It was a slow tv night so I decided to watch the Walkley Awards on SBS. As our intrepid commenters led by Francis Xavier Holden have already noticed, proceedings got more interesting than expected. In fact, it should have won an award for best comedy on Australian tv – evah!
It seems to have been the week for taking potshots against Crikey. Over at Troppo, Ken Parish complained Crikey didn’t tell him they paid for stories, and all he got for his article on Timor Leste was a three month sub. He later announced his return to regular blogging, arguing that the blogosphere was a better read than Crikey for people he characterised as bored office workers on their lunch break, and instituted a blogwatch feature. His jabs at Crikey were warmly welcomed by Catallaxy bloggers Jason Soon and skepticlawyer.
(I should note that Troppo blogger Nick Gruen, who put “Crikey’s blog of the year – 2005″ on the blog’s header, disagreed with Ken on the merits of Crikey.)
Not to be outdone, an apparently tanked Glenn Milne decided to get physical with Stephen Mayne at the Walkleys.
Update: Thanks to Frank Calabrese for pointing to an upload of video of the Milne stoush – here.
THE most prestigious night in Australian journalism erupted into farce last night when one of the nation’s leading political commentators physically assaulted a rival.A red-faced Glenn Milne marched on to the stage during the presentation of an award by Stephen Mayne and abused the founder of the Crikey website.
He pushed Mayne in the chest and repeatedly referred to him as “a disgrace”. Mayne jumped off stage as Milne, slurring his words, continued to abuse him.
Milne, who writes for the Sunday Herald Sun, Sunday Telegraph and The Australian, was restrained by security guards and escorted off stage.
There has been bad blood between the pair since 2005 when Mayne criticised Milne’s reporting of a squabble between NSW politicians Bob Carr and John Brogden.
“I just saw this man with drunken, wild eyes coming at me. He threw me off the stage. It was quite a drop and I’ve twinged my ankle as a result,” Mayne said. “Glenn Milne is not even in the top 50 Crikey victims list. This proves what thin-skinned souls some journalists are.”
As FXH predicted, it’s sure to be on YouTube soon. But in the meantime, here’s some pics.
Here at LP, of course, we like Crikey. So this blogger of freedom says to any roaming punditarians – game on bring it on!
hehe thanks – I counted at least 3 cameras so I expect we will get to see it from many angles.
Serendipity (or something): as I read about it on LP, I saw it happen on SBS (we’re three hours behind). Mayne joked that Milne was now an “ex-News Ltd journalist” — here’s hoping. Then again, it’s not as if it happened on Channel 9.
More the merrier – please post any links here.
It was bloody hilarious.
Reckon Milne will be boned?
I hope that “bring it on” was said like Joe Swanson from the Family Guy would say it. That would be awesome – just like that video!
Heh.
Yep!
Excuse my ignorance, but is Milne a righty or a lefty?
You mean southpaw or?
I don’t think he’s anything. He likes to fancy himself as an insider. Known for pushing Costello’s line against Howard.
THanks for the credit, it is from an Australian Media forum I sometimes post on, where quite a few of the posters capture and post various media bits and bloopers.
BTW, just saw it on SBS, and ol Stevie really got stuck into Milner afterwards, and I loved his bit about a compo claim to Packer, and the Eddie reference
Hope this kills Milne’s credabilty completely (he had none to start with).
Oh and it just got mentioned on ABC local Radio at the tail end of Nightlife..
This sure beats the Don Lane/Ernie Sigley Stoush at the Logies in the 80’s.
Now that’s what live TV is all about. Serve booze at the Logies again for more of such taradiddle. Brillant ad libbing by Mayne too. And spot on as well – that really was the former Sunday Terrograph political correspondent. Pundits and senior journalists can get away with sloppy writing and being completely wrong but not with being caught live as a drunken buffoon. There goes all Glenn’s exclusives with a jumpy and overspun Federal Government.
