Wednesday March 18, 2026
Mediaweek launches Next of the Best to recognise operational leaders
It’s a universally acknowledged truth that the Australian media and marketing industry loves a good night out, and a celebratory pat on the back.
As an ecosystem, we actually do a pretty good job of recognising the two furthest bookends of our industry. On one side, we have programs that champion our emerging and junior talent.
On the other side, events like our very own Mediaweek 100 celebrate the absolute top of town. These awards champion the CEOs, founders, and visionaries steering the ship.
The gap in the middle
But that leaves a massive, highly-caffeinated gap in the middle. Because while we throw plenty of parties for the rookies and the veterans, the people actually keeping the lights on are rarely celebrated in their own right.
What about the people running the machine right now?
We’re talking about the directors, the “heads of”, the managing partners, the brand guardians, and the tech builders. These leaders operate at the absolute commercial core of their businesses.
Too busy doing the work
A funny paradox happens when you reach that level of operational leadership. You become so busy driving the growth, closing the deals, and architecting the media that you simply lack the time to write a few-thousand-word essay to prove you did it.
You’re too busy doing the work to enter an award for doing the work.
That paradox partly explains why we’ve evolved the Mediaweek Next of the Best Awards for 2026.
Recognising proven performance
This year, we are moving beyond potential to celebrate proven performance. We ignore job titles, looking instead at real-world impact. We want the market movers.
Across 16 sharpened categories, we’re calling on leaders who are:
• Driving growth across brands and retail commerce.
• Closing deals and brokering the partnerships that fund the industry.
• Architecting media across agencies and platforms.
• Shaping culture through journalism, product innovation, and team leadership.
Leadership in motion
This isn’t just about holding a senior title. It’s about Leadership in Motion.
And because we know your afternoon is already packed, we removed the hurdles. The 2026 Next of the Best Awards cost nothing to enter, and the streamlined portal takes a senior leader exactly 20 minutes to complete.
No entry fees on a corporate card.
No endless essays.
We only want a sharp, peer-reviewed validation of the commercial impact you deliver every day.
You set the strategies. You completed the work. And our executive judges await your entry.
The industry has shifted. The leaders driving that change deserve recognition.
‘Burn the place down’: Kyle Sandilands contract terminated by ARN
Kyle Sandilands has publicly rejected ARN Media’s decision to terminate his long-term contract, describing the move as invalid and confirming legal action is now underway.
In a statement released after ARN announced the termination on Wednesday morning, Sandilands said he did not accept the network’s position and claimed his legal team had already warned ARN the move would not stand.
“ARN has just announced that they’ve terminated my contract. I don’t accept it,” Sandilands said.
“My lawyers told them last week this would be invalid. And guess what? It is.”
‘I said sorry to Jackie the night of our blow-up’
Sandilands said the breakdown followed an on-air clash with co-host Jackie O Henderson, which he described as consistent with past disagreements heard across the show’s long history.
“Let me tell you what actually happened here. Jackie and I had a blue on air. That’s it. The kind of thing we’ve done a hundred times in 25 years. And ARN took the situation and decided to try and burn the place down.”
He claimed ARN escalated the fallout by removing both hosts from the program.
“They sacked Jackie. They suspended me. They wouldn’t even let me pick up the phone to call her or anyone else on the show.”
“Then — and this is the bit that gets me — once they’d made it impossible for the show to go on, they turn around and say, ‘You didn’t fix it. You’re fired!’”
Sandilands said he apologised to Henderson shortly after the incident.
“I said sorry to Jackie the night of our blow-up. And when I said I was sorry to Jackie, I meant it. I still mean it.”
Potential legal dispute now an option
Sandilands said he had complied with ARN’s requests during the suspension period and repeatedly offered to return to air under different arrangements.
“In the two weeks since, I’ve done everything ARN asked. I said, put me back on air. I’ll work with Jackie. I’ll work with someone else. Whatever you need. Every single time – ‘no.’”
“They weren’t interested. They didn’t want to fix this. They thought they saw a chance to get out of the contract they signed with me a year ago, and they ran with it.”
He also defended his value to the network, pointing to ratings and revenue delivered during his tenure.
