Melbourne’s tabloid-broadband lifestyle supplement Fairfax “newspaper”, The Age, recently added a tagline to its masthead that reads: Australia’s Independent Newspaper

Fair to say that I nearly choked on my cornflakes when I read that. “Independent from what?” I thought. Certainly not from corporate editorial control; nor from celebrity news. Perhaps what they mean is independence from significant right-wing balance or from any sense of ethical conflict when advertising dictates the selection and composition of stories.

Don’t get me wrong — I think the Herald Sun is much more worthy of lining my cat’s litter tray than The Age but at least the Hun doesn’t arrogantly tout itself as “independent”.

What else is the Age independent from, GrodsReaders?