Friday March 6, 2026
We asked women in media a question. Three weren't allowed to answer.
It’s International Women’s Day on March 8th, so what better time to ask my female media friends: As a woman in media, what would you change about the media for women?
I wasn’t expecting that three out of 12 were not allowed to answer. They had to ask permission first.
You read that right. Because, apparently, as an employee, you’re never allowed to speak for yourself.
“I’d have to get it approved by our managing editor and probably the communications department,” one told me, who added she’d love to see more women on the boards of media companies.
A second friend said, “I would love to help you and take part, but I’m going to be honest and say that [employer] will make me jump through so many approvals and people to get it signed off, it won’t be worth it (or likely be ready for your deadline).”
What would her answer be if she were allowed to speak for herself? “The gender pay gap is a huge issue in this industry, especially as men without kids who can chase stories at the drop of a hat are seen as more valuable, especially in news.”
And this third colleague said, “I’d want to talk about an experience about the need for more female-on-female mentorship – from a previous job. But my current workplace doesn’t like us going on the record for anything personal without their approval.”
Chances are, their answers would have been signed off. Maybe. But them even having to ask permission to personally talk about what women want done better in Australian media – and being concerned about their employer’s response – is highly problematic itself.
This is something for us to really think about: how is it 2026 and women are not allowed to speak for themselves? If they are employed by a big publisher, they’re not an individual who can share opinions, but are an employee at all times?
That’s a concept that needs to evolve.
Speaking of evolving, this is what I would change: after more than a decade in the industry, I can safely say I wish diverse voices were amplified – but not in a tokenistic way. In a normalised way.
I’ve spent a lot of time in my career as a ‘diversity hire’ in jobs and projects. And while that’s brilliant, and I’m so proud to REPRESENT, I still feel that people who don’t look like Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O should be more common, mainstreamed, too.
Here are the responses to the question from the women who could answer.
Information on IWD from She Codes Australia. Image: Instagram
What women in media would change about the media for women
Jessica Bailey – editor of ELLE Australia
“For too long, women in media have been flattened into archetypes: the girlboss, the cool girl, the trad wife, the mess. Real women contain all of those things at once. I’d push for more contradiction. More irreverence. Less earnest perfection.
Mary Madigan – NewsCorp reporter
“I think the media is still so hard on women. You’ve got to be palatable and relatable, and never make the mistake of seeming up yourself.
“You have to self-promote, but never seem like you’re bragging.
“You have to smash the glass ceiling without hurting anyone’s feelings along the way.
“I really wish the media were a kinder place for women. It’s a real minefield. How do you stay both likeable and become successful?”
Grace Lam – former editor of Vogue China
“I want the media to stop pitting women against each other. Yes, it’s inevitable there’s always competition in any field.
“However, many of us also like to root for other women to succeed too.”
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Jane Caro – media identity
“Being an older woman in the media I sometimes wonder if I am still actually in the media! I still appear weekly on TV (paid), comment both regularly and ad hoc on radio (unpaid) and write regular and ad hoc columns & opinion pieces in major newspapers (paid). I also comment on things like this (unpaid).
“But if it wasn’t for speaking gigs, the books I’ve written and my super, I’d be on the bloody breadline. Sexism has dogged me throughout my career in media – starting in the bad old 80s, but the double whammy of sexism & ageism was not something I’d expected, foolishly.
“Older is not seen as wiser in the media. Its seen as out of touch. Yet older people, particularly older women, have both the money, the desire and the time to engage with the news in ways younger people do not. But still we are despised, not just as practitioners, but as audiences.
“Frankly, you patronise us at your peril.”
Dee Madigan – Campaign Edge executive creative director
“Being a woman in media means you spend a lot of your career simultaneously proving you belong and pretending you don’t need to. I’ve sat in rooms where my ideas landed in silence, only to be enthusiastically repeated by the man next to me minutes later.
“I’ve learned to read the temperature of a pitch meeting not just by the work, but by who’s in the room and whether they’re ready to hear a woman’s voice leading it. It’s not always overt. The industry has moved past a lot of the old, obvious stuff. But there’s still this low hum of having to work a little harder, be a little sharper, and take up space more deliberately than your male counterparts.
“What I’ve come to understand is that visibility matters enormously, not just for your own career, but because every time a woman holds her ground in a media space, she’s quietly rewriting what’s possible for the women coming up behind her.
“That’s not a burden. It’s actually the most meaningful part of the work.”
Ceci Jeffries – Femme Collective – fertility advocate
“One challenge I constantly face is having to prove credibility. As a woman building an online platform, l’ve found that my authority is often questioned in a way that I don’t see happening to men doing the same thing.
“There’s this underlying expectation that we’re building something ‘passion-driven’ rather than strategic or scalable. A man with the same vision is often seen as ambitious – a woman is asked to justify why she deserves the space.
“That extra layer of validation can be exhausting, but it’s also why creating spaces that amplify women’s voices feels so necessary.”
Lynette Bolton – media personality
“As a woman in the media, I’ve always been grateful for the opportunity to help share other people’s stories. Recently, though, the power of media storytelling has taken on a deeper meaning as I’ve shared my own experience of being diagnosed with breast cancer.
