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PRAYERS ANSWERED

Margo Kingston’s retirement—“Webdiary’s closure marks the end of my career in journalism. It’s time to move on”—is over after just three weeks.

Posted by Tim B. on 12/27/2005 at 04:58 PM
  1. Margo must have been sitting next to Alan Ramsay at the Fairfax Christmas party.

    Posted by Jay Santos on 2005 12 27 at 06:17 PM • permalink

  2. Suddenly a ray of light and hope appears in an otherwise grim and depressing world - Margo is back, at last the people can laugh and smile again.

    Posted by Local oaf on 2005 12 27 at 06:19 PM • permalink

  3. THAT’S journalism?

    Posted by der FRED on 2005 12 27 at 06:23 PM • permalink

  4. Mango, after finding that she is not fit for real work, is back in the saddle spinning twaddle.

    Posted by rog2 on 2005 12 27 at 06:28 PM • permalink

  5. What a wonderful pen portrait of Kerry Packer.

    Thank you Margo. I would never have appreciated what an impressive individual he was if not for you.

    Sorry? What was that? The article supposed to be criticism? Nah, that was praise.

    Posted by Chris Harper on 2005 12 27 at 06:32 PM • permalink

  6. She’s writing in Jaspan’s bum rag, so it hardly qualifies as journalism.

    Posted by Phranger on 2005 12 27 at 06:32 PM • permalink

  7. ``You’ve given me an example of something that I was exonerated from and hijacked into before, the Costigan inquiry, and you’re sitting here under parliamentary privilege dragging that up again … I think you’ve got a damned hide.’‘

    Man, I wish Dubya and Cheney would talk like that.

    Posted by Sonetka's Mom on 2005 12 27 at 06:36 PM • permalink

  8. Margo left out the best part.

    When the senator apologised to him. That was magic and was the best tv moment of that year.

    Posted by Francis H on 2005 12 27 at 06:44 PM • permalink

  9. Chihuahuas snapping at a St Bernard. Finally the big dog growls and they all dive under the couch.

    Posted by Henry boy on 2005 12 27 at 07:00 PM • permalink

  10. A simple transcript of the whole appearance would be more interesting than these feeble attempts at spin.  The video would be good too.  From memory I think it was like seven to one - and the complaints next day was that “it wasn’t fair”. On the seven.

    Posted by Brett_McS on 2005 12 27 at 07:19 PM • permalink

  11. My god that woman is SO up herself. What a narcissistic deluded fruitloop. Is she a speed freak? She sure acts like she has speed psychosis a lot. Get off the cross Margo, we need the wood!

    Posted by Noelenet on 2005 12 27 at 07:29 PM • permalink

  12. I seem to remember bronwyn Beehive getting her ass handed back to her on a plate by kerry. Was she the one who asked that Costigan question?
    If kerry had run for office the day after the enquiry he would have shit it in.

    Posted by thefrollickingmole on 2005 12 27 at 07:34 PM • permalink

  13. I wonder if the headline is supposed to have a double meaning?

    Posted by Jim Treacher on 2005 12 27 at 07:56 PM • permalink

  14. Margo invented online newspapers*, what did Kerr Ypacker ever do?

    * That’s why her picture is in the corner of your screen.

    Posted by Ross on 2005 12 27 at 08:00 PM • permalink

  15. It’s time to move on.

    What would Tim do if she actually did move on?

    Posted by Bruce Rheinstein on 2005 12 27 at 08:27 PM • permalink

  16. #10 the transcript would help. Further to Tim’s previous Packer article, according to this collection of quotes Kerry Packer was reported to have said:

    “Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer. Reluctantly.” - To a federal parliamentary media inquiry, when asked to state his full name and the capacity in which he appeared.

    Margo (who “was there”) appears to have a rather different version, presumably to make him out to be an arsehole:

    Australia’s richest man opened his evidence with belligerence: “Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer. I appear here this afternoon reluctantly.”

    I don’t suppose Kingston ever got a job offer for Australian Womens’ Weekly…

    Posted by Dan Lewis on 2005 12 27 at 08:28 PM • permalink

  17. Sheeeeee’s baaaaack! Or maybe not. Perhaps this is just a sort of “cameo” appearance. Of course, if Magog really does retire from journalism, what’s she going to do? I suppose if she goes on the dole it could legitimately be considered the best value the Australian taxpayer ever got for his money - assuming she shuts up, of course.

    Posted by paco on 2005 12 27 at 08:53 PM • permalink

  18. #12 - the MP getting her arse handed back to her was Jeanette McHugh, wife of current High Court Justice Michael McHugh.

    Kerry also arced up when he saw a cup of tea being brought to Ian Sinclair. Kerry demanded - and got - a cup of tea as well.

    Posted by Oafish and Infantile on 2005 12 27 at 09:09 PM • permalink

  19. It wasn’t Bronwyn Bishop, it was Jeanette McHugh from the ALP. Magrok’s entire article was just a summary of the various news packages from last night.

    Posted by Crusader_ on 2005 12 27 at 09:09 PM • permalink

  20. i hope margo has not just cut and pasted this piece from third party material, while pretending it to be original (“Margo was there”). To test, can someone turn up what she wrote the DAY AFTER Kerry’s committee appearance, and compare the two versions?

