Mood:
specialTopic: big media
Matt Price has died at 46 (45?). He was a rascally, bright, kind, dedicated toiler in the big media with an eye to the compassionate approach. The fellow with the gasp at the forefront of the vision on the close election of Mark Latham to ALP leader 3 years ago, and shown above with John Howard in his role with the Canberra Press Gallery.
On the centre leftish side of The Australian press gang, perhaps as a foil to Dennis Shanahan or other right wingers, Matt was a regular on ABC too.
He stumbled intellectually about mid year and now we presume it was almost certainly the brain tumour that has now taken him. How many ferocious deadlines did he make, how many pressure cooker news rooms, did he endure? Was it the genetic lottery? Lifestyle? It hardly matters. He's gone before us. But we are all going down the same road.
Trioli has spoken of his death this morning on 702 ABC radio. He would have revelled in analysis of the Rudd years. Especially this image of the 'Jed Bartlet/West Wing' stance (episode #43 on Wikipedia if memory serves), ie hands in pocket, made up his mind, set his course with that high power intellect, only this time it's no actor but new PM Rudd in Price's own newspaper this morning:
It's an image with a subliminal for the insiders like Matt who surely enjoyed the USA power sit com drama. He was visited by PM Howard last week indicating his credentials.
Just yesterday Barrie Cassidy gave a brief soliliquy for Matt Price on Insiders ABC as "strong and positive and that's the way forward". Such irony, maybe intended, maybe not.
Damn, damn, damn. God bless your soul Matt Price. We never met but we liked you alot.