“The response from other women has been overwhelming in the most wonderful way – messages from women walking the same road, women a few steps ahead, women just starting and women supporting someone they love. It’s been a powerful reminder that media isn’t solely about telling stories, but is equally about the connection and community those stories can create.
Lynette Bolton. Source: Supplied
“Since being diagnosed, something that’s become overwhelmingly clear to me is just how hard it is for women in media to step away from work – because so much of what we do relies on visibility and being present. There’s also this underlying sense of guilt if you have to turn something down, even when you’re unwell, simply because the industry is so competitive and opportunities can feel fleeting.
“I don’t have a neat solution to that tension, but I do believe the narrative around it needs to start shifting.”
Top Image: Grace Lam, Mary Madigan, Jane Caro. Images: Instagram/Mediaweek
Triple M takes a cheeky swipe at Kyle and Jackie O drama
The bodies aren’t yet warm, but that hasn’t stopped the team at Triple M from taking a cheeky dig at the Kyle and Jackie O saga.
In the wake of the sudden upheaval across Sydney’s breakfast radio landscape, Triple M’s Beau, Cat & Woodsy have seized what the team is calling their very own Stephen Bradbury moment.
The station has launched a new large-format digital OOH campaign across Sydney declaring the trio “Sydney’s longest running breakfast team (since Tuesday)”, with billboards appearing across multiple sites from this morning.
Sure, it’s tongue-in-cheek, but it’s also not wrong.
After a series of rapid-fire changes to Sydney’s long-standing breakfast line-ups, the Triple M trio – who launched their show in March 2025 – suddenly find themselves the city’s longest-running breakfast combination currently on air.
‘You could not script it’
On air this morning, the team openly acknowledged the surreal moment.
“Good morning, Sydney, and welcome to Sydney’s longest serving breakfast team!” Beau Ryan joked at the top of the show.
Co-host Cat Lynch immediately pushed back on the bold claim.
“That’s an outrageous statement, isn’t it?”
But the analogy that stuck was Olympic speed skater Bradbury, the Australian athlete who famously won gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics after competitors crashed out ahead of him.
“Would you say we Stephen Bradbury’ed it?” Aaron ‘Woodsy’ Woods said. “We’ve just hung in there.”
Ryan leaned into the metaphor.
“It’s not over yet! There is one lap to go and history shows the more laps, the more people have fallen over… we’ve just got to stay on our skates.”
Lynch agreed the situation unfolding across Sydney radio had been extraordinary.
“This is unprecedented. I’ve never seen anything like this before!” she said, laughing.
“You could not script it,” Ryan added. “When we agreed to do this a year ago and they said, ‘Look, this is what’s going to happen’, you’d laugh and say, ‘This is not even real.’”
Heritage shows disappear
Part of the surprise stems from just how quickly some of Sydney’s longest-running radio institutions have shifted.
“Fitzy & Wippa went first… no Jonesy & Amanda, they went first,” Ryan said during the show.
“Those shows have all been around for 20 years,” Woods added.
Lynch noted that when new breakfast teams launch, they’re typically warned about the challenge of taking on deeply entrenched rivals.
“To pull back the curtain: when you first sign on for a brand new show, which we all did together, they say to you, ‘Look, it’s going to be tough. You are up against people who are respected and loved by the Sydney community. You’ve got to give them a reason to change.”
“The best of the best…” Woods said.
Ryan said the team always expected a tough battle.
“We said, we will. Someone said, ‘Good luck on your own!’ and we stuck solid, right? Let’s take them on, see what we can do here.”
Beau Ryan. SCA
Harmony helps
The trio also joked that their longevity, however accidental, might simply come down to something surprisingly basic: getting along.
“The number one rule for keeping a breakfast show together is staying harmonious amongst the group,” Lynch said.
“We all get along,” Woods added.
“We’re very harmonious!” Ryan said.
“Are you kidding?” Lynch replied.
Ryan laughed: “That was a trick question. I was trying to trap door you there.”
But Lynch insisted the chemistry on the show is genuine.
“No, I feel like, honestly, I’ve worked on a few shows… This is very harmonious,” she said.
“That’s the beauty about it is we can have a little niggle amongst ourselves, and then we’re fine five minutes later. I love it.”
Triple M leans into the moment
Behind the scenes, SCA quickly turned the moment into a marketing opportunity.
Reflecting on the new campaign, Naomi Gorringe, SCA’s Head of Marketing, said the team couldn’t resist leaning into the moment.
“When we realised we had ‘done a Bradbury’, and that our show, that is a little over a year old, had become the longest running brekky radio lineup in Sydney, we wanted to have some fun and remind Sydneysiders that now is the time to come and listen to Triple M Breakfast with Beau, Cat & Woodsy,” she said.
The playful campaign arrives as Sydney’s breakfast radio market enters one of its most turbulent periods in decades – and Triple M is clearly happy to enjoy the view while the dust settles.
This was Australia's most complained-about ad in 2025
If 2025 proved anything, it’s that Australians have plenty of opinions about advertising.
From zombie-proof electric cars to questionable hygiene habits and a blurred middle finger, more than 5,200 complaints were lodged about ads nationwide last year.
According to the Ad Standards Annual Report 2025, the complaints spanned more than 1,000 different campaigns, offering a revealing snapshot of the moments when marketing pushed too far – or simply struck a nerve.
