itself: "Some 257,000 viewers watched Live: NRL Sharks v Storm on FOX Sports and saw defending premiers Melbourne Storm beat the Cronulla Sharks in the first round of the 2010 National Rugby League competition. In other sport, 209,000 people watched the Australian and New Zealand cricket teams play each other in Live: Cricket: ODI NZ V Aus 5th ODI S2, 177,000 viewers saw Melbourne Victory earn a home ground grand final by beating Sydney FC during Live: Football: A-League Major SF Syd v Melb and 82,000 watched the ACT Brumbies prevail in Live: Rugby Union: S14 Brumbies v Sharks (all on FOX Sports). [This pic is designed to illustrate the reference to Aus v NZ cricket, and is in no way an attempt to exploit a personal tragedy involving two national icons] 

"<em>The Curious Case of Benjamin Button</em> premiered on Movie One with 133,000 viewers, <em>NCIS</em> had its best result of the year so far with 99,000 watching the program on TV1, <em>Wizards of Waverly Place</em> on Disney Channel also had a year-to-date largest audience with 99,000 viewers and the <em>American Idol Performance Show</em> on FOX8 was watched by 94,000 viewers. Movie Extra's live coverage of the Oscars, The 82nd Academy Awards Live 2010, was seen by 84,000 people, <em>How I Met Your Mother</em> on Arena was watched by 70,000 people and <em>Property Ladder</em> on Lifestyle Channel was seen by 69,000 people. 
 
"In week 11, subscription TV channels had more viewers than any other network around Australia with 24.0% of all metropolitan viewing between 6am and midnight, 23.1% of all regional viewing and 59.3% of all viewing in subscription TV homes." (These figures seem at odds with OzTAM's earlier summary, which suggests Pay TV had only 17.2 pewr cent of the prime time audience. We are seeking clarification.)

<b>Most timeshifted shows, week ending March 6</b>
Description	STN	Overnight	Consolidated	000's Increase	% Increase
1	HOUSE	TEN	772,000	901,000	129,000	16.70%
2	THE GOOD WIFE	TEN	912,000	1,017,000	105,000	11.50%
3	MIDSOMER MURDERS RPT	ABC1	460,000	560,000	100,000	21.80%
4	BROTHERS & SISTERS-TUE	7	887,000	980,000	93,000	10.50%
5	BONES	7	1,231,000	1,321,000	91,000	7.40%
6	NCIS TEN	1,365,000	1,454,000	89,000	6.50%
7	GREY'S ANATOMY 7	1,048,000	1,136,000	88,000	8.40%
8	CASTLE 7	907,000	994,000	87,000	9.60%
9	DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES 7	1,027,000	1,112,000	86,000	8.30%
10	BROTHERS & SISTERS 7	895,000	979,000	84,000	9.40%
11	CRIMINAL MINDS 7	1,264,000	1,348,000	84,000	6.60%
12	LOST	 7TWO	186,000	262,000	76,000	41.20%
(OzTAM)

<b>What Australia watched, week ending March 13</b>
<img alt="bones.jpg" src="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/bones.jpg" width="185" height="248" /> Description	Total	Sydney	Melbourne	Brisbane	Adelaide	Perth
1	TWO AND A HALF MEN	9	1,588,000	340,000	636,000	310,000	126,000	177,000
2	NCIS	 TEN	1,519,000	423,000	416,000	296,000	168,000	217,000
3	SEVEN NEWS - SUN	Network 7	1,471,000	336,000	503,000	326,000	123,000	183,000
4	MY KITCHEN RULES-TUE	Network 7	1,462,000	361,000	522,000	271,000	154,000	154,000
5	BORDER SECURITY	7	1,444,000	389,000	413,000	286,000	156,000	200,000
6	AIR WAYS	Network 7	1,434,000	413,000	403,000	271,000	141,000	205,000
7	MY KITCHEN RULES-MON	Network 7	1,396,000	361,000	452,000	245,000	171,000	167,000
8	CUSTOMS	Network 9	1,349,000	342,000	475,000	238,000	136,000	158,000
9	NINE NEWS SUNDAY	Network 9	1,311,000	382,000	454,000	209,000	147,000	118,000
10	THE MENTALIST	Network 9	1,310,000	369,000	457,000	230,000	99,000	155,000
11	V	Network 9	1,295,000	401,000	382,000	240,000	100,000	172,000
12	CRIMINAL MINDS	Network 7	1,295,000	314,000	364,000	272,000	140,000	205,000
13	THE BIG BANG THEORY	Network 9	1,270,000	294,000	461,000	267,000	98,000	149,000
14	BONES	Network 7	1,270,000	354,000	352,000	254,000	135,000	174,000
   Continued<a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/03/the_who_we_are_70.html">here</a>   ]]></description>
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         <pubDate>Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:06:18 +0900</pubDate>
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         <title>WHO WE ARE: Crime doesn&apos;t say</title>
         <description><![CDATA[To learn how television tastes predict how you'll vote, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/03/te_tribal_mind_2.html">The Tribal Mind</a>.

<b>A column about Australia by David Dale, published in <em>The Sun-Herald</em>, 7/3/2010</b>
DON'T be a dobber. That's been a fundamental of Aussie etiquette for 220 years. It goes back to our convict founders, who knew the world was divided between Us and Them, and you never volunteered to one of Them what one of Us was doing, even if it was mass murder, because mate, whose side are you on? Since then, we've applied the principle in the playground, in the office, in the home and in politics.

This historical aversion to dobbing may explain the mystery contained in the report scarily titled <em>Crime Victimisation Australia</em>, just released by the Bureau of Statistics.

Between June 2008 and June 2009, The Bureau interviewed 25,600 people aged over 15 about whether they'd been robbed, bashed, raped or threatened. That's a massive sample from which to draw conclusions about the nation  -- in television ratings, a sample of 3,000 households is used as the basis for  billion dollar programming decisions. 

