Thursday May 21, 2026
'You're silenced': 'MAFS' Au wife claims she saw abuse of other wives
MAFS Australia ‘wife’ Jacqui Burfoot, who appeared in 2025’s season, has claimed she witnessed abuse of other wives by their ‘husbands’ during filming.
Mediaweek reached out to broadcaster Nine for comment, and they declined to make an official statement at this early stage.
The allegations come after three MAFS UK women made shocking allegations of rape and sexual misconduct earlier this week.
Jacqui Burfoot. Image: Nine
Burfoot was matched with ‘groom’ Ryan Donnelly, but ultimately began a relationship with Clint Rice, whom she later married in real life.
On Wednesday night, Burfoot made some of her own serious allegations against Endemol Shine, MAFS Australia’s production company.
In an Instagram reel, she said:
“There’s a tendency to cast men in particular with domestic violence backgrounds, even histories of criminal records and things like that.
“It is quite alarming when you’re married to a stranger, when you find out that a lot of these men are actually really dangerous or do have propensity to commit acts of domestic violence.
“Now in my season in particular, this did happen and there were men cast with criminal records and histories of domestic violence. There were women that became victims too. These behaviours, a lot of it never went to air because it’s not suitable for primetime TV.”
Burfoot added: “I also feel for the women over there because it’s really hard to call out behaviour which never went to air because people think they know you, but they don’t know what happened behind the scenes.
“You’re up against people saying ‘stop complaining about your edit, it’s just bad behaviour’. So a lot of the times the victims of these crimes, it’s worse, because not only are you not getting a fair edit, but they give you a crazy edit or they make you look like the villain so that you’re silenced and it’s really, really, really horrible.
“It’s worse than what it sounds like on the surface – you’re not just a victim of sexual assault, you’re then also the victim of a bad edit to discredit your name, so if you ever try and speak out, no one’s going to believe you, no one’s going to listen to you.”
View this post on Instagram
Jacqui Burfoot MAFS Au allegations
In the caption of the post, Burfoot wrote that she felt a strong obligation to speak out about “behaviours, crimes and moral and legal wrongs.”
She added: “This really isn’t easy to post. I hate that I have. I have a business, a brand, and a public profile that depends on staying in good standing – and staying silent.
“But when woman are getting grap*d [sic], participants committing suicide and I’ve first hand experienced and witnessed similar, it’s just way too much to ask for me to stay silent.”
Burfoot’s post comes just days after three women on MAFS UK seasons told the BBC’s Panorama that they suffered sexual abuse by their partners on the show.
Mediaweek reported that the BBC investigation found that two women claim they were raped during filming, and a third has alleged a non-consensual sex act.
Shona Manderson was a ‘wife’ on the 2023 UK season and the only one of the three women who is identified.
She said: “I don’t think that because you’re going on reality TV, you deserve in any way for things like this to happen to you.”
Shona Manderson has alleged she was raped while filming MAFS UK. Image: Instagram
Manderson was matched with Bradley Skelly and the couple began their ‘marriage’ smoothly.
She told the BBC that they had agreed to use the withdrawal method of contraception, but that on one occasion he ejaculated inside her without permission.
“I was shocked, I was confused, we said we weren’t doing that,” Manderson said.
About a week after leaving the show, Manderson discovered she was pregnant. “I made the choice to go through with an abortion. It was really hard,” she said.
CPL, the MAFS UK production company, and Channel 4, the show’s British broadcaster, chose to remove the couple from the show soon after.
In a statement Skelly denied “any allegations of sexual misconduct.”
Read more about the serious allegations made by the three women, and the findings of the BBC’s Panorama investigation, here.
Top image: Jacqui Burfoot. Image: Instagram
'The King has died': UK radio accidentally announces Charles’ death
Back in 2009, the Today show’s usually cheerful entertainment reporter, Richard Wilkins broke script.
Looking sombrely down the barrel of the camera, he announced to viewers that “Jeff Goldblum fell from a cliff… to his death while filming in New Zealand”.
The only problem? Goldblum was very much alive.
This, however, might somehow be worse.
