The Daily Telegraph, the John Della Bosca story, and a strangely suddenly muted sex scandal

(Above: the Daily Telegraph being terribly discreet about a NSW political scandal today).

You know, once upon a time, the Daily Terror aka the Daily Telegraph would have been all over the revelation of the name of the woman who had the affair with John Della Bosca.

Last night it was a hit with channels Seven and Nine, while Ten caught up with it later in the evening. Only the ABC and SBS retained a kind of po-faced silence.

But it looked like a biggie for the next day. So what's the splash for the Terror in its online incarnation?

Something to do with a bikie lawyer taking on the cops? (see above).

The story about the affair? Well it's headed John Della Bosca - the two-minute man, and features Della Bosca sitting on the back benches for the two minutes he was allegedly there. As for the woman and her identity? (Naturally one of their readers picked up on the sly innuendo of the two minute man header, noting it could refer to most Australian men. Nice one subbie).

Ms Neill, who agreed to be identified last night, revealed details of the six-month relationship exclusively to The Daily Telegraph.

The rest of the story is about the fallout from the scandal. No shrieking headlines, no actual photo of the woman involved. Instead a strange, muted silence.

Well there's also a link another story, dated September 1st, headed I've taken my medicine over secret affair, disgraced ex-minister John Della Bosca admits.

Duck into Tim Blair for the good oil, and sure enough there's a link. To the ninemsn story about the woman's identity. Ninemsn!

Oh and there's a link to a really silly wretched cartoon sending up Nathan Rees as super premier man. Even comic book man in The Simpsons won't be stocking this one.

So I headed off to The Punch, certain that it would relish the controversy, in its own inimitable cheap-skate way, as yesterday it had asked the penetrating question Do Australans care if politicians fool around?

So what have we got? Well the lead piece is on Australia's scorching August, another wants the diggers in France to rest, a third does a standard bit of inter-generational fluff, a fourth, in perhaps the most penetrating journalism ever exposed to readers, discovers that the coffee in Queensland is bad, thereby denying it the status of actual civilization, a fifth is on about equal pay for women, a sixth takes a look at diving in soccer (apparently no spring board is involved), and the last two round out the day with a look at the rort of extended warranties and the way swine flu madness has fueled bogus vaccination claims.

The scarlet woman, the woman in red, the woman who brought down a potential future premier, of the grand old state of NSW, is invisible.

So it was off to The Australian, and at last the apparent News Corp boycott broke. The good old broadsheet had it all over the tabloid, and you can read it all here if you can be bothered. Why there's even a YouTube link, and a front page splash with a photo. Even the Hun, otherwise known by dullards as the Herald Sun, Melbourne's glory, found time for a front page piece linking to re-print of The Australian's story (here).

So what gives? Why the comely silence in the Terror? It's not as if they haven't had enough time to join the story - they even provide a link to the revelation in The Australian. Could they have done a deal with the woman which led to the funereal note that she'd 'agreed' to be identified and say no more? Was that the price of the exclusive? Well it seems so, if you can follow the convoluted logic of Telegraph editor Garry Linnell, who said they'd agreed to out her in their rag only if she gave approval, so they noted she'd agreed to be outed, then said no more. So protective and caring.

Not even a listing in Sydney Confidential, which manages today to take a look at Rachael Finch, Natalie Imbruglia, and even poor old Jill Hickson Wran on a drink driving charge? Et tu, Annette Sharp?

By golly, if you can't turn to the Daily Terror for an even handed expose of a sex scandal, where can you turn? Has the world gone mad? Are we all narcissists in the grip of malignant narcissism?

And Chairman Rupert wants me to pay for the content in the Daily Terror? When it's a content free zone when it comes to coverage of the continuing saga of the sex scandal it initiated?

I think I'd rather pay for a walk over red hot coals ... as recommended by leading psychologists for people in the grip of malignant narcissism.

(Below: The Australian being more tabloid than its tabloid sister The Daily Telegraph).