<img alt="vince.jpg" src="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/vince.jpg" width="227" height="151" /> As the statisticians would say, the data is reliable - and, at first sight, pretty reassuring. The nation of convicts is not in the grip of a crime wave. Only 3.1 per cent of people aged over 15 (527,400) said they had suffered a physical assault; only 0.6 per cent (96,700) had experienced a personal robbery; only 3.3 per cent of households (267,800) were victims of a break-in and only 1.1 per cent (91,000) had a car stolen. The crime that affected the greatest number of people was  "malicious property damage", which happened to 11 per cent of households (912,500).

The bureau reports: "Types of property commonly damaged, defaced or destroyed in the most recent incident were exterior items - including walls, windows, doors and fences - (66%) and cars or other motor vehicles (29%)." Graffiti are a nuisance, but they hardly represent the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.

<img alt="dexter.jpg" src="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/dexter.jpg" width="227" height="151" /> From that section of the report, I have derived this useful advice ...

<strong>How to minimise your chances of being a victim of crime:</strong>
1. Live in South Australia (low in all types of crime); 2 Be female; 3 Be over 65; 4 Live alone (The bureau reports: "62 per cent of people who experienced a physical assault knew the offender ... with 14% indicating that the offender was a member of their family" and "29% of the most recent physical assaults occurred at the victim's home"); 5 Be married (but presumably you'd have to live separately from your partner); 6 Don't own electronic or gardening equipment (the most commonly stolen items after money); 7 Get a job.

<strong>How to maximise your chances of being a victim of crime:</strong> 1 Live in the Northern Territory (highest rate of all crimes); 2 Be single; 3 Be male; 4 Be aged between 15 and 19; 5 Be unemployed. 

The bureau reported: "The victimisation rates for physical assault were 8.7% for people aged 15-19 years ... compared with 0.4% for people aged 65 years and over. The victimisation rate was higher for people who were not married (5.3%) than for people who were married (1.7%). The victimisation rate was higher for people who were unemployed (7.1%) ... than for people employed full-time (3.3%) and people employed part-time (3.7%)." 

But now we come to the mystery. While Australians are happy to regale researchers from the Bureau of Statistics with their experience of theft and violence, they show a marked reluctance to talk to those who might do something about it. Around one third of the horrors discussed were never reported.

As the bureau puts it: "The proportion of crime incidents people reported to police varied depending on the type of crime: 86 per cent for motor vehicle theft; 70 per cent for break-in; 39 per cent for physical assault; 36 per cent for malicious property damage; 23 per cent for robbery; 23 per cent for threatened assault."

So 61 per cent of people who are bashed and 77 per cent of people who are robbed don't tell the cops. Why not? I can imagine three possible explanations: 1 They've got something to hide; 2 They think it would be pointless, because <em>Underbelly</em> has led them to believe criminals are clever and cops are dumb or corrupt; 3 The anti-dobbing philosophy is so deeply ingrained in our culture that we're prepared to expose our fellow citizens to thugs and thieves rather than give evidence against them. 

Go to Comments to offer your theory.]]></description>
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         <pubDate>Sun, 07 Mar 2010 08:47:28 +0900</pubDate>
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         <title>The Tribal Mind: The politics of television, and vice versa</title>
         <description><![CDATA[To explain why Australians don't report serious crimes, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/03/who_we_arecrime.html">Who We Are</a>.

<strong>by David Dale</strong>
IT WORKED before, so lets see if it can work again. This is the analogy: Channel Seven is the Labor Party, and Channel Nine is the Liberal/National coalition. Follow the fortunes of Nine and Seven in the ratings, and you will anticipate the fortunes of Opposition and Government in the opinion polls. That was the tool with which this column predicted the result of the 2007 election. Will it work for the 2010 election?

<img alt="sit_bennettbutters.jpg" src="http://blogs.smh.com.au/sit/archives/sit_bennettbutters.jpg" width="157" height="100" /> Three years ago, we discussed how television tastes offer clues about the changing national mood, noting that after September 11 and the Bali bombings, Australians retreated into their cocoons. "The favourites of the early Noughties were all about lifestyle -- home renovations, gardening, domestic bliss. The dramas were about crimes solved and stability restored in a single episode ... Viewers avoided programs that required them to come back next week, because life was too crazy to allow such a commitment.

"But since 2005, our favourite shows have been serials, keeping us in constant suspense about who will be voted off the dance floor, who will be murdered on Wisteria Lane, what will the island do to the survivors, how will Dr House outsmart the cop who wants to jail him, etc. Instead of being reassured by our mass entertainment, we demand to be surprised.

"What follows from this transformation in public mood? That Australians will be inclined to vote for Kevin Rudd at the federal election. Where once they craved security, now they relish change ... Australia's current preference for Channel Seven, which offers novelty, over Channel Nine, which offers 'we know what's best for you', suggests that the nation is in sit-forward mode. If an election were held now, we'd vote for surprise and risk rather than predictability and comfort."

Three years later, lets look at the state of the stations. Nine is resurgent, Seven is sinking. In the morning, <em>Today</em> regularly beats <em>Sunrise</em> in Sydney and Melbourne. In the afternoon, <em>The Hot Seat</em> is neck and neck with <em>Deal or no Deal</em>. Nine has hits with <em>Top Gear, The Mentalist</em> and <em>Two and a Half Men</em>, soon to be followed by <em>Underbelly: The Golden Mile</em> (legal action permitting). 

<img alt="sit_howardapec.jpg" src="http://blogs.smh.com.au/sit/archives/sit_howardapec.jpg" width="261" height="290" /> Seven's big dramas, <em>Grey's Anatomy</em> and <em>Desperate Housewives</em>, have jumped the shark. Its only new hit, <em>My Kitchen Rules</em>, is a rehash of <em>MasterChef,</em> which does not suggest much imagination in the programming department. Seven's celebrity game show, <em>The White Room</em>, got axed after two weeks because it was hastily conceived and badly managed (just like a certain home insulation program we've heard about recently). 

Over the past two weeks, the prime time audience shares have been: Seven 25.6 per cent, Nine 26.7 per cent. At the same time, the opinion polls have shown a slump for the Government and a rise for the Opposition. Kevin Rudd now finds himself where John Howard was in March of 2007 - representing stodgy stability, while Tony Abbott and Barnaby Joyce represent edgy unpredictability.  

