By James Manning

Hamish and Andy on Australia’s #1 podcast

Talking to Mediaweek about their latest TV project (more on that on Friday), we slipped in some questions about the H&A podcast.

Andy Lee explained the weekly recording sessions are not really seen as a substitute for radio.

“I would say it’s scratching an itch which we love doing,” Lee told Mediaweek. “We love the community, we love our listeners. So it is an opportunity to do that. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily keeping a hand in radio because … we see it more as our love of working with audio.”

Hamish Blake added: “There’s one big thing you lack in podcasting and one huge thing you gain and I reckon it’s an almost exact zero sum trade off. You don’t get the live interaction of callers anymore, which was easily our favourite part of the radio show. But the people that do listen to the podcast, the community you have, they listen to every single show beginning to end, they know everything. They’re so deeply invested in the show.

“It allows the show to become a way more textured thing than you could ever do on free-to-air radio where you’re constantly catching everyone up all the time cause you know people might only listen for 10 minutes.”

Listen to the Hamish and Andy podcast here.

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A Rational Fear – Stop The Press

Dan Illic has told Mediaweek about a special edition of his comedy podcast about press freedom. “A Rational Fear is a fortnightly stage show/podcast where Australia’s best comedic voices rip into the news,” said Illic.

“It’s kind of like #QandA on crack.”

He said the special show is all about one of the foundations of democracy – Press Freedom in Australia.

“We have a wild line up – comedians and journalists who are also very funny.”

Appearing alongside Illic on his next show are Lewis Hobba, Alice Workman, Kate McClymont, Ben Fordham and Ray Martin.

Get tickets for the recording of the special podcast episode here.

Listen to A Rational Fear here.

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Dr Charlie Teo on 5ML

Acclaimed brain surgeon, Dr Charlie Teo, chatted with Nigel Marsh on the latest episode of The Five of My Life podcast and says he’s always been subjected to the tall poppy syndrome in Australia, “I’m not a wilting flower when it comes to my skills. That’s always worked against me in Australia. So much so, that as I was going through neurosurgery, many of my bosses felt compelled to put me in my place and I was fired and taken off the neurosurgical program; being punished for being good and knowing I was good,” said Teo.

PodcastOne’s The Five of My Life (5ML) is hosted by former Y&R brands boss and author Nigel Marsh. In each episode, Marsh chats to prominent personalities about their favourite Film, Book, Song, Place & Possession and the stories behind them. Dr Charlie Teo is a globally renowned neurosurgeon and has been named as one of Australia’s most trusted people for taking on the cases others class as hopeless, and has also become known for speaking his mind. Hear him with Marsh on the latest episode of 5ML.

See also:

“I didn’t want to be just another host talking to celebrities,” Marsh told Mediaweek. “I didn’t want to recap people’s careers or promote their albums or books. I ask my guests for their choices a week before the interviews so I can research and see the film and read the book.”

[Read the original]

Listen to The Five Of My Life here.

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Porno podcasters live in Australia in 2020

Award-winning much-loved podcast, My Dad Wrote A Porno is back with a new live show and an Australian tour in 2020.

With a critically acclaimed HBO comedy special, over 180 million downloads, and a sell-out world tour, Team Porno – aka Jamie Morton, Alice Levine and James Cooper – will open the My Dad Wrote A Porno World Tour 2020 in Australia at The Sydney Opera House on January 8, before taking the show on the road to Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane.

It will be three years since their first Australian tour in 2017, and will see Jamie, James and Alice reading never-before heard material from the mind of the legendary Rocky Flintstone.

Tickets for all shows go on sale at 1pm Thursday, July 18.

Listen to My Dad Wrote A Porno here.

Hunkin in the brand’s fourth editor in three years after Anthea Loucas left the title in 2016. She was replaced by Sarah Oakes who left the title last year when her deputy Amy Reedy took over.