@9honey Whoops! At least Jeff Goldblum was a good sport about it when Richard Wilkins accidentally announced the actor had died after falling from a cliff 👀 . . . #jeffgoldblum #tv #actor #celebritydeaths #awkward #trending #fyp ♬ Sad background music of piano and strings – Rinotzr
UK broadcaster Radio Caroline has been forced to apologise after mistakenly announcing the death of King Charles III due to what it described as a “computer error”.
The station accidentally triggered its “Death of a Monarch” protocol on Tuesday afternoon, broadcasting a false announcement that the King had died before abruptly falling silent.
In a statement issued afterwards, the station said:
“Due to a computer error at our main studio, the Death of a Monarch procedure, which all UK stations hold in readiness while hoping not to require, was accidentally activated on Tuesday afternoon (19 May), mistakenly announcing that HM the King had passed away.
“Radio Caroline then fell silent as would be required, which alerted us to restore programming and issue an on-air apology.
“Caroline has been pleased to broadcast Her Majesty the Queen’s, and now the King’s, Christmas Message and we hope to do so for many years to come.
“We apologise to HM the King and to our listeners for any distress caused.”
The pirate station that changed British radio
Long before Spotify playlists and tightly programmed breakfast radio duopolies, Radio Caroline was disrupting the British audio market from a ship in the North Sea.
Launched in 1964, the outlaw broadcaster transmitted pop music from international waters off the English coast, sidestepping the BBC’s tight grip on the airwaves and quickly building a loyal audience.
Despite a government crackdown on pirate radio operators in the late 1960s, the station continued broadcasting in various forms for decades, eventually ending its offshore operations in 1990.
Its legacy later became part of pop culture folklore, inspiring the 2009 film The Boat That Rocked, starring Bill Nighy and Philip Seymour Hoffman, about a rogue group of DJs broadcasting illegally from a boat at sea.
Deloitte report finds ABC now critical to Australia’s screen survival
A new Deloitte Access Economics report has found ABC-commissioned screen productions generated $772 million in value for the Australian economy between July 2022 and June 2025.
The report, Lights, Camera, Action: The Economic and Social Contribution of ABC, commissioned by Screen Productions, found the productions supported more than 7,700 full-time equivalent jobs and drove economic activity across Australia’s screen sector.
Over the three financial years, the ABC supported 315 screen productions, delivering more than 1,526 hours of Australian content across drama, comedy, entertainment, factual and children’s genres.
ABC investment drives screen sector
The report found ABC commissioning plays a central role in supporting Australian storytelling, particularly in genres such as drama, children’s and educational content, where commercial incentives are under increasing pressure.
ABC commissions also helped attract further investment. For every $1 the ABC invested in external co-productions, an additional $1.31 was leveraged from other public and private sources, including state agencies, international partners and private investors.
ABC Managing Director Hugh Marks said the report highlights the impact of sustained investment in the broadcaster.
“The Deloitte Access Economics report makes it clear that the ABC’s investment in Australian screen content is essential to the strength and continued sustainability of the local screen industry,” Marks said.
“The ABC plays a more important role in Australia’s screen ecosystem than it ever has. We are increasingly at the centre of economic resilience of the sector and delivering critical support to creative industry businesses and talent in every part of the country.”
Hugh Marks
Children’s content and national identity
The report also examined the cultural and social benefits of ABC productions, including the broadcaster’s role in supporting children’s wellbeing.
In 2024-25, the ABC delivered 86 hours of children’s programming, reaching an average of 3.2 million viewers per week.
The report also found 79% of Australians identify the ABC as distinctly Australian, recognising its role in reflecting national stories, communities and values. ABC content continues to reach audiences at scale. In 2024-25, around 5.4 million Australians watched ABC-commissioned broadcast productions on television each week, generating nearly 7.8 million viewing hours.
In 2026, the ABC across broadcast and ABC iview reaches 12.5 million people each week, up 1.5% year-on-year, with growth across all adult age groups.
Main Image: Hugh Marks
James Murdoch spends $419m on 'New York' magazine, Vox podcasts
James Murdoch has made a deal with Vox Media for more than $US300 million ($419 million).
Mediaweek reported that earlier this month, the younger son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, had bid for a significant share of the company.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that in the deal announced on Wednesday, James’ company Lupa Systems will acquire Vox’s podcast network and New York magazine – a publication once owned by Rupert.
The iconic New York magazine has been owned by Vox Media since 2019, when it was bought from Pamela Wasserstein, the daughter of investment banker Bruce Wasserstein, who had owned the publication since 2004.