To restore his reputation for innovation, Rudd has just unveiled visionary schemes in education and health. If our analogy is correct, Channel Seven will need to unveil some big new programming plans very soon.

The last paragraph of this column on May 28, 2007 said this: "You can expect the prime minister to hold off the election date till as late as possible this year. He'll be watching the ratings, tracking the rise of Nine and the decline of Seven, waiting for clear evidence that we have settled back onto the sofa of life. Then he'll pounce."

Go to Comments to discuss whether this year will be different.]]></description>
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         <pubDate>Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:42:47 +0900</pubDate>
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         <title>The Who We Are update: Courtney goes down</title>
         <description><![CDATA[This week's forum is now a heritage item - worth studying but no longer current. For the latest on Australian attitudes and media trends, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare">blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare</a>.

To learn how television tastes predict voting intention, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/03/te_tribal_mind_2.html">The Tribal Mind</a>.

To learn how Australia became the land of the short attention span, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/who_we_are_chan.html">Who We Are</a>.

<b>The ratings race, updated 10 am Sunday</b>
The decline of <em>Cougar Town</em> is more apparent than real. Despite being described as "a shit show" by David Leckie, the boss of Channel Seven, and dropping to No 43 in the weekly chart, Courtney Cox's sitcom is the most watched program of Thursday night with these demographics: women 16-39, men 25-54, and women 25-54. That's a strong incentive for advertisers, and a good reason for Seven to keep showing it in prime time. And as you'll see from the chart below, it's one of the most recorded prgrams each week. Go to Comments to tell us if it has got better or worse, now that it has settled in.

The prime time audience shares for the week went like this: SBSTWO 0.5%; ABC3 0.5%; ONE 0.8; ABC2 1.5; 7TWO 3.4; GO 3.4; SBS1 5.0; ABC1 14.7; Ten 19.0; Nine 25.5; Seven 26.6.

And thiw waw Pay TV's account of itself: "Live: Cricket: Twenty20: NZ v Aus Game 2 on FOX Sports topped the week for subscription TV, when 314,000 viewers watched New Zealand narrowly beat Australia in an "extra time" over. In other cricket, 244,000 people watched Australia beat NZ in the second one day international, Live: Cricket: ODI NZ v Aus 2nd ODI, 183,000 watched Football: Premier League World, 151,000 watched Live: Football: AFC Asian Cup Qualifier Aus v Ind and 123,000 watched Live: Rugby Union: S14 Waratahs v Sharks (all on FOX Sports).

"<em>America's Next Top Model</em> on FOX8 was viewed by 104,000 people, NCIS on TV1 was seen by 81,000 people and <em>Two And A Half Men</em> on Arena was watched by 76,000 viewers. <em>Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise</em> premiered on 13th Street with 76,000 viewers, S<em>pongeBob SquarePants</em> had 72,000 viewers on Nickelodeon and <em>Wizards of Waverly Place</em> on Disney Channel was watched by 69,000 people.

"In week 10, subscription TV channels won the week with 24.3% of all metropolitan viewing between 6am and midnight, 22.9% of all regional viewing and 60.4% of all viewing in subscription TV homes. "

<b>What Australia timeshifted, week ending February 27</b>
Description	STN	Overnight	Consolidated	000's Increase	% Increase
1	NCIS	Network TEN	1,386,000	1,508,000	122,000	8.80%
2	BROTHERS & SISTERS	7	849,000	970,000	121,000	14.30%
3	DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES	7	937,000	1,043,000	106,000	11.30%
4	DOCTOR WHO: THE END OF TIME Part 2	ABC1	842,000	944,000	102,000	12.10%
5	HOUSE	TEN	969,000	1,070,000	101,000	10.50%
6	BROTHERS & SISTERS-TUE	7	852,000	952,000	100,000	11.70%
7	CRIMINAL MINDS	7	1,201,000	1,298,000	97,000	8.10%
8	COUGAR TOWN	7	1,017,000	1,113,000	96,000	9.40%
9	THE GOOD WIFE	TEN	1,260,000	1,353,000	92,000	7.30%
10	BONES	7	1,156,000	1,236,000	80,000	6.90%
11	GREY'S ANATOMY	7	1,019,000	1,099,000	80,000	7.90%
12	BLUE MURDER	ABC1	550,000	630,000	80,000	14.50%
(OzTAM mainland capitals</b>

<b>What Australia watched, week ending March 6</b>
<img alt="hammond.jpg" src="http://blogs.smh.com.au/sit/hammond.jpg" width="200" height="250" /> Description	Total	Sydney	Melbourne	Brisbane	Adelaide	Perth
1	TWO AND A HALF MEN	Nine	1,436,000	392,000	500,000	273,000	105,000	165,000
2	MY KITCHEN RULES-MON	Seven	1,410,000	383,000	443,000	277,000	160,000	147,000
3	MY KITCHEN RULES-TUE	Seven	1,406,000	352,000	462,000	274,000	158,000	159,000
4	TOP GEAR -EP1	Nine	1,385,000	385,000	402,000	281,000	144,000	174,000
5	NCIS	Ten	1,365,000	402,000	341,000	265,000	157,000	201,000
6	AIR WAYS	Seven	1,354,000	391,000	433,000	238,000	145,000	146,000
7	THE MENTALIST	Nine	1,351,000	430,000	428,000	237,000	118,000	138,000
8	SEVEN NEWS	Seven	1,345,000	324,000	385,000	293,000	165,000	178,000
9	SEVEN NEWS - SUN	Seven	1,344,000	339,000	387,000	326,000	125,000	168,000
10	SEVEN NEWS - SAT	Seven	1,299,000	266,000	459,000	302,000	112,000	161,000
11	WICKED LOVE: THE MARIA KORP STORY	Nine	1,299,000	360,000	527,000	203,000	111,000	97,000]]></description>
         <link>http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/03/the_who_we_are_69.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:34:38 +0900</pubDate>
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         <title>The Tribal Mind: Your chance for revenge at the Bogies</title>
         <description><![CDATA[To learn why Labor needs to replace Kevin Rudd with Julia Gillard, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/who_we_are_chan.html">Who We Are</a>.

