Music is the stayer

Why do the arts thrive in a recession? Whether Australia weathers the economic storm presently buffeting global markets or not, our thriving music scene – by no means immune – is well set to ride through it. Music – barring extravagant gold ticket options at large-scale events – is a ‘small ticket item’.

We might put off a kitchen refurbishment, downsize the family holiday a little, or reassess major investments in white goods and cars, but a CD every now and again isn’t a budget breaker. And, there’s more to it than money. The whole function of the arts is not solely to entertain, but also to reflect us as people; what’s happening in our society. One only had to witness the reaction to Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu’s evocative, spine-tingling performance at the ARIA awards in the year of The National Apology as evidence.

Naturally, some albums in your collection are just for entertainment; and that’s fine. But, much music, whatever its genre or stripe – mainstream, instrumental, hardcore punk, electro trance anthems… whatever dials your musical number – is about how it relates to personal experience. And, you can reach for it whenever you wish. How do we put a price on that? At approximately $20 for new release albums, it’s a bargain. See the new issue of MAG (in JB Hi-Fi November 7) to read about those worth the investment.

Visit the MAG website here

Prepare for cricket season

Ricky Ponting wants revenge. He has a score to settle against England, after losing the 2005 Ashes series to the old enemy. And when the fiercely determined Ponting wants something, he usually gets it. Victory on an Ashes tour is one of the few achievements missing from Ponting’s wonderful CV as Australian captain, and it is just one of the many goals he lists for the season ahead in his exclusive column for the Cricket Australia Season Guide 2008-09. Together with star batsman Mike Hussey, Ponting looks ahead to a hectic 12 months of cricket for the national team. How will New Zealand and South Africa fare in their tours down under? Can Australia claim the ICC World Twenty20 Championship, the only prize missing from its overcrowded trophy cabinet? Which countries and players represent the greatest threat to the Aussies’ global dominance? With nearly 400 pages of analysis, statistics, player profiles (both international and domestic), a complete guide to the women’s game, fixtures and ticket information, this book is the perfect accompaniment for the new season. The Cricket Australia Season Guide 2008-09 is on sale from Monday, November 3. Buy it here.

It's spring. Let the racing begin.

Spring is in the air, and Melbourne is in the midst of its annual bout of racing fever; the thoroughbreds are charging towards the Emirates Melbourne Cup at Flemington, while the “fashionistas” are preening themselves for the catwalk contests.

This year it’s the international horses that are making the headlines following the Dubai-owned All The Good’s win in the BMW Caulfield Cup. On Saturday, it's New Zealand’s chance for some of the limelight when the brilliant New Zealand-trained mare Princess Coup starts hot favourite to win the Tatts Cox Plate at Moonee Valley.

Flemington’s famous Melbourne Cup carnival begins with a day for the racing purists, AAMI Victoria Derby Day on November 1. The Slattery Media Group is producing the racebooks for the four days of the Victoria Racing Club carnival, the first of which is Derby Day.

And for those who like their racing history or a dabble with the bookies, The Thoroughbred website comprehensively previews and reviews all the major races during the spring racing carnival.

Pre-purchase your racebooks here

Visit The Thoroughbred website here

The 2008 Toyota AFL Grand Final in 2 minutes

From the heights of the Great Southern Stand we captured the biggest day of the football year. From the opening of the gates, to the dimming of the lights, 1357 individual frames, captured every 30 seconds, compressed into 2 minutes. The time-lapse animation provides a spectacular visual story of the 2008 Grand Final. Click here to see the time-lapse animation and re-live that one day in September.

The more things change...

Dire times tend to focus the mind, which makes you wonder what we do in good times. The Slattery Media Group has, I hope, always been a place with a focused mind; after all, a business devoted to publishing depends solely on the quality of its ideas. And ideas only come from disciplined thought. When you put all those thoughts together, and add the headlines of the last fortnight ringing loudly: “firestorm on markets”, “recession imminent if not already here”, “banks in crisis”, etc, it seemed like a good opportunity for a business like ours to reinforce its essential IP – that IDEAS MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

It’s a line written in large type on the walls above our design department, but this week, in response to the headlines, we put it to the staff to do what good companies do: to focus our mind. So we instituted a closed forum for ideas. Each staff member has to contribute one idea, each week. The forum is open to all staff, the ideas can be from anywhere on the planet, and comments (respectful) are encouraged. We even listed categories for ideas – not all of them are about new business options for the company. The categories include: new business/products; process improvements; workplace improvements; inspirational ideas; cost savings; social responsibility; social club; product enhancements; untapped markets; what our competitors are doing; and the dragnet clause: ‘other’.

