Mood:
sadTopic: big media
Adam Spencer
702's Breakfast Presenter
 |  |
Adam Spencer began his career in radio by winning the Triple J raw comedy championship in 1996. From there, he became the well known co-presenter of Triple J Breakfast between 1999 and 2004.
Adam holds a first class honours degree in Pure Mathematics and has an immense interest in science. Adam’s "Little Book of Numbers" has been translated into many languages and he has since written another called "More Mind Numbing Maths".
Adam has also toured for the last 3 years with Dr Karl Kruszelnicki in the SLEEK GEEK TOUR, which is held during Science Week and is an hilarious one hour show combining ground breaking science with side breaking comedy.
Adam has had extensive experience on various boards and authorities - he continues to serve on the Senate of the University of Sydney, the NSW Premier's Advisory Committee on Greenhouse and Global Warming and the NSW Health Department's Clinical Ethics Review Committee as well as being an ambassador for the Fred Hollows Foundation and helping out with numerous charities.
We hope you'll enjoy listening to Adam Spencer on 702 ABC Sydney.
..............
Media Release
15 April 2008
Challenge to Labor and Liberals to bring in immediate donation reform
NSW Greens MP and donations spokesperson Lee Rhiannon responding to
tonight's Four Corners program has called on all political parties to
publicly commit to not accept donations from corporations and to ban
them from contributing to party fund raising events.
"Tonight's Four Corners has been a damming indictment of the
relationship between corporate political donors and the major
parties," Ms Rhiannon said.
"The numerous scandals involving developers and hotel companies in
tonight's program will continue as long as the Labor and Liberal
parties accept these donations.
"The Four Corners report has again revealed that business people
donate money to buy access to political leaders. This will only end
when corporate donations are banned.
"Both Premier Morris Iemma and opposition leader Barry O'Farrell have
said that they support a ban on donations, but both Labor and the
Liberals have plans for fund raisers in coming weeks.
"Mr Iemma and Mr O'Farrell will look even more hypocritical if they
talk about bans while accepting money from donors at fundraisers. They
need to immediately agree to not accept political donations from
corporations and other organisations," Ms Rhiannon said.
Director of the Greens Democracy4Sale Research Project Dr Norman
Thompson said "The entire system of electoral funding must be reformed
immediately. The public needs to be confident decisions made by our
government are for the public good and not for those with the deepest
pockets.
"Spending limits for election campaigns need to be introduced to rein
in the race by political parties for ever larger war chests.
"Banning donations to political parties needs to go hand in hand with
a cap on party election expenditure and spending by special interest
groups.
"All donations from corporations and other organisations should be
banned. Capped donations by individuals are important for allowing
Australians to engage in the political process.
"The Greens have developed a comprehensive plan for positive reform of
our electoral funding system," Dr Thompson said.
For more information: 0427 861 568
....................
Each and every news bulletin inlcuding on the half hour this morning from 5.30 am refers one way or the other to the expose on 4 Corners last night about developer donations scandal, but the ABC early morning shift in Sydney flagship 702 station carefully avoids any mention to our ear.
Spencer who is on the Sydney Uni Senate takes an interview with a maths genius, Wiggles ticket scalping, alcohol criminal violence with friendly mentions of PM Rudd and the 2020 Summit on this moral agenda.
But no mention of the developer donations scandal infecting the state ALP root and branch which we presume is on the main press pages today. Maybe. No ferreting out of prominent ALP figures even like Botsman, Luke Foley, developers and so many more possible.
We predict the Exec Producer for Spencer will say that the Cameron shift at 8.30 am will pick up the issue. No suggestion of that in the prelude at 7.30 am.
We have another view - ever since veteran Alex Mitchell took a swing at Spencer for allegedly being too friendly with the state ALP, not least Verity Firth MP for Balmain being on Sydney Uni senate also.
Sydney Uni are developer of choice for Callan Park open space by the ALP Govt. He is implicated in that developer agenda. In fact we put that to him once in an email as below
(As we write another friendly mention of Sydney Uni's Simon Chapman re prostrate.)