However, the deal excludes the Vox-owned technology website The Verge and lifestyle publication Popsugar.
“This acquisition aligns well with our existing holdings and investments and reflects both our interest in the forward edge of culture and our deep commitment to ambitious journalism and agenda-setting conversations,” Murdoch said in a statement.
“It will allow us to apply new tools across the businesses we are building, adding substantial production, distribution, and editorial capability to our group.”
In 2025, Murdoch gave up his interest in News Corp and Fox Corp as part of a $US3.3 billion ($4.6 billion) agreement with his family.
He has been growing his venture company Lupa Systems, since he exited 21st Century Fox in 2019.
In recent years, major political differences have driven a wedge between Rupert, Lachlan Murdoch, and James.
James has officially distanced himself from older brother Lachlan’s more conservative-leaning politics, instead behaving as a centrist by donating to climate change non-profits and Democrat-focussed issues.
Top image: James Murdoch. Image: WSJ
Nobel Prize-winning author admits using AI in writing process
Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk has admitted to using artificial intelligence tools in her creative writing process, describing the technology as an “advantage of unbelievable proportion” for literary fiction.
Speaking at a recent event in Poznań, the Nobel Prize-winning author revealed she had used an advanced AI model while developing her latest novel, according to translations shared online by writer Maks Sipowicz on Bluesky.
“When writing my latest novel… I asked this advanced model what kind of songs my protagonists would be listening to at a dance, a few dozen years ago, and AI gave me a few titles,” Tokarczuk said.
“Often I just ask the machine, ‘darling, how could we develop this beautifully?’ Even though I know about hallucinations and many factual errors in the algorithms in terms of economics and hard data, I have to add that in literary fiction, this technology is an advantage of unbelievable proportion.”
Olga Tokarczuk
‘A symbiotic future’
The comments position Tokarczuk among the highest-profile literary figures to openly acknowledge the use of generative AI tools in the creative process, as debate intensifies across the publishing and media industries over authorship, originality and disclosure.
Tokarczuk, whose works include Flights and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, suggested writers may ultimately embrace AI more readily than many other professions.
“Perhaps a symbiotic future and collaboration with artificial intelligence will help them,” she said in translated remarks.
“Contrary to fears, I believe that we writers, due to the specific nature of our craft, will most quickly and closely engage with tools like AI.”
“I bought myself the highest, advanced version of one language model, and I can be deeply shocked by how fantastically it expands my horizons and deepens my creative thinking.”
Readers turning away from ‘complex literary work’
As reported by Literary Hub, Tokarczuk also said her current project may be her last major work, arguing readers are becoming less interested in complex literary fiction.
She said she mourns the decline of traditional literary culture, but appears to have accepted that technological change and shifting audience behaviour are reshaping the future of writing.
Main image: Olga Tokarczuk
ARN adds Foxtel and IPG Mediabrands talent to leadership team
ARN has announced two senior leadership appointments, strengthening its strategic and commercial foundations as the network continues its evolution into an entertainment business.
Scott Lyons has been appointed Director of Strategy, while Janine Chambers has joined as Head of Commercial Finance.
ARN said the appointments reflect its focus on long-term value creation, disciplined decision-making and sustainable growth across audio, digital and live entertainment.
Lyons will report to Chief Financial Officer Alexis Poole and lead ARN’s enterprise-wide strategy agenda, partnering with the Executive Leadership Team to accelerate strategic execution and support the company’s evolution into a digitally driven entertainment business.
Chambers will oversee end-to-end commercial finance partnering across Sales, Marketing and Content.
Her remit includes forecast discipline, margin management, governance and investment decision-making, supporting ARN’s focus on profitable digital growth and operational efficiency.
Strengthening commercial foundations
Poole said the appointments will support ARN’s next phase of growth.
“As ARN continues its evolution into a scaled entertainment business, strengthening our strategy and commercial foundations is critical,” Poole said.
“These appointments reinforce how we make decisions, prioritise investment and build sustainable, long-term value across the organisation.”
Lyons past experiences
Lyons joins ARN from Foxtel Group, where he held senior strategy and commercial roles across Kayo Sports, BINGE and Hubbl.
His responsibilities spanned revenue growth, pricing, performance and long-term value creation. He also brings experience in analytics, market intelligence and growth strategy across major consumer and digital businesses.