So you reckon he will seriously be boned, Nabs?
Sheesh! He’s not even a woman over 35!
He has to be a goner. Well, at least as a political correspondent anyway. I’m off, gluewein (prounounced “glue vine” in ze Deutsch) is a callin’.
You’d think so certainly.
“So you reckon he will seriously be boned, Nabs?”
The Canberra press gallery assidiously cultivates among its employers first and the public second a reputation as impartial and judicious yet informed and with access.
Now just assuming for the sake of argument that you’ve made an utter dickhead of yourself in front of many rolling cameras and thanks to Youtube, created a magic moment that will be shared by millions who enjoy a good drunken buffoon act.
So it’s not like Howard, Costello, Kimbo or Rudd is gonna choose you any more as the first point of dissemination for any major new message.
Frankly, a preloved odour eater is gonna have a better future in “political journalism” than the black dwarf now.
You think that’s bad? On the Rights at Work march in Sydney I saw a 10 hack (whose name eludes me) and, seriously, he was wearing suede boots with Cuban heels.
“on the Rights at Work march in Sydney”
The Melbourne one culminated at the MCG. What the yellow rubbery fuck were they thinking? You need at least 80,000 to make that place look not too empty on camera.
I watched it through binoculars from my office. Then I showed solidarity with the workers by overtipping our waitress at lunch. My conscience is clear. Unlike my vision and urine.
Oh, Australia, I miss you so much sometimes.
And Frank, thanks for making it available to the Australian diaspora. You might want to deinterlace the video though, for a cleaner look.
MH,
Unfortunately, it’s not my video I only posted the link for LP fans to enjoy.
And also Nightline on Channel Eddie showed the Stoush as well
oh and I got the video from here : http://forum.australian-media.com.au/index.php?showtopic=1669&pid=45968&st=0&#entry45968
Another true aussie ‘tired and emotional’ moment.
http://www.oph.gov.au/dismissed/images/pictures/acttwo-170.jpg
Let’s drink to that!
The poisoned dwarf goes feral……….he could barely get his hands up to Mayne’s neck. And these jokers complain about bloggers and their stoushing.
I eagerly await today’s Crikey newsletter. I’m sure he’s polishing his lines right now and counting on him to go in really hard.
Another journo who can dish it out but can’t take it. Funny, that. And I’ve been bagged in Crikey more than bloody Milne!
Like Phil I’m looking forward to today’s Crikey. And Milne’s next column of course.
Why are white, middle-aged blokes so bad at fighting?
Milne’s pathetic performance reminded me of a ham actor’s parody of Marlon Brando’s Don Vito Corleone’s tomato patch death scene.
That was one of the few redeeming features of the mostly execrable second Bridget Jones movie – the Hugh Grant/Colin Firth fight scene. They were so realistically ineffectual.
SBS has the full video online now.
I loved it. I think Milne just did Mayne a huge favour. Think about the publicity, and he boned himself in doing it. I think you’ve got it right there Nabs, as Canberra is a conservative old place, and the Tory pollies wouldn’t like the moments of Milne magic.
Now when I reflect back on some pretty good evenings on the vino, silly sms messages to ex girlfriends somehow just doesn’t cut the mustard. No, I think you have now got to get on national TV and make a fool of yourself. I’m surprised he didn’t finish off by have a wee on stage… Gee Glenn you’ve raised the bar!
On the topic of Crikey payment for articles, I got a six month subscription for two articles that I wrote on the US elections. I haven’t had any work from them since, despite sending a couple of articles that way. I think they have limited space, and like everything else, it’s competitive to get a regular spot. Well done Mark. If it was widely known that money was on the table, more writers would be submitting work. I like the situation as it stands, as it’s more likely new talent (ie. Me, and one or two others!) will get a run.
I’m off to have a Milne or two and watch the cricket!
Nice Teddy Boy hair on Glenn Milne. They didn’t get Stephen Mayne to roll up on a Lambretta by any chance did they?
