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"A true fighter": Tragic loss to Australian media

<p>Trailblazing journalist and editor Judith Whelan has passed away at the age of 63. </p> <p>The ABC confirmed Whelan's death, saying she died on Wednesday after a long battle with cancer.</p> <p>ABC managing director David Anderson was among the first to pay tribute to the “loved and respected” Whelan, confirming her death. </p> <p>“We have lost a great friend and journalism has lost a true fighter,” <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/about/media-centre/statements-and-responses/judith-whelan-announcement/104027286?utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he said in a statement</a> released by the public broadcaster.</p> <p>“Judith always had the instincts that made her such a formidable journalist. She carried with her a commitment to truth and accountability and instilled these values in those who worked with her."</p> <p>“A valued mentor to younger journalists, Judith nurtured while leading by example. Judith was tough but caring and wanted those around her to succeed. Young reporters knew Judith would champion their work if the story needed to be told.”</p> <p><em>Sydney Morning Herald</em> editor Bevan Shields said Whelan will always remain a beloved part of their team.</p> <p>“Judith was a wonderful editor, colleague and friend. She was at the Herald for more than three decades and remains part of our DNA. We are heartbroken by her death,” he told the <em>Herald</em>.</p> <p>“She had a finely tuned news radar but also revelled in journalism that could entertain and inform readers. She was a natural leader and a beautiful person. Our thoughts are with Chris, Sophia and Patrick.”</p> <p>Whelan first joined the ABC in 2016, where she was first appointed Director of Regional and Local News before taking the role of ABC editorial director in 2022.</p> <p>Prior to her work at the public broadcaster, Whelan worked for several other publications, including<em> Sydney Morning Herald</em>, where she also served as news director and editor of its weekend edition.</p> <p>The talented media executive was one of just three female editors in the SMH’s history.</p> <p>Well respected in her field, Whelan’s career also saw her stationed in both the Pacific and Europe as a foreign correspondent, and she was also nominated for a Walkley Award for her news and feature writing.</p> <p><em>Image credits: ABC</em></p>

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How will Meta’s refusal to pay for news affect Australian journalism – and our democracy?

<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-greste-616885">Peter Greste</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/macquarie-university-1174">Macquarie University</a></em></p> <p>When we speak of media freedom, we generally mean it in terms of freedom <em>from</em> unnecessary legal restrictions, so journalists and their sources are not threatened with prosecution for exposing the misdeeds of governments.</p> <p>But the announcement by Meta (Facebook’s parent company) on March 1 that it will <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-01/meta-won-t-renew-deal-with-australian-news-media/103533874">stop paying for Australian news content</a> poses a different kind of threat to media freedom.</p> <p>The most progressive <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-push-to-make-social-media-companies-liable-in-defamation-is-great-for-newspapers-and-lawyers-but-not-you-127513">media freedom laws</a> in the world are meaningless if news companies can’t afford to hire experienced journalists to run expensive investigations. It doesn’t matter how free the laws are if there are no journalists to do the reporting.</p> <p>A <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-37265-1_4">key part of any successful democracy</a> is a free media, capable of interrogating the powerful and holding governments to account. Even in a world overflowing with digital content, we recognise the need for good journalism, produced to ethical and professional standards, to help inform public debate and good policy-making.</p> <h2>It was always going to fall apart</h2> <p>Three years ago, in 2021, under <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/by-industry/digital-platforms-and-services/news-media-bargaining-code/news-media-bargaining-code">the News Media Bargaining Code</a>, the government forced Meta and Google to negotiate with news organisations and pay for the right to access and post their stories.</p> <p>The government introduced the code after <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/3/1/facebook-owner-meta-to-end-deals-funding-news-in-australia-germany-france">Facebook and Google were accused of putting news content on their platforms</a>, while denying news organisations the advertising revenues that used to pay for journalism.</p> <p>Although we don’t know exactly who gets paid what, it is estimated that the two digital giants injected <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/1b-for-journalism-at-risk-in-new-warning-over-google-facebook-20240223-p5f78j.html">about $250 million a year</a> into Australian journalism.</p> <p>It wasn’t enough to end the crisis in news caused by the collapse of the old business models, but it <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Communications/Regionalnewspapers/Report/Section?id=committees%2Freportrep%2F024888%2F79305">helped prop up</a> a lot of struggling companies. In some cases, it helped pay for otherwise unprofitable forms of journalism.</p> <p>One of the big problems with the code was that it pushed media companies into inherently unstable and unpredictable deals with commercial behemoths, whose only interest in news was as a commodity to help drive profits. It was always going to fall apart, if and when news became too expensive and Facebook users became disinterested.</p> <p>It is hard to criticise Meta for deciding the deals weren’t worth it. The company is doing what it is supposed to, making hardheaded commercial decisions and maximising shareholder returns. But Meta’s interests are not the same as the Australian public’s.</p> <p>Or more accurately, Meta’s interests are not the same as our democracy’s. Meta doesn’t need high-quality news, particularly if its users are more interested in sharing family photos than sober reporting on inflation rates. But collectively, our society does need it.</p> <p>High-quality news is expensive. It doesn’t cost much to send someone to report on <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-taylor-swift-tickets-so-hard-to-get-the-economics-are-complicated-208567">Taylor Swift’s</a> Melbourne concert, but it is hugely expensive to cover <a href="https://theconversation.com/other-nations-are-applying-sanctions-and-going-to-court-over-gaza-should-nz-join-them-224132">the war in Gaza</a> or investigate allegations of government corruption.</p> <p>I suspect not that many Australians have read Adele Ferguson’s reporting about the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/adele-ferguson-on-the-cost-of-whistleblowing-and-need-for-a-bank-royal-commission-20160505-gomxc4.html">corrupt practices of our biggest banks</a>. Her investigations took years of work, and cost far more than the Sydney Morning Herald would have recovered in subscriptions and advertising revenue for her stories.</p> <p>But her reporting triggered the <a href="https://www.royalcommission.gov.au/banking">Banking Royal Commission</a> and a suite of reforms that benefit everyone with a bank account.</p> <h2>A news levy?</h2> <p>If we accept that news is a public good, not something we can treat as a product to be traded like soap, then we have to develop economic models that somehow get the public to pay for it. It could be something like a levy – similar to Medicare’s – that recognises even if we don’t all consume news equally, we are collectively better off by having good journalism that’s free from commercial or political pressure.</p> <p>It is a difficult conversation to have, particularly when most Australians say <a href="https://www.edelman.com.au/trust/2023/trust-barometer">they don’t trust the media</a>, and more and more of us are <a href="https://www.canberra.edu.au/uc-alumni-canvas/canvas-articles/posts/news-blues-over-half-of-australians-avoid-the-news">giving up on news altogether</a>.</p> <p>And that brings us to the other truth this crisis has exposed: our consumption of media <a href="https://www.canberra.edu.au/about-uc/media/newsroom/2023/june/digital-news-report-australia-2023-tiktok-and-instagram-increase-in-popularity-for-news-consumption,-but-australians-dont-trust-algorithms">has changed irreversibly</a>. Fewer and fewer people are reading long news stories or wading through heavy TV bulletins. Now, short-form videos on TikTok, YouTube and Facebook are dominant. The news industry needs to meet audiences where they are, and accept that the ways of presenting news must also radically change.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3RW1U9Q-lzw?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">Our ways of consuming the news have changed, with short-form videos now dominant.</span></figcaption></figure> <p>This is not to suggest all journalism should henceforth be presented as TikTok videos. But forcing digital giants to prop up analogue-era news companies cements a system that is no longer fit for purpose.</p> <p>By trying to make the big digital giants pay for content they ultimately profit from, the News Media Bargaining Code started with the right intention. But now that Meta has decided it is no longer worth it, we have a chance to radically rethink and redesign how we finance and deliver news – in a way that works for us all.</p> <p>Our democracy depends on it.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224872/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-greste-616885">Peter Greste</a>, Professor of Journalism and Communications, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/macquarie-university-1174">Macquarie University</a></em></p> <p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-will-metas-refusal-to-pay-for-news-affect-australian-journalism-and-our-democracy-224872">original article</a>.</p>

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"Very poor journalism": Lisa Wilkinson called out in defamation case

