Journalism
Media Watch stays quiet on Myf Warhurst
A neighbour’s call for Media Watch to dig into claims that the ABC hid Myf Warhurst’s starring role in a local feud was met with silence.
The program declined to investigate allegations that the broadcaster masked Warhurst’s involvement while running a one-sided attack on her neighbour.
But, as Steve Jackson writes in The Australian, critics say the broadcaster broke editorial rules and wasted taxpayer money on a harsh takedown.
Google quietly pulls plug on AAP FactCheck deal
Google has ended its fact-checking partnership with Australian Associated Press, quietly stepping back from funding efforts that helped keep misinformation in check.
While the tech giant is signing fresh deals with Aussie publishers under pressure from Canberra’s media bargaining rules, it’s let the AAP FactCheck contract expire with little fanfare.
As Cam Wilson writes in Crikey, the global pivot reflects rising political pushback in the US, where fact-checkers have become a lightning rod for criticism from across the spectrum.
Legal
Zuckerberg ducks court showdown with privacy payout
Just as things were heating up in Delaware, Meta shareholders pulled the plug on an $8 billion lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg and other top brass over Facebook’s privacy scandals.
As Nadine Yousif and Lily Jamali report for the BBC, the settlement came on day two of the trial, with details of the final payout still under wraps.
The case centred on the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica debacle, where user data was siphoned off and weaponised by political consultants.
Aussie writers push back on super standoff with producers
Australia’s screenwriters are gearing up for a legal clash with major production houses after the tax office ruled they should have been paid super all along.
According to Kelly Burke in The Guardian Australia, the ATO found that writers aren’t just selling scripts, they’re providing a service, which makes them employees under superannuation law.
The Australian Writers Guild is now preparing to take on Screen Producers Australia over what it sees as decades of underpayment.
AI
Meta defends using Aussie posts to train AI
Meta wants to keep training its AI on what Australians say online, telling the government that posts on Facebook and Instagram are essential for teaching machines about local “concepts, realities, and figures”.
In short: AI needs to know how Aussies really talk, and that means mining real-life social content.
As Josh Taylor details in The Guardian Australia, in a submission to the Productivity Commission, Meta pushed back on looming privacy reforms, arguing that AI can’t learn from synthetic data alone.
Business
Carsales CEO exits after driving huge growth
After nearly two decades with the company, Carsales boss Cameron McIntyre is handing over the keys.
As Sam Buckingham-Jones reports in The Australian Financial Review, the Car Group CEO will step down in August after overseeing a 230 per cent surge in value and helping transform the Aussie auto classifieds giant into a $14 billion ASX 50 player.
McIntyre joined back in 2007 as CFO and helped take the business public two years later.
Pellegrino set for $7.5 million windfall in CoStar bid
Former Domain CEO Jason Pellegrino is poised to cash in if CoStar’s $4.43-a-share takeover of the property platform gets the green light.
As John Buckley writes in Capital Brief, with nearly a million share rights set to vest just days before the 4 August shareholder vote, he could walk away with a tidy $7.5 million.
Pellegrino is lined up to lead CoStar’s Australian operations if the deal goes through, returning to a delisted Domain under the US real estate giant’s umbrella.
Technology
Clive Palmer’s parties hit by major data breach
Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party and its lesser-known cousin, Trumpets of Patriots, have confirmed a ransomware attack that may have compromised all their digital records, including emails, documents and sensitive personal data.
In an email to supporters, UAP revealed that hackers gained unauthorised access on 23 June, potentially lifting everything from email addresses and phone numbers to banking info and confidential attachments.
But, as Cam Wilson explains on Crikey, Trumpets of Patriots echoed the same message in a near word-for-word post on its site.
Publishing
Woody Allen returns with first novel
Woody Allen is swapping screenplays for pages, releasing his first full-length novel later this year via UK indie Swift Press.
Titled What’s With Baum?, the story follows a neurotic, washed-up author whose third marriage is falling apart and whose latest mistake involves a failed kiss with a young journalist. Nice to see him trying something new.
As Ella Creamer writes in The Guardian, Allen, who married his adopted daughter in 1997 and whose memoir Apropos of Nothing was dropped by Hachette after staff protests in 2020, has long faced public scrutiny over abuse allegations he denies.
Vale
TV news pioneer Penny Spence remembered for breaking ground at Nine
Penny Spence, one of Australia’s first female TV newsreaders, has died aged 83.
As Preston Potts explains on Sky News Australia, Spence was a familiar face to New South Wales audiences in the 1960s and 70s, Spence helped usher in a new era of broadcast journalism when she joined Channel Nine’s newsroom.
The National Film and Sound Archive paid tribute to Spence as a “trailblazer in Australian television” and part of a pioneering group that helped reshape the news landscape.
Sam Gazal, media and property deal-maker, dies aged 87
Sam Gazal, a fixture in Sydney’s business scene known for his bold moves in media and property, has passed away at 87.
As Tansy Harcourt and Colin Packham detail in The Australian, Gazal’s name is most linked with Sunshine Broadcasting, a regional TV network in Queensland that he helped grow before selling to Kerry Stokes’ Seven Network.
Gazal’s style was fearless, he backed risky ventures during times of big industry shake-ups, turning some heads and wallets alike. Before media, he made his mark in food, co-founding Panfida Foods, which built a mini empire from pastries to bakery gear.