“I’m excited to join ARN at such an important point in its evolution,” Lyons said.
“The business has a powerful combination of leading content, audience scale and growing digital capability, and I’m looking forward to helping drive the next phase of strategic growth.”
Chambers joins from IPG Mediabrands
Chambers brings more than 20 years of experience across media and publishing in Australia and the UK.
She joins ARN from IPG Mediabrands, where she was most recently Deputy Chief Financial Officer.
Chambers has also held senior finance leadership roles at News Corp Australia, working closely with executive teams on transformation, capital investment and operating model change.
“I’m thrilled to be joining ARN at such an exciting time,” Chambers said.
“The shift from radio network to entertainment company is moving at pace and I’m looking forward to supporting Alexis and the team to make the most of the opportunity ahead.”
Lyons and Chambers have both commenced their roles with ARN.
Main Image: Scott Lyons and Janine Chambers
Reddit launches dual attribution for app advertisers
Reddit has launched Dual Attribution in beta, a new measurement solution designed to give app advertisers a clearer view of campaign performance beyond standard last-touch attribution.
The update brings Reddit first-party attribution reporting alongside mobile measurement partner (MMP) and SKAN last-touch reporting in Ads Manager. Reddit said the aim is to help advertisers better understand the role the platform plays across the decision journey.
The launch comes as app advertisers on Reddit increase campaign activity, with install volume up 129 per cent year-on-year from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026.
Why Reddit is expanding app measurement
Reddit said app measurement has become more fragmented as marketers navigate different attribution models and platform signals.
Traditional last-touch attribution often credits only the final interaction before an install. Reddit argues that this can miss earlier stages of discovery, comparison, and validation that occur on the platform.
The company said Dual Attribution will allow advertisers to compare Reddit first-party attribution with third-party attribution reporting in one place. The product is being tested with partners during beta.
Max campaigns move into app beta
Reddit is also expanding Max campaigns for App Ads to beta. Max campaigns are Reddit’s automated campaign type, built to optimise campaign settings for each impression.
Across 16 split tests conducted between January and April 2026, Reddit said Max app campaigns delivered an average 15 per cent reduction in cost per acquisition and a 28 per cent increase in results volume.
Reddit also pointed to results from DocMorris, which saw a 20 per cent lower cost per install and a 73 per cent lower purchase CPA on iOS, according to a Reddit-DocMorris case study using Adjust MMP data.
Jyoti Vaidee, Reddit’s VP of Ads Product, said: “Max campaigns drive stronger performance with less manual work for app advertisers.
“Powered by AI and Community Intelligence™, they improve efficiency through features like automated targeting, smart creative asset rotation, and Top Audience Personas reporting, giving marketers more ways to optimise every impression.”
App Event Optimisation reaches general availability
Reddit has also moved App Event Optimisation into general availability. The tool helps advertisers optimise toward in-app actions such as sign-ups, trial starts or purchases, rather than installs alone.
Reddit said App Event Optimisation uses machine learning on app event signals to reach users more likely to take meaningful in-app actions after downloading.
During beta, Reddit said the product drove an average 22 per cent improvement in CPA. AllTrails recorded a 28 per cent lower Start Trial CPA and a 39 per cent lift in Start Trial conversions, according to Reddit and AllTrails internal data.
Research points to decision-making role
Reddit said its app advertising growth reflects the platform’s role in product discovery and decision-making.
The company cited a January 2025 custom survey via Attest, covering 30,000 monthly social media users aged 18 to 65 across the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Reddit said the research found the platform was the number one channel for informing a brand or product decision.
Reddit also cited Adjust research from January to December 2024, limited to North American advertisers, which found Reddit-driven users tended to spend more time in-app and deliver stronger retention and lifetime value over time.
The updates form part of Reddit’s broader push to position itself as a performance partner for app marketers, combining attribution, automation and optimisation tools inside Ads Manager.
Val Morgan Cinema launches glasses-free 3D ads with Red Bull
Val Morgan Cinema has launched Glasses Free 3D, a new premium cinema advertising solution designed to deliver high-impact brand experiences during the pre-show of major blockbuster and cultural cinema moments.
The format allows brands to create immersive, three-dimensional creative that appears to extend beyond the cinema screen, without audiences needing to wear 3D glasses.
