Media
ABC emails mock Nine reporter during Winter Olympics coverage
The Australian’s Steve Jackson came across internal ABC emails in which staff joked about Nine News reporter Danika Mason following her widely shared drunken on-air cross.
Routine emails referenced an “ABC Snowman” built by its team, before one message quipped the snowman may have been “out late last night with a rival network’s presenter.”
Journalists joking about other journalists’ drinking habits? Pot, kettle, etc.
SBS staff push back on cost-of-living payment offer
Crikey’s Daanyal Saeed reports that SBS is facing fresh resistance after offering staff a one-off $1,500 payment rather than improving its base pay proposal.
Word is that unions and employees are now accusing the broadcaster of trying to force through a deal during ongoing enterprise bargaining talks.
Publishing
KPMG distances itself from Sydney Writer’s Festival
The Australian’s Max Aitchison reports KPMG Australia has asked for its logo to be removed from organisations that listed Randa Abdel-Fattah and Grace Tame as speakers, signalling the firm’s intent to distance itself from the associated events.
Focus is now turning to the Sydney Writers’ Festival, where Abdel-Fattah is due to appear in May.
Brands
Brands lag behind audiences as live sport shifts to streaming
Australians are consuming live sport in huge numbers, but advertisers are still slow to follow.
As Danielle Long reports in The Australian, research from The Trade Desk shows 62 per cent of Australians follow sport weekly, with many watching several hours of live coverage.
Social Media
Ban battle heats up between Aus Government and Snap
The Australian Financial Review’s Jessica Gardner and Tess Bennett. Australia’s under-16 social media ban is drawing sharp lines, with Communications Minister Anika Wells reaffirming that platforms must comply with the new law.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel has criticised the policy, calling it a high-stakes experiment and warning that other countries adopting similar measures too quickly could lead to unintended consequences.
Tech
Microsoft fixes AI assistant error exposing confidential emails
The BBC’s Liv McMahon writes that Microsoft has patched a glitch in its Copilot Chat tool after the workplace AI assistant accidentally surfaced sensitive email content, including messages marked confidential, to some users.
The issue involved Copilot pulling information from drafts and sent folders, raising fresh questions about how generative AI tools handle private corporate data.
Companies
Warner Bros. hires former Paramount executive to boost production
Deadline’s Anthony D’Alessandro reports that Warner Bros has appointed former Paramount Pictures executive Mike Ireland as President of Production, where he will work alongside current production head Jesse Ehrman.
He is set to start next month.
The move comes as the studio ramps up its theatrical slate, aiming to release more than 16 films a year as it doubles down on cinema.