<p>Lisa Wilkinson has been forced to defend the journalistic decisions of <em>The Project</em>, as she took to the stand as part of Bruce Lehrmann's defamation case against Wilkinson and Channel Ten. </p> <p>During court proceedings on Friday, Wilkinson admitted that during her bombshell report on Brittany Higgins' rape allegations, the program left out key information. </p> <p><em>The Project</em> allegedly edited out important details about what happened in Parliament House the morning after Brittany Higgins was allegedly raped.</p> <div data-body-element-id="zjCMXjhzxa"> <p>In an uncut version of the episode which aired in February 2021, Wilkinson asked Ms Higgins if any security guards had asked if she was "okay" after the alleged incident.</p> </div> <div data-body-element-id="R0B2D1Ni6K"> <p>Ms Higgins replied, "No, no. I mean, besides one who called into the office in the morning, and said ‘Is everyone okay?’ and that was it."</p> </div> <div data-body-element-id="2D5V5jCZaQ"> <p>In the final cut, the words "...besides the one who called into the office in the morning" were not included.</p> </div> <div data-body-element-id="9FH5ZgE5Ew"> <p>Bruce Lehrmann's barrister Matthew Richardson SC quizzed Wilkinson about the edit, saying, "That's very poor journalism, isn't it?"</p> </div> <div data-body-element-id="q0X6OvsQtG"> <p>Wilkinson replied, "I'm disappointed to see that. It is a detail which escaped my attention."</p> <p>Elsewhere during the court proceedings, Wilkinson bit back at Lehrmann's lawyer for challenging her journalistic abilities.</p> <p>On Thursday, Wilkinson was asked why she didn't ask to see the metadata on a photo of a bruise on Brittany Higgins' thigh, which she claimed was from the alleged rape. </p> <p>Wilkinson told the Federal Court that she was not "tech-savvy" and did not know what metadata was, saying, "I didn't know photos had metadata."</p> <div data-body-element-id="A9GzCf-Iqm"> <p>Lehrmann's lawyer Mr Richardson was quick to ask in response: "You describe yourself as a serious investigative journalist?"</p> </div> <div data-body-element-id="3eDMnH9cY0"> <p>She bit back, stating she only refers to herself as a "journalist".</p> </div> <div data-body-element-id="tMBlnKPjTn"> <p>Mr Richardson said, "You were emphatic yesterday when you said you were not a tabloid journalist.'</p> </div> <div data-body-element-id="9WzAcuceor"> <p>She repeated: "I describe myself as a journalist, Mr Richardson."</p> </div> <div data-body-element-id="bUfGxqx44_"> <p>He said given she had been a journalist for 40 years, "it was most improbable that you did not know what metadata was."</p> </div> <div data-body-element-id="QIHT-BVE1b"> <p>She replied, "I disagree."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> </div> </div>

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Molly Meldrum at 80: how the ‘artfully incoherent’ presenter changed Australian music – and Australian music journalism

<p>Ian Alexander “Molly” Meldrum is 80 on January 29 2023.</p> <p>The Australian music industry would not be where it is today without his work as a talent scout, DJ, record producer, journalist, broadcaster and professional fan.</p> <p>His legacy has been acknowledged by the ARIAs, APRA, the Logies, an Order of Australia and even a <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-will-molly-help-us-remember-australian-culture-54117">mini-series</a>.</p> <p>Just a couple of weeks ago, Meldrum made headlines again for an appearance at Elton John’s farewell concert in Melbourne when he <a href="https://themusic.com.au/news/molly-meldrum-bares-his-bum-at-elton-john-concert/oL24srW0t7Y/14-01-23">“mooned” the crowd</a> in a playful display of rock and roll rebellion. He later <a href="https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/molly-meldrum-apologises-for-mooning-audiences-at-elton-johns-melbourne-concert-3381156">apologised</a> to the audience and old friend Elton, keen to make sure no one else was blamed.</p> <p>It was an irreverence typical of Meldrum’s long career. But his legacy is not just in the musical acts he supported. It is also in the taste makers who followed in his footsteps.</p> <h2>‘Artfully incoherent’</h2> <p>A journalist at pioneering music magazine Go-Set, a presenter and record producer, Meldrum became a household name with the ABC TV music show Countdown (1974-87). Countdown was a weekly touchstone for the industry and fans, promoting local acts alongside the best in the world.</p> <p>Meldrum’s approach to interviewing and commentary is legendary. ABC historian Ken Inglis called his interviewing style “artfully incoherent”.</p> <p>Importantly, his charm put artists and fans at ease.</p> <p>Meldrum is not a slick player, but a fan. This fandom is felt so deeply that, at times, he became overwhelmed.</p> <p>One of Meldrum’s most famous interviews was in 1977 when the then Prince Of Wales appeared on Countdown to launch a charity record and event. The presenter became increasingly flustered.</p> <p>Even now, watching back, it’s hard not to side with Meldrum rather than his famous guest. Pomp, ceremony and hierarchy really didn’t make sense in this rock and pop oasis.</p> <p>In another interview, Meldrum spoke to David Bowie on a tennis court. Both men casually talked and smoked (it was the ‘70s!), talking seriously about the work but not much else.</p> <p>As Meldrum handed Bowie a tennis racket to demonstrate how the iconic track, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkLE1Gno724">Fame</a> (with John Lennon) was born, the Starman was given space to be hilariously human.</p> <p>When meeting a sedate Stevie Nicks, Meldrum met her on her level.</p> <p>Nicks told Meldrum she was only happy “sometimes”, and rather than probing, he just listened. When Meldrum asked about the dog Nicks had in her lap, she opened up, "I got her way before I had any money, I didn’t have near enough money to buy her […] She’s one of the things I’ve had to give up for Fleetwood Mac, because you’re not home."</p> <p>Meldrum approached this, and all his guests, with humanity. This is how his insights into the reality of rock royalty are effortlessly uncovered.</p> <h2>New taste makers</h2> <p>A country boy who came to the city, Meldrum studied music and the growing local industry much more attentively than his law degree. He passionately supported (and continues to support) Australian popular music – and Australian music fans.</p> <p>He speaks a love language for music that musicians and fans share, and a language which has continued in other presenters.</p> <p>Following in Meldrum’s footsteps we have seen distinct critical voices like Myf Warhurst, Julia Zemiro and Zan Rowe.</p> <p>Each of these women have approached the music industry with charm like Meldrum, but also their own perspectives: Zemiro with a love of international influence; Warhurst with pop as a language to connect us to the everyday; Rowe with a way to connect audiences and musicians through conversations about their own processes and passions.</p> <p>Our best music critics, and musicians, have embraced an unapologetic energy Meldrum made acceptable.</p> <p>Meldrum is also a pioneer in the LGBTQ+ community, weathering the storms of prejudice during his early career. Today, members of the media and musical community have greater protection from the prejudice common when his career began.</p> <h2>The music, of course, the music</h2> <p>The Australian music industry would not be what it is had Molly Meldrum gone on to be a lawyer.</p> <p>Through the pages of Go-Set and on Countdown he worked to promote new talent, believing in and developing acts like AC/DC, Split Enz, Paul Kelly, Do Re Mi, Australian Crawl and Kylie Minogue before the rest of the industry knew what to do with them.</p> <p>He did the same for international artists. ABBA, Elton John, KISS, Madonna and many other now mega-names were first presented to Australian audiences via Meldrum’s wonderful ear.</p> <p>Today, Australian music encompasses pop, dance, electro and hip hop, and artists from all walks of life. Meldrum’s willingness to listen has contributed to this, and he encouraged others to do the same.</p> <p>Meldrum remains revered not just for nostalgia but as an example of what putting energy into the local scene can achieve.</p> <p>Most importantly, Meldrum continues to be a music fan. He loves the mainstream, the place where the majority of the audience also resides. He has never bought into the idea of a “guilty” pleasure – if it works, it works, no music snobbery here.</p> <p>His catch-cry – “do yourself a favour” – really does sum up the importance of music. It is not a luxury, but something to really keep us going.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/molly-meldrum-at-80-how-the-artfully-incoherent-presenter-changed-australian-music-and-australian-music-journalism-196793" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

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A new book argues Julian Assange is being tortured. Will our new PM do anything about it?