SBS video here
ALP leadership caucus ballot Monday. Fug.
Indeed; look at his pants.
Is the drinking culture in journalism really still so deeply ingrained that these dudes still allow themselves to get paralytic in the same room as a TV camera on their own professional night of nights, and think that’s an okay thing to do?
And can you imagine how much more vicious the public reaction would have been today if it had been a woman? Scepticlawyer, think of the headlines you would have made if it had been you.
I suspect skepticlawyer would have done a far better job at taking down Mayne (even if they didn’t let her into the Walkleys with that .410 and that bag of cartridges). Still, the whole thing just goes to show how much cooler rock stars are than journalists: Jarvis Cocker doing the rugby prop-forward thing on Michael Jackson’s stage show comes to mind.
LOL!
[LINK]
Mark Latham’s laughing today.
My estimation of Milne has gone through the roof overnight. I’ve always been a big fan of Mayne, too. And the fact is Milne pulled a Mayne last night: like Steve has done for years, Glenn showed more aggro, journalistic bollocks and all-round fleshy, boofy humanity in those few live minutes of potentially fertile confrontation than the entire Press Gallery has since Alan Ramsey stood up and screamed ‘LIAR!’ at John Gorton in the early seventies.
Give me a pissed reporter taking an honest public swing at a bete noir any day over the battalions of air-brushed, autoprompted, silicon-tittied robotrons now being pumped out by ‘Journalism 101′, whose arsenal for busting a usable hole through the sickly-sweet glutin that is contemporary information managment extends not far beyond smart-arse irony (as futile and friction-free as fucking a bucket of warm water). If he doesn’t quit or get flicked Milne will be a much better reporter now. He won’t give a shit about making a fool of himself anymore, which is currently the single greatest defence against the Fourth Estate enjoyed by brazen nulls like Howard and Beazley against serious scrutiny, much less exposure. Anyone who has been to a modern press conference knows it’s one of the lamest exercises in Groupthink you can encounter: row after row of anxious, sideways-glancing reporter and f-stop-comparing cameraman, each wanting a scoop of course but all far more desperate not to stand out too much, lest they be isolated and ridiculed and so, natch…’wrong’. When hacks were working class being an outsider was a natural state. Since they’re largely postgraduate middle-class wannabe celebrities these days they’ve forgotten, or never learned, how to be a rude arsehole to some other rude arsehole’s face, in real time, when you can get a leg in the door to something nearing the truth.
Fine, maybe Milne was just pissed. He’s certainly a twat. But I prefer my journalists hateable anyway. That’s their job, to be pigs and ferrets and scabby dogs, turn over the furniture and piss everyone off. If ever a democracy needed a few more drunk loudmouths taken potshots at important people in suits and ties standing at public podiums – preferrably live on TV – it’s now. All Milne needs to do is shift aim from Mayne to those who could really benefit. And I just bet there are many MSM journo’s this morning wishing that they could muster enough public don’t-give-a-fuck-ishness and uncomplicated anger to have an unironic go like the Poisoned Dwarf some time. It’s the closest he’s ever come to justifying such a journalistically honorable nickname, that’s for sure.
Most reporters have to live daily with the self-suppression of stories and angles they, or their better angelic side, would dearly love to run with. Too often we see the vocational frustration fermented by our press’s constant self-censorship on the Murdoch and Packer et al front channeled into ludicrously self-important, over-blown (and over-awarded) ‘exposes’ of much lesser public stories. Being an Australian journalist, possibly more than any other in the Western world, apparently means having to learn how to peer at power and politics with fierce, uncompromising courage and professionalism…erm, through a long toilet roll that dutifully excludes the truly sensitive areas, but. What that career-long trick requires is above all else self-control, self-restraint, self-delusion, self-censorship. Glorified mogul office-boys like Paul Kelly and Laurie Oakes have long internalised the capacity to shade out whole areas of journalistic scrutiny, as if they simply don’t exist, while simultaneously maintaining their impeccable impersonations of studious, objective, fearless (award-winning) Leaders of Their Vocation.