Glasses Free 3D works from every seat, on every screen, and across any movie.
Red Bull has joined as the official launch partner, developing a special 3D creative to run alongside The Mandalorian and Grogu, which releases in cinemas today.
Bringing depth to cinema advertising
Paul MacGregor, Director of Strategy and Marketing at Val Morgan Cinema, said the format gives brands a new way to create unmissable moments on the big screen.
“In an environment already built for attention, this format takes cinematic storytelling even further. The beauty of Glasses Free 3D is that it works perfectly from every seat, on every screen, and across any movie, driving maximum scale and impact right before the biggest cultural moments.”
MacGregor said the format can be used for bespoke creative or adapted from existing TVC assets.
“The flexibility of the format also means brands can develop bespoke 3D creative from the ground up or adapt existing TVC creative, and our Studio production team are always on hand to creatively consult or build the 3D creative on behalf of the advertiser,” he said.
Red Bull joins as launch partner
Brianna Shields, Senior Activations Executive at Havas Media Australia, said the partnership aligned with Red Bull’s focus on unexpected brand experiences.
“At Havas, our approach is to be deliberately different – finding new ways to connect brands with audiences in moments that truly land – and this format gave us the opportunity to bring Red Bull to life in a way that’s genuinely immersive and visually impactful.
“It’s exactly the kind of innovation that makes this partnership so powerful.”
Main Image: Val Morgan Cinema
‘Shy of a miracle’: Kylie Minogue shares two heartbreaking events
Iconic Australian singer Kylie Minogue has shared in two major revelations in her Netflix documentary, Kylie.
In the new three-part series, Minogue candidly talks about her IVF experience, reveals new details about former partner INXS frontman Michael Hutchence, and gives us some lovely insights into her relationship with her famous sister, Dannii Minogue.
But what will surprise – and dismay – the Australian public especially – is what the 57-year-old admits in the final episode.
Minogue reveals that she was diagnosed with cancer for a second time in 2021, after being cancer-free for 16 years – since 2005.
“I was able to keep that to myself and go through that year – not like the first time,” she says in the heartbreaking moment.
“I’ve been trying to find the right time to say it. I don’t feel obliged to tell the world – and actually, I just couldn’t at the time, because I was just a shell of a person.
“Padam Padam opened so many doors for me but on the inside I knew that cancer wasn’t just a blip in my life.
“Thankfully, I got through it. Again. And all is well.”
Padam Padam is Minogue’s 2023 hit song her on album, Tension. Unbeknownst to most of the audience, another song on the album – Story – was about cancer.
Minogue says the track refers to that time in her life, with lyrics such as “I had a secret that I kept to myself … Turn another page, baby take the stage.”
“I needed to have something that marked that time,” she tells the interviewer.
Kylie Minogue Netflix documentary
Minogue also reflects on her IVF journey towards the end of the documentary.
The Grammy award-winning artist was 36 at the time of her first diagnosis, and she admits that children were on her mind – so when she finished treatment, she began IVF.
“I did try a few times with IVF, always with such a thread of hope,” she says in the show. “But I couldn’t not try.
“If it had happened, it would have been just shy of a miracle. But it didn’t work out that way.”
Her 2007 song Flower was written for the child she never had. The lyrics read:
“Distant child, my flower / Are you blowing in the breeze?
“Can you feel me as I breathe life into you? / In a while, my flower, somewhere in a desert haze / I know one day, you’ll amaze me.”
Talking about the song Kylie says, “One can’t help but wonder what it would’ve been like … It wasn’t my path. That’s what I was writing about. Even if you didn’t come to be, you’re somewhere.
“We all become something. Even if it’s ash, and we become something else. So I was kind of hopeful and realistic at the same time.”
The admission has already began to resonate with women on social media, with one in particular writing poignantly: “We both would have been wonderful mums. Thank you for your music that helped me get through the losses.”
Top image: Kylie Minogue in ‘Kylie’. Image: Netflix
Why the smartest agencies are throwing out the old playbook
Stephanie Douglas-Neal, CEO, UM Australia
In today’s disrupted market, clients and agencies are operating under extraordinary pressure.