    Posted by percypup on 2005 12 27 at 09:18 PM • permalink

  21. Margo is back!!! My prays have been answered.
    Ring the church bells and all sing from the rooftops. I had wondered what I was going to do for my laughs in 2006 after Margrok’s “retirement”. Hope to see more material very soon.
    Margo your return is the best belated christmas present ever. Thank you.

    Posted by Hank Reardon on 2005 12 27 at 09:39 PM • permalink

  22. Translation: I’m tragically unqualified for anything but spouting off.

    Posted by Dave S. on 2005 12 27 at 09:44 PM • permalink

  23. For those not familiar with the Packer story, the little vignette described (or misdescribed) by Magro is better appreciated when it is understood that Packer had long been the bogey man of the left. He was hated, not only because he was very rich and very powerful, but because the left feared if he bought out Fairfax (the owner of all the lefty rags in Oz to this day) he would turf out all the second-rate leftist ideologues posing as journalists (who infest it still) and use the newspapers to effectively deny the ALP government (and the left the spoils that go with it). The ALP, therefore, determined to deny him (and his friend, Murdoch) control of Fairfax – in the national interest.

    Posted by larrikin on 2005 12 27 at 10:41 PM • permalink

  24. Packer may have been the bogeyman of the left, but Hawke’s Labor sure did him a favour in the mid-80’s by ending the two-TV station ownership restriction.  I doubt he cared too much that the cross-media rules barred him from owning Fairfax.

    Posted by slammer on 2005 12 27 at 11:18 PM • permalink

  25. Another grim milestone…

    Posted by Patricia on 2005 12 27 at 11:31 PM • permalink

  26. One wonders whether Margo appeared in The Age with the same reluctance that Packer appeared at the inquiry.

    Of course, it’s possible that Margo wrote this article 14 years ago and she’s just re-running it in The Age for a little extra pocket money.  She’s in fine company if all she’s doing is reprinting articles; that shouldn’t tarnish her reputation as a non-journalist.

    Posted by Kathryn on 2005 12 27 at 11:39 PM • permalink

  27. OT Scary/funny

    Moonbat Love

    The scary part is…they’re trying to get together and reproduce!

    The funny part is…“ActForLove.org is the place to meet liberals, Democrats, activists—folks who actually care about the world”.

    And one of you musically talented people needs to redo “Muskrat Love” to “Moonbat Love”.

    Posted by rinardman on 2005 12 28 at 12:35 AM • permalink

  28. Packer’s testimony to that parliamentary inquiry was a rare example of someone really ‘speaking truth to power’.  No wonder Margo didn’t like it.

    Posted by cuckoo on 2005 12 28 at 01:21 AM • permalink

  29. Margo Kingston was there.

    I read that as part of the story, (and a dramatic part, at that), not an indication of who had authored… the remainder(?) of the page…

    I looked all over trying to find the author’s name; I guess I’m in Australia now.

    Or maybe I’m just dense.

    Anyway—it reminded me of the old historical short films they would show before movies:

      You were there!

    Posted by zeppenwolf on 2005 12 28 at 02:10 AM • permalink

  30. #16 - Good point. To be fair on poor old Margo (poor in the sense of her economic status, old in the sense of her age), she was probably writing from memory, which is no doubt shoddy.

    Slightly o/t, did anyone else notice how webdiary is finishing the year? Begging for money.

    Heh, gotta love consumer choice.

    Posted by anthony27 on 2005 12 28 at 02:21 AM • permalink

  31. From memory, another part of Packer’s testimony to that Committee included this gem,

    Com - Why do you want to buy Fairfax ?

    Packer - It amuses me.

    Posted by JAFA on 2005 12 28 at 03:06 AM • permalink

  32. I know Margo means to complain that the fellow was only paying a 10% marginal tax rate, but I do love how that fact alone is suppose to speak for itself as a symbol of the man’s inate evil.

    (By the way, was that the only page to the story—concluding about getting his cup of tea?—because it seems like a horribly incomplete article)

    Posted by Andrew on 2005 12 28 at 04:38 AM • permalink

  33. That’ll teach those who take ANYTHING Margo says seriously!
    So much for her credibility. She can’t even correctly predict or analyze her OWN behaviour!!!

    Posted by Brian on 2005 12 28 at 04:49 AM • permalink

  34. #16 Dan Lewis, I saw and heard the interview and he did say it as Margo reported it. Her blood alcohol levels may have dipped momentarily to have given her rare clarity.

    Posted by captain on 2005 12 28 at 06:18 AM • permalink

  35. Moonbat Love -if Danida likes sitting in a hole in the wall cafe with Lisialisia what good is she?
    Muskrat Danida,Muskrat Lisia lisia
    do the jitterbug in Muskrat Land and they jiggle,one starts to giggle…
    and they whirl and they twirl and they dangle-float like the heaven above,looks like Moonbat Lo-o-o-o-0ve.
    Margo’s career? Career here,career there….