“ARN knew exactly what they were getting when they signed my deal. They’ve worked with me for over a decade.
“They knew how I work, they knew the show, and they were happy to pay for it — because I delivered number one ratings. Year after year. Hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for their business.”
Sandilands said his contract remains active until 2034 and that the matter will now be handled by lawyers.
“I’ve got a contract until 2034. I’ve got rights under that contract. And ARN hasn’t honoured the contract. So, it’s over to my lawyers.”
“I’m not done. Not by a long way.”
Kyle Sandilands’ official statement.
Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson – what comes next?
ARN has now terminated both contracts, and both could sue their former employer – time will tell.
2GB Breakfast host Ben Fordham last week weighed into the escalating fallout between Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’, declaring the shock jock made a critical error by airing his frustrations with his longtime co-host live on radio.
Speaking on the Behind the Mic with Mike E podcast, Fordham said the moment that triggered the crisis inside ARN’s biggest radio show should never have played out in public.
“It shouldn’t have happened on air. It should not have happened on air. If Kyle had said to Jackie off air, ‘Babe, your interest in astrology is driving me nuts’, I reckon Jackie probably would have said ‘oh right’.”
The comments follow a dramatic on-air clash last month during which Henderson was left in tears after Sandilands accused her of letting her interest in astrology interfere with her work.
During the broadcast, Sandilands had lashed out: “It’s affecting other things, like your fixation on this has made you almost unworkable. You’re off with the fairies with this s***. It’s mental.”
Top Image: Kyle Sandilands
Oprah podcast reveals twist to Coldplay kiss-cam saga
Kristin Cabot, the former chief people officer at Astronomer, has revealed new details about the viral Coldplay kiss-cam moment that drew global attention in July 2025.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey on her podcast, Cabot said both she and former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron were separated from their spouses at the time of the concert.
The interview has added fresh context to a story that became one of the internet’s most widely shared workplace scandals.
New context in first on-camera interview
Cabot said her estranged husband was also attending the Coldplay concert at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts on the night the pair appeared on the venue’s kiss cam.
According to the interview, Cabot told Winfrey she learned this while walking into the concert, after receiving a message from her daughter. She said she and her husband had already separated and were planning to divorce.
“In my mind I thought well is this going to be weird if he sees me with Andy? Like that crossed my mind. If I run into him. But then I was like I’m in Gilette Stadium, there’s 55 thousand people here, I’m probably not going to run into him,” she chuckled.
“But it doesn’t matter … that would’ve been better at the end of the day if I’d just run into him, but he knows how closely Andy and I work together. He knows we socially got lunches and got drinks. It was fine.
“He knows the nature of my work and the way (I work). I’ve shared desks with the CEOs I work with. It’s a very close relationship so it didn’t matter.”
Cabot also said Byron had told her he was separated from his wife at the time.
Winfrey noted those details had not been part of the public understanding of the story, and if they had been, the public’s reaction would have been different.
The original footage showed Cabot and Byron embracing before quickly recoiling as they appeared on the stadium screen. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin responded from the stage, joking that the pair were either “having an affair” or “just very shy”.
The clip quickly spread across social media, becoming a global viral moment and prompting intense scrutiny of both executives. Byron later resigned from Astronomer, followed by Cabot in the same month.
Why the story travelled
The incident became more than an internet clip because it intersected with workplace culture, executive conduct and the speed at which social video can turn private moments into public crises.
For media companies, it also showed how a short piece of concert footage could move from fan content to mainstream news, social commentary and long-tail interview coverage. The Oprah interview now extends the lifecycle of the story, shifting it from viral spectacle to reputation management and personal narrative.
Cabot’s appearance is being positioned as her only on-camera interview about the controversy. It marks the latest chapter in a story that continues to generate coverage well beyond its original viral spike.
Why Netanyahu released a 'proof of life' video - and is it real?
Benjamin Netanyahu has released a ‘proof of life’ video to show he’s not dead, following claims by Iranian media that he was killed in a missile strike.
The Israeli prime minister posted a short clip of himself in a coffee shop to his official X account.