To find out what Australians are reading -- and what they're no longer reading -- go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/the_tribal_mind_110.html">Print is dead?</a>.

<strong>by David Dale</strong>
When Channel Seven's programmers decided last week to kill off a show called <em>The White Room</em>, after only two weeks on air, they also killed their best chance of winning one of this year's coveted Bogie Awards. The category I had in mind for <em>The White Room</em> was "Lamest Ripoff of Another Station's Hit", because it so shamelessly replicated Ten's <em>Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation</em> (which is itself derived from the ABC's<em> Spicks and Specks</em>, but improved by the addition of apostrophes and Shaun Micallef). 

Seven probably felt free to withdraw <em>The White Room</em> from contention because it has two other candidates for this award: <em>My Kitchen Rules</em> (cloned from Ten's <em>MasterChef</em>) and <em>Gangs of Oz</em> (a spoiler for Nine's <em>Underbelly</em>). But with <em>The White Room</em> out of the race, Channel Nine becomes the favourite with <em>Customs</em>, which was crafted to capture the paranoid geriatrics who cling to Seven's <em>Border Security</em>. 

<img alt="sit_bogies.jpg" src="http://blogs.smh.com.au/sit/sit_bogies.jpg" width="328" height="261" /> This column started the Bogies three years ago to celebrate achievements of the television industry that are mysteriously ignored by the Logies - the most irritating, embarrassing, overhyped and underrated programs and people in Australia's most popular form of entertainment.

Last week I discovered this invitation on the Logies website: "Voting for the 2010 [brand name] Logie Awards is now open! Simply by voting you will go into the draw to win a romantic getaway to [brand name] Island Resort and Spa, valued at over $10,000! Plus, each week we are giving away a [brand name] Glamour Photography pack!"

 This column can't match such incentives, but I'm hoping you'll be content with eternal glory as your reward for helping to create the  Bogies of 2010. We try to add at least five new categories each year.

<img alt="krystal.jpg" src="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/krystal.jpg" width="235" height="357" /> The most popular new category in 2009 was "Best use of breasts to exploit viewers' base instincts". From a field that included <em>Satisfaction, True Blood, Ghost Whisperer</em> and <em>Nigella Express</em>, the winner was <em>Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities</em>, which one reader spoonerised as "Overbelly: A Sale of Two Titties".

<em>Underbelly 3</em> hasn't started yet, so we don't know if we'll even need that category this year.  But you'll have plenty of time to reflect on such issues, and to think of categories and candidates, because we're taking suggestions all through March (go to Comments to join the game). At the beginning of April, this column will publish a voting form, and the Bogie winners will be revealed in a glittering ceremony on Saturday May 1 - one day before the Logies are announced.

Here's a summary of last year's awards: From a field that included Ricki-Lee Coulter, Krystal Forscutt and Fifi Box, the winner of "Most Unnecessary Personality" was Lara Bingle. (Fifi Box will be consoled by becoming a candidate this year for the new category "Weather presenter least likely to be promoted to a real job").

The winner of <strong>Most unnecessary adaptation of an overseas show</strong> was <em>Top Gear Australia</em>. "Most offputting commercial" was "the impotence one with the guys playing the piano". "Worst attempt at an accent from a country not your own" went to Matthew Newton. Most Underrated Program was <em>Dexter</em>.

<strong>Most annoying person</strong> (from a field that included Jason Coleman, Georgie Parker, Sam Newman, Andrew O'Keefe, Ajay Rochester and Danny Weidler) was David Koch. Most Missed Program was <em>The Chaser's War on Everything</em>. Most Embarrassing Program (the Naomi Robson Cup) was <em>Today Tonight</em>. Furthest past use-by date (the Bert Newton Trophy) was Richard Wilkins. And <strong>The Black Bogie (the Eddie McGuire Chalice) </strong>went to Kyle Sandilands.

This year Eddie McGuire's Olympic performance might make him a prime candidate for the award named after him, but that's for you to determine. Lets hear your new categories and candidates.
]]></description>
         <link>http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/03/tribal_mind_bog.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:26:11 +0900</pubDate>
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         <title>The Who We Are update: Week 9</title>
         <description><![CDATA[This week's forum is now a heritage item - worth studying but no longer current. For the latest on Australian attitudes and media trends, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare">blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare</a>.
<strong>House and Despos are hits with the timeshifters, but if the timeshifters fast-forward through the ads, why  should the networks care about the extra audience?</strong> Which leads to a fundamental issue: how do the makers of TV commercials stop people from fast-forwarding? For the background on all this, and to discuss your playback habits, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/tribal_timeshif.html">Lets do the timeshift</a>.

To nominate television's most annoying, overhyped and underrated people and programs, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/03/tribal_mind_bog.html">The Bogies 2010</a>.

<b >The ratings race, updated 10 am Monday</b>
The week doesn't really count towards the year's official ratings, because the winter Olympics are a special event, but for what it's worth, the prime time audience shares went like this: SBSTWO 0.4%; ABC3 0.5%; ONE 0.9; ABC2 1.3; 7TWO 3.3; GO 3.4; SBS1 4.8; ABC1 14.6; Ten 19.7; Seven 25.2; Nine 26.8.

This was Pay TV's account of itself for the week: "On Saturday night, the Mardi Gras Special on Arena brought the colour and spectacle of the 2010 Sydney Mardi Gras parade to 133,000 viewers around Australia. Family Guy on Fox8 was watched by 109,000 people, <em>The American Idol Performance Show</em> on FOX8 was watched by 103,000, <em>Zack And Miri Make A Porno</em> premiered on Movie One with 77,000 and <em>How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?</em> was watched by 72,000 on UKTV. <em>NCIS</em> on TV1 was watched by 72,000, <em>Property Ladder</em> on LifeStyle Channel was seen by 65,000 and <em>Helen West</em> on 13th Street was watched by 64,000 viewers.