It’s crap, and it always has been. As Latham said, when it comes to the crunch, Kelly, Oakes, the lot…they’re company men through and through.
OK, so Milne thumping Mayne is hardly Laurie Oakes ranting at the Packers on Sunday, nor Chris Mitchell editorialising Rupes as a supreme enemy of free speech…but it’s not so far away from it as it might seem. The more journos let their journo instincts over-ride their bolted-on senses of ‘professionalism’ and ‘journalistic convention’ – clever words for Playing By Their Bosses’ Boss’s Rules – the better journalism will become. Like Latham’s inside exposures of the banality and pettiness of much of what drives and defines the daily mechanics of the ‘Fourth Estate’ – the personal networking and ambition, the arse-kissing and manouevring, the trade-offs, the two-facedness, the sheer schoolyard gossipery and triviality – it’s another chink in a self-serving and delusional professional facade that can’t hold out for longer. Maybe.
So…go the paradigm-prodding grenade throwers, I say. Yay for Glenn Milne. Pissed or not, I’m on his side. Get in there and turn the political furniture over too, mate.
PS: Might be something in all that for the BRILLIANTLY SUBVERSIVE BLOGOSPHERE!!!!!!!!!! too, come to think of the orgy of silkily incestuous self-leerve breaking out across regions cybernetic of late.
I still think the Ron Casey / Normie Rowe bust up on the Midday Show takes the cake….
Breakfast, lunch and dinner of champions.
That’ll be an interesting conversation.
Well, that footage is going straight to the pool room.
Great work on his feet by Mayne. New respect for his work.
And, if any further proof was needed, what a ringing endorsement of alcohol. How dull public life without her sweet ministrations to the fragile human mind.
PC, I can’t speak for old-skool journos but for the younguns, employment is so precarious, jobs are so scarce, and full-time contracts so rare, that serious alcholism isn’t considered much of advantage these days.
However, it’s a stressful job so there’s a fair bit of after-work alcohol-based R&R. (Based on what my friends the proper journos tell me, that is.)
So where’s your hard-hitting subversive revelatory blog then Jack Robertson? Can’t wait to read it!
I’ve never been that much taken with Mayne one way or t’other but last nights perfomance post being Milned* was magnificent. It couldn’t had been better even if it had been scripted.
Mayne was cool, composed, looked good, he didn’t even have to adjust his bow tie, and delivered great lines with perfect timing, not rushed or mumbled. Not even a real smirk.
We have needed a decent late night Tonight show for years, since before Vizard copied Letterman move for move – give it to Mayne. He looks good on tv, can do business and politics and ad lib too.
*Milned = to be rushed and pushed by an ageing, overweight, dishevelled, drunken male, when least expecting it.
Mayne handled himself like a pansy. He gutto-ed out. Never heard of him before, but he isn’t fit to hold an Irish name. A fit looking young buck jumping off the podium when a bloke (how much older than him) wriggles loose, all the while surrounded by security guards.
What a sook!
Never thought much of Milne’s writing. But by taking a swing at Mayne he certainly showed he has a human streak. I certainly wouldn’t sack him, at least not for that. Journalistic ability (or lack of) is the criterion for hire & fire of Milne.
And then to watch as said AODDM is rightly ejected by security.
I reckon Milne’s reputation will be rehabilitated quicker than Glen McGrath’s ankle. If it was Steven Mayne who was the aggressor – news.corp would run a remembrance campaign for here to eternity….but for one of their own – it will be the “much needed breakâ€? away from the stresses of Canberra intrigues, revelations about a family illness (his mother’s dementia or whatever) and financial woes……( the holiday house renovation budget blowout!!) and of course all the stress caused by Mayne “constantly attacking my family”…These ‘new year’ stories (March too early?) will be run in the Woman’s Day (whichever related mags) with pictures of a slimmed down, very sober Milne – (who’s seeing a counsellor/therapist for xxxxxx) with his plucky wife, and their 2 x Labradors, on the deck of their newly renovated holiday house……
I think we all know that alcohol has no real side effects, but I thought it might be instructive to show a the side effects of a few common migraine treatments:
All of a sudden I’m making a real effort to get along to the Melbourne Grog blog. (If those green voting hippies ever get around to deciding where it will be.)
