Tim Blair
Encyclopedia
Tim Blair is a conservative
journalist, commentator and blogger working in Sydney
, Australia
.
Blair began his journalism cadetship in 1988 at 23, working for the now-closed Truth newspaper in Melbourne. In 2004, the Sydney Morning Herald said that "Blair, 39, is top dog among the new Australian digerati
. He is an experienced, conservative political commentator who some days draws more than 20,000 readers to his website. He even earns about $800 a month from advertising." In 2006, timblair.net polled second only to the newspaper blog All Men Are Liars in the 2006 Weblog Awards category of "Best Australian or New Zealand Weblog."
In addition to running his blog, he is the opinion editor for the Sydney Daily Telegraph,
and writes a weekly column there. Before that, he was news editor for The Bulletin
, for which he also wrote a column.
He is a former senior editor of Time
, Truth
and Sports Illustrated
,
and has also written for Fox News.
He has also appeared on 4BC
and Radio National
.
. He supports the Collingwood Football Club
and lives in Bondi Junction, Sydney.
In January 2008, Blair announced on his blog that he had abdominal cancer
and wrote about his impending surgery (and encouragement from Tony Snow
) in a newspaper column.
The surgery successfully removed the tumor
which had not spread.
and those he regards as climate change alarmists and hypocrites. He also regularly critiques the work of bloggers such as Margo Kingston
and writers Terry Lane
, Mark Lawson
, Tracee Hutchison of the Age
and Robert Fisk
. Politician Al Gore
and cartoonist Michael Leunig
are also regular targets. In contrast, Blair frequently quotes writers such as Mark Steyn
, James Lileks
and Andrew Bolt
with approval.
Starting a few days after George W. Bush
's visit to Baghdad during Thanksgiving 2003, Blair has documented and debunked claims that a roast turkey Bush was photographed holding up was plastic.
The roast turkey was real.
The phenomenon of far right
and far left
groups allying with extremist Islamists
is called "Blair's Law [sic
]" ("the ongoing process by which the world's multiple idiocies are becoming one giant, useless force") by conservative and libertarian bloggers.
In 2007, Media Watch, an Australian Broadcasting Corporation
TV program which Blair has often criticised, stated that The Daily Telegraph, other newspapers and Blair failed to censor racist comments on their websites.
Blair and the Telegraph reported that Media Watch had themselves failed to censor antisemitic comments at their own website,
and that their story relied on "unacknowledged assistance"
from "Muslim Village, [a website which] is guilty itself of publishing offensive comments".
The ABC later launched an internal inquiry into Media Watchs dealings with Muslim Village.
In March 2009, Crikey
, an online media site, alleged that Blair "comments under a pseudonym on his blog and various other blogs" and was "unprofessional in his conduct as a journalist".
Crikey issued a partial retraction a few days later. In April 2010, Crikey fully retracted their report and apologised, after Blair commenced legal action.
Blair subsequently accepted a confidental settlement.
This legal action drew claims of hypocrisy, with Blair once claiming that "journalists suing journalists" was "graceless and weird".
Later in 2010, Crikey retracted and apologized for an "offensive and indefensible" statement about Blair and Andrew Bolt
.
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
journalist, commentator and blogger working in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Blair began his journalism cadetship in 1988 at 23, working for the now-closed Truth newspaper in Melbourne. In 2004, the Sydney Morning Herald said that "Blair, 39, is top dog among the new Australian digerati
Digerati
The digerati are the elite of the computer industry and online communities. The word is a portmanteau, derived from "digital" and "literati", and reminiscent of the earlier coinage glitterati...
. He is an experienced, conservative political commentator who some days draws more than 20,000 readers to his website. He even earns about $800 a month from advertising." In 2006, timblair.net polled second only to the newspaper blog All Men Are Liars in the 2006 Weblog Awards category of "Best Australian or New Zealand Weblog."
In addition to running his blog, he is the opinion editor for the Sydney Daily Telegraph,
and writes a weekly column there. Before that, he was news editor for The Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
, for which he also wrote a column.
He is a former senior editor of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Truth
Truth (Sydney newspaper)
The Truth was a newspaper published in Sydney, Australia. It was founded in August 1890 by William Nicholas Willis and its first editor was Adolphus Taylor. In 1891 it claimed to be "The organ of radical democracy and Australian National Independence" and advocated "a republican Commonwealth...
and Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
,
and has also written for Fox News.
He has also appeared on 4BC
4BC
4BC is a radio station in Brisbane, Queensland on 1116kHz AM. 4BC is Brisbane's only commercial talkback station, using the promotional phrase "News Talk 1116". Like most talk radio stations, it caters to a predominantly conservative audience...
and Radio National
Radio National
ABC Radio National is an Australia-wide non-commercial radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Radio National broadcasts national programming in areas that include news and current affairs, the arts, social issues, science, drama and comedy...
.
Personal life
Blair was born and raised in Werribee, VictoriaWerribee, Victoria
Werribee is a city in Melbourne, Australia, 32 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Wyndham. At the 2006 Census, Werribee had a population of 36,641. Statistically, Werribee is considered part of Greater Melbourne.Werribee is...
. He supports the Collingwood Football Club
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
and lives in Bondi Junction, Sydney.
