Today's Flanagan article on Arthur Wilkinson got me thinking about the media and how they're not all nasties like some of the opportunists who have shamefully milked the tanking issue for all it's worth. In fact, all this talk of the serious types in today's media brings me back to a different time when the world was all fun and innocence ... well, almost.

My fondest early media memory is of a young Sandy Roberts and his gaffe when he introduced Leanne Dick, the reigning Miss Australia on television as "Leanne [censored]" at the Mount Gambier Cup meeting in 1982 (just for the record, Leanne Dick married, has three children and is now Mrs. Leanne Cockerill!).

The story still comes back to haunt Roberts every once in a while. A few years ago, when reading the Collingwood team on the Channel Seven news, he had to call out the names of some new recruits at the time - Brad Dick and Shannon Cox. There was an interesting smirk on his face.

Writers worth reading in the two tabloids ...

The Age - Connolly, Flanagan, Hanlon, Lane (Tim), Lyon, Quayle.

Hun - Really light on for insightful writing but I don't mind Robinson (some will disagree) and to a degree Stevens.

The rest in both camps write mostly unoriginal, bottom-feeding shite.

Writers worth reading in the two tabloids ...

The Age - Connolly, Flanagan, Hanlon, Lane (Tim), Lyon, Quayle.

Hun - Really light on for insightful writing but I don't mind Robinson (some will disagree) and to a degree Stevens.

The rest in both camps write mostly unoriginal, bottom-feeding shite.

You can add Greg Baum to the Age list.

Writers worth reading in the two tabloids ...

The Age - Connolly, Flanagan, Hanlon, Lane (Tim), Lyon, Quayle.

Hun - Really light on for insightful writing but I don't mind Robinson (some will disagree) and to a degree Stevens.

The rest in both camps write mostly unoriginal, bottom-feeding shite.

Tend to agree with the rider that there are a few other good ones at the Age including Greg Baum (as mentioned above) and Tim Boyle (former Hawk who broke his leg early in his career) who writes some insightful articles and I reckon Robinson's writing at the Hun is pretty ordinary. On the other hand, I don't mind him on TV and radio.

The Herald Sun recently lost two of the better football journalists going around in Mike Sheahan and Mark Stevens and, despite the poor efforts recently of Wilson and Pierik, they are lagging behind the Age.