Whither the Australian Spine?

Since this corner of the internet is still mostly visited by non-Australians, I would like to let you in on a little controversy that has popped up today down here in down-under land.

This past Sunday we had The Logies, which essentially are the People’s Choice Awards (in how they are decided) with a heavy dash of Golden Globes (in setting) and The Emmys (in terms of scope and prestige).

Australian Celebrities + Grog should = a good time.

But it didn’t. Jiminy Cricket, it was one big suburban tea party with all the fake smiling and “aren’t-we-having-a-good-time”-ing going on.

And the producers banned/strongly suggested that Tweeting not be done.

Lest we all realise that we have been hoodwinked into thinking this was such an exciting show.

Fortunately, two comedians in attendance Catherine Deveny & Wil Anderson made the ceremony all the more bearable by poking a stick at the proceedings.

Unfortunately, Deveny has lost her column at The Age as a result. (Read Deveny’s take on the situation at her website.)

Personally, I don’t think this is right. For starters, Deveny’s humour and opinions are what attracted The Age to employ her, and Deveny strikes me as the smart and savvy kind of person to use her Twitter presence as a further extension of her column and work, and realise that it is her public face. (If that wasn't the case, then they would be locked.)

The real danger here, I believe, is the fact that when it comes down to it, the Australian media landscape (at least print-wise), is a duopoly, and when there’s only two in town, you get awfully paranoid about offending anyone.

I always thought Australians had a spine. In fact, post-Logie coverage gave the Australian public a self-congratulatory pat on the back for being cool and relaxed about a wardrobe malfunction and the occasional swearword being uttered.

I read both Deveny’s and Anderson’s tweets, and I would say they were sharp and funny, but whether one found them funny or not, this criticism being heaped upon them is unwarranted and reactionary.

Has Australia forgotten the larrikin?

Because it can be a slippery slope.

Just ask anyone who was living in George W. Bush’s USA from 2000 to 2008.