He asked the person filming to count his fingers in direct response to online conspiracy theorists who alleged that a video he posted last week was AI-generated and showed him with six fingers.
The caption of the post read, “They say I’m what? Watch.”
View this post on Instagram
Aftermath of Netanyahu’s video
For several hours on Friday, Iranian state media reported that Netanyahu had been killed or seriously wounded in an Iranian strike.
Tasnim, Iran’s semi-official news agency, also claimed that Hebrew media had published a video of the Israeli prime minister that was “likely made using artificial intelligence”, suggesting that the authorities were covering up his death.
The claims appear to be a propaganda effort to counter the confirmed deaths of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other high-level Iranian officials as a result of U.S.-Israel attacks.
Soon after the video was posted, Iran-affiliated outlets and other pro-Iran accounts began claiming that the video was an AI-generated deepfake, citing supposed anomalies in Netanyahu’s face, the level of the coffee in the cup, the lighting and shadows, and a perceived distortion in Netanyahu’s coat pocket.
Some posts shared screenshots from an AI-detection tool as purported evidence. However, it should be noted that Anti-Israel accounts on X and other social media platforms have repeatedly made false claims that senior Israeli figures have been killed since the start of the war.
Some of the conspiracies have been aired on Iranian state media, which for many citizens is the only source available because of an internet blackout.
BBC’s breakdown of Netanyahu proof of life video
So, what is real, and what is fake? Is Netanyahu alive?
The BBC has posted a video with a breakdown of events.
“Since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, false claims that Netanyahu has been killed or injured have swirled online.
“Fake, AI-generated pictures claiming to show Netanyahu in the aftermath of an air strike have been viewed millions of times.
“Hard line Iranian media have amplified the false claims, inciting speculation about his injury or death. Then the Israeli prime minister did a press conference, with some online claiming it was an AI version of Netanyahu, by saying he has six fingers, which is a common problem for many AI-generators.
“But when you play the original video you can clearly see, it’s just the bottom of his hand.
“In response, Netanyahu posted the clip of himself in the Jerusalem coffee shop, debunking the claims himself. And we know he was there because the coffee shop posted multiple angle [shots] and behind the scenes photos of his visit.”
Top image: Netanyahu proof of life video. Image: BBC
Teens take Elon Musk’s ‘predatory’ AI tool Grok to court
Billionaire Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok is under major legal scrutiny again.
It follows a lawsuit filed after three teenagers discovered sexually explicit fake images of themselves that had allegedly been generated using Grok.
The lawsuit, filed in California federal court on Monday, claims a Grok user altered images and videos of the plaintiffs without their knowledge, generating nude and sexually explicit content.
Two of the plaintiffs are under 18, and all three are withholding their names to protect their privacy.
According to the complaint, the manipulated content included a high school yearbook image and was circulated on a Discord server, with similar altered images of at least 18 other girls who were minors.
Lawyers for the prosecution argue that xAI released the image-generation capability despite knowing it could be used to create such material, describing the altered imagery as “a rag doll brought to life through the dark arts”.
The complaint states: “xAI—and its founder Elon Musk— saw a business opportunity. They knew Grok could produce such results, including by using the images and videos of children, and publicly released it anyway.”
The legal action follows criticism of Grok’s “spicy mode”, introduced last year as part of new image-generation features that allowed users to create more sexualised content.
The lawsuit says the feature was developed to drive engagement with both Grok and X, where the chatbot is hosted.
Grok’s image-generation tool produced millions of sexualised images within weeks of its launch, including more than 20,000 involving children, as found by analysis from the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
Plaintiffs seeking damages against Grok
One plaintiff said she became aware of the content only after receiving an anonymous Instagram message directing her to altered images and videos of herself.
The other two plaintiffs also found sexually explicit fake images of themselves online, which they allege were generated using Grok.
They are seeking damages and an immediate court order preventing Grok from producing similar content.
“Their lives have been shattered by the devastating loss of privacy, dignity, and personal safety”, the complaint states.
‘It will refuse to generate anything illegal’
Musk previously defended the tool, saying: “When asked to generate images, it will refuse to produce anything illegal, as the operating principle for Grok is to obey the laws of any given country or state,” he said.