In January 2008, Blair announced on his blog that he had abdominal cancer
and wrote about his impending surgery (and encouragement from Tony Snow
Tony Snow
Robert Anthony "Tony" Snow was an American journalist, political commentator, television news anchor, syndicated columnist, radio host, musician, and the third White House Press Secretary under President George W. Bush. Snow also worked for President George H. W. Bush as chief speechwriter and...
) in a newspaper column.
The surgery successfully removed the tumor
which had not spread.
Politics
Blair is particularly critical of what he calls IslamofascismIslamofascism
The term Islamofascism is a neologism which draws an analogy between the ideological characteristics of specific Islamist movements from the turn of the 21st century on, and a broad range of European fascist movements of the early 20th century, neofascist movements, or totalitarianism.-Origins of...
and those he regards as climate change alarmists and hypocrites. He also regularly critiques the work of bloggers such as Margo Kingston
Margo Kingston
Margo Kingston is an Australian journalist, author and commentator. She is best known for her work at The Sydney Morning Herald and her weblog, .Kingston was born in Maryborough, Queensland and was raised in Mackay...
and writers Terry Lane
Terry Lane
Terry Lane is a radio broadcaster and newspaper columnist based in Melbourne, Australia.He was born in South Australia and educated at Gawler High School. After studying for the ministry at the Churches of Christ College of the Bible in Melbourne, Lane was a minister for six years before working in...
, Mark Lawson
Mark Lawson
Mark Gerard Lawson is an English journalist, broadcaster and author.-Life and career:Born in Hendon, London, Lawson was raised in Yorkshire and is a Leeds United fan. He was educated at St Columba's College in St Albans and took a degree in English at University College London, where his lecturers...
, Tracee Hutchison of the Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
and Robert Fisk
Robert Fisk
Robert Fisk is an English writer and journalist from Maidstone, Kent. As Middle East correspondent of The Independent, he has primarily been based in Beirut for more than 30 years. He has published a number of books and has reported on the United States's war in Afghanistan and the same country's...
. Politician Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
and cartoonist Michael Leunig
Michael Leunig
Michael Leunig , typically referred to as Leunig, is an Australian poet, cartoonist and cultural commentator. His best known works include The Adventures of Vasco Pyjama and the Curly Flats series...
are also regular targets. In contrast, Blair frequently quotes writers such as Mark Steyn
Mark Steyn
Mark Steyn is a Canadian-born writer, conservative-leaning political commentator, and cultural critic. He has written five books, including America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It, a New York Times bestseller...
, James Lileks
James Lileks
James Lileks is an American journalist, columnist, and blogger living in Minneapolis, Minnesota.- Career :Lileks has had a wide-ranging career as a columnist, radio personality, author, and prominent blogger....
and Andrew Bolt
Andrew Bolt
Andrew Bolt is an Australian newspaper columnist, radio commentator, blogger and television host. Bolt is a columnist and associate editor of the Melbourne-based Herald Sun. He has appeared on the Nine Network, Melbourne Talk Radio, ABC Television, Network Ten and local radio...
with approval.
Starting a few days after George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's visit to Baghdad during Thanksgiving 2003, Blair has documented and debunked claims that a roast turkey Bush was photographed holding up was plastic.
The roast turkey was real.
The phenomenon of far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
and far left
Far left
Far left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...
groups allying with extremist Islamists
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
is called "Blair's Law [sic
Sic
Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
]" ("the ongoing process by which the world's multiple idiocies are becoming one giant, useless force") by conservative and libertarian bloggers.
Controversy
As an outspoken columnist and blogger, Blair is frequently criticised by political opponents.In 2007, Media Watch, an Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
TV program which Blair has often criticised, stated that The Daily Telegraph, other newspapers and Blair failed to censor racist comments on their websites.
Blair and the Telegraph reported that Media Watch had themselves failed to censor antisemitic comments at their own website,
and that their story relied on "unacknowledged assistance"
from "Muslim Village, [a website which] is guilty itself of publishing offensive comments".
The ABC later launched an internal inquiry into Media Watchs dealings with Muslim Village.
In March 2009, Crikey
Crikey
Crikey is an independent Australian electronic magazine comprising an open access website and an email newsletter available to subscribers. Well known in Australian political, media and business circles, Crikey was described by former Federal Opposition Leader Mark Latham as the "most popular...
, an online media site, alleged that Blair "comments under a pseudonym on his blog and various other blogs" and was "unprofessional in his conduct as a journalist".
Crikey issued a partial retraction a few days later. In April 2010, Crikey fully retracted their report and apologised, after Blair commenced legal action.
Blair subsequently accepted a confidental settlement.
This legal action drew claims of hypocrisy, with Blair once claiming that "journalists suing journalists" was "graceless and weird".
Later in 2010, Crikey retracted and apologized for an "offensive and indefensible" statement about Blair and Andrew Bolt
Andrew Bolt
Andrew Bolt is an Australian newspaper columnist, radio commentator, blogger and television host. Bolt is a columnist and associate editor of the Melbourne-based Herald Sun. He has appeared on the Nine Network, Melbourne Talk Radio, ABC Television, Network Ten and local radio...
.
External links
- Tim Blair Blog - The Daily Telegraph (May 2008)
- Tim Blair's weblog - archive only since move to Daily Telegraph Site
- Right Wing News - The Tim Blair Interview (April 2002)