There is another story cooking too about Sydney University that Spencer's team could have picked up which ran on Crikey yesterday regarding the Sydney University/State Govt nexus, but didn't:
Crikey.com.au 14 April 2008
18 . Disharmony at Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music
Nicholas Pickard writes:
You can almost hear the strains of violins coming from the University of Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music. It could even be a major performance of the Ride of the Valkyries, because somebody down at "The Con" is feeling very annoyed.
The big point of contention is Professor Kim Walker who has been Dean of the institution for the last four years. Walker is apparently pushing all the wrong keys because now the Governor of NSW and Chancellor of Sydney University, Marie Bashir has been dragged into the tussle. ........
..................
Is this the proverbial airbrush of the issue de jour as the Greens lead a call for Royal Commission?
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 9:44 AMSubject: Callan park a uni campus ......Re: a friendly reminder> Well without getting too deep just a spontaneous response I suppose based on
>
> 1. I just had coffee and was a little fiesty
>
> 2. a nice word quite true, yet I find the whole Warragamba plume story a
> false diversion from Nathan Rees culpability for Breaking the Silence
> failure by him and Orkopoulous, that Stoner was thrown out of the parliament
> for yesterday. Notice Koperberg says - there is no problem. It's classic PR
> management.
>
> And the crypto trauma etc of 1998 is why they won't go water recycling now,
> but its so cocky to jam the Aboriginal child abuse problem with a Warragamba
> non threat. I mean get real. It's been raining for 2 weeks and they only now
> have a worry about turbidity?
>
> Rees is the real fear. He worked for Iemma. Almost certainly breifed against
> Bryce Gaudry - deselected.
>
> My thesis is Iemma knew all about Orkopoulos scandal well before his press
> conference in 2006 getting in front of the curve ball. That's the point.
>
> 3. Minister for 'Callan Park' Verity Firth - big grab from your show
> yesterday - when she is a demonstrated sleaze on broken election promises
>
> a. dry boat store in Rozelle Bay
> b. M5 East
> c. Anvill Hill opposition.
>
> As MP for Balmain she should be slam dunked for selling off mental health
> services for a university campus ...... let me guess which one.
>
> Your in the picture big brain.Cya Sunday.
>
> Yours truly, Tom
>
> It's all sleaze.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 8:24 AM
> Subject: RE: a friendly reminder
>
>
> and your point is...
>
> adam s
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tom [mailto:ecologya@telpacific.com.au]
> Sent: Thursday, 28 June 2007 7:29 AM
> To: 702 Breakfast
> Subject: a friendly reminder
>
>
> Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by
> Tom (ecologya@telpacific.com.au) on Thursday, June 28, 2007 at 07:30:16
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> From: http://www.abc.net.au/contact/default.htm
>
> comments: its public radio not the Sydney Uni Senate. Put that in your
> turbidity.
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> HTTP_REFERER: http://www.abc.net.au/sydney/stories/s1870545.htm
......................................
We notified the executive producer at the ABC above material at about 8am at least to check it out, and it would be fair to say he was combative, which is fair enough and probably an occupational hazard. That's accepted. No one wants a wimp running the independent ABC. But also unwisely dismissive in this case given the above evidenced pattern of concern.
His view, on the spur of the moment to be fair, is that they had nothing to add to the story editorially speaking. But we don't buy that for one. The ALP Left participating and speaking up against the "empty pursuit of power" was devastating and fresh material. As was the Koperberg $50K family law settlement allegation, true it is a bit hot legally speaking after the Sunday press. As was the fresh contact with the Hardie company and Norman Thompson interviews about their covert subsidiary company donation called Marbal Pty Ltd. All fresh material in our view. The extra access to MP for Wollongong was also fresh.
But only if you are looking at all this free of an ALP allegiance one way or the other?
All good grist for the 5th estate on a growing readership trend as here but what about ABC's proud history of setting the standard? We submit Sarah Ferguson for 4 Corners has indeed set the standard that 702 morning show have not managed to reach on this occassion. And that is indeed noteworthy.