"In sport, Live: Cricket: Twenty20: NZ v Aus Game 1 on FOX Sports was watched by 189,000 people and 180,000 watched the Dragons and Rabbitohs play the traditional Rugby League season opener in Live: Rugby League: Charity Shield. Live: AFL: NAB Cup Geelong v North Melb was seen by 157,000 people, Live: Rugby Union: S14 Reds v Blues was watched by 106,000 people, Live: Football: EPL Chelsea v Man City was viewed by 68,000 and Live: Football: A-League Semi Final by 65,000 people (all on FOX Sports).

"In week 9, subscription TV channels accounted for 22.9% of all metropolitan viewing between 6am and midnight, 21.7% of all regional viewing and 57.0% of all viewing in subscription TV homes."

 <b>What Australia recorded in the week ending February 20 and watched within  seven days</b>
<img alt="tate.jpg" src="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/tate.jpg" width="252" height="173" /> Description	Overnight audience	Consolidated audience	000's Increase	% Increase
1	HOUSE	Network TEN	946,000	1,081,000	135,000	14.20%
2	THE GOOD WIFE	Network TEN	1,208,000	1,308,000	100,000	8.30%
3	GREY'S ANATOMY	Network 7	866,000	963,000	97,000	11.20%
4	DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES	Network 7	1,087,000	1,183,000	96,000	8.80%
5	CASTLE	Network 7	963,000	1,059,000	96,000	10.00%
6	CRIMINAL MINDS	Network 7	1,095,000	1,186,000	91,000	8.30%
7	BROTHERS & SISTERS	Network 7	903,000	993,000	89,000	9.90%
8	BONES	Network 7	1,251,000	1,339,000	88,000	7.10%
9	NCIS	Network TEN	1,369,000	1,457,000	88,000	6.40%
10	TOP GEAR -EP1	Network 9	1,685,000	1,772,000	86,000	5.10%
11	GREY'S ANATOMY-EP.2	Network 7	911,000	995,000	84,000	9.20%
12	DOCTOR WHO: THE END OF TIME	Network ABC1	803,000	885,000	82,000	10.20%
13	COUGAR TOWN	Network 7	1,093,000	1,168,000	75,000	6.90%
14	THE MENTALIST	Network 9	1,231,000	1,306,000	74,000	6.00%
15	BURN NOTICE	Network TEN	423,000	495,000	72,000	16.90%
16	LOST	Network 7TWO	180,000	247,000	67,000	37.20%
17	MONTY PYTHON: ALMOST THE TRUTH THE LAWYER'S CUT-EV	Network ABC1	806,000	867,000	61,000	7.50%
18	SILENT WITNESS	Network ABC1	933,000	993,000	60,000	6.40%
19	LAW AND ORDER: SVU	Network TEN	904,000	961,000	57,000	6.30%
20	HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER	Network 7	897,000	952,000	55,000	6.10%
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

<b>What Australia watched, week ending February 27</b>
<img alt="ncis.jpg" src="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/ncis.jpg" width="180" height="248" /> Description	Total	Sydney	Melbourne	Brisbane	Adelaide	Perth
1	TWO AND A HALF MEN	Nine	1,397,000	374,000	481,000	259,000	110,000	173,000
2	NCIS	Ten	1,384,000	399,000	374,000	264,000	154,000	193,000
3	MY KITCHEN RULES-TUE	Seven	1,355,000	330,000	422,000	252,000	179,000	172,000
4	SEVEN NEWS - SUN	Seven	1,292,000	364,000	351,000	274,000	129,000	173,000
5	THE MENTALIST	Nine	1,279,000	393,000	421,000	202,000	110,000	153,000
6	CUSTOMS	Nine	1,276,000	374,000	380,000	241,000	114,000	166,000
7	BORDER SECURITY	Seven	1,274,000	308,000	385,000	249,000	156,000	176,000
8	AIR WAYS	Seven	1,267,000	311,000	399,000	248,000	149,000	161,000
9	THE GOOD WIFE	Ten	1,260,000	347,000	355,000	260,000	117,000	180,000
10	TODAY TONIGHT	Seven	1,247,000	311,000	368,000	241,000	154,000	174,000]]></description>
         <link>http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/what_australia_2.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Sun, 28 Feb 2010 23:27:14 +0900</pubDate>
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         <title>WHO WE ARE: The films Australia loved</title>
         <description><![CDATA[List of the 150 highest-grossing movies of all time, and list of the 65 movies seen by the greatest number of Australians, prepared by David Dale from data provided by the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia. Last updated February 28, 2010.

For the latest media trends, bookmark <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/">blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare</a>

<b>Top flicks of the past 12 months:</b> Avatar $109 million; Sherlock Holmes $26m; Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel $23m; It's Complicated $15.5m; Valentine's Day $15m; Old Dogs $9.5m; Tooth Fairy $10.5m; hangovers from last year: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince $40.6m; Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen $40.3m; New Moon $37m; Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs $29.8m; Up $28m; The Hangover $21.4m;   Monsters Vs Aliens $20.5m; 2012 $20.2m;
<strong>Australian films in the past 12 months:</strong> Mao's Last Dancer $15.2m; Bran Nue Day $7.1m; Charlie and Boots $3.7m; Samson and Delilah $3.2m; Daybreakers $2.4m (worldwide $35m). 

Australia's total box office for 2009 was $1.09 billion -- 15 per cent more than the record figure in 2008.

<strong> Chart 1: The Australian box office</strong>
 <img alt="joker.jpg" src="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/joker.jpg" width="199" height="217" /> 1. Avatar (2009) $108m (to learn what <em>Avatar</em> has in common with the oldest story ever told, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2009/12/the_tribal_mind_107.html"><em>Gilgamesh</em></a>)
2. Titanic (1997) $57.6 million
3. Shrek 2 (2004) $50.4m
4. The Return of the King (2003) $49.4m
5. Crocodile Dundee (1986) $47.7m
6. Fellowship of the Ring (2001) $47.4m
7. The Dark Knight (2008) $46.1m
8. The Two Towers (2002) $45.7m
9. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) $42.3m
10. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2009) $40.6m
11. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) $40.3m
12. Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace (1999) $39m
13. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) $38 m
14. New Moon (2009) $38m
15. Finding Nemo (2003) $37.5m
16. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) $37.5m
17. Australia (2008) $37m (US$50m, world $US205m)
18. Babe (1995) $37m
To read and discuss the complete charts, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/">The culture</a>]]></description>
         <link>http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/the_films_austr.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:50:27 +0900</pubDate>
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         <title>WHO WE ARE: The DVDs Australia loved</title>
         <description><![CDATA[For the latest media trends, bookmark <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/">blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare</a>.
List of most most purchased DVDs since 1998, prepared by David Dale, using data from GFK Australia. Last updated February 28, 2010.