<p>It is easy to forget why Julian Assange has been on trial in England for, well, seemingly forever.</p> <p>Didn’t he allegedly sexually assault two women in Sweden? Isn’t that why he holed up for years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid facing charges? When the bobbies finally dragged him out of the embassy, didn’t his dishevelled appearance confirm all those stories about his lousy personal hygiene?</p> <p>Didn’t he persuade Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning to hack into the United States military’s computers to reveal national security matters that endangered the lives of American soldiers and intelligence agents? He says he is a journalist, but hasn’t the New York Times made it clear he is just a “source” and not a publisher entitled to first amendment protection?</p> <p>If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, you are not alone. But the answers are actually no. At very least, it’s more complicated than that.</p> <p>To take one example, the reason Assange was dishevelled was that staff in the Ecuadorian embassy had confiscated his shaving gear three months before to ensure his appearance matched his stereotype when the arrest took place.</p> <p>That is one of the findings of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, whose investigation of the case against Assange has been laid out in forensic detail in <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/trial-of-julian-assange-9781839766220/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Trial of Julian Assange</a>.</p> <p>What is the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Torture doing investigating the Assange case, you might ask? So did Melzer when Assange’s lawyers first approached him in 2018:</p> <blockquote> <p>I had more important things to do: I had to take care of “real” torture victims!</p> </blockquote> <p>Melzer returned to a report he was writing about overcoming prejudice and self-deception when dealing with official corruption. “Not until a few months later,” he writes, “would I realise the striking irony of this situation.”</p> <p>The 47 members of the UN Human Rights Council directly appoint <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-torture" target="_blank" rel="noopener">special rapporteurs on torture</a>. The position is unpaid – Melzer earns his living as a professor of international law – but they have diplomatic immunity and operate largely outside the UN’s hierarchies.</p> <p>Among the many pleas for his attention, Melzer’s small office chooses between 100 and 200 each year to officially investigate. His conclusions and recommendations are not binding on states. He bleakly notes that in barely 10% of cases does he receive full co-operation from states and an adequate resolution.</p> <p>He received nothing like full co-operation in investigating Assange’s case. He gathered around 10,000 pages of procedural files, but a lot of them came from leaks to journalists or from freedom-of-information requests. Many pages had been redacted. Rephrasing <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carl-von-Clausewitz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Carl Von Clausewitz</a>’s maxim, Melzer wrote his book as “the continuation of diplomacy by other means”.</p> <p>What he finds is stark and disturbing:</p> <blockquote> <p>The Assange case is the story of a man who is being persecuted and abused for exposing the dirty secrets of the powerful, including war crimes, torture and corruption. It is a story of deliberate judicial arbitrariness in Western democracies that are otherwise keen to present themselves as exemplary in the area of human rights.</p> <p>It is the story of wilful collusion by intelligence services behind the back of national parliaments and the general public. It is a story of manipulated and manipulative reporting in the mainstream media for the purpose of deliberately isolating, demonizing, and destroying a particular individual. It is the story of a man who has been scapegoated by all of us for our own societal failures to address government corruption and state-sanctioned crimes.</p> <h2>Collateral murder</h2> <p>The dirty secrets of the powerful are difficult to face, which is why we – and I don’t exclude myself – swallow neatly packaged slurs and diversions of the kind listed at the beginning of this article.</p> <p>Melzer rightly takes us back to April 2010, four years after the Australian-born Assange had founded WikiLeaks, a small organisation set up to publish official documents that it had received, encrypted so as to protect whistle-blowers from official retribution. Assange released video footage showing in horrifying detail how US soldiers in a helicopter had shot and killed Iraqi civilians and two Reuters journalists in 2007.</p> <p>Apart from how the soldiers spoke – “Hahaha, I hit them”, “Nice”, “Good shot” – it looks like most of the victims were civilians and that the journalists’ cameras were mistaken for rifles. When one of the wounded men tried to crawl to safety, the helicopter crew, instead of allowing their comrades on the ground to take him prisoner, as required by the rules of war, seek permission to shoot him again.</p> <p>As Melzer’s detailed description makes clear, the soldiers knew what they were doing:</p> <blockquote> <p>“Come on, buddy,” the gunner comments, aiming the crosshairs at his helpless target. “All you gotta do is pick up a weapon.”</p> </blockquote> <p>The soldiers’ request for authorisation to shoot is given. When the wounded man is carried to a nearby minibus, it is shot to pieces with the helicopter’s 30mm gun. The driver and two other rescuers are killed instantly. The driver’s two young children inside are seriously wounded.</p> <p>US army command investigated the matter, concluding that the soldiers acted in accordance with the rules of war, even though they had not. Equally to the point, writes Melzer, the public would never have known a war crime had been committed without the release of what Assange called the “Collateral Murder” video.</p> <p>The video footage was just one of hundreds of thousands of documents that WikiLeaks released last year in tranches known as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/25/afghanistan-war-logs-military-leaks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Afghan war logs</a>, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/22/iraq-war-logs-military-leaks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iraq war logs</a>, and <a href="https://theweek.com/articles/488953/wikileaks-cablegate-dump-10-biggest-revelations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cablegate</a>. They revealed numerous alleged war crimes and provided the raw material for a shadow history of the disastrous wars waged by the US and its allies, including Australia, in Aghanistan and Iraq.</p> <h2>Punished forever</h2> <p>Melzer retraces what has happened to Assange since then, from the accusations of sexual assault in Sweden to Assange taking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in an attempt to avoid the possibility of extradition to the US if he returned to Sweden. His refuge led to him being jailed in the United Kingdom for breaching his bail conditions.</p> <p>Sweden eventually dropped the sexual assault charges, but the US government ramped up its request to extradite Assange. He faces charges under the 1917 Espionage Act, which, if successful, could lead to a jail term of 175 years.</p> <p>Two key points become increasingly clear as Melzer methodically works through the events.</p> <p>The first is that there has been a carefully orchestrated plan by four countries – the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden and, yes, Australia – to ensure Assange is punished forever for revealing state secrets.</p> <p>The second is that the conditions he has been subjected to, and will continue to be subjected to if the US’s extradition request is granted, have amounted to torture.</p> <p>On the first point, how else are we to interpret the continual twists and turns over nearly a decade in the official positions taken by Sweden and the UK? Contrary to the obfuscating language of official communiques, all of these have closed down Assange’s options and denied him due process.</p> <p>Melzer documents the thinness of the Swedish authorities’ case for charging Assange with sexual assault. That did not prevent them from keeping it open for many years. Nor was Assange as unco-operative with police as has been suggested. Swedish police kept changing their minds about where and whether to formally interview Assange because they knew the evidence was weak.</p> <p>Melzer also takes pains to show how Swedish police also overrode the interests of the two women who had made the complaints against Assange.</p> <p>It is distressing to read the conditions Assange has endured over several years. A change in the political leadership of Ecuador led to a change in his living conditions in the embassy, from cramped but bearable to virtual imprisonment.</p> <p>Since being taken from the embassy to Belmarsh prison in 2019, Assange has spent much of his time in solitary confinement for 22 or 23 hours a day. He has been denied all but the most limited access to his legal team, let alone family and friends. He was kept in a glass cage during his seemingly interminable extradition hearing, appeals over which could continue for several years more years, according to Melzer.</p> <p>Assange’s physical and mental health have suffered to the point where he has been put on suicide watch. Again, that seems to be the point, as Melzer writes:</p> <blockquote> <p>The primary purpose of persecuting Assange is not – and never has been – to punish him personally, but to establish a generic precedent with a global deterrent effect on other journalist, publicists and activists.</p> </blockquote> <p>So will the new Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, do any more than his three Coalition and two Labor predecessors to advocate for the interests of an Australian citizen? In December 2021, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/02/labor-backbenchers-urge-albanese-to-stay-true-to-his-values-on-julian-assange-trial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Guardian Australia reported</a> Albanese saying he did “not see what purpose is served by the ongoing pursuit of Mr Assange” and that “enough is enough”. Since being sworn in as prime minister, he has kept his cards close to his chest.</p> <p>The actions of his predecessors suggest he won’t, even though Albanese has already said on several occasions since being elected that he wants to do politics differently.</p> <p>Melzer, among others, would remind him of the words of <a href="https://theelders.org/news/only-us-president-who-didnt-wage-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">former US president Jimmy Carter</a>, who, contrary to other presidents, said he did not deplore the WikiLeaks revelations.</p> <blockquote> <p>They just made public what was the truth. Most often, the revelation of truth, even if it’s unpleasant, is beneficial. […] I think that, almost invariably, the secrecy is designed to conceal improper activities.</p> <p><em><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-book-argues-julian-assange-is-being-tortured-will-our-new-pm-do-anything-about-it-183622" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</strong></em></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p> </blockquote> </blockquote>

Books

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What George Clooney did before becoming an actor

<p dir="ltr">Have you ever wondered what sort of jobs famous Hollywood actors had before they made it?</p> <p dir="ltr">George Clooney was quite a favourite choice in the office because we could relate to him…other than the famous part obviously.</p> <p dir="ltr">The silver fox was actually following his father’s footsteps and was working as a journalist.</p> <p dir="ltr">After finishing high school, Clooney enrolled in Northern Kentucky University, where he majored in broadcast journalism.</p> <p dir="ltr">Other than aspiring to follow in his father’s footsteps, Clooney would also discuss world events at family dinners and as a child following his dad around the newsroom before getting into social activism.</p> <p dir="ltr">Clooney, however, got tired of being constantly compared to his father and was also unsure of whether he would be a decent journalist.</p> <p dir="ltr">So he quit school and had to figure out what to do from there. </p> <p dir="ltr">He went on to try out for professional baseball for the Cincinnati Red team but he was not skilled enough. </p> <p dir="ltr">Clooney did a few odd jobs here and there before finally falling into acting when he was cast as an extra on his cousin and uncle’s film.</p> <p dir="ltr">From there, Clooney was intrigued and even moved to California to become an actor. </p> <p dir="ltr">And now look at him today. A Hollywood heartthrob. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Movies

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How to keep a gratitude journal