Ad Standards Executive Director Greg Wallace said the volume of complaints highlights how closely Australians are watching the industry.
“In 2025, Ad Standards received more than 5,200 complaints, reflecting both evolving community expectations and strong public engagement with the system. This level of activity reflects a community that is paying close attention to advertising and expects standards to be upheld.
“It reinforces the need for a system that is efficient, transparent and delivers timely outcomes for the community and industry alike.”
Kia tops the complaint charts
Leading the pack was Kia Australia, whose series of “zombie-proof” electric vehicle ads generated 86 complaints, making it the most contested campaign of the year.
Viewers raised concerns about frightening imagery and road safety.
Ad Standards ultimately ruled that the campaign breached motor vehicle advertising rules.
Not every ad that sparked complaints resulted in a breach.
A Dettol hand sanitiser commercial showing a boy picking his nose and wiping his finger across a tablet drew 70 complaints about unhygienic behaviour, but the panel determined the ad did not breach the codes.
Similarly, a Caruso’s Natural Health commercial promoting a vaginal health probiotic received 67 complaints (ladies, don’t mention the v-word!), while a Youi insurance ad featuring a family comparing insurance shopping to a relative searching for a boyfriend drew 65 complaints – both ultimately cleared.
Big W among the few found in breach
Only a handful of campaigns were formally found to breach advertising standards.
A Big W back-to-school holiday campaign generated 37 complaints after a child was shown raising a blurred middle finger gesture.
Ad Standards ruled the campaign breached rules relating to language.
Other campaigns that sparked complaints but avoided breaches included:
• Red Rooster, whose skate park chicken theft scene attracted 34 complaints about anti-social behaviour
• Pilot, whose erectile dysfunction ad used a garden hose metaphor that prompted 32 complaints about sexual innuendo
• Rexona, which drew 31 complaints over body-part language such as “bums” and “balls”
• Bankwest, criticised by viewers for perceived workplace bullying in a cup-stealing office scene
• Westpac, where a man feeding ice cream to a dog triggered concerns about animal treatment.
In each case, the Community Panel ruled the ads did not breach the codes.
Free-to-air TV still drives the most complaints
Despite the shift toward digital advertising, traditional television remains the biggest source of complaints.
The report shows 55% of complaints related to free-to-air TV ads, followed by 17% for social media and 7% for on-demand TV.
The most common issues raised by consumers were:
• Sex, sexuality and nudity (25%)
• Violence (17%)
• Health and safety concerns (14%).
Political advertising also played a major role in the year’s complaint volumes, though those ads fall outside the regulator’s formal remit.
Self-regulation under pressure
In total, Ad Standards received 5,256 complaints, with 2,326 falling within the scope of the advertising codes and the remainder relating to political ads or general dislike of content.
Of the 254 ads assessed by the Community Panel, 91 were found to breach the codes, while 163 were cleared.
Encouragingly for regulators, 88% of advertisers complied by modifying or removing ads either before or after a breach ruling.
McDonald’s turns viral Big Arch taste-test flop into marketing gold
McDonald’s has just delivered a tidy little lesson in what to do when a campaign face-plants in public.
First, a quick rewind.
Remember this?
View this post on Instagram
That’s the boss of McDonald’s, Chris Kempczinski, sharing with the world that time he took his very first bite of the chain’s new Big Arch burger… on camera.
A moment that, in theory, was meant to sell the thing.
Instead, the internet did what the internet does. The clip ricocheted around social media for all the wrong reasons, with viewers dissecting every grimace, pause and politely restrained reaction.
Not exactly the golden marketing moment the Golden Arches had in mind.
Most brands would quietly pretend it never happened. Delete the clip. Move on. Hope the algorithm forgets.
But the very clever creative team at Maccas has done the opposite. They’ve leaned straight into the chaos, turning the whole awkward episode into the setup for their latest campaign.
The comeback
Rather than quietly bury the moment, McDonald’s has now leaned straight into it.
The company has since posted an image of the Big Arch burger to its Instagram page with the words “take a bite of our new product” above the burger, a not-so-subtle nod to the original clip.
The brand even joined in the joke in the comments section, writing: “can’t believe this got approved”.
The post quickly filled with replies, not only from customers but from rival fast-food chains getting in on the fun.
Jack In The Box and Carl’s Jr. both chimed in, with Carl’s Jr. cheekily asking: “u sure you wanna take a bite”.
In other words, what began as a slightly awkward corporate social clip has now morphed into a self-aware social media moment – one the brand appears more than happy to ride.
The industry view
According to Thinkerbell founder Adam Ferrier, the original moment highlights a familiar dynamic that can sometimes play out inside big organisations.
“This is a function of lack of perspective and unhealthy power dynamics,” Ferrier said.
“Basically, if you’re the internal social media manager at Maccas filming the CEO, how do you say ‘Man that was bloody weird’, how do you even see it?”
Adam Ferrier
Ferrier argues that maintaining perspective inside large organisations is crucial, especially when producing content that will inevitably be scrutinised online.
“Maintaining perspective and being able to speak up when something’s not right is important, even when creating this kind of content for your place of work. A bit of perspective always helps.”
Still, he says the brand’s response has largely struck the right tone.