<strong>Top selling DVDs of all time</strong>
<img alt="th_findingnemo.jpg" src="http://blogs.smh.com.au/sit/th_findingnemo.jpg" width="135" height="113" /> 1. Finding Nemo (2004)
2 Mamma Mia! (2008)
3 Monsters Inc (2002)
4 Fellowship of the Ring (2002)
5 The Two Towers (2003)
6 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2003)
7 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2006)
8 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
9 Return of the King (2004)
10 Pirates of the Caribbean (2004)
11 The Notebook (2005)
12 Shrek 2 (2004)
13 Dirty Dancing (2000)
14 The Dark Knight (2008)
15 Pirates 2: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
16 Cars (2006)
17 The Matrix (1999)
18 The Incredibles (2005)
19 Ice Age (2002)
20 Gladiator (2000)
21 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
To read and discuss the complete charts, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/">The culture</a>]]></description>
         <link>http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/the_dvds_austra.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:10:09 +0900</pubDate>
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         <title>WHO WE ARE: The TV shows Australia loved</title>
         <description><![CDATA[This contains charts of the most watched programs of the 20th and 21st centuries, prepared by David Dale and based on data from OzTAM and ACNielsen. Last updated February 28, 2010. For the latest media trends, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/">blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare</a>

<strong>Chart 1. The top shows since 2001</strong>
Based on OzTAM's audience estimates for the mainland capitals. Series figures are for the most watched episode of the year.
<img alt="julie.jpg" src="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/julie.jpg" width="267" height="172" /> 1 Tennis: Aus Open final - Hewitt v Safin 2005 (7) 4.04 million
2 Rugby World Cup final 2003 (7) 4.01 million
3 <em>MasterChef Australia</em> - Winner Announced 2009 (10) 3.74 million
4 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony 2006 (9) 3.56m
5 AFL Grand Final 2005 (10) 3.39m
6 <em>Australian Idol</em> final verdict 2004 (10) 3.35m
7 <em>Australian Idol</em> final 2003 (10) 3.30 m
8 AFL Grand Final 2006 (10) 3.15m
9 <em>The Block</em> auction 2003 (9) 3.11 m
10 September 11 reportage, September 12, 2001 (9, 7, ABC) 3.10 m
11 Tennis: Wimbledon day 14 2001 (9) 3.04 m
12 AFL grand final 2003 (10) 2.96 m
13 AFL grand final 2009 (10) 2.70m
14 <em>Big Brother</em> winner announced 2004 (10) 2.86m
15 <em>Australian Idol</em> Live from Opera House 2004 (10) 2.86 m
16 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony 2008 (7) 2.82m
To read and discuss the complete charts, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/">The culture</a>]]></description>
         <link>http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/the_tv_shows_au.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:50:58 +0900</pubDate>
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         <title>WHO WE ARE: The music Australia loved</title>
         <description><![CDATA[Lists of top selling albums and most successful performers, prepared by David Dale using data from ARIA and last updated February 28, 2010.

<strong>The top selling albums of the CD era</strong>
<img alt="farnham.jpg" src="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/farnham.jpg" width="212" height="142" /> 1. Whispering Jack (John Farnham) 1986
2. Come On Over (Shania Twain) 1997 
3. Jagged Little Pill (Alanis Morissette) 1995
4. Innocent Eyes (Delta Goodrem) 2003
5. Music Box (Mariah Carey) 1993
6. Thriller (Michael Jackson) 1983
7. Savage Garden (Savage Garden) 1997
8. Falling Into You (Celine Dion) 1996
9. Recurring Dream (Crowded House) 1996
10. Abba Gold (Abba) 1992
11. Immaculate Collection (Madonna) 1990
12. Age of Reason (John Farnham) 1988
13. The Very Best of (The Eagles) 1994
14. Don't Ask (Tina Arena) 1994 
15. Remasters (Led Zeppelin) 1990
16 I'm Not Dead (Pink) 2006
17 Funhouse (Pink) 2009
18. Soul Deep (Jimmy Barnes) 1991
19. Forgiven Not Forgotten (The Corrs) 1995
20. Come Away With Me (Norah Jones) 2002
21. The Sound of White (Missy Higgins) 2005
22 Yourself or Someone Like You (Matchbox 20) 1996
23 Forrest Gump (Soundtrack) 1994
24 Only By The Night (Kings of Leon) 2008
25 Get Born (Jet) 2007
To read and discuss the complete charts, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/">The culture</a>]]></description>
         <link>http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/the_music_austr_1.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Sun, 28 Feb 2010 08:50:14 +0900</pubDate>
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         <title>WHO WE ARE: Addicted to surprise</title>
         <description><![CDATA[To find out what Australians are reading -- and what they're no longer reading -- go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/the_tribal_mind_110.html">The Tribal Mind</a>.

<b>A column about Australia by David Dale, published in <em>The Sun-Herald</em>, 21/2/2010</b>
What you're about to read is just between us, OK? I want your feedback on an idea for a best-selling book, but if it gets around, somebody will steal it. So mum's the word.

The book would be called <em>A.D.D. Nation - How neophilia consumed Australia</em>. The ADD in the title refers not only to Attention Deficit Disorder but also our compulsion to <em>add</em> new experiences to our lives at an ever-increasing rate. Ten years ago most homes had a radio, a telly, a VCR and a landline. Now we've got three plasma screens, two DVD players, a games box, iPods, iPhones, and a high speed internet connection. Ten years ago most of us knew the food of Italy, France, and China. Now we chase a new culinary culture every week - Moroccan, Thai, Brazilian, Bengali, north Indian, south Japanese, Greek island, Burmese, Szechuan, and Hunan.

