Recently at Flute I delivered the following bon mot. Mon mot, if you will.
Yesterday the comment appeared in The Age Diary. So that was nice. But without attribution. That was un-nice.
YOU need a sharp spear gun to survive the shark-infested waters of the Sydney media. Virginia Trioli, Melbourne's most famous export since radio grizzler Steve Price, hasn't even begun her orations on 702 ABC Sydney in place of Sally Loane and the insults have already surged like hailstones in a torrential downpour. (Memo to removalists: don't forget the brolly!) The pernicious press has labelled Trioli a "cocky" feminist who will struggle to crack the code of Coathanger City, but her mate Piers Akerman is doing his bit to ensure Trioli is given room to hang her designer coat.
The Sydney Morning Herald warns: "Melburnians have a dismal history trying to crack Sydney radio. Steve Price and Judith Lucy are among Bleak City stumblers and failures." On a lighter note, the cultural commentators at the dailyflute.com blog of Paul Batey (below) think Trioli has a great voice for a guest role on The Simpsons. The best of the blog feedback: "Is Virginia full-time in Sydney or just on Loane?"
Why, though, did they feel the need to change the wording? The lower-case l works for me. And by changing S'Syddey to Sydney, they did away with several tiers of exquisitely crafted drollery. Something not missed by Flute himself with his mention of Billy Deane. Although, I really meant Juan Antonio S'Samaranch.
But SEE! See just how many layers my wordplay works on, you palestines.
OH. And I don't know who's filling the fluppet's shoes. ABC Poohtown seem to be doing it by committee. Last I heard it was Tracy Curro. But it might be Virginia House-Egger. Or Jennifer Kyte. I think it's Curro this week.
Posted by: Tony.T | 30 August 2005 at 11:43
Tracey Curro still a bit lusty?
All 3 - lock'em in a studio full of jelly.......
er, sorry.
Back to work...
Posted by: Burty | 30 August 2005 at 12:59
What's House-Egger look like?
Posted by: Tony.T | 30 August 2005 at 13:08
You woz robbed. Increasingly blogs are replacing press releases and Google as primary sources for newspaper journalism.
Posted by: GrodsCorp | 30 August 2005 at 13:44
They still call it research.
Posted by: Tony.T | 30 August 2005 at 13:56
I get nobbed off with people just nicking my pics by reference without a link. Thus stealing my bandwidth and pats on the back. On the other hand, this post is a textbook example of how to do it nicely.
BTW, did you realise you were just one of the many cultural commentators employed at the flute?
Posted by: flute | 30 August 2005 at 14:12
Not sure I like being a "cultural commentator", Flutey. I'd rather stick to being a blowhard with opinions.
Posted by: Tony.T | 30 August 2005 at 14:48
jeez it seems any silly prick with a keyboard can get quoted in The Age these days.
Posted by: Francis Xavier Holden | 30 August 2005 at 17:08
Always nice to be attributed though.
Posted by: boynton | 30 August 2005 at 18:24
"Red + White = Pink"
-- Barry Leo
Posted by: Tony.T | 30 August 2005 at 19:11
True enough, FX. Although no one's claiming The Age have elevated their standards.
Posted by: Tony.T | 30 August 2005 at 22:13
;-)
Posted by: Francis Xavier Holden | 30 August 2005 at 22:53
Juan Antonio said Syddeney, not S'Syddey.
Judith Lucy is from Perth. Santa Maria girl (hence a lot of her jokes about Catholicism, nun's etc).
Er.
As you were.
Posted by: Far Car | 31 August 2005 at 10:27