Age picnic to protest sub changes. A galaxy of stars led by former Labor premier John Cain and Father Bob Maguire will descend on the “Grassy Knoll” outside The Age‘s Media House building tomorrow to protest the company’s decision to sack 300 staff. Investigative reporter Richard Baker — who alongside pal Nick McKenzie sometimes comes close to writing the entire paper — will address the fired-up luminaries as part of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance’s “Fair Go, Fairfax” campaign snowballing through Melbourne media circles.

One Age insider said Fairfax metro chief Jack Matthews, who erred in sending out a memo last week misspelling former Australian Financial Review editor Glenn Burge’s name four times, is said to be increasingly rattled at the campaign, which coincides with enterprise bargaining negotiations. “It’s really pissing off management. Jack Matthews was very upset about it during EBA negotiations and also during the outsourcing negotiations last week,” they said.

As an added bonus for Age staff on the breadline, the gathering will almost certainly feature one of the MEAA’s trademark BBQs. — Andrew Crook

The Fenians at the gates of The Oz. The war on terror is so important that some ideas are inherently dangerous, according to The Australian‘s Chris Kenny, reproving Q&A panellist Nazeem Hussein for daring to add complexity to the debate on current events. The article has the usual patronising adjectivalising The Oz always applies to non-white speakers and writers — Nazeem Hussein will be pleased to know that he is “articulate”, just as Noel Pearson is always told that he’s “intelligent”.

The Australian genuinely has no idea how insulting this is, and they apply it to their allies more than their enemies, so that they know their place. But here it’s always a prelude to a slam. Kenny slates Hussein for talking about US violence in the region, which Kenny calls “an apologia for terrorism”.

There’s a lot of that about. Here’s Chris Kenny, fervent Republican, and scourge of horse-love, on Twitter, determined to rename the NSW suburb of Londonderry:

The Fenians were the Irish republicans who pioneered terror as a political tool in the 19th century, with lethal bombings and assassinations, and a wanton disregard for civilian casualties. There’s really a direct line from their strategy to al-Qaeda. OK, cue confected Australian-style outrage: “as a resident of London, threatened with dissident Irish republican bombing I am outraged … moral equivalence … disregard for nihilistic sectarianism … Hitler loved dogs …”

Of course, by “Fenian”, Kenny might simply mean “Irish republican”. But (wipe tear) it’s sad that he would have so little regard for the victims of terror as to not distance himself from their violent history. OK, normal programming resumes. — Guy Rundle

Front page of the day. The French language just looks so good as a tabloid headline. Courtesy of French daily Aujourd’hui en France…

The department of corrections. Is Fairfax’s subeditor culling beginning to have an effect? From today’s Sydney Morning Herald:

Fairfax to sell radio assets

“Fairfax Media has put its broadcast division on the block in another sign that the new chief executive, Greg Hywood, intends to move quickly in his bid to reshape the newspaper, digital and radio business.” — The Australian

Market gets social: LinkedIn a US$4b proposition

“LinkedIn said it expects to raise 30 percent more than it had forecast in its initial public offering, in a sign of the strength of investor appetite for social networking companies.” — Reuters

Al-Jazeera journo is missing

“Al-Jazeera English journalist Dorothy Parvaz has been disappeared. Authorities in both Syria and Iran now deny that she is being held in their countries.” — The Guardian

Backflip over Come Fly With Me ban

“Regional viewers will be able to see Come Fly With Me from next Monday after NBN and WIN reversed their decision to drop the show from Monday night’s schedule.” — The Spy Report

AP Stylebook 2011 includes Twitter-friendly words

“The Associated Press Stylebook, aka ‘the journalist’s bible’, have released their 2011 guide and have included some new social media terms, including Twitter-friendly words and phrases such as geolocation, stream, link Shortener and unfollow.” — Media Bistro