It's wonderfully open-minded of us, but is the search for The Next Big Thing happening too fast? The book would suggest Australians are so ADDicted to constant change we're about to rush over a cliff. Come to think of it, the title could be <em>Land of Lemmingtons</em>. What do you reckon?

<img alt="ruddgillard.jpg" src="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/ruddgillard.jpg" width="235" height="157" /> I would raise this scenario: Because we have become Early Discarders as well as Early Adopters, we are at risk of burning through our stock of competent politicians before they've had a chance to be useful. It took us 10 years to get bored with John Howard, but only two years to get bored with Kevin Rudd (if current opinion polls are to be believed). He doesn't surprise us any more.

That means we'll discard him simply because he is less new than Tony Abbott. The only way Labor could prevent defeat would be to replace Rudd with Julia Gillard three months before the election. Labor won't do that, so Abbott will become the new prime minister.

But next year the Liberals will need to feed our appetite for novelty by replacing him with Joe Hockey. Labor will discard Julia Gillard as Opposition leader because she'll be old news by the 2013 election.

My reflections on whether it's all happening too fast were prompted by reader reaction to what this column said last month. I published a list of comparisons between the old Australia and the new Australia, suggesting this is a different country from 20 years ago. The contrasts included Chiko roll/ chicken wrap; lamington/ tiramisu; Eddie McGuire/ Shaun Micallef; tea with milk and sugar/ skim latte; dripping/ olive oil; <em>Hey Dad</em>/ <em>Packed to the Rafters</em>.

Nola wrote: "I agree Australia is a more interesting country now than in 1960. However, speed, convenience, and instant everything  -- including gratification -- seem to rule supreme."

Graeme Tutt wrote: "We've become more open, sophisticated and multicultural, which makes Oz more vibrant, interesting & deep. Yet we have incredibly high expectations of life and a high standard of living that can't be sustained." 

Mike Williams wrote: "As a baby boomer I have embraced the wave of change known as the sixties and beyond, but I can't help feeling a little anxious when ... Yo-Yos became a Nintendo DS; Mental Arithmetic became the calculator; Anonymity became celebrity obsession; School spirit became what's in it for me?; Self-discipline became legislation, by-laws and ordinances; The six oclock swill became teenage binge drinking; Shopping became a national pastime; A lottery ticket became a scratchie, Lotto, Oz Lotto and Powerball; The backyard became a courtyard; Parents became child micro-managers."

Many readers lamented the constant craving for new stimulation, and wondered if it might be time to just slow down. Hence the book idea -- except of course, if our national attention span really <em>has</em> become as short as I suspect, nobody will have the patience to read a book anyway. I'm lucky you got this far in the column. Tell us what you think at Comments. 
]]></description>
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         <pubDate>Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:26:56 +0900</pubDate>
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         <title>The Who We Are update: Week 8</title>
         <description><![CDATA[This week's forum is now a heritage item - worth studying but no longer current. For the latest on Australian attitudes and media trends, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare">blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare</a>.

To learn why Labor needs to replace Kevin Rudd with Julia Gillard, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/who_we_are_chan.html">Who We Are</a>.

To find out what Australians are reading -- and what they're no longer reading -- go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/the_tribal_mind_110.html">The Tribal Mind</a>.

<b>The ratings race, updated 10 am Sunday</b>
<em>Top Gear</em> rather than the Olympics caused Channel Nine to win the week, and even then it was close. These were the prime time audience shares: SBSTWO 0.4%; ABC3 0.5%; ONE 0.9; ABC2 1.5; 7TWO 3.2; GO 3.3; SBS1 4.7; ABC1 14.4; Ten 18.5; Seven 26.0; Nine 26.6.

Not everybody loved <em>Top Gear</em>. With women 25-54, the week's top shows were <em>My Kitchen Rules, Grey's Anatomy</em> and <em>The Good Wife</em>. With people over 55, the top shows were Seven news, <em>Border Security</em> and ABC News. Funny how the viewers with the shortest future are the ones most interested in the state of the world.

This was Pay TV's account of itself for the week: "On Monday night, 149,000 viewers watched FOX Sports' live coverage of Live: Cricket: The Allan Border Medal. At the event, all-rounder Shane Watson was recognised as the best cricketer in Australia for the year, just beating Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson for the honour. In other sport, Live: AFL: NAB Cup Bulldogs v Lions was seen 111,000 people, Live: Cricket: Ford Ranger Cup was viewed by 108,000 people, Live: Rugby Union: S14 Reds v Crusaders by 107,000 and Live: Football: A-League Sydney v Melb by 92,000 (all on FOX Sports).

"In entertainment programming, 115,000 watched <em>The Simpsons</em> on Fox8, 108,000 saw <em>American Idol Hollywood Show </em>on FOX8, 93,000  watched <em>America's Next Top Model</em> (also on FOX8) and <em>Gran Torino</em> premiered on Movie One with 96,000 viewers. <em>How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?</em> picked up its biggest ever audience on UKTV with 82,000 viewers, <em>Wizards of Waverly Place</em> on Disney Channel was viewed by 79,000 people, <em>SpongeBob SquarePants</em> on Nickelodeon had its best result of the year with 74,000 people and <em>NCIS</em> on TV1 was seen by 69,000 viewers.

"In week 8, subscription TV channels accounted for 22.6% of all metropolitan viewing between 6am and midnight, 20.6% of all regional viewing and 55.5% of all viewing in subscription TV homes."

