By Edwin Maher

As a journalist and broadcaster from "downunder," Christmas and New Year heraldthe starts of "the silly season." While Santamay be exciting people with his "ho, ho,ho", newsrooms where I have workedin Australia and New Zealand will bewrapping their own goodies of timelesstales not subject to tight deadlines or likelyto go out of date. Softer stories making upfor the lack of hard news are stored to fillout the time slots of television and radiobulletins, and pad the pages of newspaperswhich need articles on the other: side offull-page advertising of holiday sales.