Wendy Bacon Journalist, activist
MenuIn June, the Australian parliament debated refugee policy proposal put forward in a private member's bill by Independent member Rob Oakshott which if passed would have meant asylum seekers arriving by boat would be sent to Malaysia or to the tiny Pacific nation of Nauru, which had played a key role in the notorious Howard government's Pacific Solution.
Nauru is back on the agenda. Have we already forgotten the Howard years? Wendy Bacon has delved into the archive to recover a blighted history. Part one of NM's Pacific Solution timeline today.
In early July, Murdoch University academic Anne Pedersen and others wrote a letter about Australian refugee policy. The letter was circulated and along with 200 others, I was glad to support this initiative as I had become increasingly frustrated with the way the political choices in the refugee debate was being portrayed by the media.
This week, Green Left Weekly's Jay Fletcher interviewed me about the big job cuts and changes in the Australian corporate media.
I was asked to submit 400 words to the Sydney Morning Herald as part of regular feature which puts the same question to four people. I was the 'academic",
As if job cuts weren't enough, Rinehart's raid will inhibit the culture of journalistic independence that exists at Fairfax. Wendy Bacon on why journalists must speak out to protect their profession.
Wendy Bacon has more media knowledge than most - but it didn't help when she was recently savaged by News Ltd. Do errors of fact mark the limits of free speech?
The Finkelstein report has already put some noses out of joint but it's an important analysis of the current state of the Australian media. Wendy Bacon explains the Inquiry's key findings and recommendations.
The media inquiry announced by Stephen Conroy on Wednesday falls short of expectations but is a good start, writes Wendy Bacon. Have your say on the terms of reference here.
No Coal Seam Gas Mining In Sydney spokesperson Jactinta Green applied for documents under Freedom of Information laws ( called the Government Information (Public Access) Act) relating to the NSW drilling license approval process for coal seam gas, .