Election 2025
Trumpet of Patriots texts flood phones ahead of election
Australians are receiving mysterious campaign texts from the Trumpet of Patriots party, even if they’ve never subscribed.
As Jessica Bahr writes for SBS News, the messages, pushing party policies, have been landing on phones across the country in the lead-up to the federal election.
Frustrated voters are now questioning how their numbers were sourced, and whether this kind of digital door-knocking crosses legal lines.
TikTok creators paid to spruik illegal election bets
A banned US crypto-betting site is paying Aussie influencers to plug bets on the federal election, despite being illegal in Australia.
The platform, Polymarket, lets users wager digital currency on everything from political winners to individual electorates, and, as Cam Wilson reports in Crikey, the site first gained notoriety during the US election, when its founder’s apartment was raided by the FBI.
Now it’s pivoted to Australia, offering odds on who’ll be PM, who’ll win Brisbane, and whether Peter Dutton will hang on to his seat.
Trump Tariffs
Amazon scrambles to deny checkout tariff plan after Trump backlash
Amazon has poured cold water on a report that it planned to show the cost of tariffs at checkout, a move the White House slammed as political after Donald Trump personally phoned Jeff Bezos to complain.’
As Sebastian Herrera writes in The Australian, the company clarified it had floated the idea for its bargain platform, Haul, but insisted it was never approved and won’t go ahead.
Amazon also said the proposal never applied to its main site, but still, the damage was done.
Legal
Roberts-Smith pushes for new evidence in Nine defamation fallout
Ben Roberts-Smith is arguing his failed defamation case was tainted, pointing to fresh claims that a Nine journalist received confidential legal messages meant for him.
According to Stephen Rice in The Australian, his lawyers say reporter Nick McKenzie was given privileged material, breaching legal boundaries.
In court, barrister Arthur Moses pointed to a secret recording where McKenzie allegedly tells Roberts-Smith’s ex-mistress that the soldier’s former wife and her friend were feeding him details of the defence strategy.
Social Media
‘We may have already passed the AI tipping point without noticing’
A new study out of the University of Zurich has confirmed what many feared: AI isn’t just blending in with human content, it’s quietly reshaping what we believe.
As Alex Blair writes on news.com.au, researchers found that even savvy social media users struggled to tell human-made posts from machine-made ones, and were often persuaded by the fakes.
This so-called “crossover point”, where most online content becomes AI-generated and nearly impossible to spot, may already be here.
Television
Nine appoints Chief Sales Officer
Nine has appointed Matt James as Chief Sales Officer. He will report to Chief Executive Officer, Matt Stanton.
James brings 35 years of experience and was previously been CEO of global media agency Zenith Media based in London, the inaugural Group CEO of Publicis Media, and CEO of Zenith Australia and New Zealand.
James, who was appointed Acting Chief Sales Officer in December 2024, will be responsible for growing the revenue of Nine’s Total Television, Total Publishing and Total Audio assets.
ABC chair admits misstep over push for comedian’s airtime
ABC chair Kim Williams has admitted an email criticising staff for snubbing comedian Austen Tayshus was “inappropriate”, but insists he didn’t try to influence editorial decisions.
Media Watch revealed Williams had contacted radio bosses multiple times backing the comedian, also known as Sandy Gutman, even forwarding internal producer emails and calling staff “arrogant with talent”.
As Amanda Meade writes in The Guardian Australia, in one message, Williams questioned why regional radio wouldn’t grab the chance to feature Tayshus, writing: “I know he can be demanding, but he is talented. “Despite the backlash, he denies crossing the line into directing coverage.”
ABC journalists slam chair over push to promote comedian
ABC staff have hit out at chair Kim Williams over what they call an “arrogant” move to secure airtime for comedian Austen Tayshus, bypassing editorial decisions by regional radio teams.
As Bryant Hevesi and Max Melzer write on Sky News Australia, Tayshus, real name Sandy Gutman, was initially knocked back by several stations before landing interviews, after reaching out to Williams while promoting his Australiana anniversary tour.
In a sharp statement, the ABC’s MEAA House Committee said journalists were “beyond disappointed” by the chair’s interference, with more examples of similar behaviour reportedly surfacing since the Media Watch exposé.
Publishing
RecipeTin writer calls out cookbook author over lookalike bakes
RecipeTin Eats creator Nagi Maehashi has accused Bake With Brooki author Brooke Bellamy of lifting her caramel slice and baklava recipes, saying the similarities are too specific to be chalked up to coincidence.
As Kerrie O’Brien writes on The Sydney Morning Herald, Bellamy, who runs Brooki Bakehouse in Brisbane, released her cookbook through Penguin in October.
Maehashi took to Instagram to share side-by-side comparisons from both books, sparking a flurry of debate among followers.
Casting director shrugs off backlash over Robbie and Elordi in Wuthering Heights
The casting director behind Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights adaptation has defended the decision to cast Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in the lead roles, dismissing concerns over age and ethnicity.
Speaking at Scotland’s Sands film festival, Kharmel Cochrane said there was “no need to be accurate” since Emily Brontë’s novel is “just a book”, according to Catherine Shoard in The Guardian.
Set in 18th-century Yorkshire, the story’s depiction of Heathcliff has long sparked debate over race and representation, though most film versions, until Andrea Arnold’s 2011 take, have cast white actors in the role.
Agencies
oOh!media quietly starts CEO search as names swirl
Just a day after announcing Cathy O’Connor’s departure, oOh! Media has kicked off its search for a new chief executive, with headhunters already sounding out high-profile contenders.
As Bridget Carter reports in The Australian, industry chatter suggests former Seven and APN boss James Warburton is in the mix, alongside names like Paul Anderson, Jeff Howard and Brian Gallagher.
Some are even floating a surprise return of founder Brendon Cook, though insiders say that’s unlikely. Warburton, however, is widely seen as a frontrunner.
Retail
Endeavour taps Hrdlicka, but timing and tennis raise eyebrows
Endeavour Group has broken ranks with cautious boards by handing the reins to high-profile executive Jayne Hrdlicka, though she won’t officially start until January next year.
The appointment ends a long search to replace former CEO Steve Donohue, but questions remain about the fit and the delay, according to Eric Johnston in The Australian.
Hrdlicka, a former Virgin boss and Bain consultant, will juggle board meetings on the side while guiding her son through Year 12, leaving Endeavour in limbo during its crucial summer trading period.