Weekend Oz mag takes homophonic tumble. Getting the cover right is a major pre-occupation for magazine editors, and at first glance Saturday’s Weekend Australian colour mag looked like a winner. Above an arresting pic of Tony Abbott’s sister and her gay partner, it ran the extended cover line: “Up Close & Personal. Tony Abbott is opposed to same-sex marriage. So when his sister came out, did he waiver?”
Whoops. “Waiver” looked awfully like a spell-check howler for “waver”. There is an ancient and obscure meaning for the verb to “waive”: to change one’s mind or give up. But if that’s what the Weekend Oz meant to say, why did it make it “waiver” rather than the correct “waive”? Far more likely is that its intended sense was “waver”, as in, to show doubt or indecision, or to falter.
How many hands did this copy and artwork pass through before it got to the printers? The explanation from editor Christine Middap will be interesting, especially after her News Limited colleague David Penberthy devoted his entire column in The Sunday Telegraph the following day to, er, the sad decline in spelling standards. — David Salter
Front page of the day. The Times reports on the spreading violence in Syria, as Assad’s forces are alleged to have fired across the borders of Lebanon and Turkey. The UN has called for an end to the escalating violence:
The Department of Corrections. Despite the fact Canada’s Ottawa Citizen wrote that the Titanic launched and sank in 2012 on its front page, rest assured James Cameron is not making a sequel …
ACCC approve Foxtel-Austar deal
“Foxtel’s $2 billion takeover of Austar is set to go ahead after the final regulatory approval was granted this morning.” — Media Spy
Journalist killed by gunfire at Lebanese-Syrian border
“Security officials says a Lebanese journalist has been killed by gunfire along the Lebanese-Syrian border.” — The Independent
Larvatus Prodeo’s last post
“As of today, Larvatus Prodeo will cease publishing. After a couple of test posts, the blog began to wend its way through the online world on March 17, 2005, so it’s a very old beast in internet years. We collectively feel seven years is enough.” — Larvatus Prodeo
Study: young consumers switch media 27 times an hour
“A recent study found that consumers in their 20s switch media venues about 27 times per non-working hour — the equivalent of more than 13 times during a standard half-hour TV show.” — Advertising Age
US journalist Mike Wallace dies aged 93
“Veteran US journalist Mike Wallace, who once declared there was ‘no such thing as an indiscreet question’, has died aged 93, the CBS network said on Sunday.” — The Guardian
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