“The response was both ‘meh’ and self-deprecating. Which was really what was needed in the first place.”
And while the original clip may have sparked the moment, Ferrier notes that the scale of the reaction likely caught everyone off guard.
“That said, no one could have predicted how wild the response was.”
If anything, the episode offers a neat case study in modern brand behaviour.
In the old days, a slightly awkward corporate video might have simply faded into obscurity.
Today, however, the internet rarely lets moments like that slip by unnoticed. And increasingly, the smartest brands aren’t trying to fight the tide — they’re surfing it.
Savannah Guthrie returns to ‘Today’ after mum Nancy’s disappearance
Savannah Guthrie has reunited with her NBC Today colleagues.
On March 5 Guthrie returned to the studio for the first time since her mother, Nancy Guthrie, went missing 33 days ago.
“Savannah Guthrie stopped by the studio this morning to be with and thank her Today colleagues,” an NBC News spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter.
“While she plans to return to the show on air, she remains focused right now supporting her family and working to help bring Nancy home.”
Left: Savannah Guthrie and her mum Nancy. Image: NBC. Right: The Guthrie family made an emotional plea in a video. Image: Instagram
Updates on Nancy Guthrie missing persons case
Savannah has been absent from her hosting role since her mother was seemingly abducted in Tucson, Arizona, on January 31.
Nancy, who is 84, and has a heart condition, and has not been seen or heard from since.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI do not have any serious leads. The missing persons investigation has been challenging for authorities, with fake ransom notes and blood found by news reporter Brian Entin.
The Guthrie family is offering $1 million “for any information that leads to her recovery,” Savannah announced last week. Although the Guthries and authorities are hoping that Nancy is still alive, both have admitted that possibility seems less likely over time.
“We also know that she may be lost. She may already be gone,” Guthrie said in the Instagram video announcing the family reward.
“She may have already gone home to the Lord that she loves and is dancing in heaven with her mom and her dad, with her beloved brother, Pierce, and with our daddy.”
Top image: Savannah Guthrie hugs Dylan Dreyer on the Today set. Image: The Hollywood Reporter/Charles Sykes/Invision/AP Images
The $110B question: will Paramount protect Trump’s favourite ‘punching bag’?
Paramount Skydance boss David Ellison has officially broken his silence on the fate of CNN following his US$110.9 billion (AU$156 billion) conquest of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). His message to the panicked newsroom?
Your jobs – and your editorial independence – are safe.
Appearing on CNBC on Thursday, the newly crowned media titan sought to extinguish the growing political firestorm surrounding the takeover.
With critics warning that the Ellison family’s close ties to the Trump administration would result in a hard-right pivot for the global news brand, Ellison insisted CNN will remain fiercely independent.
The ‘truth and trust’ business
“Editorial independence will absolutely be maintained at CBS and at CNN,” Ellison told the network. “We want to talk to the 70% of Americans, and really around the world, who identify as center-left and center-right. And we want to be in the truth business.
We want to be in the trust business. And that’s not going to change.”
The reassurance comes after a week of intense speculation. US President Donald Trump, alongside his press secretary Karoline Leavitt, has spent years using the network as his ultimate “fake news” punching bag.
US press secretary, Karoline Leavitt lashes out on CNN‘s Kaitlan Collins. Just another day in the office. Image: CNN
Trump had previously urged new ownership to either sell or shutter the 45-year-old network entirely.
Adding fuel to the fire, Ellison’s recent takeover of CBS News saw him install former New York Times opinion journalist Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief and hire an ombudsman to monitor the network for “political bias.”
Despite the track record at CBS, Ellison heaped praise on WBD’s news division. “CNN is an incredible brand with an incredible team,” he said. “And we absolutely believe in the independence that obviously needs to be maintained for those incredible journalists. And we want to support that going forward.”
Streaming the news
Beyond the political theatre, Ellison stressed that acquiring CNN is a crucial pillar of his broader streaming strategy.
While much of the Wall Street chatter has focused on merging Paramount+ and HBO Max into a 200-million-subscriber entertainment juggernaut, Ellison views live news as the ultimate retention tool.
“We’re going to invest in the news business. This transaction will be a positive for both CBS and CNN,” Ellison confirmed, signaling that both newsrooms will play a foundational role in the combined platform’s offering.
Whether Ellison can successfully blend two legacy news operations, combine a massive streaming tech stack, and navigate a US$79 billion debt load without drawing the ire of the White House remains to be seen.
But for now, the embattled news network is officially part of the Paramount family.
OOH measures all formats nationwide with $20M MOVE launch
The Australian out-of-home (OOH) sector is preparing for a major evolution. For the uninitiated, MOVE stands for Measurement of Outdoor Visibility and Exposure. And it operates as the official audience measurement currency that media buyers use to calculate exactly how many people see outdoor advertisements.
Backed by a $20 million industry investment, the new MOVE platform officially launches on March 9. That’s ahead of a hard switch replacing the legacy MOVE 1.5 system on 16 March 2026.
MOVE introduces a 365-day, hour-by-hour currency that spans both metropolitan and regional areas, bringing an unprecedented level of granularity to the medium.
