The News reported this yesterday:

The West Australian gets beaten up by media academics

PAPER TIGER: The West Australian editor Paul Armstrong has rejected claims by senior journalism academics that the newspaper’s dubious reporting is costing it the community’s trust. |

Paige Taylor

February 21, 2008 05:40am

SENIOR journalism academics have attacked The West Australian newspaper, claiming dubious reporting is costing it the community’s trust.

A group of seven academics, two of whom are in charge of journalism schools at Perth universities, told The West Australian this week that its reports had “increasingly crossed the line into beat-up and misrepresentation” and the newspaper “is losing its authority”.

The mauling came when The West Australian asked Murdoch University’s head of journalism, Chris Smyth, to comment on Attorney-General Jim McGinty’s decision to exclude the newspaper’s reporters from mobile phone media alerts.

But Mr Smyth and colleagues at Murdoch and Edith Cowan University accused the newspaper of risking confidence in journalism in general.

“Mr McGinty is unwise to deny media conference alerts to The West Australian newspaper, but many people would understand the frustration that has led to this imprudent action,” they wrote in a statement.

Of course, that traditional media is still more reliable than those shonky citizen journalists/bloggers.

Publisher’s online Perth play

FAIRFAX Media has let slip evidence it will soon start a new online newspaper in Perth, quietly advertising a job vacancy for the new paper’s marketing manager on its internal website.

The advertisement on the www.careers.fairfax.com.au website – headed “Fairfax Digital: Marketing Manager – Perth” – is promoting an “exciting opportunity for an experienced online marketer to market an online news and information website in Perth”.

There is also evidence that the new online publication will be called Perth Leader.

The free Perth Voice newspaper will today also reveal that Fairfax has reserved the domain name perthleader.com.au. News of the move to register the Perth Leader name has come after Fairfax last year met with a group of WA Government spin doctors to discuss a possible publication by the same name.

Fairfax spokesman Bruce Wolpe last night refused to confirm the online publication was proceeding. “We are continuing to assess the market, and if and when we have anything to announce, we will,” he said.

Anything to say Ms Bronwen Clune, of noted Twitter fame? Partner in crime on our 2WebCrew weekly podcast?
Anything PerthNorg cares to comment on? I would have a guess but I’ve got to go have a coffee RIGHT NOW.