Social Media
Tech giants turn up the volume on social media law fight
TikTok has officially entered the post-election lobbying ring, splashing out tens of thousands on a four-page ad blitz in the Australian Financial Review to spruik its “educational” value for Aussie kids.
As James Madden writes in The Australian, it’s the first major move in what’s shaping up to be a full-blown PR arms race between platforms and Canberra over looming age-restriction laws.
The Albanese government is under mounting pressure to follow through on its pre-election promises around social media access and the news media bargaining code.
Journalism
Networks circle as mushroom trial nears verdict
As the Erin Patterson trial creeps toward its conclusion, media circles are buzzing with two burning questions: did she knowingly serve up a death cap-laced beef Wellington to her in-laws, and more urgently for TV bosses, which network will her estranged husband Simon Patterson choose for his inevitable post-verdict sit-down?
As Steve Jackson writes in The Australian, both Nine’s 60 Minutes and Seven’s Spotlight are said to be in deep negotiations, dangling serious dollars in a high-stakes race for exclusive rights.
Laura Tingle lets loose on Coalition chaos
Laura Tingle is leaving her role as ABC’s Political Editor with absolutely zero intention of going quietly. In a scorching exit interview on the Party Room podcast, Tingle described the Coalition as a “clown show” and a “sideshow,” slamming what she sees as blatant self-interest over public service.
Her spray comes after last week’s blink-and-you-missed-it split between the Nationals and Liberals, which was quickly reversed after a flurry of policy disagreements were, according to David Littleproud, “resolved.”
But as Joshua Haigh writes on news.com.au, Tingle clearly isn’t buying it, calling the whole performance a waste of taxpayers’ time.
Television
Bondi Rescue rides a digital wave
Bondi Rescue may not pull the prime-time numbers it did back in 2007, but don’t call it a has-been.
The long-running lifeguard docuseries has found fresh life online, racking up billions of views and millions of followers across YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat and Insta.
But Sam Buckingham-Jones reports in the Australian Financial Review, turns out, surf saves and sunburnt tourists play just as well in vertical video.
Breakfast shows quietly stretch the clock
Sunrise and Today might be scheduled to finish at 9am, but in reality, both breakfast shows regularly spill over their advertised slots, sometimes by more than ten minutes.
It’s a quiet tradition that’s been happening for years, despite what the EPG (Electronic Program Guide) might tell you.
David Knox at TV Tonight crunched the numbers and found both programs regularly push well past the hour. On some days in May, Sunrise ran until 9:14am, while Today clocked off at 9:13am. Not a glitch, just standard practice.
Brands
Nike faces backlash over Grace Tame posts
The secretive skincare mogul beating chocolate and the TAB
Australians are now splashing more cash on Korean skincare than they are on chocolate, and almost as much as they bet on horses.
And, as Tansy Harcourt reports in The Australian, while most wouldn’t know it, one low-profile entrepreneur is riding that glossy wave all the way to the bank.
Li Yang, who goes by Lee Li, is the quiet force behind W Cosmetics, a K-beauty retail chain with 38 stores and $200 million in annual revenue.
AI
Monash bets big on $60 million AI supercomputer
Monash University is getting into the supercomputer game with a beast of a machine named MAVERIC, a $60 million AI-powered unit designed to crunch mind-bending amounts of data and spit out breakthroughs in everything from climate science to cancer research.
As Julie Hare writes in the Australian Financial Review, MAVERIC (short for Monash Advanced Environment for Research and Intelligent Computing) is set to go live next year and will be the first of its kind in Australia and one of only a few globally.
Think less Terminator, more turbocharged lab assistant.
Business
Digital ad spend dips slightly but still holds year-on-year gains
Australia’s online ad market took a small dip to start the year, sliding 1.8 percent in the March quarter to $4.182 billion.
According to James Madden in The Australian, that’s just shy of where things sat in September and a touch down from the December quarter peak, according to the latest IAB Australia and PwC figures.
But zoom out, and the picture isn’t quite so bleak.
Companies
Right to disconnect lands in court in landmark teacher case
A Queensland teacher is taking her former school to the Federal Court, seeking nearly $800,000 in damages after being dismissed during school holidays, allegedly for not responding to misconduct claims when she was off the clock.
The lawsuit, lodged against Cairns Hinterland Steiner School, is the first to test the Albanese government’s freshly minted right to disconnect laws.
As David Marin-Guzman writes in the Australian Financial Review, legal observers have warned it might open the door to a new era of workplace litigation, and this case could set the tone.
Vale
Valerie Mahaffey remembered for quirky roles and chilling twists
Valerie Mahaffey, the talented Emmy award-winning actor who brought to life eccentric and sometimes darkly twisted women on shows like Desperate Housewives, Seinfeld and Northern Exposure, has passed away at 71.
Her husband, actor Joseph Kell, confirmed she lost her battle with cancer.
As Claire Fahy reports in The Sydney Morning Herald, while often cast as the friendly face with a sinister edge, Mahaffey’s range was undeniable.