The smell of an oily rag

Murdoch's Sydney tabloid, The Daily Telegraph, was accused of fabricating allegations against former NSW Liberal leader John Brogden during last night's ABC Media Watch. It was a forensic masterclass in investigative journalism.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports the story but a question remains. How is a program like Media Watch - running on a tiny annual budget - more able to reveal the tabloid's deceptions than a well-resourced broadsheet like the Herald? It's all about willingness and intent.

Fairfax is notoriously shy in taking on its supposed competitors. With the upcoming changes to cross-media laws, management is increasingly shy in criticising any rivals. New editor Mark Scott is clearly running a campaign of maintaining the status quo, something at which Fairfax executives excel.