The volatility is real and multi-layered, with out-of-stocks cascading through supply chains, packaging, and core products simultaneously under strain, and the cost of goods evolving faster than forecasts can capture. Fuel is impacting fertiliser, which impacts cropping, which impacts feedlots, which ripples into everything else.
The uncertainty is not just hard to navigate; it is the only certainty. Things will change and will no doubt evolve quickly, but the unknown is that no one has a playbook for what comes next.
Why possibility-led thinking matters
Yet this is precisely where agencies have the greatest opportunity to create genuine value.
Not by claiming we have all the answers, because we don’t, but by recognising that disruption demands a different kind of thinking, that’s far more valuable and what I refer to as a deliberate focus on possibility-led thinking.
The traditional response to uncertainty is to tighten control, narrow focus, and retreat to what feels safe. But the businesses we serve don’t need their agency partners to be safe; they need us to help them see what’s possible.
We can build agility into their strategies and prepare for the moments that will inevitably catch everyone off guard. And when those wild-card moments arrive, clients need agency partners who show up with fresh business solutions that fundamentally enhance the relationship, rather than simply reverting to the previous plan.
Having the tool kit means having the data, the experience, the networks, the capability, and the media platforms to bring ideas to life.
So, what agencies need now is the intention to systemise how they re-evaluate what will genuinely drive growth and strong business outcomes, which means being willing to throw out what’s not working, to question strategies previously prepared for a different market reality, and to adapt quickly to the new reality.
Progress over perfection
This new mindset is a way of thinking that focuses on what could work, not just what might fail.
It is a way of thinking that looks for opportunity, options, and upsides, even within constraints, and it chooses progress over perfection, recognising that waiting for certainty is no longer an option.
I argue that there’s always a way forward, and that constraints fuel creativity rather than limit it. Everything can be figured out, and “not yet” is always a more powerful answer than “no.”
Instead of shutting ideas down, “what if?” and “why not?” should be asked, and problems should be reframed as challenges to solve.
An agency partner who is willing to take calculated risks rather than waiting for conditions that may never arrive will bring momentum to life, make progress visible, and celebrate wins in ways that energise teams and stakeholders alike.
The balance between optimism and realism
In a team or business context, energy and optimism replace paralysis and unlock something tangible.
People lean in rather than protect themselves by leaning out. Creative thinking flourishes because it is actively encouraged rather than policed. Teams move faster because they are no longer trapped in over-analysis, and ownership and accountability increase because people believe their thinking matters.
However, we need to be realistic, as a mindset of possibility can drift into naivety if it is not grounded in commercial reality. It must be paired with rigour and execution, not float free from them.
Great communication of a weak idea is still a weak idea, and let’s be honest, not every idea is good.
The point is to explore broadly, generate options, choose sharply, and be disciplined about which ideas merit investment. In other words, we need to be realists about the “watch-outs.”
What agencies should ask next
The reframe is simple, and it works.
So when you encounter a problem, ask “what’s possible here?” When you hit a blocker, ask, “What would it take?” When you hear “no,” respond with “not yet, what’s another way?”
In a disrupted market, agencies that can balance possibility and pragmatism will move their clients ahead of competitors.
The opportunity is not to become more transactional in response to pressure, it is to become more intentional, more connected to what genuinely matters and more committed to building solutions that elevate rather than simply execute.
Where the competitive advantage lives
For agencies, this shows up as a team’s MO, which is built around possibility-led thinking in action.
It means shifting from traditional channel plans to adaptive growth frameworks, from static forecasting to case-by-case, led decision-making, and from isolated media plans to connected, cross-channel problem-solving that adapts to market changes.
It is a commitment to constantly retest a client’s brief against what is actually happening in the market, not what was assumed months earlier, and to use a combination of data, creativity, and media craft to find better solutions.
In a disrupted market, that is where the real competitive advantage lives.
LiSTNR and The West Australian launch cocaine investigation podcast
LiSTNR and The West Australian have launched a new six-part investigative podcast series examining Australia’s cocaine trade, law enforcement tensions, and the rise of international cartels targeting the local market.
Behind the White Line, which launched today on LiSTNR’s Secrets We Keep feed, is hosted by investigative journalist Richard Baker and centres on what the series describes as Australia’s growing cocaine epidemic.
Produced by The West Australian, the series explores Australia’s position as the world’s highest per-capita cocaine user, while examining how Mexican cartels and international crime syndicates are increasingly targeting the country for profits.