<p><strong>The benefits of gratitude </strong></p><p>Maybe you’ve heard about the potential benefits of practising gratitude or keeping a gratitude journal. You may have even been advised to keep a gratitude journal by a doctor, family, or friends.</p><p>But are there any real benefits from keeping a gratitude journal? And how exactly does gratitude journaling work?</p><p>Experts say there’s no wrong way to do gratitude exercises like keeping a gratitude journal, unless of course you’re focusing on negative things or things that can encourage shameful feelings.</p><p>Here’s what the experts want you to know about why and how to keep a gratitude journal.</p><p><strong>What is a gratitude journal?</strong></p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">According to experts, a gratitude journal is typically a journal or notepad where you jot down things for which you are grateful.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">This doesn’t need to be a notepad or journal, though; it can also include listing things for which you are grateful aloud or in your mind. Some smartphone apps even allow you to text or digitally enter things you are grateful for.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">“You can keep a gratitude journal on your phone, you could do it in a notebook, you could even just kind of take time to really think about those things,” says Laurie Santos, PhD, a professor of psychology.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">“All of these types of forms of engaging with a gratitude journal can really improve your wellbeing.”</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff"><strong>What does research show about the effects of gratitude journaling?</strong></p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">Experts say the evidence is overwhelming: Keeping a gratitude journal is good for your health and overall well-being.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">“There’s lots and lots of studies basically suggesting that gratitude improves wellbeing,” Dr Santos says.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">“There’s evidence, for example, that people who are more grateful experience more benefits in terms of their self-regulation, they’re more likely to eat healthier, they’re more likely to save more for retirement,” she explains. “And there’s even evidence that people sleep better when they’re feeling more grateful.”</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">Jane Wilson, PhD, says there are even more benefits of keeping a gratitude journal.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">“People who keep a gratitude journal experience more positive emotions such as love, joy, contentment, improved social connections, increased sense of inner peace, improved exercise and deepened sense of focus in learning,” Dr Wilson explains.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">“Keeping a gratitude journal strengthens one’s gratitude muscle,” she adds. “By strengthening one’s gratitude muscle, people will find they more quickly notice good things in life, and they’re better able to manage future stressful situations.”</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff"><strong>What is gratitude?</strong></p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">Dr Simon-Thomas says the most simple way to make a gratitude diary entry, very generally, is to list sources of goodness that you enjoy in your life that you haven’t had to work toward or earn.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">“It can be as simple as running water that is drinkable from a tap, or can be really complex and detailed, like the role that a mentor in your life has played in advancing your professional career or by introducing you to a topic or a community that has been instrumental,” she explains.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">She says examples of this include gratitude for things many people take for granted, such as democracy, freedom, access to education and health care. “Those are really important kinds of gratitude,” she says, “and they do shift us toward a more optimistic view in the world.”</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">Dr Wilson says she suggests beginning by pausing to reflect upon your day or week, taking a moment to savour a few blessings in your life, and then jotting the things you noticed or think of.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff"><strong>How often should you write in a gratitude journal?</strong></p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">Experts say there’s no hard and fast rule about how frequently to make entries in a gratitude journal to reap the benefits.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">Dr Simon-Thomas says there are some general patterns that seem to pop up like the suggestion to write three times a day, she adds, but that won’t work for everyone.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">If you’re more anxious person, maybe for you the best schedule for gratitude journaling is twice a day for two weeks. For some people who lean toward a more open-minded and flexible emotional demeanour, she says journaling once every other day for four weeks may be the most impactful.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">Some research suggests the ideal frequency to write in a gratitude journal seems to be around one to three entries per week for at least two weeks. Experts say this is likely because it can become easier to become numb to sources of goodness around us if we track it every day.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff"><strong>How much should you write in a journal?</strong></p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">According to the experts, any amount of expression or embracing of gratitude, including writing it down in a journal, can be beneficial. But most also agree that the more specific and in-depth an entry is, the more impact it tends to have.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">Dr Simon-Thomas says some people find it helpful to go into a lot of detail as to why they are grateful for something or how it made them feel. Some experts also advocate for the benefit of making extended entries that can be shared with others.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">“The most impactful gratitude practice is writing a gratitude letter to someone, around 300 to 500 words, and then reading it aloud to that person,” Dr Wilson says.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff"><strong>How long do you need to keep a gratitude journal to reap the benefits?</strong></p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">The jury is still out on exactly how long you need to keep a gratitude journal to reap the benefits.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">“There’s evidence, for example, that simply scribbling down a few things that you’re grateful for every day can significantly improve your wellbeing in as little as two weeks,” Dr Santos According to some experts, about 15 days is the period at which people start experiencing long-term benefits from gratitude journaling. But Dr Simon-Thomas says there are a lot of different statements out there about the relative period of time required, adding that some studies suggest just experiencing 30 to 60 seconds of gratitude, writing or reflection, can change how someone acts in the next moment, and in the next couple hours.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff"><strong>Some prompts to kick-start your gratitude journal:</strong></p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">The experts say some people have no issue coming up with things they are grateful for, but this isn’t always an easy process for everyone. For some people, even trying to think of things they are grateful for, or not being able to come up with any, can be overwhelming and make you feel hopeless.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff">If you’re having trouble thinking of entries to make in a gratitude journal, experts advise using basic prompts that help you get started in the process, although there is no perfect prompt for everyone or every situation. Some prompts may seem well-suited for a certain person or situation, but others may make someone feel worse, so choose what works for you.</p><p style="border: 0px;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;line-height: 26px;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff"><strong>Examples of good prompts for gratitude journal entries include:</strong></p><ul style="border: 0px;font-family: Raleway, sans-serif, Arial;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 15px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff"><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">I am grateful for a natural resource (water, food, clean air, sunlight).</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">I am grateful for a component of the natural world (wildlife, mountains, bodies of water).</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">I am grateful for modern comforts (running water, toilets, indoor heat, electricity, cars, airplanes, trains, grocery stores).</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">I am grateful for institutions or services (hospitals and health care, education centres and education, emergency services like firefighters and natural disaster response services).</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">I am grateful for a leisure activity (writing, reading, watching TV or movies).</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">I am grateful my body is capable of … (walking, exercising, maintaining balance and posture, recovering from illness).</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">I am grateful my brain is capable of … (thinking, being intelligent, being curious, having an imagination, learning new things, talking, coordinating body movement, remembering things and feelings).</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">I am grateful for a stress-reducing activity (meditation, yoga, mindfulness, talking with friends and family).</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">I am grateful I am alive now because … (modern amenities and comforts, scientific breakthroughs or advancements, ability to travel around the world, ability to connect with others easier).</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">I am grateful for basic rights such as … (freedom, civil liberties, the right to receive education, expression of thought, the right to vote).</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">I am grateful for something that someone did to help me or make me feel more secure.</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">I am grateful for components of my work (respect of co-workers or bosses, benefits, positive impact of work on others or the environment, feelings of fulfillment or engagement).</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">I am grateful to have certain people in my life.</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">I am grateful for my pet because …</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">I am grateful for a certain experience.</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">I am grateful that something happened to me today.</li></ul><p>Additional tips to keeping a gratitude journal:</p><ul style="border: 0px;font-family: Raleway, sans-serif, Arial;font-size: 16px;margin: 0px 0px 15px 20px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline;color: #444444;background-color: #ffffff"><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">Go for depth of entries versus quantity. It’s generally better to go into as much detail as possible about why you are grateful for something than generating a long, less detailed list.</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">Try to not simply go through the motions. Keeping a gratitude journal is more effective if you first commit, and stay committed to, being more grateful, happy, or optimistic. A gratitude journal entry should not be viewed as a to-do list or something you have to do against your will.</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">Don’t try to make any entry if you really aren’t ready or in a good space. Pushing yourself to simply make entries can actually make you feel worse or overwhelmed and may lead to entries that are negative or shaming.</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">Don’t overdo it. Many people think you have to write in a gratitude journal every day to see positive effects. But writing once or twice per week long-term may be more beneficial than daily journaling.</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">Think about subtractions, not only additions. One way to stimulate feelings of gratitude is to think about how your life would be affected without certain things, such as modern comforts, friends and family, meaningful work, etc. This approach can be especially effective if someone is having a hard time coming up with something they’re grateful for.</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">Savour surprises. Events that are surprising or unexpected often stimulate stronger feelings of gratitude.</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">Get personal with your entries. Recording or thinking about people you are grateful for often is more impactful than thinking about things you’re grateful for.</li><li style="border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;vertical-align: baseline">Think of things you’re grateful for as gifts. Thinking of things we are grateful for as gifts helps prevent many people from overlooking them or taking them for granted.</li></ul><p>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/healthsmart/conditions/mental-health/how-to-keep-a-gratitude-journal-with-16-prompts-to-help-you-get-started?pages=1">Readers Digest</a>. </p>

Mind

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How to keep a gratitude journal, with 16 prompts to help you get started

