After a somewhat frigid Howard era, the Australian media needs a bit of sexing up. The Chaser team has been playing the temptress over the past nine years – but are we ready to let go of our conservative shackles?

While Australia only has one daily national newspaper – or two if you include the Financial Review – France has nine. The United Kingdom has at least ten. In Melbourne, we only have two daily newspapers, three if you include the freely distributed mX. New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom all rank ahead of Australia, according to the Reporters Without Borders’ Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007. Diverse media is difficult to find in Australia, with all major newspapers owned either by News Corporation or Fairfax Media. How do you challenge mainstream perspectives in such a limited climate?

Founded in 1999, in the midst of Howard conservatism, The Chaser began as a fortnightly satirical newspaper which continued to be published until 2005. The Chaser team moved into television and radio from 2001 onwards, which allowed them to reach a wider audience. While the printed newspaper sold less than 30,000 copies, their television show The Chaser’s War On Everything had as many as 821,000 viewers per episode in its first season.

In France, weekly satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaîné is one of the most respected newspapers, renowned for leaking French government and business scandals. Established in 1915 as a reaction to the conservative restraints of wartime press, Le Canard Enchaîné remains politically independent despite being considered to have a left-wing bias. Factual reports and satirical articles are clearly delineated, allowing the reader to decide on their own perspectives.

Similarly, The Chaser team leave themselves open to interpretation. The fascinating thing is that the way they have been represented says a lot about who is making the judgement. Whether described as irresponsible pranksters, an entertaining comedy team or subversive media makers, The Chaser can be likened to funhouse mirrors – their attempts at critiquing images of Australian society are distorted at the whim of the viewer.

When I had the opportunity to interview The Chaser in the lead-up to their stage show The Chaser’s Age Of Terror Variety Hour in Melbourne, I wanted to give them the chance to explain the motives behind what they do. However, Chaser writer Dominic Knight admitted to answering my interview questions with "fairly superficial gags rather than detailed, self-important analyses, because I can’t hope to get into serious depth in the limited time and space available." What better example of The Chaser philosophy in action?

Describing themselves as Supermen, but also as copycats, Knight’s responses are evasive, topical and bloody funny. In true Chaser style, the reader is invited to form their own opinions. Enjoy.

"From the newspaper we started. The idea was that you consume the regular media, and then you have a chaser. Which is why the original logo was a shot glass. People now think it's because we chase people – it might be more accurate to say we drive them to drink."

"It started off as fundamentally Nietzschean, only with ourselves as the Supermen. But since then we've gotten much more arrogant."

"I liked it when Craig gatecrashed the 2001 Liberal victory party as the Race Card, with a picture of the Tampa on his chest. Not just because it was the right point to make and they really, really hated it, but because the security guys were actually really rough with him. Which was great fun for the rest of us."

"Jesus. And more specifically, His work with Hillsong, which has inspired a number of our better ideas. We are also heavily "inspired" by the Working Dog team, which is a polite way of saying that we copy them."

"It's far more fun, and you get to meet lots of new people, some of whom may even like your work. You are also less likely to meet reporters from Today Tonight. On the downside, you can't do another take when you stuff up. On the upside, audiences seem to like laughing at us as well as with us."

"Absolutely nothing, it's perfect in every way. Although it would be fair to say that because in the Australian media, you inevitably have to work at some point for News, ACP or Fairfax, I would never dream of criticising the current arrangements."

"I think we are analogous to the desert bits. Our humour tends to be both very dry and ultimately empty."

"Its strength is that there is room for an amusing prankster like the No Pokies MP Nick Xenophon to get into Parliament. Its weakness is that there's also room for an unamusing prankster like Bill Heffernan."

"It's already been completely defined by the work of Rolf Harris, and, due to our lesser proficiency with the lagerphone and wobbleboard, we have nothing further to add."

"Bert and Patti Newton are the king and queen of this nation, and as far as I'm concerned, the onus is on the British royal family to prove otherwise. After all, how many Gold Logies has Queen Elizabeth won?"

"I'm not sure whether the AFP Commissioner is allowed to issue retrospective pardons to my Chaser colleague, but I'd certainly be looking into that. Secondly, I reckon Canberra, due to its roundabouts, would be awesome for doughnuts, and my officers would never dream of arresting me. And finally, I'd also follow on from those ever-so worthwhile Bill Henson investigations by storming any premises containing images by May Gibbs, whose portrayal of young, provocatively-dressed children is nothing more than immoral titillation for the nation's paedophiles and gumnut aficionados."

"We've discovered that the best way to get established in the Australian media is to start an unprofitable satirical newspaper for 5 years, and hope that during that period, someone somehow notices and is foolish enough to give you a job making a television [show]. Other than that we have little wisdom to pass on, since pretty much everything we've ever done has essentially been the result of dumb luck!"

THE CHASER’S AGE OF TERROR VARIETY HOUR

Venue: The Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins Street, Melbourne

Dates and Times: 3rd-7th & 10th–14th June @ 7pm, extra shows Fridays and Saturdays @ 9:30pm

Tickets: $48 full / $43 concession

Bookings: Ticketmaster, www.ticketmaster.com.au