Television
Secret plan to axe top Seven News talent quietly scrapped
A dramatic plan to slash some of Seven’s most recognisable news talent has come to light, with insiders confirming that almost every high-profile journo earning north of $300k was briefly on the chopping block.
According to Steve Jackson in The Australian, the cost-cutting proposal was floated during Anthony De Ceglie’s brief stint overseeing news and current affairs, and would’ve gutted the division’s star power in one swoop.
Big names like Spotlight’s Liam Bartlett, veteran correspondent Chris Reason, and Seven News Sydney’s Michael Usher were reportedly earmarked for quiet exits.
Deb Knight tipped to swap Money News for Nine News desk
It looks like Deb Knight is gearing up for a return to TV, with strong whispers she’ll soon exit 2GB’s Money News to step into a daytime news hosting role at Nine.
According to Briana Domjen in The Daily Telegraph, the move would mark yet another pivot in Knight’s chameleon-like media career, which has seen her juggle breakfast TV, hard news, and talk radio with equal poise.
If the switch is confirmed, it’ll mean 2GB loses its only female voice during daylight hours in Sydney.
Australian Survivor host swap sparks industry chatter
Word is Jonathan LaPaglia’s time in the Australian Survivor jungle has quietly come to an end, with Ten making a bold call to swap him out ahead of season 14.
As Ali Daher reports in Daily Mail Australia, LaPaglia has been the face of the franchise since 2016, so the move marks a significant shift for the long-running series.
Taking his place? Former All Stars winner David Genat… apparently.
Streaming
OzTAM reveals what Aussies really watch on their TVs
OzTAM has dropped its first-ever Streamscape report, giving the clearest picture yet of how Australians are actually using their TV screens.
As Sam Buckingham-Jones reports in the Australian Financial Review, despite the rise of streaming, old-school aerial free-to-air still dominates, making up a hefty 61.5 per cent of total TV minutes watched.
Netflix leads the streaming pack with 9.3 per cent, but even that trails behind the combined punch of free broadcaster apps like 9Now, 7plus and ABC iview, which together account for 8.4 per cent.
Foxtel’s music channels are back
Foxtel subscribers were shocked early this month when news broke that from the end of June, MTV Hits, Nick Music, MTV Club, MTV 80s, and CMT were leaving the service. There was no public announcement about a replacement.
Behind the scenes, however, Foxtel was working with a new partner to launch a brand new suite of music channels on the service.
The new partner has never run TV channels before, but has decades of music curation experience.
Journalism
BBC faces internal pushback over Gaza documentary delay
At a recent virtual staff meeting with BBC director general Tim Davie, the top question wasn’t about pay or looming job cuts.
As Michael Savage writes The Guardian, instead, staff zeroed in on one issue: why the broadcaster has delayed airing Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, a long-anticipated documentary about medics working in the war zone.
The doco has been shelved while the BBC investigates a separate film, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, which was pulled earlier this year after it was revealed the child narrator was the son of a Hamas official.
Social Media
Trump says TikTok has buyers lined up as US deadline looms
Donald Trump says a buyer group is ready to snap up TikTok, with the former president teasing an announcement “in about two weeks”.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the video-sharing app, still owned by China-based ByteDance, is facing a US ban unless it finds a non-Chinese owner, a condition Trump has now extended for another 90 days.
Speaking on Fox News, Trump described the potential purchasers as “very wealthy people” but offered no names.
Influencers face crackdown over dodgy offshore gambling promos
Some Aussie influencers are in hot water after unknowingly promoting an offshore gambling outfit posing as a local bookmaker.
As Henry Belot writes in The Guardian Australia, among them are self-styled internet personalities like “Australia’s #1 biological male” and content duo DegenerateAngelss, who have been spruiking Leon Australia, a betting brand that claims local roots but is actually licensed out of a small island off the African coast.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority isn’t amused. It has warned creators that pushing illegal gambling services could see them hit with fines of up to $59,400.
Radio
Advertisers shift from ARN to Nova as KIIS gamble stumbles in Melbourne
ARN’s big-money bet on Kyle and Jackie O’s Melbourne expansion is starting to bite, with new figures showing advertisers are walking, and taking millions with them.
As Calum Jaspan writes in The Sydney Morning Herald, Six months into the duo’s 10-year, $200 million deal, the KIIS parent company has shed $6 million in metro ad revenue, with Nova scooping up a healthy chunk of that spend.
The numbers tell a sobering story. ARN’’s metro ad share has dropped from 28 per cent to 24 per cent year-on-year, pulling it further behind Southern Cross and Nova, who were neck and neck with ARN this time last year.
Agencies
Omnicom merger clause sends ripple through Aussie ad market
What started as another big-name agency merger is now sending shockwaves beyond the US.
As Jen Sharpe writes in The Australian, Omnicom’s acquisition of Interpublic has been approved by the Federal Trade Commission, but with a first-of-its-kind clause: the ad giant can’t steer client spend based on political or ideological leanings.
That means Omnicom agencies must place ads where clients want them, regardless of a media outlet’s political stance, unless legally required otherwise.
AI
Bloomberg backs ChatGPT as AI use expands in the newsroom
Bloomberg is leaning into generative AI, with journalists now encouraged to use tools like ChatGPT in their daily workflows.
As John Buckley writes in Capital Brief, the shift marks a notable broadening of the company’s AI strategy, moving beyond backend tools and into the editorial frontlines, from headline brainstorming to doc summaries and translations.
Editor-in-chief John Micklethwait has reportedly given the green light for third-party platforms, reflecting a more open stance than many rival newsrooms, which remain cautious about AI’s role in reporting.