<p><strong>Benefits of gratitude</strong></p> <p>Maybe you’ve heard about the potential benefits of practising gratitude or keeping a gratitude journal. You may have even been advised to keep a gratitude journal by a doctor, family, or friends.</p> <p>But are there any real benefits from keeping a gratitude journal? And how exactly does gratitude journaling work?</p> <p>Experts say there’s no wrong way to do gratitude exercises like keeping a gratitude journal, unless of course you’re focusing on negative things or things that can encourage shameful feelings.</p> <p>Here’s what the experts want you to know about why and how to keep a gratitude journal.</p> <p><strong>What is a gratitude journal?</strong></p> <p>According to experts, a gratitude journal is typically a journal or notepad where you jot down things for which you are grateful.</p> <p>This doesn’t need to be a notepad or journal, though; it can also include listing things for which you are grateful aloud or in your mind. Some smartphone apps even allow you to text or digitally enter things you are grateful for.</p> <p>“You can keep a gratitude journal on your phone, you could do it in a notebook, you could even just kind of take time to really think about those things,” says Laurie Santos, PhD, a professor of psychology.</p> <p>“All of these types of forms of engaging with a gratitude journal can really improve your wellbeing.”</p> <p><strong>What does research show about the effects of gratitude journaling?</strong></p> <p>Experts say the evidence is overwhelming: Keeping a gratitude journal is good for your health and overall well-being.</p> <p>“There’s lots and lots of studies basically suggesting that gratitude improves wellbeing,” Dr Santos says.</p> <p>“There’s evidence, for example, that people who are more grateful experience more benefits in terms of their self-regulation, they’re more likely to eat healthier, they’re more likely to save more for retirement,” she explains. “And there’s even evidence that people sleep better when they’re feeling more grateful.”</p> <p>Jane Wilson, PhD, says there are even more benefits of keeping a gratitude journal.</p> <p>“People who keep a gratitude journal experience more positive emotions such as love, joy, contentment, improved social connections, increased sense of inner peace, improved exercise and deepened sense of focus in learning,” Dr Wilson explains.</p> <p>“Keeping a gratitude journal strengthens one’s gratitude muscle,” she adds. “By strengthening one’s gratitude muscle, people will find they more quickly notice good things in life, and they’re better able to manage future stressful situations.”</p> <p><strong>What is gratitude?</strong></p> <p>Gratitude can have many definitions depending on whom you talk to. But according to Emiliana Simon-Thomas, PhD, gratitude is often defined into two basic ways.</p> <p>“Science defines gratitude in a couple of ways,” she says.</p> <p>“One way is reverence for that which is given. Recognising that all kinds of stuff around us every day has nothing to do with our effort, talents, our skills. It’s just there.”</p> <p>She says another way we define gratitude is as a specific emotional experience.</p> <p>“So how you feel that kind of warmth in your chest, that affectionate sentiment, when you are in a moment where someone has done something that’s really wonderful for you, you feel grateful right then and there is that sense of trust and connection, and social support,” she explains.</p> <p><strong>How do I make an entry in a gratitude journal?</strong></p> <p>Dr Simon-Thomas says the most simple way to make a gratitude diary entry, very generally, is to list sources of goodness that you enjoy in your life that you haven’t had to work toward or earn.</p> <p>“It can be as simple as running water that is drinkable from a tap, or can be really complex and detailed, like the role that a mentor in your life has played in advancing your professional career or by introducing you to a topic or a community that has been instrumental,” she explains.</p> <p>She says examples of this include gratitude for things many people take for granted, such as democracy, freedom, access to education and health care. “Those are really important kinds of gratitude,” she says, “and they do shift us toward a more optimistic view in the world.”</p> <p>Dr Wilson says she suggests beginning by pausing to reflect upon your day or week, taking a moment to savour a few blessings in your life, and then jotting the things you noticed or think of.</p> <p><strong>How often should you write in a gratitude journal?</strong></p> <p>Experts say there’s no hard and fast rule about how frequently to make entries in a gratitude journal to reap the benefits.</p> <p>Dr Simon-Thomas says there are some general patterns that seem to pop up like the suggestion to write three times a day, she adds, but that won’t work for everyone.</p> <p>If you’re more anxious person, maybe for you the best schedule for gratitude journaling is twice a day for two weeks. For some people who lean toward a more open-minded and flexible emotional demeanour, she says journaling once every other day for four weeks may be the most impactful.</p> <p>Some research suggests the ideal frequency to write in a gratitude journal seems to be around one to three entries per week for at least two weeks. Experts say this is likely because it can become easier to become numb to sources of goodness around us if we track it every day.</p> <p><strong>How much should you write in a gratitude journal?</strong></p> <p>According to the experts, any amount of expression or embracing of gratitude, including writing it down in a journal, can be beneficial. But most also agree that the more specific and in-depth an entry is, the more impact it tends to have.</p> <p>Dr Simon-Thomas says some people find it helpful to go into a lot of detail as to why they are grateful for something or how it made them feel. Some experts also advocate for the benefit of making extended entries that can be shared with others.</p> <p>“The most impactful gratitude practice is writing a gratitude letter to someone, around 300 to 500 words, and then reading it aloud to that person,” Dr Wilson says.</p> <p><strong>How long do you need to keep a gratitude journal to reap the benefits?</strong></p> <p>The jury is still out on exactly how long you need to keep a gratitude journal to reap the benefits.</p> <p>“There’s evidence, for example, that simply scribbling down a few things that you’re grateful for every day can significantly improve your wellbeing in as little as two weeks,” Dr Santos According to some experts, about 15 days is the period at which people start experiencing long-term benefits from gratitude journaling. But Dr Simon-Thomas says there are a lot of different statements out there about the relative period of time required, adding that some studies suggest just experiencing 30 to 60 seconds of gratitude, writing or reflection, can change how someone acts in the next moment, and in the next couple hours.</p> <p><strong>What is gratitude fatigue?</strong></p> <p>In general, experts say expressing and embracing gratitude, and keeping a gratitude journal, are good for the well-being of most people. But like most things, some people can experience gratitude fatigue, which may cause them to feel worse about their situation or life.</p> <p>“Some people experience gratitude fatigue if they find themselves writing down the same thing each time they open their journal,” Dr Wilson says. “To remedy this, look for new [or] surprising things you’re grateful for. Or … take a break from writing things down and resume the practice after a break.”</p> <p><strong>Writing prompts for gratitude journal entries</strong></p> <p>The experts say some people have no issue coming up with things they are grateful for, but this isn’t always an easy process for everyone. For some people, even trying to think of things they are grateful for, or not being able to come up with any, can be overwhelming and make you feel hopeless.</p> <p>If you’re having trouble thinking of entries to make in a gratitude journal, experts advise using basic prompts that help you get started in the process, although there is no perfect prompt for everyone or every situation. Some prompts may seem well-suited for a certain person or situation, but others may make someone feel worse, so choose what works for you.</p> <p>Examples of good prompts for gratitude journal entries include:</p> <ul> <li>I am grateful for a natural resource (water, food, clean air, sunlight).</li> <li>I am grateful for a component of the natural world (wildlife, mountains, bodies of water).</li> <li>I am grateful for modern comforts (running water, toilets, indoor heat, electricity, cars, airplanes, trains, grocery stores).</li> <li>I am grateful for institutions or services (hospitals and health care, education centres and education, emergency services like firefighters and natural disaster response services).</li> <li>I am grateful for a leisure activity (writing, reading, watching TV or movies).</li> <li>I am grateful my body is capable of … (walking, exercising, maintaining balance and posture, recovering from illness).</li> <li>I am grateful my brain is capable of … (thinking, being intelligent, being curious, having an imagination, learning new things, talking, coordinating body movement, remembering things and feelings).</li> <li>I am grateful for a stress-reducing activity (meditation, yoga, mindfulness, talking with friends and family).</li> <li>I am grateful I am alive now because … (modern amenities and comforts, scientific breakthroughs or advancements, ability to travel around the world, ability to connect with others easier).</li> <li>I am grateful for basic rights such as … (freedom, civil liberties, the right to receive education, expression of thought, the right to vote).</li> <li>I am grateful for something that someone did to help me or make me feel more secure.</li> <li>I am grateful for components of my work (respect of co-workers or bosses, benefits, positive impact of work on others or the environment, feelings of fulfillment or engagement).</li> <li>I am grateful to have certain people in my life.</li> <li>I am grateful for my pet because …</li> <li>I am grateful for a certain experience.</li> <li>I am grateful that something happened to me today.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Other tips for keeping a gratitude journal</strong></p> <ul> <li>Go for depth of entries versus quantity. It’s generally better to go into as much detail as possible about why you are grateful for something than generating a long, less detailed list.</li> <li>Try to not simply go through the motions. Keeping a gratitude journal is more effective if you first commit, and stay committed to, being more grateful, happy, or optimistic. A gratitude journal entry should not be viewed as a to-do list or something you have to do against your will.</li> <li>Don’t try to make any entry if you really aren’t ready or in a good space. Pushing yourself to simply make entries can actually make you feel worse or overwhelmed and may lead to entries that are negative or shaming.</li> <li>Don’t overdo it. Many people think you have to write in a gratitude journal every day to see positive effects. But writing once or twice per week long-term may be more beneficial than daily journaling.</li> <li>Think about subtractions, not only additions. One way to stimulate feelings of gratitude is to think about how your life would be affected without certain things, such as modern comforts, friends and family, meaningful work, etc. This approach can be especially effective if someone is having a hard time coming up with something they’re grateful for.</li> <li>Savour surprises. Events that are surprising or unexpected often stimulate stronger feelings of gratitude.</li> <li>Get personal with your entries. Recording or thinking about people you are grateful for often is more impactful than thinking about things you’re grateful for.</li> <li>Think of things you’re grateful for as gifts. Thinking of things we are grateful for as gifts helps prevent many people from overlooking them or taking them for granted.</li> </ul> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Written by Jennifer Hiuzen. This article first appeared in </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/healthsmart/conditions/mental-health/how-to-keep-a-gratitude-journal-with-16-prompts-to-help-you-get-started" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reader’s Digest</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, </span><a rel="noopener" href="http://readersdigest.innovations.com.au/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_campaign=RDSUB&amp;keycode=WRA87V" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here’s our best subscription offer.</span></a></em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Mind

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Four ways to improve health through journalling

