John Simpson

Right person, wrong job

29 January 2024 2:30 am

Albo missteps on ABC Chair appointment

Our ‘matter-of-fact’ Queen in life and in death

14 September 2022 8:00 am

The public outpouring of emotion and deep sorrow being expressed around the world following the death of Queen Elizabeth II…

Keneally is Labor's Kryptonite

22 May 2022 8:20 pm

Of the many federal election strands still being forensically examined – one at least is resolved. Former Labor high-flyer, Kristina…

Get your tickets for TV’s six week election ‘circus’

13 April 2022 12:00 pm

We’re off and running in the circus that is the 2022 election campaign and day one (of 42) didn’t disappoint.…

Trust us! We’re from the ABC...

3 April 2022 12:00 pm

ABC management and their high-paid editorial gurus would like taxpayers to believe the national broadcaster is the ‘most trusted’ source…

Virtuous ABC’s parallel universe

18 March 2022 9:00 am

ABC Managing Director, David Anderson, has devoted his entire career to the national broadcaster. It shows. In a recent extraordinary…

Want to ‘think bigger’? Switch off the ABC

24 February 2022 2:00 pm

Earlier this month, ABC Managing Director David Anderson delivered the startling news to a Senate Committee that, ‘Now, more than…

The curious case of Joe Gersh and his defence of Ita Buttrose

28 November 2021 11:17 am

The repeated efforts of ABC Director Joe Gersh to defend his Chairperson, Ita Buttrose, are as laughable as they are…

Sister Olive, 1921: the last filly to win the Melbourne Cup

2 November 2021 3:57 pm

What better time than Cup Day to mark a little piece of racing history?  A century ago, in 1921, a…

Who exactly runs the ABC nowadays?

14 October 2021 4:00 am

The combative, pugnacious Gaven Morris is quitting his taxpayer-funded job as national news chief at the ABC.  The questions as…

Snapshot Victoria: the State of Chaos

30 September 2021 2:02 pm

Victoria today:  242 days in lockdown; 11,018 active Covid cases; 1,438 new infections, 856 deaths Under 50% of the population…

ABC frontliners drowning in their own sycophancy

30 August 2021 6:12 pm

Just how stupid do ABC marketers and presenters believe their audience actually is? On the evidence, the answer is very.…

ABC Four Corners does longevity well, accuracy badly

17 August 2021 12:03 pm

It’s no secret our national broadcaster is fond of self-congratulation.   This week, the carefully choreographed ‘back-slapping‘ reached dizzying new…

The Drum sounds the ABC’s death knell

9 August 2021 12:31 pm

Propriety, and the laws of defamation, prevent me from writing about ABC TV’s The Drum that which so richly deserves…

Robot Waleed’s ‘moral burden’ as he dances in The Minefield

25 July 2021 1:10 pm

ABC Radio National’s The Minefield claims to ‘unpack‘ the moral and ethical issues of our time.  Sadly the show fails to unpack…

Daniel Andrews is no longer just a threat to Victoria, but the nation as a whole

15 July 2021 1:00 pm

Stricken by all the attention being paid to New South Wales, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, joined the ABC’s 7.30 for…

An abundance of dread as Daniel Andrews’ comeback looms

24 June 2021 5:09 pm

In just days, the architect of one of the worst chapters in the life of Victoria (outside of war and…

The comic relief bombs as a nation waits for Dan Andrews’ return

14 June 2021 3:08 pm

Reports of Melbourne’s renowned theatres all being closed this weekend are false. A Daniel Andrews’s scripted tragicomedy Let’s Lock Up…

Andrews’ fumbling acolytes take Victoria to the brink

9 June 2021 12:07 pm

It’s all in a day’s work for the still absent, highly paid Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews. While Dan comfortably takes…

ABC 7.30: ‘Underwhelming – on any measure’

1 June 2021 5:00 pm

High paid ABC TV current affairs presenter, Leigh Sales, likes nothing more than rattling off carefully compiled, pre-prepared questions to…

Incompetence abounds in Victoria – but I feel fully reassured

27 May 2021 4:06 pm

Having spent another 40 minutes of my life this morning — time I won’t get back — listening to senior…

A is for arrogant, B is for boring and C is for contemptible

10 May 2021 6:35 pm

Over a year ago I wrote that ABC TV current affairs was in trouble and drifting badly. The people, policies…

You won’t be missed tomorrow, Meghan

16 April 2021 1:30 pm

As members of the Royal family gather to mourn and celebrate the remarkable life of Prince Philip it is entirely…

Did Eddie resign or was it the Pope?

11 February 2021 5:50 pm

ABC TV news viewers this week could have been excused for thinking the Papacy had been suddenly vacated.   Fully…

Who remembers what happened last month?

6 February 2021 3:02 pm

Precisely one month ago today a truly extraordinary, appalling event occurred. Astonishingly, it seems few people can instantly bring to…