Ahead of the March 9 launch, Mediaweek spoke with Elizabeth McIntyre, chief executive officer of the Outdoor Media Association (OMA) and MOVE, John O’Neill, chief executive officer of QMS, and James Taylor, chief executive officer of oOh!media, to unpack the platform’s impending impacts.
The new data confirms that OOH reaches 97% of Australians every week. McIntyre believes this concrete proof fundamentally shifts how buyers must evaluate the channel.
“We are not just talking about outdoor purely as a top-of-funnel awareness channel, we are talking about the strongest and fastest reaching medium that can deliver impact at scale,” McIntyre said.
“Advertisers now plan and evaluate OOH – with more precision, and build smarter combinations of formats based on how people move, not just where OOH assets are located.”
Elizabeth McIntyre, chief executive officer of the Outdoor Media Association (OMA) and MOVE. Image: supplied
Emerging as the true broadcast alternative
Industry leaders agree that the days of pigeonholing outdoor media strictly as an awareness tool are over. O’Neill pointed out that strong revenue growth in the sector continues to outpace the broader market.
“I think the days of pigeonholing OOH as only a top of funnel medium are long gone,” O’Neill said. “Digitisation again has really extended the role that OOH can play in a communication strategy and when combined with the right content, tech and data, it is a highly effective medium to drive audiences through the funnel to purchase.”
Taylor echoed this sentiment. He framed the upgraded medium as a formidable opponent to traditional television and digital buys.
“OOH has been on a steady growth trajectory but is now coming into its own as the true broadcast alternative, offering advertisers a genuine platform to secure physical, unskippable and unblockable reach to audiences at serious scale,” Taylor said.
“If used in multiple contexts it can play a solid role at driving outcomes at the register.”
Panel-level transparency and human attention
A significant change in the new system replaces older ‘opportunity-to-see’ and ‘visibility’ metrics with Visibility Adjusted Contacts (VAC). This enables the industry to apply an attention filter at individual sign level, delivering more precise audience measurement.
Taylor explained that clients ultimately care about verified human engagement when assessing their return on investment.
“For our advertising partners, it’s a currency that is thoroughly transparent and holistic. They can assess not just reach, but quality and visibility metrics down to a panel level,” he noted.
“While some formats and locations will naturally see shifts as the data becomes more precise, the real step change is that we can now prove actual attention, not just theoretical exposure.”
John O’Neill, chief executive officer of QMS. Image: supplied
O’Neill noted that accurately measuring the medium remains challenging given its highly diverse environments.
“One of the beauties, and challenges, of our medium is its nuance,” O’Neill said. “That’s why we’ve led the industry in understanding Attention in DOOH. Ensuring buyers retain deep qualitative insights alongside this new quantitative data.”
Network synergy across regional and rail assets
MOVE now covers 21 regional areas, providing national advertisers with a single, consistent dataset across the entire country. McIntyre highlighted this expansion as a significant commercial unlock.
Regional audiences have historically been under-measured. So consistent, standardised data means these audiences can be integrated into national strategies, rather than alone..
Taylor added that unified coverage allows national brands to map the consumer journey much more effectively. “We have always known that retail, street, and rail, along with our billboard, office tower and airport assets reach audiences at every step of their consumer journey,” Taylor said.
“Being able to demonstrate the combined impact is a genuine step change, showing how scale from a single provider can deliver buyer efficiency, underpinned all by a single currency.”
James Taylor, chief executive officer of oOh!media. Image: supplied
A new canvas for tailored creative
The granular data also offers creative agencies a highly detailed view of audience behaviour, enabling them to design campaigns around specific times, seasons, and locations. Taylor pointed out that retail panels are typically viewed while walking. While billboards are usually seen from a vehicle on a freeway.
“Since contextual, purposeful creative drives the greatest ROI, creative agencies have a real opportunity to design work that reflects how consumers actually behave,” Taylor said. “It is the same principle as tailoring content for a phone scroll versus a 15 or 30-second TVC. You would never rely on one creative for both.”
Managing the hard switch and global envy
With the March hard switch looming, the OMA knows that adapting to massive new data sets can feel overwhelming for time-poor media planners.
“Education and support have been central to the transition,” McIntyre said, noting the rollout of training sessions and practical guides. “Importantly, MOVE has been designed to make its complexity extremely user-friendly. And while the data is deeper and richer, the interface allows planners to extract insights quickly.”
Ultimately, this collaborative effort sets Australia apart on the global stage. McIntyre emphasized that the rest of the world is watching closely.
“What makes Australia stand out is the integration of a single, unified currency across every OMA member and format. And getting 63 members and agencies to agree on a methodology is unprecedented,” McIntyre concluded.
“That level of industry alignment and methodological consistency is rare globally. And I think everyone is envious of how united we are as an industry.”
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Afterpay ad VP Andrew Gilbert made redundant amid global restructure
“I won’t pretend it doesn’t sting.”
Andrew Gilbert, Vice President of Advertising at Afterpay, has confirmed his role will conclude as part of a broader global restructure across parent company Block.
In a LinkedIn post, Gilbert said he had learned on Friday that his position would end as the company reshapes its operations.
“I understand the business rationale. Markets shift. Companies refocus. But restructures aren’t headlines, they’re people. Teams who built something meaningful. Late nights. Ambition. Belief,” Gilbert wrote.
