Journalism
Trump trades barbs with ABC reporter
Donald Trump has taken aim at ABC journalist John Lyons during a fiery press stop at the White House.
The Sydney Morning Herald’s Michael Koziol writes the heated White House exchange comes just days before the US President meets Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
‘You’re hurting Australia’: Donald Trump criticises ABC journalist John Lyons in White House clash pic.twitter.com/rlR4glUEVF
— Ben Knight (@benknight38) September 16, 2025
Mediaweek understands Lyons is now writing about the encounter, with Aunty set to publish his piece some time today. One waits with bated breath.
Crikey calls out local coverage of Kirk killing
Columnist Charlie Lewis has taken aim at the way Australian outlets have handled the fallout from the murder of US media figure Charlie Kirk.
Lewis argues the coverage has often mirrored American talking points, amplifying outrage over social media reactions while giving less oxygen to questions about Kirk’s own history of inflammatory remarks.
The focus, he suggests, has shifted from scrutiny of Kirk’s politics to punishment of those who dare contextualise them.
Karvelas takes on Canavan over migration spin
ABC’s Patricia Karvelas locked horns with Nationals Senator Matt Canavan after he tied migration to crime during Afternoon Briefing.
The Daily Telegraph’s Frank Chung reports that Karvelas pressed him on whether Tony Abbott’s call to end “mass immigration” was about numbers or about people.
But Canavan stuck to his line that it is the scale of arrivals that threatens social cohesion, arguing it’s stretching Australia’s ability to assimilate newcomers.
Legal
Alan Jones hit with more indecent assault charges
The former broadcaster is now facing 44 charges of indecent assault after nine fresh counts were laid this week.
The Sydney Morning Herald’s Clare Sibthorpe writes that Jones has pleaded not guilty to all allegations spanning almost two decades and involving 11 men.
Police allege Jones targeted men he knew through both professional and personal connections.
Social Media
TikTok deal heads for White House and Beijing talks
According to Brody Ford and Kurt Wagner in The Australian Financial Review, Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz and Silver Lake are set to take stakes in TikTok’s US operations under a deal now awaiting talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
The plan would slash ByteDance’s share to below 20 per cent to meet US security laws, keeping TikTok alive in its biggest market and easing bilateral tensions.
Streaming
Amazon brings AR to Champions League
Amazon will debut Prime Vision in the UK this week, an augmented reality feed for Champions League matches starting with Tottenham vs Villarreal.
As the Financial Times’ Josh Noble details, the stream overlays live stats like player speed, shot probability and tactical maps, plus a “momentum bar” showing who’s on top.
No word yet at this stage if the tool will be rolled out Down Under.
Online
YouTube Music rolls out superfan tools
YouTube is marking its 20th birthday with new features for YouTube Music aimed at tightening the bond between artists and their most loyal listeners.
Digital Music News’ Ashley King writes the updates were unveiled at the platform’s Made On event this week.
Think less passive streaming, more interactive community.
Radio
SEN apologises to Andrew Webster over on-air abuse
SEN boss Craig Hutchison has apologised to Webster after the broadcaster failed to stop homophobic text messages being aired during his programs.
As Kevin Perry writes in TV Blackbox, Webster quit SEN Sydney 1170AM last week, saying management had not acted despite repeated complaints.
Hutchison admitted on his Sounding Board podcast that SEN had “let Webster down,” acknowledging the network’s failure to protect its own talent from ongoing harassment.
AI
OpenAI tightens ChatGPT safeguards
OpenAI is rolling out new safety checks for ChatGPT following lawsuits and media reports linking chatbots to teen suicides.
As Emanuel Maiberg details in 404 Media, the system will now attempt to estimate a user’s age, and in some cases ask for ID to verify they are over 18.
CEO Sam Altman conceded the move is a “privacy compromise” but argued it is a necessary trade-off, given mounting scrutiny.
Vale
Hollywood mourns Robert Redford
Actor, director and Sundance founder Redford has died aged 89 at his Utah home.
His publicist confirmed he passed away surrounded by family, leaving behind wife Sibylle Szaggars and daughters Shauna and Amy.
As The Hollywood Reporter’s Lily Ford and Lexi Carson write, Redford’s career spanned six decades, with iconic turns in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Way We Were and All the President’s Men.
Foreign correspondent John Martinkus remembered
The veteran conflict reporter has died in Melbourne aged 56.
Martinkus built his reputation covering East Timor’s fight for independence in the 1990s before reporting from Iraq, Afghanistan, Aceh, Burma and West Papua.
As Kerrie O’Brien writes in The Age, Timor Leste president Jose Ramos Horta last year honoured him for his “courageous reporting,” calling him “one of the bravest journalists ever.”