Journalism
A Current Affair boss takes leave after Logies post backlash
A Current Affair EP Amy McCarthy has taken personal leave after The Australian’s Steve Jackson reported her Logies-night social media posts, involving booze and a performer, unsettled colleagues.
Staff were told on Monday afternoon that McCarthy had decided to step away after discussions with network executives.
One post joked about getting “drunk” and later tagged Jimmy Barnes with a cheeky “#wouldstilldohim” caption.
Al Jazeera reporter killed in Gaza airstrike
Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza late Sunday, weeks after drawing official criticism for an emotional report on starvation.
Israel claims he led a Hamas cell, an allegation he and the network denied.
According to Sam Metz and Samy Magdy in The Australian Financial Review, press groups say his death is part of a wider effort to silence war coverage.
Companies
Domain sale to CoStar lands just as Nine spotlights underquoting
Timing was on Nine’s side last week.
Just five days after Domain shareholders approved the $2.9 billion sale of the property listings group to US-based CoStar, Nine’s mastheads rolled out a multi-day investigation into underquoting in Sydney and Melbourne.
As Glenn Dyer writes in Crikey, Nine, which owns nearly 60% of Domain, stands to pocket around $1.4 billion in net cash once the deal wraps in the September quarter.
Legal
Munjed Al Muderis plans appeal after defamation loss
Orthopaedic surgeon Munjed Al Muderis is gearing up to appeal after losing his defamation case against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes.
The Federal Court last week threw out his claims the outlets unfairly portrayed him as negligent in performing and managing osseointegration surgeries.
Justice Wendy Abraham found Nine’s reporting met both the contextual truth and public interest tests, dismissing all aspects of the suit.
Streaming
Netflix’s live gamble pays off for Brandon Riegg
Back in 2019, Netflix executive Brandon Riegg pitched live programming at a company retreat in Reykjavik and got grilled by all three top bosses.
At the time, the idea seemed at odds with the streamer’s binge-anytime model, and as Nicole Sperling details in The Australian Financial Review, its leadership wasn’t convinced it was worth the cost or the disruption.
But the shift is paying off. Netflix’s 2024 live boxing showdown between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson pulled in 65 million US viewers, second only to the Super Bowl, a clear sign the streamer’s live bet is landing punches.
Harry and Meghan secure new Netflix deal
Harry and Meghan have inked a fresh multi-year deal with Netflix, shutting down speculation the streamer would walk away from their partnership.
According to Mark Sweney in The Guardian, the renewal comes four years into their original five-year, reportedly $100m agreement, signed after stepping back from royal duties.
Netflix is now also a partner in Meghan’s lifestyle brand, As Ever, suggesting the streamer sees value beyond the numbers.
AI
Meta rejects leak claiming Aussie news sites scraped for AI
Meta has rubbished a whistleblower leak alleging it scraped major Australian news sites, including the ABC, News Corp titles, Nine mastheads and Seven’s 7news.com.au, to train its AI models.
According to John Buckley in Capital Brief, while dismissing the report as “bogus”, the company stopped short of explicitly denying those sites may have been used.
The claims surfaced via Drop Site News, a left-leaning Substack run by former Intercept staff, which published a list of about 100,000 allegedly scraped web properties.
Technology
AOL to hang up on dial-up after three decades
AOL is finally pulling the plug on its once-iconic dial-up internet service, ending an era of chirps, buzzes and “You’ve got mail” greetings that helped bring millions online in the 90s.
As BBC’s Natalie Sherman reports the service, which connects via phone lines, is now only used in the US and Canada.
AOL says it regularly reviews its offerings and decided it was time to retire the product.
Entertainment
Shrek 5 pushed to summer 2027
Shrek and friends won’t be returning to cinemas until 30 June 2027, with Universal and DreamWorks Animation shifting the release date from December 2026.
It’s the second delay for the long-awaited fifth film, which was first slated for July 2026.
According to Rebecca Rubin who writes for Variety, no reason was given for the move.