Gilbert said that over the past 24 months his team had built and scaled the Afterpay Ads business, including its partnership with Yahoo DSP and the development of a revenue-generating media capability inside the payments platform.
“We built the strategy, the operating model, the partnerships and the team,” he said.
“We proved that commerce media can thrive inside a payments ecosystem.”
He added that the advertising unit was designed to align with Block’s broader mission of expanding access and driving economic empowerment across the financial system.
“Helping merchants grow. Giving consumers more control. Creating opportunity. That mission matters.”
Gilbert said his immediate focus is to support other team members affected by the restructure and to help connect talent with new opportunities across media, fintech, partnerships, and strategy.
“Moments like this are a reminder that businesses are built by people, and people carry the real weight,” he said.
“As AI reshapes our industry, I’m excited by what it unlocks. But it won’t replace judgement, conviction or the power of aligned teams. Technology scales. People lead.”
Mediaweek has reached out to Afterpay for a comment
He closed by saying he remained proud of what the team had built and ready for the next chapter.
“Proud of what we built. Grateful for the people. Ready for what’s next.”
Top Image: Andrew Gilbert
Surf’s up, Barbie: Stephanie Gilmore gets the doll treatment
Australian surfing legend Stephanie Gilmore has been immortalised as a Barbie, with the global toy brand unveiling a one-of-a-kind doll to mark International Women’s Day.
The eight-time World Surf League champion is among a select group of international trailblazers named in Barbie’s first-ever Dream Team, a campaign celebrating women who have led the way in their respective industries.
The announcement comes ahead of Gilmore’s return to the professional surfing tour in April, following a two-year hiatus from competition.
For the brand, the moment is part of a broader effort to highlight real-world role models whose stories might inspire the next generation.
“Seeing myself immortalised as a Barbie doll was really special. I feel honoured to be part of the first Barbie Dream Team alongside incredible women from all over the world,” Gilmore said.
A world champion turned role model
Gilmore’s place in the Dream Team reflects a career that has reshaped women’s surfing.
Since bursting onto the professional scene in 2007, she has claimed eight World Surf League titles, becoming the first woman in history to achieve that milestone.
But for Gilmore, the most meaningful legacy isn’t the trophy cabinet.
“I always dreamed of being the best surfer in the world, and the record at the time was seven world titles – so my dream was to win eight,” she said.
“I fell in love with surfing when I was ten, and while the trophies are special, the most rewarding part is seeing more young women get into the sport. I hope they feel inspired by what I’ve done.”
Beyond competition results, Gilmore has also played a role in pushing the sport toward greater equality, including advocating for equal prize money in professional surfing.
“Being able to advocate for equal prize money for men and women is something I’m really proud of,” she said.
“Surfing has always had a bit of a rebellious, subculture vibe – and yet here we are, able to lead the way on equity and show what it should look like. I’m proud that the women’s hard work doesn’t go unnoticed, because we work just as hard as the men.”
Designing the surfer Barbie
Gilmore worked closely with the Barbie design team to ensure the doll reflected her identity as an athlete and surfer.
“Seeing is believing,” the brand says – a philosophy rooted in the idea that exposure to real-world female role models can expand what girls imagine is possible.
For Gilmore, that meant focusing on the small details that capture the sport.
“I wanted to create a Barbie who was a surfer. She’s got beach-wave hair, a cute pink-and-black wetsuit, and of course a surfboard to complete the look,” she said.
“It’s absolutely spot on – they nailed it.”
Barbie’s global Dream Team
Gilmore joins a roster of high-profile global figures recognised in the campaign.
The Dream Team includes tennis legend Serena Williams, astronaut Kellie Gerardi, English football star Chloe Kelly, Indian cricket star Smriti Mandhana, race car driver Regina Sirvent Alvarado, singer Helene Fischer, and mountaineer Zoja Skubis.
Nathan Baynard, Vice President and Head of Barbie at Mattel, said the campaign continues the brand’s long-standing effort to spotlight women whose achievements help shape the future.
“Barbie has always championed the belief that girls can be anything. From astronauts to CEOs, Barbie has broken barriers and redefined what’s possible – igniting imagination and inspiring generations of girls to dream without limits,” Baynard said.
“This International Women’s Day, we’re proud to build on that legacy with the launch of our Barbie Dream Team, celebrating an extraordinary group of global trailblazers who are paving the way for the next generation.”
Bringing Barbie’s message to Sydney
To celebrate the campaign locally, Barbie will host a Barbie Dream Charms pop-up in Sydney’s Pitt Street South Mall from 13–15 March.
The free event invites fans to design personalised charm bracelets representing their dreams, inside a Barbiecore-themed activation space featuring immersive photo moments and giveaways.
For Gilmore, the broader message behind the campaign remains simple.
“Role models are so important because when you’re young, you need people to look up to,” she said.
“Seeing someone who once had big dreams – and then made those dreams real – shows you the path. It helps you imagine what’s possible for your own future.”
Marina Go says International Women’s Day should spotlight solutions, not slogans
As International Women’s Day approaches this Sunday, one of Australia’s most experienced company directors is asking a simple question: why do we keep talking about the same problems every year?
For Marina Go, the answer is not that progress hasn’t happened. It’s that progress rarely gets the spotlight.