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As clichéd as it might feel, writing in a journal or private diary can help us feel better both physically and mentally.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Writing about our emotional experiences </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/click-here-happiness/202109/how-start-journaling-practice" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">is thought</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to have these benefits because it prevents us from suppressing our thoughts and emotions, which is bad for our health.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Journalling privately also allows us to express thoughts and feelings that we might not be comfortable sharing with others.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To help you get started with mindful journalling, here are four different methods to try.</span></p> <p><strong>1. Gratitude journalling</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Several studies have found that keeping a gratitude journal can help people sleep better, improve their relationships with others, and sleep better.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gratitude journalling may involve writing about the experiences we are grateful for, creating gratitude lists, or creating a collage of pictures.</span></p> <p><strong>2. Reflective journalling</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Putting pen to paper and reflecting on our real-life experiences can help us learn from and find meaning from them.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To start, journalling about the details of an experience can lay the groundwork for interpreting what happened and how we feel about it later on.</span></p> <p><strong>3. Health journalling</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Keeping track of current health issues we may be experiencing can have similar benefits to writing about other emotional experiences, such as a decrease in mental health issues such as anxiety or depression.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It can be </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentID=4552&amp;ContentTypeID=1" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">just as effective</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in monitoring our mental health, acting as a place to recognise triggers, identify negative thoughts and behaviour, or reduce stress.</span></p> <p><strong>4. Goal journalling</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though this form of journalling is less free-form than other methods, goal journalling can be beneficial in helping us set goals, and plan and track our progress in meeting these goals.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Writing about our goals can also help us see our accomplishments and the ways that our progress has paid off.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Experimenting with different journalling styles can help us identify what does and doesn’t work, and help solidify expressing our feelings as a regular habit.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Getty Images</span></em></p>

Mind

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"Tacky and tasteless": Piers Morgan addresses Meghan Markle controversy

<p>Piers Morgan has slammed the Duchess of Sussex in his first interview after being dumped from ITV's<span> </span><em>Good Morning Britain</em><span> </span>after comments he made about Markle's mental health.</p> <p>He appeared on US streaming service Fox Nation and spoke with host Tucker Carlson about his departure that came after Markle formally complained about his on-air behaviour.</p> <p>"I still don't believe what they were saying," Morgan told Carlson during the interview.</p> <p>"And in particular, I don't believe what Meghan Markle said. Seventeen different claims by the pair of them have now been proven to be either completely untrue or massively exaggerated or unproveable.</p> <p>"I didn't believe Meghan Markle, a huge furore erupted through the day - I was an outrage. I wasn't allowed to have an opinion, that I didn't believe what she was saying even though it was clear to me in real time as I was watching the interview that there were a number of things which just couldn't be true."</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CNS9cRBl0tv/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CNS9cRBl0tv/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Tucker Carlson Tonight (@tuckercarlsontonight)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Morgan used the interview, which ran for more than an hour, to clarify some of the statements he made on-air.</p> <p>He said that his issue with Markle's interview with Oprah was that two royal aides rejected her requests for help.</p> <p>"I was told that you have got to believe Meghan Markle," Morgan said.</p> <p>"And if you don't believe what she's saying you are a racist.</p> <p>"I find that impossible to believe, you would have two people in the palace who will be that callus to a woman telling them that she was suicidal."</p> <p>Morgan also explained that there was "a lot of anger" in the UK over the timing of the Oprah interview which coincided with Prince Philip spending a month in hospital.</p> <p>"(There was) A lot of anger building in Britain towards the very ugly smearing of our Queen, particularly at a time when her husband Prince Philip, who's 99, was fighting for his life in hospital.</p> <p>"Everything about this was tacky, tasteless, disingenuous and I'm afraid, I believe, in some cases, downright lying on a global scale."</p>

News

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Scott Morrison apologises for “extraordinary” claim during tense interview

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said he deeply regrets his "insensitive response to a question from a News Ltd journalist" as a staffer at the media company was subject to a misconduct complaint.</p> <p>News Corp has denied Morrison's claim, saying it is "extraordinary".</p> <p>"In the course of today's media conference when responding to further questions I deeply regret my insensitive response to a question from a News Ltd journalist by making an anonymous reference to an incident at News Ltd that has been rejected by the company," Mr Morrison said in a statement tonight.</p> <p>"I accept their account. I was wrong to raise it, the emotion of the moment is no excuse.</p> <p>"I especially wish to apologise to the individual at the centre of the incident and others directly impacted.</p> <p>"I had no right to raise this issue and especially without their permission."</p> <p>Morrison's statement comes after Sky News reporter Andrew Clennell challenged him on the issue of workplace harassment during a tense press conference.</p> <p>After Clennell pressed, Morrison shot back.</p> <p>"Right now, you would be aware that in your own organisation that there is a person who has had a complaint made against them for harassment of a woman in a women's toilet and that matter is being pursued by your own HR department," Mr Morrison replied.</p> <p>"So let's not all of us who sit in glass houses here start getting into that."</p> <p>News Corp Australasia Executive Chairman Michael Miller slammed Morrison in a statement.</p> <p>"Prime Minister Scott Morrison was wrong today to claim an investigation is under way into a complaint accusing an employee of harassment against a woman in a female toilet," the statement said.</p> <p>"No complaint has been received and News Corp and Sky News are not dealing with a complaint."</p> <p>The organisation doesn't normally comment on private matters but replied to this one as it was broadcast nationally.</p> <p>"However given the Prime Minister's extraordinary claims made at a press conference broadcast live across the nation, I want to put to rest any suggestion that an employee of our company is being investigated for conduct suggested by Mr Morrison," he said.</p> </div> </div> </div>

News

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Google shouldn’t subsidise journalism but the government could

<p>You might have missed it – what with the biggest recession since the 1930s and a pandemic going on – but there may be big, and bad, changes happening to a media landscape near you.</p> <p>Right now the Australian government is considering amending the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to force Google and Facebook to pay local commercial media organisations for the sharing of their content on the digital platforms.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Exposure%20Draft%20Bill%20-%20TREASURY%20LAWS%20AMENDENT%20%28NEWS%20MEDIA%20AND%20DIGITAL%20PLATFORMS%20MANDATORY%20BARGAINING%20CODE%29%20BILL%202020.pdf">News Media and Digital Platforms Bargaining Code</a> proposed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will require the tech and media companies to make terms through “mandatory binding arbitration”. It will also oblige them to divulge parts of their core intellectual property (such Google’s search algorithm).</p> <p>It has been lauded as a world-first in addressing the power imbalance between the platforms and traditional news organisations.</p> <p>Champions such as commission chief Rod Sims argue it’s a simple matter of forcing Google and Facebook to pay a fair price for extracting value from journalism for which they pay nothing. As <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/has-rod-sims-cracked-the-digital-code-20200804-p55i9x">Sims put it</a>:</p> <p><em>What this was all about was the imbalance in bargaining power, the market failure that comes from that, and underpayment for news having a detrimental effect on Australian society.</em></p> <p>Who could argue with that? Even federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg has described it as “a question of fairness”.</p> <p>But from an economic standpoint the whole bargaining code is hopelessly confused. It fails to properly understand the source of competitive pressure for media companies, and why they have lost revenues over the last 15 years.</p> <p>Mandatory binding arbitration between tech and media companies is also a completely inappropriate policy tool to achieve the public policy goal of fostering high-quality journalism.</p> <p>As I have <a href="https://promarket.org/2020/09/21/australias-news-media-digital-platforms-bargaining-code-great-politics-questionable-economics/">written about in detail</a> for the Stigler Center at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, making the code law risks doing serious harm to Australian consumers while shovelling money to large media companies like Nine Entertainment and News Corp Australia.</p> <p>Faced with the prospect of having to divulge key intellectual property, it would not be surprising if Google and Facebook simply prefer not to be in the Australian market. Millions of Australians using Google, YouTube and Facebook will lose out.</p> <p><strong>Media revenue sinking</strong></p> <p>Between 2002 and 2018, consulting firm <a href="https://alphabeta.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/australian-media-landscape-report.pdf">AlphaBeta estimates</a> total annual revenue for Australian newspapers fell from A$4.4 billion to A$3.0 billion. Almost all of this was due to lost classified advertising revenue, worth A$1.5 billion in 2002 but just A$200 million in 2018.</p> <p>“That’s Google’s fault,” you might cry.</p> <p>Actually no. The vast bulk of lost classified advertising revenue was due to online “pure-plays” such as Seek, Domain and Carsales. Google and Facebook took basically none of this revenue.</p> <p>The media companies were sitting on a gold mine of classified advertising. Then there was massive technological disruption due to the internet and smart phones.</p> <p>That, as they say in the classics, is show business.</p> <p>It doesn’t justify making companies who happened to succeed in an adjacent space at the same time fork over a chunk of their revenues.</p> <p><strong>But aren’t tech companies ‘stealing’ content?</strong></p> <p>If big tech companies were somehow allowing you and me free access to content we would otherwise have to pay for, there might be a case to answer.</p> <p>That would be like Google Maps not only giving you directions to a restaurant but the means to also avoid paying for your meal.</p> <p>But using a search engine does not allow you to get free meals, nor to get around a news organisation’s pay wall.</p> <p>In fact, having their content pop up in search results, or shared on social media, helps Australian media companies to attract readers and sell subscriptions – something that now accounts for roughly half the revenues of some leading players such as The Australian.</p> <p>All you get for “free” is a snippet of a line or two from the search.</p> <p>For instance, when I searched for news about recently deceased US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I got this:</p> <p>If you can figure out the full content of the article from that snippet, you should be using your superpowers for other, more lucrative purposes.</p> <p><strong>Beware the politics</strong></p> <p>There is a very real risk this misguided code will end up becoming law.</p> <p>An overzealous regulator has proposed something that stands to benefit the big media companies, who are – not surprisingly – strongly for it.</p> <p>Those same media companies have huge influence over public perceptions and the fate of politicians. It will be a brave elected representative who pushes back on the proposed code and draft legislation.</p> <p>But if politicians were serious about resolving the real issue at stake in all of this, they would act more directly.</p> <p>Like newspapers all around the world, Australian media and journalists are under pressure – and one thing most people agree on is that high-quality news and journalism is critical to a well-functioning democracy.</p> <p>Whatever the market forces that have slashed the funding of such journalism, there is a strong case for government intervention. But if the Australian government wants to subsidise high-quality journalism, it should do it itself.</p> <p>With the 10-year bond rate less than 1%, it would cost the government just A$18 million a year to fund the interest bill on A$2 billion of media subsidies a year. That’s 72 cents per Australian a year.</p> <p>And all without driving away the hugely valuable services of companies like Google and Facebook that Australian consumers love.</p> <p><em>Written by <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/richard-holden-118107">Richard Holden</a>, UNSW. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/vital-signs-google-shouldnt-subsidise-journalism-but-the-government-could-146746">The Conversation.</a> </em></p>

