Fitzroyalty

Hyperlocal news about Melbourne's first suburb: Fitzroy 3065

Yearly archives: 2008

the ethics of citizen journalism

27 December 2008 | 4 Comments

I’ve been thinking about what exactly Queensland MP James Bidgood did wrong when he photographed a man on the grounds of Parliament House in Canberra who was threatening to set himself alight while protesting about the visa conditions of family members. I don’t understand why he has been criticised. The root of his punishment seems to be political correctness. What, if anything, did he do wrong?

The facts: he photographed a newsworthy incident and sold the photos to a news agency and donated his fee to charity.…

Guru on fire

26 December 2008 | Comments Off

I nearly forgot to report on the fire at the Guru Da Dhaba Indian restaurant on the corner of Johnston St and Gore St on the morning of 4 December 2008. I rode past about 9am on my motorbike on my way to work, and I did not have my camera with me so I had nothing worth publishing. Smoke was still coming from the upstairs windows and there was an enormous pile of something, perhaps carpets and curtains thrown out from the upstairs windows, out on the footpath.…

I thought you were someone else

25 December 2008 | Comments Off

While walking along Gertrude St recently I noticed that one of Deb’s characters had reincarnated. Here’s the wall on the corner of Little George St as I photographed it in Jun 2008. This design had been there since the year before. Below that is the same location as it is now. It’s further evidence of the evolution of her style.

visual art little george st gertrude st fitzroy fitzroystreetart deb

visual art little george st gertrude st fitzroy fitzroystreetart deb …

bringing colour to a grey world

24 December 2008 | 1 Comment

I recently published a story about the colourless new bottleshop on Johnston St and how disappointing it was to see the removal of their penguin ice fridge and the grey appearance of the building. I’d written the story days before and when I went out that weekend (20-21 December) I discovered Phibs and Deb and the Everfresh crew working in the Saturday sunshine on a commissioned piece to bring some colour to the dull wall.…

you’re not the only de facto in the village

23 December 2008 | Comments Off

I’d like to welcome all GLBTI Australians to the legal nightmare that is the new definition of de facto relationships in Australia. Prior to the passing of federal legislation that gives equal rights to all citizens in many financial and legal areas, such as superannuation, parenting and next of kin, gay and lesbian relationships were invisible under federal law, which resulted in many discriminatory policies and practices.

From my point of view there were some positive aspects to being able to live in an ongoing relationship while that relationship was invisible to the federal government.…