“There may be times when adversarial hacking of Grok prompts does something unexpected. If that happens, we fix the bug immediately,” he added.
The case comes as regulators including Ofcom, the European Commission and California authorities examine the feature’s ability to create sexualised images of real people, including minors.
By mid-January, X said it would introduce technological measures to prevent Grok from digitally undressing people in photographs; despite that added layer of alleged protection, the tool remains under scrutiny.
Top Image: Elon Musk on X
Steve Cook starts new ‘Weekly Crime Brief’ podcast
A graduate of Swinburne University of Technology has launched a new weekly crime news podcast and newsletter aimed at listeners looking for a shorter way into Australia’s major crime stories.
Steve Cook, creator of Weekly Crime Brief, has designed the format to deliver a seven-minute roundup of national crime headlines each week, paired with a featured segment focused on an unsolved or lesser-known case.
The podcast targets audiences interested in true crime but looking for a more concise format than long-form series.
Each episode includes a fast-paced summary of major national crime developments, followed by a “Spotlight Case” segment that highlights stories Cook believes deserve renewed public attention.
Cook said the format responds to a growing appetite for crime content that fits into shorter listening windows.
“There’s a strong appetite for true crime, but not everyone has time to consume hours of content,” Cook said.
“I’m particularly interested in the cases that aren’t as well known – the ones that may not have had sustained coverage but still deserve attention.”
Returning to media through podcasting
Before launching the podcast, Cook worked across community radio, regional television and investigative roles, later moving into media and spokesperson training.
He said the project marks a return to familiar territory, combining broadcast writing with investigative instincts developed over time.
“I still love the buzz of starting with an empty screen and turning something around quickly,” he said.
“It’s about producing something each week – not perfect – and continuing to develop and improve over time.”
Cook is also developing a future long-form podcast series that will examine how crime is reported in Australia and how public narratives around major cases take shape.
Top Image: Weekly Crime Brief
SXSW 2026 day four: we just buried the digital playbook
Monique Harris, chief executive officer of Convo Media, shares her latest dispatch from South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin.
SXSW has always been good at putting the future on stage. But as I hit day four, it’s clear this year feels less about showcasing what’s next, and more about tearing down what came before.
Across sessions, side conversations and the general buzz around town, is this sense that the systems that have defined digital marketing for the past decade are starting to fracture. Not slowly, but all at once. And in their place, something far more complex is emerging.
From trends to convergence
One of my recent session highlights came from a packed house from futurist Amy Webb, who quite literally staged a “funeral” for her own trend report.
Futurist Amy Webb, CEO of the Future Today Strategy Group. Image: supplied
For nearly two decades, the report has been a comprehensive, data-driven view of the forces shaping business and culture. This year, she declared it no longer fit for purpose.
Midway through the session, the University of Texas marching band stormed the stage to unveil her new Convergence Report. Yes, a marching band in a tech session. Only at SXSW.
But the theatrics made a serious point. The idea of tracking neat, individual trends no longer reflects reality. Technology, media, commerce and human behaviour are no longer moving in parallel.
They are colliding. And those collisions are creating structural shifts in how people discover, decide and engage.
For marketers, that means the job is no longer about spotting trends early. It’s about understanding where systems intersect, because that’s where influence is now created.
University of Texas marching band stormed the stage during Amy Webb’s presentation. Image: supplied
The internet after search
Another recurring theme across this AI-drenched festival has been the erosion of search as we know it. AI is fragmenting discovery. Social feeds are saturated.
Algorithms increasingly decide what gets seen long before a consumer actively goes looking. The battleground is shifting upstream and it’s no longer just about capturing intent, but shaping decisions before intent even exists.
As Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince put it during his fireside chat, ‘The Internet After Search’: “The internet’s old business model is breaking. Tomorrow’s winners are those who create scarcity, trust and influence, not just clicks and traffic”.
For someone whose company touches roughly 20% of global internet traffic, it’s a hard point to ignore. His session captured both the pace and scale of change, and what it means in practice for those working in digital marketing day in, day out.