I’ll be stocking up on migraine medications and getting stuck into the slops the whole after oon before that. Then when After Grog Tones gets up to make one of his interminable speeches I’ll rush the fucker.
Or maybe I’ll rush Nabs – after all we’d both be primed similarly and it would be an even match. And more WWF.
jack robertson’s post is a pretty good overview – oz journalism is pretty much a joke – when was the last time any journo really got stuck into ratty or dolly?
it’s the number 2 reason why howard is still in office (no. 1 = no opposition leader for 10 long years) getting interviewed by kerry o’brien or tony jones is like being hit with a wet lettuce leaf.
Gosh, is that what it’s called.
I’ve been having this experience periodically for the last thirty years or so, but I never knew there was a word for it.
Oooh snap PC.
Hmm… who comes out of this better? and an old Kennett flunkey or a boozed up Mudoch hack?
You know I’m kinda with Steve at the pub and Jack on this one: leaning towards the drunk for showing some character, however hilarious, but really I’m find it hard to raise the care factor…
btw guys you seem to have attached Milne’s picture to the wrong post…
err, no, Christo, read it again.
PC – so stop going to Writers Festivals
But by taking a swing at Mayne he certainly showed he has a human streak
If by human you mean sad dickhead, then yes I agree completely.
The final para from the Poison Dwarf’s last Tele piece:
Coincidence … or not?
Anthony: It was the Walkley’s, EVERYONE there is a sad dickhead.
It seems Milne will escape boning:
http://www.crikey.com.au/Media/20061201-Glenn-Milne-.html
He will not be patted on the back for what he did last night but “disciplined internally” says Breen.
Sounds like “boning” to me Kim but not something to dwell on too long lest a bucket be needed.
To be fair wasn’t Mayne a critic of the LACK of hard work of journalists?
It would seem that “boning” has a VERY different meaning in the vernacular of most commenters here, compared to mine.
At least, I certainly hope so….
Im rather surprised that no hack has yet dubbed this “the Mayne Event.”
According to The World Today, Milne is supposed to be on the couch on Insiders this Sunday. That should be fun. They should get Mayne on there with him.
All this fun footage of boozy bad behaviour reminds me of the good times. That’s a worry. Is there a sequel that has a massively hungover Milne slumped on his couch the next day feeling like a goose?
Until then, I’ll have to enjoy the fun vicariously via FX and Nabs’ wrasslin.
Trackback
Just couldn’t resist.
So – black tie is obviously out at the coming grogblogging. I guess it’ll have to be leotards and one of those masks instead.
Maybe we should look for a venue with a big tub of jelly in the centre of the floor.
PML
(You’re a Withnail & I devotee aren’t you, Father XH.)
Ah, you’d need a time machine. You’d be thinking of upstairs @ the Empire Hotel in Brunswick St circa 1991.
Really? The Empire had a jelly wrestling tub in those days. Damn, sometimes I wish I was older…
With strippers.
In those days, bikers would give you free joints just for the bonhomie.
It was a different age. How has the Empire been in recent times? Last time I was there, a couple of years ago, it was still in a slow decline. I remember Super Deluxe was the place to be circa 97 or so.
I used to go there in 97 – you may have seen me dancing with a chick in a silver mini wearing silver Docs!
It’s back big time for the dance music crowd.
That place was great. I used to love hanging out on the balcony in the middle of summer drinking something (anything) cold. The decor was pretty cool too. Lots of old couches and stuff, good for making out on, or at least so I’m told.