    Posted by crash on 2005 12 28 at 07:45 AM • permalink

  36. o/t Emma Avaricious admits to spending a lot of time this year chasing prominent businessmen in and out of court…shameless.

    Posted by crash on 2005 12 28 at 07:47 AM • permalink

  37. C’mon crash,  Emma is a HOTTIE! All is forgiven with such hotness!

    She could chase me anywhere, even into court. (Hizonner may not approve, however)

    Posted by Pedro the Ignorant on 2005 12 28 at 08:32 AM • permalink

  38. #37-y’know Pedro,Emma also has the hots for Sol Trujillo -whom she describes as “like a Rock Star.”
    You got the right genes,so if you’re a prominent businessman who can sing-who knows?

    Posted by crash on 2005 12 28 at 09:02 AM • permalink

  39. re: the WD link in #30

    Finally, so many people have asked about Margo. I spoke to her today and she is in good spirits, though still in need of rest.

    Geez, Hamish makes it sound as though Margo has been admitted to a psychiatric ward…

    Posted by PW on 2005 12 28 at 09:03 AM • permalink

  40. It’s marvellous what a difference Mango makes…Bob Geldorf too.He has been made an official consultant to the British Conservative/Tory party.What the…..?

    Posted by crash on 2005 12 28 at 09:36 AM • permalink

  41. PW, lets hope she hasn’t, she might get free Internet access in there!

    Posted by anthony27 on 2005 12 28 at 10:28 AM • permalink

  42. Crash, is that right? About Bob Geldorf? That is a WTF? Moment. How is he to act as a “consultant” to the Tories? What would he offer them? Would they ask him, “Bob, are there any important rock groups that would raise money for Charter Schools and to reform the NHS?” To which Bob would answer, “Um, could I have some more of those delicious little sandies? The choco and pecan ones? Delicioso. That’s how they say it in Sao Paulo.”

    Posted by ekw on 2005 12 28 at 02:30 PM • permalink

  43. after just three weeks.

    hey, “never say never again…”

    Although, does writing for The Age actually count as journalism?

    Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 12 28 at 09:08 PM • permalink

  44. #43 - more of a sheltered workshop, Richard.

    Posted by blogstrop on 2005 12 29 at 03:08 AM • permalink

  45. #39 - PW - sooooo, she needs some rest from the rest she is having? 

    Isn’t it remarkable how, even in retirement, she and those around her persist with the mythology of Margo being the most hard-working and busiest person in the entire universe.  Is there no end to her toil in this mortal world?

    Posted by Ck on 2005 12 29 at 06:04 AM • permalink

  46. Re #40 and #42:

    The 51-year-old former Boomtown Rat and founder of Band Aid, Live Aid and Sport Aid will join David Cameron’s policy commission on globalisation. He will form an unlikely alliance with Peter Lilley, the former social security secretary, who will chair Mr Cameron’s latest attempt to rewrite Tory policy and transform the party’s uncaring image.

    “Geldof’s new aid: to Tory policy”, The Australian

    In an interview with the Sky News TV channel, Geldof said he wouldn’t hesitate to say if he disagreed with the eventual Conservative policy. “They must know that I am in no one’s pocket, that I am not beholden to anyone,” Geldof said.


    “Geldof to advise UK Conservatives”, CNN International

    He also said, and I am not making this up: “The quid pro quo is a double-edged sword.”

    Posted by Kathryn on 2005 12 29 at 08:14 AM • permalink

  47. Huh Tory-Aid——lemon aide.

    Posted by crash on 2005 12 29 at 09:54 AM • permalink

  48. In The Age today (Fri): Feature/column by Leftie moonbat Dr Natasha Cica, founding editor of NewMatilda.com:
    “To varying degrees and with differing agendas, Eric Beecher and Di Gribble’s Crikey, Margo Kingston’s WebDiary...and John Menadue’s NewMatilda do make invaluable space for something different.”
    Point One: Margo’s space is and was certainly ‘invaluable’, meaning of no value.
    Second: How sad that even Leftie moonbats like Dr Cica don’t read WebDiary, otherwise Dr Cica would have known it went Kaput this month.
    Other Leftie moonbat crap on the same page of The Age: Warwick McFadyen, “staff writer”
    going bananas about US ‘rendition’ of terror suspects—“incarceration, interrogation and possible torture in third countries”: hey Warwick, give us one substantiated case of that “possible” torture! If you can’t, calm down a bit.
    And on the opposite (Letters) page, another Leftie moonbat called L.Thek, of Glen Waverley, says of the Leftie moonbat film about McCarthy era, Good Night & Good Luck: “I wish it could be mandatory viewing.”

    Yeah right, would he favor gaol terms or only fines for those who refused to see it? Or surely not rendition to New Zealand?

    Posted by percypup on 2005 12 29 at 05:52 PM • permalink

  49. And on the opposite (Letters) page, another Leftie moonbat called L.Thek, of Glen Waverley, says of the Leftie moonbat film about McCarthy era, Good Night & Good Luck: “I wish it could be mandatory viewing.”

    That’s another Age typo.  He said “masturbatory” viewing.

    Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 12 29 at 09:15 PM • permalink

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