Elections, arses and the foreign press

After being reminded of PJ Keating's 'arse end of the world' comment while watching 'Hawke' on TV on Sunday night, I thought I'd find out how interested the rest of the world was in its arse's latest election.

Warm to middling, as it turns out. Media searches show that while the major news agencies and online services covered the story (1012 words from Xinhua News Agency were widely used on its online news service, for example here, and here), there was less in the printed press.

The New York Times and Los Angeles Times each ran a short paragraph. The UK's Mail was quick to claim the PM as a Welsh woman and Brit in its online article, and The Guardian ran a very brief piece in print and more online. The Scots ran a print piece on page 32 of the Sunday Herald. The Chicago Tribune ran a few lines in its world section and picked up the Welsh angle in its online version. India's Statesman ran 500 words in print and and more online.  The Wall Street Journal only ran it online, as did the UK Times (subscription only). The News of the World had a one-liner in its world news mash-up on page 29 under the marvellous heading 'Puff baddie's store stick-up on oxygen'.

On this highly scientific analysis, Australia's rightful place in the world's anatomy remains anyone's guess.

Photo by Flickr user tochis, used under a Creative Commons licence.