Speaking to Mediaweek, Go says the annual conversation around International Women’s Day can sometimes drift into a familiar cycle – identifying structural inequality, acknowledging the work still to be done, and then repeating the process again the following year.
But in focusing on the problems, she believes many organisations overlook something just as important: the solutions that are already working.
“I think maybe one of the challenges is that there are many organisations that actually are doing things and have done things that have made great progress for women, and maybe we’re not hearing from them enough,” she said.
Go says the real opportunity lies in highlighting the organisations that have already taken meaningful steps to improve outcomes for women.
Rather than focusing solely on the challenges, she believes there is value in hearing from leaders who have changed workplace environments and expanded opportunities for women, because their experiences can offer practical ideas others can follow rather than simply “admiring the problem.”
“I think,” she added, “we’re a great admirer of problems.”
Marina Go. Source: SCA
Progress that rarely makes headlines
Go speaks from long experience.
A former media executive turned company director, she now sits on several of Australia’s largest boards, including Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) and chairs the 30%+ Club Australia, an organisation dedicated to increasing female representation in senior leadership.
And by one measure at least, the numbers show change is happening.
“In many ways, the 30% in the 30%+ Club i is redundant because we have more than 30% of women now on average in ASX 300 boards, certainly in the ASX 200, and really nudging 40% in the ASX 50,” she said.
“But we don’t really hear what was done to get there because it happens over years.”
Real change, she said, rarely comes from broad statements or symbolic gestures. It comes from deliberate strategies that unfold over years.
Go recalls her time on the board of Autosports Group, a company operating in one of the most male-dominated sectors of the economy.
Go says that during her time on the board of Autosports Group, a heavily male-dominated industry centred on car sales and mechanical workshops, the board made a deliberate decision to focus on diversity and inclusion to address the gender imbalance.
But she explains that recognising the problem wasn’t enough. Rather than simply pointing out that there weren’t enough women in the organisation, the board concluded they had to take practical action to change the situation.
“One of the things that we had to do was put a programme together specific to female apprentices. We had to be very specific and deliberate about it,” she said.
Why reporting rules are changing behaviour
One of the biggest drivers of change in recent years, Go argues, hasn’t been corporate goodwill, it has been transparency.
A growing set of governance expectations, ESG frameworks and regulatory reporting requirements has forced companies to examine their gender balance more closely than ever before.
“A lot of the heavy lifting has been done in the areas of thinking about the aspect of inclusion in the workplace. So that includes thinking about not only what you need to do to attract women to the workplace, but then how do you keep them there?” she said
“The only way that you get to keep them there is if they have a thriving opportunity for advancement, and therefore you have to look at the ecosystem within your organisation.”
That shift has been accelerated by policy changes and governance pressure across corporate Australia.
Go says a range of regulatory and governance changes have helped drive progress, pointing to updated ASX rules and pressure from organisations such as the Australian Institute of Company Directors that have pushed companies to take ESG issues more seriously.
As a result, she said equity, inclusion and opportunity have become stronger focuses within many organisations. Go argues that public reporting has been particularly influential, noting that transparency forces companies to confront their performance.
“What gets reported gets done,” she said, explaining that when organisations are required to publish data such as gender balance or pay gaps, it creates accountability, and in some cases even a degree of reputational pressure, that encourages companies to improve their practices.
There’s no shortage of paraphernalia for International Women’s Day, but what about real change?
The numbers behind the debate
The national data reflects that tension between progress and unfinished work.
New figures from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) show Australian employers have narrowed the national gender pay gap over the past year. But the gap remains substantial.
Across the workforce, women earn an average of 88.8 cents for every dollar men earn, leaving a national gender pay gap of 11.2 per cent.
Importantly, the figure does not measure equal pay for the same role. Instead, it captures the broader structural difference in earnings between men and women across the economy.
The latest dataset also reveals wide variations between industries and employers, with sectors such as aviation, health services, fashion, recruitment and cosmetic services among those recording some of the largest gaps.
A very different workplace
For Go, who began her career in media more than three decades ago, the transformation in workplace culture has been profound, even if the work is unfinished.
“When I think about my early days in media, women had to come back full-time or not at all once they had children; there wasn’t maternity leave available for women in the beginning,” she recounted.
“When I had my children, and my kids are 32 and 28, it was really, really difficult.”
She recalled returning to work after her first child and finding her career abruptly stalled.
Later, once she reached senior leadership roles, she made her own adjustments, even when they ran counter to official company policy.
“When I got to a senior role, I made sure that I let the women who worked for me come back part-time after maternity leave, even though the organisation didn’t allow it and didn’t let me, I let them do that,” she said.
Her reasoning was simple.
“The outcome for me is, and as it should be for any executive or director, what’s in the best interest of the organisation for the long term, and what’s in the best interest is that we have the best people available.”
Why leadership representation matters
That philosophy underpins another key shift in corporate Australia – the growing presence of women in boardrooms.
According to Go, the effect is not just symbolic.
“Having more women on boards means that we are looking for these things in an organisation that encourages more women in leadership roles,” she said.
“It also helps women look up and say I could be that person, maybe I could do that.”
Advice for women already at the top
As International Women’s Day approaches, Go also has a message for women who have already broken through into senior leadership roles.