Contributing a weekly idea is compulsory, but it was clear, within an hour of the forum being ‘live’ that staff had embraced the idea, and the idea of the idea. We allow votes for the most popular contribution, and in the first day, the leader was a case of ‘back to the future’: to install a water cooler, “a healthy option and a good place for people to meet". It goes to show: there’s nothing new, just a modern interpretation of something tried and true. Perhaps the contributor doesn’t like coffee.

My team: Premiers 2008

Football has been good to me, in many ways. It gave me a career in journalism covering a sport that I love. It gave me an involvement with the administration of the game, via the privileged role of producing the AFL’s publications for 15 years running. But these are things that happen via endeavour, and business, and hard work. Following a team like Hawthorn throughout my life is a lucky break; more remarkable to ponder – especially if you barrack for Footscray, St Kilda and Melbourne, and you’re of my age (55) – is this: I have seen Hawthorn play in 14 Grand Finals, and win nine premierships. The only one I missed was 1971, said to be the most brutal of all. I was working that day on my other sporting love, thoroughbred racing, this day at the Moonee Valley Stakes.

I think of all those premierships, this year's might be the most satisfying of all: a win created by hard work, commitment to a plan, and the totality of the team before the individual. It’s pure Hawthorn, and I loved it.
Geoff Slattery, CEO, The Slattery Media Group.

Buy your souvenir publication, here.

Capturing the moments

Timing, patience and more often than not being in the right place at the right time provides us with the opportunity to capture special moments.

The 2008 AFL season has made for many player milestones and moments of grandeur. Now that the finals have begun the intensity is lifted both on the field and among the photographers. Before a finals match, there are always butterflies in the belly as the level of emotion is heightened. The Grand Final is the pinnacle of the AFL year. Images illustrate the best of this competition, and it is at the top of my list to photograph.

There are many determining factors in getting that special shot. We are continually lured to the game by the possibility of getting that one special moment that happens in a split second. The mark of the year, the emotion of winning, and the dejection of losing are three aspects of a game that provide for spectacular still imagery.

See those moments online – here.

Making Fridays Count

The Slattery Media Group celebrates Fridays. We swap our chiffon for denim, and our stilettos for slip-ons (but not slippers, unfortunately). A new development in the office this week has been to make our celebration count for something. For wearing casual clothes on a Friday, every staff member will donate a gold coin each week to our charity of choice, the Kids Help Line. Australia's only free, confidential and anonymous 24-hour telephone and online counselling service for young people aged 5–25, the counsellors at Kids Help Line respond to more than 10,000 calls each week, but a significant amount go unanswered due to lack of funding. This is the least we can do.

One City, One Club, for 150 Years

Many Cats supporters have never had it this good, but the Geelong Football Club emerged as a force long before it asserted itself as football’s newest dynasty in 2007 and 2008. In fact, the club was officially formed in 1859 – only 24 years after John Batman landed on the site we now call Geelong.

Remarkably, for a town 80 kilometres away from Melbourne in the mid-19th century, Geelong exerted significant influence in the game’s formative years, as it battled for bragging rights with Melbourne – on both a sporting and commercial front. The people of Geelong and the club have enjoyed a mutual love affair ever since. It’s been an emotional roller coaster. The club has had remarkable success (seven VFA premierships from 1878-86, for example) and more than its fair share of pain (most notably, four losing Grand Finals from 1989-95), as well as several homes – it was evicted from Argyle Square in the 19th century for failing to pay its rent, then in 1941 forced to Kardinia Park from Corio Oval, which was required for World War II military training.

In 2009, the Geelong Football Club will celebrate its 150th anniversary. The Slattery Media Group is publishing an illustrated history of the club, with essays from leading football writers and historians, complemented by strong photographs and memorabilia. The book will hit shelves in July next year.

A Gift to Our Club

On July 17, 2008, iconic Melbourne Football Club coach Norm Smith was celebrated with the launch of a revealing biography: The Red Fox – The Biography of Norm Smith, at the MCG's exclusive Long Room.

The book was officially launched by Melbourne Football Club president Jim Stynes, along with past greats from Melbourne's dominant era; Hassa Mann, John Beckwith, Frank 'Bluey' Adams, Norm's son Peter Smith and Tony Charlton, a close friend of Smith's, who acted as Master of Ceremonies. In keeping with his rough and tumble beginnings, students from the school where Norm attended, Westgarth Primary, were there to join in the celebrations.

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