In a more compressed, algorithmically mediated world, how a brand shows up (and where) matters more than ever. Not just what’s said, but the context it appears in. Not just visibility, but how something is interpreted.
And increasingly, those signals aren’t just shaping human decisions, but the systems making decisions on their behalf.
Mansueto Ventures CEO Stephanie Mehta and Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince. Image: supplied
The human-centric AI imperative
For all the talk of automation and scale, SXSW also delivered a strong counterpoint. AI is only as good as the human values embedded within it. Across multiple sessions, similar themes have been felt:
• “Neutral AI” doesn’t exist. Every model reflects human decisions and biases.
• Without careful design, AI risks amplifying misinformation and eroding trust.
• Publishers face a growing tension: open the doors to AI scrapers to stay visible, or protect the value of original content.
• The future isn’t replacement, it’s collaboration.
I feel that the last point matters most for marketers. Because as AI takes on a greater role in discovery and curation, the importance of human-centred storytelling only increases. The environments, voices and contexts that shape perception become even more critical when both people and machines are paying attention.
My take-home perspective
As I head towards the SXSW finish line and start thinking about how this translates back into day-to-day reality, much of what’s being framed as disruption feels more like validation.
Content-led advertising in premium environments has always been about shaping perception, not just capturing demand. That distinction now matters more than ever.
Search and social aren’t disappearing, but their role is changing. Influence is being validated, in environments that carry trust, credibility and context. And those signals don’t just guide human decisions. They increasingly inform how AI surfaces, ranks and recommends content.
Matthew Prince summed it up nicely, “AI doesn’t diminish the value of content, it reveals it. But if we don’t evolve how we compensate and position that content, the engine that powers discovery will collapse”.
And that’s the real shift. There may not yet be a definitive playbook for what comes next, but one thing is clear. The brands that win won’t be the ones chasing attention at the bottom of the funnel.
Australian podcast on leadership and workplace culture joins iHeartRadio
A new Australian podcast focused on leadership, accountability and workplace culture is joining the iHeartRadio network.
Culture Capital is co-hosted by Prabha Nandagopal and Mundanara Bayles, and forms part of the BlakCast podcast network.
In each episode, the hosts draw legal, executive, and First Nations perspectives to examine how leadership is changing across Australian workplaces.
The series arrives as workplace culture, power imbalances and diversity debates continue to shape leadership conversations across business and government.
A podcast built around accountability
Bayles said the podcast was created to move leadership conversations beyond formal corporate language and into lived workplace experience.
“Respect and inclusion aren’t optional anymore – they’re legal requirements and baseline expectations, particularly for younger generations entering the workforce,” said Bayles, CEO of BlackCard and host of Black Magic Woman Podcast.
“We created Culture Capital as a space where leaders share not polished statements, but real stories, about courage, blind spots, mistakes, and accountability.”
The launch comes as recent research shows 39% of Australian employees would consider leaving their jobs if diversity, equity and inclusion were not prioritised.
Nandagopal said the series focuses on the gap between organisational messaging and workplace experience.
“The expectation-action gap is exactly where our podcast begins,” said Nandagopal, human rights lawyer and corporate advisor.
“We’re living through a time of deep political and cultural division, and that tension doesn’t stop at the office door. When leaders avoid the hard conversations or retreat into safe language, it creates a fracture between what organisations say and what people are actually experiencing.”
“This isn’t just about policy, it’s about truth, authenticity, and having the courage to lead through cultural unrest with clarity and conviction.”
Guests span politics, defence and governance
Each 25-minute episode combines personal leadership stories with practical discussion around trust, power, reform and inclusion.
Early guests include Linda Burney, Member of Parliament and Indigenous advocate, who discusses workplace culture inside Parliament, gender harm and leadership following the Voice referendum.
Also featured is Jacqui Kernot, Vice President of Thales Group, from Thales Group, speaking about structural bias, gaslighting, neurodivergent leadership and AI governance following her autism diagnosis at 49.
Other guests include Mark Rigotti, CEO of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and George Williams, Vice-Chancellor and President of Western Sydney University.
Leadership when the cameras are off
Nandagopal said the conversations are designed to reflect what leadership looks like when public scrutiny is removed.
