Excessive effluence

Mr Denmore casts a weary over the latest Kyle Sandilands tantrum

If you want further evidence of the desperation of the mainstream media money mandarins for manufactured  controversy, look at the Ten Network's recent hiring for $NZ1 million of "controversial" Kiwi breakfast broadcaster Paul Henry, whose claim to fame was being sacked by NZ network TV3 for wetting himself on air about the name of an Indian government minister.

"Paul is exactly what we've been after for Breakfast," said Ten's chief programming officer David Mott. "He's cheeky, mischievous and unapologetically forthright, just like Ten's viewers. While you can't ever be sure what Paul will do, when he's on air, you know he's going to tackle the elephant in the room."

Yes, elephants. Big and brave elephant hunters,not afraid to tackle the herds of  threatening beasts whose presence most of us are afraid to confront: Elephant men like Paul Henry, who fearlessly snickers on air because someone has a funny sounding name. Elephant men like radio "personality" Sandilands, calling a female critic a "fat slag" and threatening to hunt her down. Or the biggest elephant hunter of them all, Alan Jones, Order of Australia, calling for our female prime minister to be stuffed into a sack and drowned at sea.