Hunkin brings 15 years of experience working in multi-platform journalism across digital, print and broadcast for some of New Zealand’s largest media organisations. She has spent the past five years as head of entertainment and lifestyle for New Zealand’s largest media organisation, NZME, overseeing all print and digital content across verticals.

In addition, Hunkin also led the successful launch of New Zealand Herald’s new lifestyle magazine Be Well, while continuing to edit the weekly entertainment magazine Time Out.

Prior to NZME, Hunkin spent over four years as a general news reporter for New Zealand’s most watched television news offering, One News, where she acquired extensive experience in broadcast journalism.

Sally Eagle, general manager of publishing at Bauer Media Australia said: “Joanna’s wealth of experience in broadcast, print and digital makes her the ideal candidate to take the helm at Gourmet Traveller. The brand continues to engage with its dedicated and passionate audience across all platforms, so her experience with cross-platform channels will be hugely beneficial.

“Joanna’s energy, passion, and vision for the brand are both infectious and exciting. We’re delighted by her appointment and look forward to seeing the magazine flourish under her leadership.”

Hunkin was named a finalist for the Editorial Executive of the Year Award at the 2019 Voyager Media Awards in New Zealand.

Joanna Hunkin said: “I am beyond thrilled to be joining the Gourmet Traveller team, having long admired the brand as a food-obsessed reader. The opportunity to build on the magazine’s already sterling reputation and connect with more readers is a challenge that fills me with both excitement and anticipation. It is a privilege to be the next editor of Gourmet Traveller and to lead the team into 2020 and beyond.”

Eagle concluded: “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Amy Reedy, who stepped into the acting editor role for Gourmet Traveller late last year. She has been a great asset to Bauer and the brand, and we wish her every success for the future.”

The grants follow the announcement late last year by Australian philanthropist Judith Neilson of at least $100 million to create a world-leading journalism institute based in Sydney.

The initial round of grants covers a range of media organisations and activities from major international projects to small, local initiatives.

“The Institute believes that the best way to champion quality journalism is to help journalists do more of it,” said Mark Ryan, a director of the Institute.

“Most of the grants announced today will create new positions or new projects for journalists. We also expect some of these initial projects will expand into more substantial initiatives.”

The Institute’s approach to grants is informed by five principles: creating new opportunities for journalists to do more journalism; focusing on projects that will have the greatest impact; encouraging new investment in journalism; non-partisanship; and respect for editorial independence.

“In addition to providing practical support for quality journalism, the first round of grants is also a learning process. It will help the Institute understand how to best support journalism. And for those in the profession, it will give a sense of the types of projects the Institute is keen to support,” said Ryan.

This grants round is part of a number of initiatives that have been launched.

In May, the Institute held its first education project, a two-week intensive fellowship for 12 Australian journalists in Hong Kong in cooperation with the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at Hong Kong University.

From 31 August-1 September this year, the Institute will partner with the Sydney Opera House to co-present Antidote: a festival of ideas, action and change. The Institute is co-curating three sessions of the festival looking at how journalists work in authoritarian environments, who gets to speak on society’s most controversial subjects, and how journalists cover climate change.

The latest grant recipients are:

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation to fund a media literacy program across remote communities in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

The Australian for a new series that will examine the complex implications of China’s transformation, both inside and outside of the country.

The Australian Financial Review to re-open a South East Asia bureau in Jakarta that will provide deeper coverage of the major economic, trade, business and security issues in Indonesia and the region.

The Guardian to fund the appointment of a Pacific editor, the establishment of a network of independent journalists and the commissioning of major investigations to expand reporting on Australia’s immediate neighbourhood.

Ngaarda Media, a community radio station in Roebourne, Western Australia, to support news coverage.

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age to employ an Indigenous journalist and Indigenous trainee photographer to work with reporters in the newsroom on a series of news stories, features and multimedia projects.

Schwartz Media to hire a new Features and Field producer for its new daily podcast “7 AM”.