“Culture is what happens when the cameras are off; it’s how people feel seen, valued, and safe, or not,” said Nandagopal.
“Our conversations explore both the breaking points and the breakthroughs that define modern leadership. The content will be of interest to all leaders – those emerging as well as established leaders.”
Top Image: Prabha Nandagopal and Mundanara Bayles
Mamamia Out Loud holds February podcast top spot
Commercial Radio & Audio and Triton Digital have expanded the Australian Podcast Ranker with new behavioural audience tools, as Mamamia Out Loud tops the country’s most-listened-to podcast charts in February.
The monthly ranker, described as Australia’s only official third-party-verified podcast measurement system, now includes a new Demos+ Top Indexing Programs by Audience Composition tool to help advertisers identify podcasts performing strongly with specific consumer groups.
The update sits alongside an expanded Demos+ Category Ranker, which now includes four times as much audience characteristic data as previously available.
Audience planning moves beyond age and gender
The new data allows planners to target audiences based on behaviours including spending patterns, travel frequency, fitness engagement, household income and property intent, alongside existing gender, age and location metrics.
Lizzie Young, CEO of CRA, said the changes reflect the evolution of podcast buying.
“Podcasting has matured rapidly in Australia. The expansion of Demos+ data moves advertisers beyond age and gender-based audio strategies – into a greater view of the behaviours, intentions and spending patterns that drive campaign outcomes. Unlocking the right podcast environment to reach their desired audience.”
The new datasets are available through Triton’s Demos+ dashboard.
Finance and lifestyle audiences emerge as key targets
According to the latest audience insights, more than one in five monthly podcast listeners plan to seek financial advice this year.
Among that group, health and fitness ranked as the top genre, reaching 29.9% of listeners, narrowly ahead of business at 29.4%.
CRA said 39.2% of that same audience also plans to make a gym or fitness purchase this year, suggesting crossover between financial planning and lifestyle reset behaviours.
For listeners planning to buy an investment property, nearly 40% identify as senior decision-makers, while Kids & Family ranked second at 20.7%.
News remains Australia’s top genre
News continued to lead podcast listening in February, reaching 5.22 million monthly listeners.
It was followed by Society & Culture (3.88 million listeners), Comedy (2.59 million), Sports (2.53 million), and True Crime (2.42 million).
Mamamia Out Loud from Mamamia led the monthly chart with 982,235 listeners.
Second was ABC News Top Stories from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation with 518,826 listeners.
Third was Sky News Australia Update from News Corp Australia with 474,219 listeners.
MAFS Funny Podcast and The Update, both from Nova Entertainment, rounded out the top five.
LiSTNR responds
Stephen Haddad, CEO of Southern Cross Media Group, said the February ranker also reinforced LiSTNR’s strength in the commercial podcast market.
“Today’s February Triton Podcast Ranker results highlight LiSTNR’s continued leadership as Australia’s premier commercial podcast network, driven by trusted talent and deep audience engagement,” Haddad said.
“With more titles in the Top 20 than any other publisher, LiSTNR’s standout performers include Life Uncut (up 2 positions) with 383,344 monthly listeners, The Imperfects (up 10) with 309,234, and Happy Hour with Lucy & Nikki (up 12 positions) with 268,185.”
Haddad said the momentum also extended across multiple titles showing month-on-month growth, including Big Small Talk, The Rush Hour with JB & Billy, CommSec Market Update, KICPOD and The Levels Podcast.
He also pointed to new entries including KICBump and Kiss and Kill from Seven Network.
“As a publisher, LiSTNR continued to deliver strong year-on-year growth across its owned and operated titles, while leading podcast revenue across the broader national podcast market within the CRA member group,” he said.
Haddad added that upcoming releases are expected to further strengthen LiSTNR’s 2026 performance.
“With Hamish & Andy returning to the March ranker with new episodes following their ‘Government mandated break’, The Inspired Unemployed Podcast set to debut in April, and continued growth across radio podcasts and originals, LiSTNR is well placed to continue its momentum in driving audiences and revenue in 2026.”
Top Image: Mamamia