There’s still heaps of couches! I went there back in January to see a friend play electric violin.
It’s one place I’m WAY too old to go to just for the hell of it now…
SATP – on exactly which planet is your pub located?
Never heard of Mayne/Crikey or Boning/Maguire?
Most of us earthlings get a semi-regular chortle from these characters – and Mayne has the added virtue over Maguire that he has a brain.
Morganzola: I am in mighty Queensland. You are correct, until the walkleys stoush I had not heard of Stephen Mayne.
I am hardly stuck on mars to be living my life without having heard of this fellow.
Most Australians would never have heard of him, & probably never will. He is a semi-obscure writer in what is a very niche area.
There are people who NEVER pay attention to current affairs & news, & quite a lot of them.
There are regular newspaper readers who are unaware there is anything but fish & chip wrapping in front of the form guide & sports pages.
Morganzola, you reveal only the narrowness of your circles to imagine that anything but a minority of the population has ever heard of Stephen Mayne.
Boning is task performed in an abbottoir. It does have a small scale vernacular use meaning sexual intercourse, although rooting is without doubt the most commonly used. I have never heard any other slang meaning given to the word. From the context, I really hope that none of these two meaning is intended by commenters in connection with Glen Milne….
The term was used to signify “sacking” by Eddie Macguire, steve, with reference to whatshername – a blonde Channel 9 presenter. So it’s common parlance now for media sackings.
A male boss said he wanted to “bone” a blonde female subordinate, and everybody thought he meant she was dismissed from employment? No wonder there is severe community reservations about journalistic common sense……
Er.. thanks Mark, for the update on media trade jargon.
SATP, Steven Mayne was joining Virginia Trioli on 702 ABC Radio (Sydney metro) after AM, every week until he declared himself a candidate in the Vic State elections. Their audience share for October 2006 as per the neilsen ratings is close to 700K
no offence, but the population of Yobsville, FNQ is what again?
SATP, sorry for being rude, Steven Mayne set up crikey.com.au which no doubt you have linked to, from this site. He was a staffer for Kennett, who went public with the Quandong (or some fucking thing) share scandal, getting towards the end of Kennett years.
I think he ran against Jeff in his state seat (??) and started standing for board elections and doing lots of shareholder stuff around corporate governance etc and then set up crikey – which is another whole story.
he barracks for richmond.
Jo, no need to apologise for being rude, you don’t mean it (apology) and you aren’t well rounded enough to appreciate diversity.
I don’t mean to be rude, but I have never linked to crikey, or anything else from this site. No offence, but how does it feel with your head stuck up there & no batteries for the torch?
The population of Yobsville FNQ is less than one third of the suburb of Latteview, Melbourne, but the GDP of Yobsville is four times. Hmmmm…..
Sydney Metro radio, is of course, completely unknown here. One of the fringe benefits of living in Yobsville!
Richmond, I can’t find that in the NRL table, perhaps they are a badminton team or something?
And most of them don’t post comments here.
Yobsville FNQ would only have a high GDP because it happens to be built over minerals in the ground.
Anyway, steve, the Wikipedia entry on “Edward Joseph “Eddie” McGuire AM” tells the story:
This is Ms Rowe.
She’s the host of the Today Show.
I imagine lots of men want to bone Jessica Rowe.
Quick geography lesson Kim, there very few minerals in FNQ.
The high GDP of Yobsville is because the population roll up their sleeves and work, instead of talking all day about trivia.
I gather you’re the exception that proves the rule, SATP.
Hehehe… yes FDB, I spend all my time online in the library. Sure beats working
However, Jo & Kim have established that bigotry is alive & well amongst the commentariat on this site.
It seems that the Milne – Mayne stoush is still on. Lesson for today is if you are going to say something like “He rarely, if ever, checks his facts. In fact, he’s mostly wrong” you better be in possession of the facts yourself.