The Terrier, a local news website in Warrnambool, Victoria, to support the appointment of an Indigenous cadet reporter and to explore new funding models for the website.

Three grants were also announced earlier this year:

Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia (JERAA) to support The Junction, JERAA’s national collaborative online platform for student journalism which covered the 2019 Federal Election.

The Kennedy Foundation to sponsor the Chris Watson Award which recognises the work of regional newspaper journalists and to provide financial support for a regional reporting project of the winner’s choice.

The Walkley Foundation to support its public interest journalism grants to Australian freelance journalists awarded in April this year.

The event was led by SCA national broadcasters Dave Hughes, Danny Lakey and Ash London as well as local talent Stav, Abby and Matt from HIT105, Marto, Robin Bailey and Nick Cody from Triple M, Those Two Girls from early national breakfast on Hit and Triple M’s Sports Insider and drive host, Ben Dobbin.

Senior national SCA executives attended the launch, led by CEO Grant Blackley as well as Chief Sales Officer Brian Gallagher, Chief Financial Officer Nick McKechnie, Head of Triple M Network Mike Fitzpatrick, Head of Hit Network Gemma Fordham, National Head of Sales (and Brisbane-based) Will Allen, National Head of News and Current Affairs (and Brisbane-based) Natasha Jobson, National Research Manager (and Brisbane based) John Musgrove.

Hosting all the launch event guests was the key driver behind the SCA relocation project and Executive General Manager of Queensland Damon Reilly.

Reilly commented last night: “The creation of SCA Brisbane’s Audio HQ was 18 months in the making. All 125 Brisbane staff were involved in the design and furniture selection and our goal was not only to create Australia’s leading Audio facility, but to deliver an environment that would allow our team to maximise both collaboration and innovative thinking.

“The foresight and support of our CEO Grant Blackley cannot be understated, to provide the investment in Queensland for a facility such is a privilege for me to lead and one which reflects Brisbane’s growing reputation and growth. Tonight is a celebration of all things Audio. Welcome to the Queensland headquarters of Australia’s biggest media company that reaches 95% of Australia’s population, SCA. Welcome to Brisbane’s leading radio stations, Triple M & Hit105. Welcome to SCA’s Audio HQ.”

SCA Regional General Managers from throughout Queensland also attended – Rod Hockey from the Gold Coast, Cassandra Cazzulino from Townsville and Ken Wood from Regional QLD. Also Triple M Brisbane Content Director Rex Morris and HIT105 Content Director Jack Ball.

Other guests include Premier of Queensland Annastacia Palaszczuk and the Leader of the Opposition Deb Frecklington, senior leaders from all national advertising agencies, CEOs and leaders from 40 of Brisbane’s leading corporates, plus SCA’s top clients.

Opening event highlights included:

• Australian comedian and part of Triple M Brisbane’s The Big Breakfast with Marto and Robin, Nick Cody opened the event, with Brisbane-born act The Veronicas performing.
• Guests were treated to “Frequency-Infused Gin”, and could choose Hit105-infused, or Triple M-infused (a partnership with Ink Gin), as well as XXXX and Moët & Chandon. A long Blue Carpet snaked through The Barracks and marked the arrival experience on ground level.
• Dave Hughes broadcast his national HIT Network program live from Audio HQ and through the event, with Kate Langbroek direct from Italy.
• Channel 9 hosted weather live from the event.

Dewar joins MCN after three years at Westpac, where he was most recently Head of Group Media, Social and Digital Tech. He was responsible for leading the media and brand strategy, we well as investment levels across multiple brands – Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne, Bank SA, BT & RAMs.

During his time at Westpac, Dewar helped build the banking corporation’s Brand Moments platform, a highly emotive storytelling strategy that shared important life moments for customers. He established a new bespoke agency model, Media Lab, that was focused on a science based mindset to planning, and worked with Mark Ritson to deliver a training and development program across the Westpac Marketing and Digital team.