Caring

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Queen Elizabeth has a secret journal only Prince Philip can read

<p>Queen Elizabeth has always been elusive and one secret that has managed to spill out about the most senior royal member has made her just the more mysterious.</p> <p>It has been revealed Her Majesty has kept a diary that she writes in every night, since she was just 15 years old.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.2165345898479px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7828281/queen-3.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/d5f5994a195c4ed4a7b5d2455b40a15a" /></p> <p><em>Monty Python</em> actor Michael Palin said he learnt the unusual fact about the Queen while sitting next to the 93-year-old at an official royal dinner in Windsor castle.</p> <p>The actor had just been given his knighthood when he told Her Majesty he kept a nightly journal.</p> <p>“We were talking about diaries after I had mentioned that I kept a nightly journal of where I'd been and the people I encountered ... she said she did too, the difference being that while mine may have been for publication hers were definitely not.”</p> <p>He continued, “She commented that she found it quite difficult because it always made her a bit wooly and said, 'I usually manage to write for about 15 minutes before my head goes bump', and then she did an imitation of her head hitting the table, as if she had fallen asleep.”</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.2982998454405px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7828280/queen-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/4ab25ae97e704b8485986648a21c1504" /></p> <p>Hugh Vickers, who is a royal expert, said the Queen was inspired by her father King George VI to start jotting down her own thoughts after she witnessed him doing so.</p> <p>What makes this little-known fact about the Queen even more interesting is that her diaries are reportedly guarded tightly.</p> <p>Not only are her close aides instructed to destroy the bottling paper used to absorb the ink from her pen, but her personal page is required to destroy the written-on paper so that the Queen’s thoughts can never be read.</p> <p>“The diary is taken with her wherever she is staying, whether it be Windsor or Sandringham or Balmoral, and is kept in a black leather case – a smaller version of one of the red dispatch boxes containing Government papers,” a royal insider revealed to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/" target="_blank"><em>The Daily Star</em>.</a></p>

Books

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4 journals you’ll want to use every day

<p>Admit it – you’ve tried at least once to start a journal. You may have written in it for a few weeks, even months, but most of us eventually stop. As we’ve <a href="/health/mind/2016/04/writing-a-journal-can-make-you-happier/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">reported previously</span></strong></a>, however, writing a diary can actually be incredibly beneficial for your happiness. So swap your boring notebook for one of these fun journals with a twist.</p> <p><a href="http://t.dgm-au.com/c/93981/71095/1880?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.booktopia.com.au%2Fstationery%2Four-story-our-life-nick-wells%2Fprod9781844513239.html" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Our Story, Our Life: A Grandparents’ Book</strong></em></span></a></p> <p>Any grandparent knows how special the bond with a grandchild is, so why not preserve your relationship with a thoughtful diary. Fill in the blanks and record your lives together. When your grandchild is older or you are no longer here, it will be a wonderful memento of your time together.</p> <p><a href="http://t.dgm-au.com/c/93981/71095/1880?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.booktopia.com.au%2Fstationery%2Fmy-bibliofile-potter-style%2Fprod9780307465375.html" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>My Bibliofile</strong></em></span></a></p> <p>This is the ideal gift for the book lover in your life – even if that book lover is yourself! With 160 pages to put on your critic’s hat and log all the books you’re reading, it’s the perfect way to keep track of what books you’d like to re-read later and the ones you don’t.</p> <p><a href="http://t.dgm-au.com/c/93981/71095/1880?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.booktopia.com.au%2Fstationery%2Fdo-one-thing-every-day-that-scares-you-robie-rogge%2Fprod9780385345774.html" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Do One Thing Every Day That Scares You</strong></em></span></a></p> <p>What was your last new year’s resolution? If it was “to try new things”, then this is the journal for you. Each day, challenge yourself to try something out of your comfort zone and write it down. At the end of the year, you’ll have a chronicle of all the courageous things you did in the last twelve months.</p> <p><a href="http://t.dgm-au.com/c/93981/71095/1880?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.booktopia.com.au%2Fstationery%2Fone-line-a-day-chronicle-books%2Fprod9780811870191.html" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>One Line a Day</strong></em></span></a></p> <p>Track the special – and even not-so-special – moments in your life every day with this great book. Instead of writing a full page, you just need to write down one line to sum up your day. Each of the 365 pages has five lines, so at the end of five years, you’ll have a collection of wonderful memories.</p> <p>Do you write a journal? Share your tips on staying motivated to write in the comment section below.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/books/2016/07/5-colouring-books-to-unleash-your-creativity/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>5 beautiful colouring books to unleash your creativity</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/books/2016/05/great-australian-writers/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>6 great Australian writers you should read</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/books/2016/05/best-coffee-table-books-of-all-time/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>6 coffee table books you’ll never want to put away</strong></em></span></a></p>

Books

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Why keeping a travel journal is good for you

<p>Whether you need to collect your thoughts after an 18 hour bus ride of have aspirations of being the next Ernest Hemingway, a travel journal is a rewarding exercise.</p> <p>While it may seem like a chore to some, we’ve put together some info on the real benefits of keeping a travel journal and some hints and tips for doing so. </p> <p><strong>Memories</strong></p> <p>Pictures might say a thousand words, but sometimes they don’t tell the whole story. The act of sitting down at a table, making notes and revising your experiences can make a huge difference in terms of the amount of memories you can take from your trip. By setting aside a little time on your trip for travel journaling, you will be able to ensure that you have lasting memories that stay with you long after you’ve returned.</p> <p><strong>Defeat boredom</strong></p> <p>It seems odd to say, but there are parts of holidays that sometimes aren’t the most exciting experiences in the world, particularly when you’re stuck for hours waiting for transit. Rather than playing with your phone, reading some book you've read a thousand times before or staring into the back of someone’s head, a travel journal can be a great way to break up the tedium.</p> <p><strong>Inspiration</strong></p> <p>Sometimes ideas catch us at the strangest times and when we’re overseas on a busy holiday there often isn’t time to effectively examine them. By keeping a regular travel journal you can make sure you’ve got a handy little way to take down any notes, ideas or inspiration that may come to you while you’re on the road.</p> <p><strong>Ranting</strong></p> <p>Well, we’ve all had an exasperated moment of two when we’ve been travelling. Unfortunately though when these rants occur they’re often directed at a spouse, relative, friend or tour guide and these are definitely not people you want to upset when you’re overseas. By having a diary on hand to rant into you can save a lot of stress and perhaps even a few of your close relationships.</p> <p><strong>Tips and tricks for keeping a journal:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Take a cute journal that’s nice to look at</li> <li>Don’t take a journal that’s too big</li> <li>Take a little glue stick for business cards and polaroids</li> <li>Take a smooth writing pen</li> <li>Keep paperwork that you might find interesting</li> </ul> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/travel/domestic-travel/2015/12/walking-the-heysen-tail/">How I walked the 1,200km Heysen Trail</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/travel/domestic-travel/2015/12/underappreciated-aussie-swimming-spots/">8 underappreciated Aussie swimming spots</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/travel/domestic-travel/2015/12/un-release-annual-quality-of-life-index/">Australia named second-best country in the world for quality of life</a></strong></em></span></p>

Domestic Travel

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This man used his grandparents’ photo album and journal to retrace their steps