She believes their influence can shape the path for the next generation.
“You want fairness, and you want to do the right thing, so why would you not want it to be easier for the next generation of women?” she said.
Go’s advice to younger women entering the workforce is less about navigating office politics and more about learning to anticipate change.
“I’ve always tried to think a few years ahead, even five years ahead, so instead of kind of looking down at your job day in, day out, take the opportunity to sit back and consider your sector; where is it going, where are the consumers going, where are the audience, where is the audience going?”
It was that mindset, she said, that led her to pivot early in her own career.
“That’s how I made my jump from print to digital. At the time, I was very steeply in print, but I could feel the audience moving to digital.”
For Go, that instinct to look ahead, to understand where audiences, industries and workplaces are heading, is the same mindset she believes organisations should bring to gender equality.
Progress, she argues, rarely arrives overnight. But with deliberate strategy, accountability and leadership, it does happen.
And as another International Women’s Day approaches, Go’s message is simple: the conversation shouldn’t just dwell on the problems that remain, but also on the solutions already proving they work.
Laura Maxwell champions the commercial power of journalism
Speaking from the Gold Coast, recently appointed new chair for ThinkNewsBrands and News Corp Australia state managing director for Queensland, Laura Maxwell, might have surfers catching waves outside her window. But her focus remains strictly on the high-stakes business of Australian journalism.
“My passion for journalism and for news, why we exist, why it’s important, has never been stronger,” Maxwell said. “Chairing ThinkNewsBrands, which really is a champion for journalism, is an absolute privilege. But also I see it as incredibly important.”
Maxwell thrives in the complexity of modern media disruption. As the former chief executive officer of New Zealand’s Stuff Media, she carved out a fierce reputation for leading teams to drive sustainable profit and capture market share.
Prior to that, she held dual heavyweight roles as chief digital officer and chief commercial officer at New Zealand Media and Entertainment. This hybrid background uniquely shapes her approach to leadership.
She’s just as comfortable driving sweeping, company-wide newsroom transformations as she is applying the relentless focus needed to scale a digital startup.
Moving beyond measurement hygiene
Maxwell now directs that sharp strategic focus toward ThinkNewsBrands. For the past few years, she notes the organisation focused heavily on getting the industry hygiene right. They ensured advertisers had access to robust, independent audience measurement, rather than publishers simply “marking their own homework.”
With those industry standards firmly established, ThinkNewsBrands is stepping into a new strategic direction.
Maxwell cracked wise that the industry needs to stop calling it a “pivot” because that word died in 2020!
Instead, the goal is to use hard data to connect brands to the immense commercial value of news environments.
Crucially, this expanded remit is not just a future ambition; it is action already underway. ThinkNewsBrands hit the ground running this week with the launch of a major new research report, News Nation: Why Journalism Has Never Mattered More.
The study shifts the industry conversation squarely from basic measurement into the tangible power of trust and the deep value of journalism to Australians.
For Maxwell, this translates into a vital commercial mandate, backed by the report’s data showing a $3.90 return for every $1 invested.
“You shouldn’t advertise in news media environments because you feel it’s the right thing to do,” Maxwell explained. “It’s not a charity placement. It’s a smart placement and it’s a considered placement that will deliver a commercial outcome for business.”
Compounding crises and the cultural BS filter
As social platforms flood with unverified creator content, AI slop, and algorithmic noise, audiences actively crave the truth. Maxwell points to recent global events, such as the evolving crisis in Iran that began over the weekend, as prime examples of why professional journalism is vital.
“Especially at a time like now, when there is huge unrest and a lack of social cohesion in the world, people want to confirm what they may have come across in a social feed,” Maxwell said. “They’re going back to a trusted news source to verify it.”
She notes that audiences are currently navigating a polycrisis of news cycles that just are never ending.
Fortunately, Australians and New Zealanders share a unique cultural advantage when navigating this misinformation: a powerful detector for spin.
“We can smell something that doesn’t feel right from a mile off, and that’s just who we are culturally,” Maxwell said. “We’ll give people a fair opportunity to have a say on something, but we will also want to challenge them. And one of the key roles of news media is to hold the powerful to account.”
This level of accountability provides a stark contrast to the unregulated reality of social media feeds.
“Journalism works in an ethical and legal framework,” Maxwell noted. “They don’t always get it right because they’re human. But they’re held to account. On social platforms, somebody can post an AI video of me selling you anything. They’re not held to account in the same way.”
Ands, not ors
Maxwell isn’t suggesting that marketers abandon their social or search budgets entirely. Instead, she advocates for practical, realistic thinking when building a mixed media proposition.
“I always think of this as ands not ors,” she advised. “So it’s not stop everything you’re doing, but consider this channel. Consider the pros and the cons. Consider why you’re not using it now or if you are using it.”
For Maxwell, supporting the news sector is not just a civic duty; it’s a proven commercial multiplier for advertisers. And rather than resting on the achievements of audience measurement, she’s ready to push the conversation forward.
“I’m delighted to come into this role at this time,” Maxwell concluded. “I can’t wait to get stuck in on behalf of news media and Australia.”
Feature image- Laura Maxwell, News Corp Australia state managing director for Queensland and ThinkNewsBrand chair.