<b>What Australia watched, week ending February 20</b>
<img alt="gearboys.jpg" src="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/gearboys.jpg" width="235" height="235" /> Description	Total	Sydney	Melbourne	Brisbane	Adelaide	Perth
1	TOP GEAR -EP1	Nine	1,681,000	436,000	522,000	330,000	180,000	213,000
2	MY KITCHEN RULES-MON	Seven	1,471,000	353,000	463,000	292,000	201,000	162,000
3	NINE NEWS SUNDAY	Nine	1,412,000	429,000	489,000	220,000	147,000	128,000
4	SEVEN NEWS - SUN	Seven	1,392,000	346,000	368,000	302,000	167,000	209,000
5	NCIS	Ten	1,366,000	423,000	371,000	287,000	130,000	155,000
6	AIR WAYS	Seven	1,365,000	364,000	407,000	260,000	160,000	174,000
7	BORDER SECURITY	Seven	1,365,000	373,000	430,000	244,000	141,000	177,000
8	TWO AND A HALF MEN	Nine	1,330,000	339,000	399,000	305,000	110,000	177,000
9	CUSTOMS	Nine	1,277,000	342,000	397,000	262,000	109,000	168,000
10	SEVEN NEWS	Seven	1,263,000	295,000	360,000	264,000	155,000	190,000
11	BONES	Seven	1,250,000	353,000	359,000	219,000	158,000	161,000
12	TOP GEAR -SPECIAL	Nine	1,241,000	330,000	353,000	209,000	151,000	199,000
13	THE MENTALIST	Nine	1,230,000	354,000	363,000	240,000	116,000	156,000
14	MY KITCHEN RULES-TUE	Seven	1,214,000	336,000	373,000	239,000	121,000	144,000
15	THE GOOD WIFE	Ten	1,207,000	355,000	346,000	216,000	113,000	177,000]]></description>
         <link>http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/the_who_we_are_68.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:31:30 +0900</pubDate>
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         <title>The Tribal Mind: Why Frankie is the future of reading</title>
         <description><![CDATA[For the reason why Kevin Rudd will lose this year's election, through no fault of his own, go to <a href="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/who_we_are_chan.html">Who We Are</a>.

by David Dale
Don't believe them when they say that print is dead. Tell 'em they're dreamin' if they reckon there's no future in newspapers and magazines. Direct those print-skeptics to the latest report of the Audit Bureau of Circulations, which details what Australians are currently reading, and which is full of clues for any perceptive publisher.

Here's one idea I'll give you for free: Start a magazine called <em>Gourmet Diabetic Gardener</em>, put the singer Taylor Swift on the cover to pull the teen female demographic, and you can watch the money roll in.

The Audit Bureau's report suggests that over the past 12 months, sales of daily and weekly newspapers have dropped by 2.3 per cent, while sales of weekly and monthly magazines have dropped by 0.4 per cent - disappointing news, but hardly a reason for publisher mass suicide. Print readership is declining here at a much slower rate than in Britain and America, and it is still the case that 2.2 million Australians buy a paper every day; 8 million Australians buy at least one paper or magazine every week; and 6 million Australians buy a mag every month.

Now here are the clues you'll need to determine what niche your new publication should fill ...

<img alt="th_sitjesskatie.jpg" src="http://blogs.smh.com.au/sit/th_sitjesskatie.jpg" width="95" height="90" /> <strong>The big losers:</strong>
1 Alpha 73,000 a month (down 30 per cent in 12 months);
2 Weight Watchers 67,000 a month (down 17);
3 AFR Smart Investor 60,000 a month (down 12);
4 Take 5 231,000 a week (down 11);
5 NW 128,000 a week (down 10).

Conclusion: Don't bother with male sports, dieting, financial advice, tame tales about daggy people, or celebrity gossip. And stay right away from girls in bikinis - the category that did worst in this audit was "Men's interest", with such mags as <em>FHM, The Picture, Ralph</em> and <em>Zoo Weekly</em> all dropping by around 5 per cent.

<img alt="piefloater.jpg" src="http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/piefloater.jpg" width="89" height="116" /> <strong>The big winners:</strong>
1 Frankie 38,000 every two months  (up 32 per cent);
2 Dolly 140,000 a month (up 18 per cent);
3 Recipes+ 134,000 a month (up 17);
4 Diabetic Living 54,000 a month (up 16);
5 Harpers Bazaar 55,000 a month (up 16).
In addition, <em>Better Homes and Gardens</em> rose 3 per cent and <em>Australian House and Garden</em> rose 7 per cent. 

When I saw the growth figure for <em>Frankie</em>, I searched for it in my local newsagent, but it had sold out. Its website says it's "a national bi-monthly based in Australia, aimed at women (and men) looking for a magazine that's as smart, funny, sarcastic, friendly, cute, rude, arty, curious and caring as they are." The latest issue contains stories on plastic cameras, home cooking, denim, dead celebrities, geeky glasses, non-crappy rom-coms, babies, nannas, Christmas Island and being single.

Clearly they've found the formula for success, which they'll only need to tweak a little next month with material on diabetes, gardening, home renovating and 14 year old heartthrobs.

At its current rate of growth, <em>Frankie</em> will outsell <em>Women's Weekly</em> by the year 2020. Although by then, if the print-skeptics are right, <em>Frankie</em> will be the only publication still on newsstands.

<img alt="magwho.jpg" src="http://blogs.smh.com.au/sit/magwho.jpg" width="162" height="211" /> <strong>What Australia reads (the most purchased periodicals):</strong>
1 The Sunday Telegraph, Sydney, 632,000 a week (down 3 per cent in 12 months);
2 The Sunday Herald-Sun, Melbourne, 601,000 a week (down 1 per cent);
3 The Sunday Mail, Brisbane 525,000 a week (down 5);
4 The Herald-Sun Mon-Fri 514,000 (same);
5 The Herald-Sun Saturday 503,000 a week (same);
6 Women's Weekly 502,000 a month (up 2);
7 The Sun-Herald, Sydney 442,000 a week (down 7);
8 Woman's Day 410,000 a week (up 1);
9 Better Homes and Gardens 392,000 a month (up 3);
10 The Daily Telegraph, Sydney, Mon-Fri 359,000 (down 3);
11 The Sydney Morning Herald, Sat 354,000 a week (down 2);
12 New Idea 330,000 a week (same).

Go to Comments to discuss your reading habits.]]></description>
         <link>http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2010/02/the_tribal_mind_110.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:15:24 +0900</pubDate>
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