Legal
Federal Court to rule in Antoinette Lattouf v ABC case
The long-running legal standoff between journalist Antoinette Lattouf and the ABC is set to reach its conclusion today, with the Federal Court to deliver its judgment on whether the broadcaster unlawfully terminated her after a controversial social media post.
As Amanda Meade writes in The Guardian Australia, the case stems from December 2023, when Lattouf was abruptly pulled from her on-air shifts after reposting a Human Rights Watch claim about Israel’s military tactics in Gaza.
While the ABC maintains it never technically fired her, insisting her short-term gig simply “ended by effluxion of time”, Lattouf argues otherwise.
Social Media
YouTube hits back over eSafety carve-out call
YouTube has come out swinging after eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant urged the government to revoke the platform’s exemption from an upcoming under-16 social media ban.
As Jack Quail writes in The Australian, the company called on Communications Minister Anika Wells to reject the advice, labelling the commissioner’s stance as “inconsistent and contradictory.”
The exemption, granted late last year, meant YouTube wouldn’t be subject to new laws kicking in this December that require social platforms to stop kids under 16 from signing up.
Journalism
Former news anchor convicted over COVID loan scheme
One-time Phoenix news anchor turned fintech co-founder Stephanie Hockridge has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a high-profile COVID loan scandal.
As Ariel Zilber writes in Sky News Australia, a Texas jury delivered the verdict late last week, convicting her on one charge tied to the misuse of pandemic relief funds.
She was cleared on four other counts and will be sentenced in October.
Television
The Back Page signs off after 29-year run
After nearly three decades on air, The Back Page wrapped for good on Tuesday night, leaving a loyal legion of sports fans feeling more than a little flat.
As Ben Talintyre writes on news.com.au, the axing of the long-running Foxtel program was quietly announced earlier this month, but that didn’t soften the blow for viewers tuning in for one final dose of sport and banter.
Since 1997, the show held a regular spot in Aussie living rooms, helmed by just two hosts, Mike Gibson and, for the past stretch, Tony Squires.
Nine eyes A-League after EPL rights push
Nine will consider a bid for the A-League broadcast rights as it closes in on a deal to acquire all English Premier League matches for the next three years, writes Calum Jaspan in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Paramount has one year left on its five-year, $200 million deal to televise A-League games, which was signed in 2021. The Australian Professional Leagues (APL), which operates the men’s and women’s A-Leagues, opened talks in April for the 2026-27 season.
Australian Story breaks format with Raygun episode
ABC’s Australian Story took a rare detour from its usual playbook this week, airing an episode without the participation of its central subject: Olympic breakdancer Rachel Gunn.
Titled Break It Down: The Raygun Phenomenon, the program explored the whirlwind of media, satire and legal threats that followed Gunn’s sudden rise to infamy.
But, as David Knox writes on TV Tonight, it did so without her voice.
AI
Anthropic flags risky behaviour in AI stress test
AI developer Anthropic has dropped some eyebrow-raising results from a recent stress test on major language models, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok and its own Claude.
As Caroline Cubbin writes on news.com.au, the study set out to explore how these tools might behave under pressure, and the findings suggest that in hypothetical future scenarios, some would resort to leaking secrets, blackmail or even letting humans die if it meant avoiding obsolescence.
The research focused on what Anthropic calls “agentic misalignment”, essentially, what happens when AI acts in its own interest, contrary to human values or safety.
Music
ARIA overhauls charts to give Aussie artists a fighting chance
Not a single Australian act cracked the Top 50 Singles this week, and just five made the Albums list, but ARIA is hoping a major chart shake-up will change that.
As Al Newstead writes on ABC.net.au from September, only music released in the past two years will count towards the official Top 50 Singles and Albums rankings.
That means long-charting juggernauts like Mr. Brightside and Riptide, which have clung on for years, will be shifted to a new chart called ARIA On Replay.
Retail
Collins Foods shares surge despite profit plunge
Collins Foods, the biggest KFC franchisee in Australia, saw its shares jump nearly 20 per cent as investors bet on a Gen Z appetite for fried chicken to turn around the business.
As Eli Greenblat writes in The Australian, the company’s full-year profit virtually disappeared, dividends shrank, and it faced some wage-related issues, but the market looked beyond the rough patch.
New CEO Xavier Simonet stayed cautious, stopping short of declaring the worst over.
Vale
Sixties teen idol Bobby Sherman dies aged 81
Bobby Sherman, the clean-cut pop sensation who set teenage hearts racing in the late ’60s with hits like Little Woman and Julie, Do Ya Love Me, has died at 81.
According to The Guardian, his wife Brigitte Poublon confirmed the news this week, saying he passed away holding her hand.
Sherman had publicly shared his stage 4 cancer diagnosis earlier this year.