<p>Armed with his grandfather’s travel photographs and his grandma’s journals, Christian Carollo has spent the last three years following in his grandparents footsteps – literally. After Carollo stumbled across one of his grandfather’s old photographs from Oregan Coast a week before he was planning to visit, he had the idea to compare the change (if any at all) between his grandparent’s photos to the sites now. It led to a passion project entitled Past Presentwith Carollo spending years roaming the United States to visit the places of his grandparent’s vintage pictures. Luckily, Carollo’s grandma kept a detailed travel journal, allowing Carollo to find the exact location shown in the photos.</p><p>Carollo writes on his website: “Since I largely have my grandfather to thank for my love of travel and photography, I wanted to honour his memory by replicating the photographs he took from his trips all across America. This is my Past Present to him!”</p><p>Here are some of the results so far:</p><p><strong>California</strong></p><p>Golden Gate Bridge | April 1979 and May 2015</p><p><img width="500" height="500" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/9697/past-present-golden-gate-bridge_500x500.jpg" alt="Past Present Golden Gate Bridge"></p><p>Lucia Lodge in Big Sur | April 1979 and May 2015</p><p><img width="500" height="674" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/9695/past-present-lucia-lodge-big-sur_500x674.jpg" alt="Past Present Lucia Lodge Big Sur" style="float: left;"></p><p>Fishermen’s Grotto in San Francisco | April 1979 and May 2015</p><p><img width="498" height="665" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/9696/past-present-fihsersmans-warf-san-francisco_498x665.jpg" alt="Past Present Fihsersmans Warf San Francisco"></p><p><strong>Louisiana</strong></p><p>Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans | February 1978 and April 2014</p><p><img width="498" height="370" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/9698/past-present-cafe-du-monde_498x370.jpg" alt="Past Present Cafe Du Monde"></p><p>Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie | February 1978 and April 2014</p><p><img width="500" height="500" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/9699/past-present-oak-valley-plantation_500x500.jpg" alt="Past Present Oak Valley Plantation"></p><p><strong>South Dakota</strong></p><p>Cedar Pass Campground in Badlands National Park | May 1981 and October 2013</p><p><img width="500" height="500" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/9700/past-present-cedar-pass-campground_500x500.jpg" alt="Past Present Cedar Pass Campground"></p><p>Needles Highway in Custer State Park | 1973 and 2013</p><p><img width="500" height="500" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/9701/past-present-needles-highway_500x500.jpg" alt="Past Present Needles Highway"></p><p><strong>New Mexico</strong></p><p>Old Mesilla | April 1979 and October 2014</p><p><img width="500" height="500" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/9703/past-present-white-sands_500x500.jpg" alt="Past Present White Sands"></p><p>White Sands National Monument | April 1979 and October 2014</p><p><img width="500" height="500" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/9702/past-present-old-masilla_500x500.jpg" alt="Past Present Old Masilla"></p><p><strong>Yosemite National Park</strong></p><p>Tunnel View | April 1979 and May 2015</p><p><img width="500" height="500" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/9704/past-present-tunnel-view_500x500.jpg" alt="Past Present Tunnel View"></p><p>Yosemite Entrance | April 1979 and May 2015</p><p><img width="500" height="500" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/9705/past-present-yosemite-entrance_500x500.jpg" alt="Past Present Yosemite Entrance"></p><p>Then and now: Christian Carollo with his Grandfather in 1978</p><p><img width="500" height="500" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/9706/past-present-with-grandfather_500x500.jpg" alt="Past Present With Grandfather"></p><p>To find more of <a href="http://www.pastpresentproject.com/"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Christian Carollo’s work visit his website here</span></strong></a>.</p><p><strong>Related links:</strong></p><p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/lifestyle/family/2015/09/retro-teenage-posters/">The best retro posters from the past</a></strong></span></em></p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/lifestyle/family/2015/08/quotes-about-grandparents/">10 great quotes about being a grandparent</a></strong></em></span></p><p><a href="/lifestyle/family/2015/07/iconic-australian-ads/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Old-school Aussie ads that you just have to watch</span></em></strong></a></p>

Family & Pets

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Why you should keep a food journal

<p>Keeping a food journal is one of the best ways to monitor exactly what you’re eating and the impact it has on a variety of different factors including your blood sugar, weight, calorie intake and even your mood. Many people are often surprised at exactly what they eat during the day, as it’s very easy to forget the small snacks you eat while on the run or completing other activities. By tracking exactly what you put in your mouth each day you’ll be able to see what food choices are working for you and more importantly, which ones aren’t.</p> <p><strong>Step 1: Choose your journal</strong></p> <p>While the traditional notebook is still a perfectly acceptable way to track your intake, technology has come up with a bunch of nifty online apps and programs to make recording your choices even easier. The majority of these programs also provide nutritional information, which can be useful to have to hand. dLife Diabetes Companion, Calorie Count, My Fitness Pal and My Net Diary are all good options. Alternatively a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet works just as well.</p> <p><strong>Step 2: Record in real time</strong></p> <p>It may be tempting to record all your food choices when you’re sitting down at the end of the day but by doing this you often end up forgetting the little bits and pieces you may have eaten quickly or while busy doing something else. Recording in real time and thorough detail is important, especially if you’re keeping a diary to monitor your diabetes or are trying to lose weight. Try including a short description of each food along with the portion size. You can also include a short paragraph with details of your blood glucose (for diabetics) or any reactions you observed after eating.</p> <p><strong>Step 3: Review your records</strong></p> <p>Going back over your log at regular intervals can help identify patterns that you otherwise may not be aware of. Having your journal and any observations is also a great tool to take to see your doctor or dietician when discussing your diet.</p> <p><strong>Step 4: Take action</strong></p> <p>While recording your food intake is important, what you do with the data is what really triggers change.  If you notice a certain food causing issues, investigate other options or try and find out the reason behind the issue. In this way a food journal can be your greatest asset in managing your weight and any accompanying health issues.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/health/wellbeing/2015/08/weight-loss-tips/"><strong>15 helpful weight loss facts</strong></a></span></em></p> <p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/health/wellbeing/2015/08/cures-from-the-kitchen-cupboard/">8 kitchen cupboard cures for common ailments</a></strong></span></em></p> <div> <div class="advert"> <div id="adspot-300x250-pos3" class="ad"> <div id="google_ads_iframe_/6411/oversixty/health/wellbeing_2__container__"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/health/wellbeing/2015/08/start-exercising-when-youre-older/">Start exercising at any age</a></strong></span></em></div> </div> </div> </div>

Body

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Keeping a journal can boost your health

<p>One of the ways to deal with any overwhelming emotion is to find a healthy outlet in which to express yourself. Keeping a journal can be a helpful tool for managing your mental health while also reducing anxiety, stress and cope with depression. It can assist in controlling symptoms and improve your mood by helping you to prioritise problems, fears, and concerns.</p><p>Through personal writing you can track any symptoms day-to-day so that you can recognise triggers and learn ways to better control them. It can also provide an opportunity for positive self-talk and identifying negative thoughts and behaviors</p><p>When you have a problem and you’re stressed, keeping a journal can help you identify what’s causing that stress or anxiety. Then, once you’ve identified your stressors, you can work on a plan to resolve the problems and, in turn, reduce stress.</p><p>Begin journal keeping and begin experiencing these benefits:</p><p><strong>Clarify your thoughts and feelings –</strong> Do you ever seem all jumbled up inside, unsure of what you want or feel? Taking a few minutes to jot down your thoughts and emotions will quickly get you in touch with your internal world.</p><p><strong>Know yourself better –</strong> By writing routinely you will get to know what makes you feel happy and confident. You will also become clear about situations and people who are unhealthy for you — important information for your emotional wellbeing.</p><p><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/finance/insurance/2015/03/can-happiness-be-learned/" target="_blank">Related link: Can happiness be learned?</a></span></strong></em></p><p><strong>Reduce stress –</strong> Writing about anger, sadness and other painful emotions helps to release the intensity of these feelings. By doing so you can feel calmer and better able to stay in the present.</p><p>Solve problems more effectively – Typically we problem solve from a left-brained, analytical perspective. But sometimes the answer can only be found by engaging right-brained creativity and intuition. Writing unlocks these other capabilities, and affords the opportunity for unexpected solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems.</p><p>Resolve disagreements with others – Writing about misunderstandings rather than stewing over them will help you to understand another person’s point of view. And you just may come up with a sensible resolution to the conflict.</p><p>In addition to all of these wonderful benefits, keeping a journal allows you to track patterns, trends, improvement and growth over time. When current circumstances appear insurmountable, you will be able to look back on previous dilemmas that you have since resolved.</p><p><strong>How to begin?</strong></p><p>Your journaling will be most effective if you do it daily for about 20 minutes. Begin anywhere but try to choose your moments when you’ve got a clear head and are in a relaxed and quiet setting.</p><p>Don’t worry too much about spelling and punctuation; just let your thoughts flow. Privacy is key if you are to write without censor. Write quickly, as this frees your brain from any perceived rules and other blocks to successful journaling.</p><p>If it helps, pick a theme for the day, week or month (for example, peace of mind, confusion, change or anger). The most important rule of all is that there are no rules.</p><p>Through your writing you’ll discover that your journal is an all-accepting, non-judgmental friend. And it may provide the cheapest therapy you will ever get.</p><p><strong>Related links:</strong></p><p><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/finance/insurance/2015/02/create-a-personal-mantra/" target="_blank">How to create a personal mantra</a></span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/finance/insurance/2015/02/the-power-of-laughter/" target="_blank">Why laughter really is the best medicine</a></span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/finance/insurance/2014/10/the-key-to-positive-ageing/" target="_blank">The key to positive ageing</a></span></strong></em></p>

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