Inside a $1 billion sting operation
According to the series, listeners are taken inside a $1 billion sting operation involving the DEA, AFP and West Australian police, including an operation where fake bricks of cocaine were dumped 70 kilometres off the Perth coast.
The podcast also examines tensions between local and international law enforcement agencies.
Baker said: “This collaboration with The West Australian has allowed us to look deep into a story that starts on the shores of WA but has massive national and international implications. We’re at a point where cocaine use is almost normalised in Australia, but there is a dark, complex trail that leads to those cubicles.
“While the cartels are working together with lethal efficiency, our own law enforcement agencies are locked in a fierce turf war. That friction gives the cartels a deadly advantage.”
Multi-platform push for The West Australian
The launch marks another audio expansion for The West Australian, with the investigation also supported by additional reporting and analysis on thewest.com.au.
Editor in Chief Christopher Dore said: “Behind the White Line is a powerful example of the kind of journalism The West Australian is committed to, deep, rigorous reporting that holds up to scrutiny and serves the public interest.
“This investigation plays to our strengths across multiple platforms, combining the authority of our newsroom with the reach and immediacy of audio to bring a complex national story to life.”
LiSTNR Head of Factual, Clair Weaver, positioned the series as part of the platform’s broader investigative and true-crime strategy.
“Behind the White Line is a masterclass in investigative storytelling and a testament to the strength of our partnership with The West Australian,” Weaver said.
“Richard Baker has uncovered a narrative that is as thrilling as it is sobering, shedding light on the scale of the cartels’ reach into Australia.
“Fresh off the back of the hugely successful Dezi Freeman: The Hunt miniseries, the Secrets We Keep podcast feed is Australia’s home for quality investigative journalism, and true crime stories.”
Uncomfortable Growth® Uncut. Season 5, episode 1: Cheuk Chiang
The return of Uncomfortable Growth
As Uncomfortable Growth® Uncut returns for a brand-new season, Rowena Millward opens the first episode with a deeply honest and thought-provoking conversation with Cheuk Chiang, global CEO of Bastion.
Together, they explore the uncomfortable moments, personal reflections, and leadership lessons that have shaped Cheuk’s journey from a seven-year-old working in his family’s Chinese restaurant to leading global businesses across the marketing industry.
Growing up in Melbourne during the 1970s, Cheuk faced racism, bullying, and the pressures of helping run a family business from an early age.
From dealing with aggressive customers to navigating life as the child of immigrants in a rapidly changing Australia, these experiences built the resilience, adaptability, and emotional intelligence that would later define his leadership approach.
Navigating ambition and isolation
As Cheuk progressed through increasingly senior leadership roles, including at Omnicom Media Group, he candidly reflects on how ambition, pressure, and corporate expectations slowly changed him.
He shares how he became more serious, more controlling, and disconnected from the collaborative leadership style that had previously brought him success.
It was only during the isolation of nearly 300 days in COVID quarantine that he was forced into a level of self-reflection that ultimately reshaped both his perspective and his leadership.
In this powerful season opener, Cheuk speaks openly about ego, vulnerability, identity, resilience, and the ongoing evolution of leadership.
He discusses the importance of emotional intelligence, creating confidence in others, and learning to let go of control in order to empower teams to thrive.
In conversation with Cheuk Chiang, global CEO of Bastion
Lessons in vulnerability and ego
My three favourite quotes from Cheuk’s story are:
“It’s okay to be vulnerable.”
“It’s so important to give the leaders that you work with the freedom to actually lead.”
“Don’t let your ego get in the way.”
This episode is an honest reminder that growth is rarely linear and that some of the most transformative leadership lessons come from the moments that challenge us the most.
Join Rowena and Cheuk for the first episode of the new season of Uncomfortable Growth® Uncut, an insightful conversation about leadership, humanity, reinvention, and the lifelong journey of self-awareness.
The purpose behind the podcast
The world doesn’t need more stories of success, it needs honest conversations about hard challenges, vulnerability, and proof that trials can ultimately become triumphs.
That’s why the Uncomfortable Growth® Uncut podcast was born. It’s a reminder that struggle and success are intrinsically linked, that growth is rarely easy, and that the moments we feel most uncomfortable are where our greatest breakthroughs lie.