Prior to Westpac, Dewar was General Manager – Media, Sponsorships and Awards at Telstra, and ANZ Media and Sponsorship Manager for McDonald’s. He also spent over 10 years in media and creative agencies, including client director roles at Ikon, UM and DDB.

The appointment of MCN’s Customer Engagement Director follows the recent announcement of new Chief of Sales, David Roddick, who was previously the Sales and Marketing Director at AdShel.

MCN CEO Mark Frain said the two hires have been hand-picked to further support MCN’s existing leadership team and disrupt how the business operates structurally, to approach the market in a new and more dynamic way.

“David’s non-television background and now the appointment of a client-side expert, have been strategic moves to bring diverse perspectives to MCN so we can charter a new way of working with our clients and connecting them to the Foxtel platform,” he said.

“Toby has been re-imagining how Australian businesses leverage media, technology and creativity for over 20 years. He’s worked client-side at the very top level, helping brands like Westpac, Telstra and McDonald’s innovate how they communicate with, and market to, their consumer.

“With Foxtel’s investment and focus on building a better customer experience these next 12 months, and beyond, we see a role for Foxtel to be more than just an advertising platform for brands. Toby will help take clients on this new journey. He’ll work with MCN’s agency partners and their clients to clearly understand how Foxtel can deliver value to their businesses and better connect them to our viewers by developing new solutions and approaches that push the limits of what media can achieve. He’ll also support the MCN team to further understand the challenges facing marketers and distil these insights into products that can add value to the market.”

Reporting to CEO Mark Frain, Dewar will support MCN’s sales/partnerships teams, uniting responses to key business challenges on behalf of clients. He will also take a leading role in programming and hosting sessions for marketers and agencies at “Foxtel on Oxford”, MCN’s custom-built facility to help connect advertisers, agencies and subscribers with the Foxtel platform and its wide range of content.

Toby Dewar said: “My career to date has focussed on working within categories that face significant change and structural pressure. To survive through change, organisations have had to evolve and respond to the changing expectations of customers and stay relevant and competitive. I am looking forward to sharing this experience and leveraging these insights at MCN and across the Foxtel platform.”

Dewar starts at MCN on Monday 5th August.

Wednesday Week 29 2019

• Seven News 1,116,000/1,054,000
• Nine News 894,000/908,000
• A Current Affair 734,000
• ABC News 632,000
• 7.30 590,000
• The Project 316,000/510,000
• 10 News First 410,000
• The Drum 193,000
• SBS World News 148,000

Breakfast TV

• Sunrise 286,000
• Today 191,000

Seven

Home And Away slipped to 677,000 after 711,000 on Monday and 700,000 on Tuesday.

The ob doc hour then saw Border Security on 521,000 and The Force on 481,000.

Britain’s Got Talent was on 344,000.

Nine

A Current Affair was hosted by Leila McKinnon with 734,000 last night after 787,000 and 836,000 earlier in the week.

Two episodes of Young Sheldon then did 459,000 and 365,000.

Star Trek Beyond was then on 250,000.

10

The Project edged back over 500,000 as its 10th birthday celebrations continued.

On MasterChef Larissa became the first person through to the semi-finals on Sunday. The last Wednesday episode of the series for 2019 did 719,000, making it one of the higher ratings episodes this season. The show entrusted the contestants with cooking some of the final dishes in George Calombaris’s 12-year-old restaurant Press Club, which closed last month.

The premier of 10’s new Australian drama from CJZ My Life Is Murder debuted with 482,000, enough to win the timeslot.

ABC

Anh’s Brush With Fame made the top 10 with 664,000 at 8pm.

Mad As Hell viewers then got a surprise with a repeat of last week’s episode running again at 8.30pm with 495,000 watching. This week’s episode is now on iview and will screen tonight.

Squinters then returned with 285,000.

SBS

24 Hours In Emergency was the channel’s best with 179,000.

Going Places With Ernie Dingo was on 164,000.

Stage 10 of the Tour de France was on 143,000.