From Prescription to Addiction

by Leanna Burnard

Prescription pill Stilnox is the drug of choice for many of those with sleeping problems or avid partygoers, but it is highly addictive with adverse side effects. Following the decision to upgrade its warning on the packet this week, Leanna Burnard investigates whether we should be blaming the drug itself, or looking at the cracks in its regulation and distribution.

Local

NightWatch

The City of Sydney council and Glebe Youth Service initiative "After Dark" has encouraged them to participate in sports on Friday and Saturday nights and kept Glebe's troubled youth off the street. Now, as Kasey Trombley reports, the GYS are looking at expanding the successful program.

Hardy Aussies in Space Test

The wattle or waratah may hold the secret of our survival, Tanaya Das reports.

Rural Doctors: A Dying Breed

Rural health services in Australia are on the brink of collapsing with patients forced to visit other towns to get their medical needs addressed. Some are even prophesising a gloomy end for remote health services and the doctors that work within them. Alexandra Beech reports.

More Local Stories >

Environment & Science

From Prescription to Addiction

Prescription pill Stilnox is the drug of choice for many of those with sleeping problems or avid partygoers, but it is highly addictive with adverse side effects. Following the decision to upgrade its warning on the packet this week, Leanna Burnard investigates whether we should be blaming the drug itself, or looking at the cracks in its regulation and distribution.

No Silver Lining for Silver Beach

Despite Sydney's water crisis easing, the controversial two billion dollar desalination plant is still being built in Kurnell. And as predicted, this plant is a nightmare for its residents with constant noise and air pollution that has severely diminished their standard of living. Brendan Wong reports from Kurnell.

Too Young for the Driver's Seat

Getting your P-plates at seventeen is somewhat of a rite of passage for teenagers. However, disturbing statistics have made the safety of young drivers a major concern today. Current driving restrictions are aimed at reducing teenage road deaths but some evidence suggests that they are not enough. Emma Kemp reports.

More Environment & Science Stories >

Media

Google and the Media: Friend or Foe?

Google's General Manager Karim Temsamani assured a sceptical audience that Google is not a threat to the Australian media industry, at the Future of Journalism summit on 1-2 May. Vicky Stojanovska reports from the summit.

'Time' to Embrace the Online Era

Time International's editor Michael Elliott delivered the keynote speech at the Future of Journalism summit on 1-2 May. He dismissed theories that going online will make print media obsolete. As Dheepthi Namasivayam reports, Mr Elliott believes Time's recent relaunch into cyberspace, has been a wild success.

The Rise of Citizen Journalism

Citizen Journalism is starting to seep through all forms of media reporting whereby members of the public are called upon as key researchers in reporting stories. Vicky Stojanovska reports from the Future of Journalism summit on 1-2 May where a panel of journalists discussed this ever-growing phenomenon.

More Media Stories >

Arts & Entertainment

The Art of Dialogue with a Stranger

If a piece of art is a dialogue between the artist and the audience, why not just have a conversation? Ross Gibson tested this theory at the Sydney Biennale 2008 with a project called Conversations II where he had 45-minute conversation with random members of the public. Andrew Newman , who was one of them, reports on the experience.

Take the Lead

With a surge of films and reality TV shows focusing on the trials and tribulations of learning everything from samba to the waltz, people of all ages and backgrounds are grabbing their dancing shoes and heading for the studios. Kasey Trombley investigates the phenomenon and some of its benefits.

Skating on Thin Ice

Skate parks are not only places for skillful tricks and hanging out with mates –they are grounds for territorial rivalry and counter-culture politics. Akito Hirata reveals what lies under the surface at some of Sydney’s best-known parks.

More Arts & Entertainment Stories >

Special Reports

Roseanne Catt

It is a tale of child abuse, poisoning, conspiracy and domestic violence. It is a tale of broken trails of evidence, professed innocence and eventual release...

Balibo Inquest

Ongoing coverage of the inquest into the deaths of five journalists in East Timor in 1975

Investigating aid

A series of reports on Australian aid, shows that humanitarian assistance is no longer the primary goal of Australian government aid.

UTS Publications & Projects

NewsDay

Students rotate on various newsroom shifts across two days to produce a newspaper and much more

This is a imagethumbnail of Item 2 Title

Festival News

UTS Journalism students produce a newspaper and website each day of the Sydney Writers' Festival.

This is a imagethumbnail of Item 2 Title

Precinct

Incorporating The Point and Southside News and covering the Sydney City Council local government area

This is a imagethumbnail of Item 2 Title

Swerve - stories from global Sydney

E-zine, researched, written and created by UTS Online Journalism 1 students

This is a imagethumbnail of Item 2 Title

UTS Writers' Anthology

Yearly published book showcasing the best new talent from the UTS Creative Writing degree

This is a imagethumbnail of Item 2 Title

World

Playing for Peace

Although an end to the Israel/Palestine conflict seems out of sight, its civilians have found a new way to restablish relationships with each other: through AFL. And as Hayley Reichman reports, this August, Australia will be that very platform to play out Israel/Palestine unity.

Spain: A Gateway to Islamic Acceptance

Spain has forever been considered the gateway between Europe and Africa, especially North Africa. Over the years, significantly large numbers of Muslims have migrated to Spain, creating rifts with traditionally Catholic societies. Catalonia-based freelance journalist Brett Hetherington spoke with El Hajj Ibrahim, a spokesman for the Vilafranca del Penedes Mosque in the small Spanish town of Vilafranca, to find out what he thinks of the negative stereotypes pervading today’s society which unfairly equate all Muslims as terrorists.

The Winds of Change...Will They Ever Blow Over Zimbabwe?

As the situation in Zimbabwe fluctuates, daily life remains a misery for those still living in Zimbabwe. For those who migrated to Australia, they still dream of the Zimbabwe of yesteryear, but know they cannot - and will not - return back home. Gemma Black reports.

More World Stories >