Helen Dalley builds it…will they come?

Long-time Nine Network and then Sky News journalist and news anchor Helen Dalley has dipped her toe into the podcast world with Build It. They’ll Come.

Launched earlier this month, Dalley puts her years of journalistic and television experience into candid and revealing interviews with innovative visionaries who bet big, backed themselves and built something extraordinary.

The host told Mediaweek she is promising to uncover step-by-step what it takes to build an empire, from concept to execution.

Series 1 looks at how a humble idea went from a start-up, to a billion-dollar empire; how a small charity became a substantial organisation improving the lives of thousands; how an entirely new sporting code branch was built; and more. Initial guests include billionaire retailer Gerry Harvey.

Dalley explained: “Anyone can have an idea, but what distinguishes the interview subjects on Build It. They’ll Comeis the building process – how they nurtured, persevered, got lucky, fell down and got back up again. How they turned a lightbulb moment into a success, through hard slog and unwavering belief in themselves and in their idea. It’s gritty and messy, but truly inspiring stuff.”

Listen to Build It. They’ll Come here.

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Jan Fran on death on The Pineapple Project

The award-winning ABC podcast The Pineapple Project returned this week with its fourth season, a new host and a prickly new topic. Walkley award-winning journalist Jan Fran (creator, writer and presenter of The Frant, guest presenter on Network 10’s The Project and previously co-host for SBS’s The Feed) is taking on the tricky topic of death.

The podcast features a special guest appearance from comedian Rhys Nicholson in his most dramatic role to-date as the Grim Reaper.

In Jan Fran’s words, “If I could dish out one piece of unsolicited advice, it would be to talk to your fam about death and ask your loved ones what they’d like at their funerals because – and trust me on this – it’s very hard to get answers from a dead person!!!

“After death comes admin, and while we can’t stop the former from happening, we can at least make the latter more manageable.”

Listen to The Pineapple Project here.

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Love guru’s busy Valentine’s Day

Prolific podcaster and reality TV love guru Osher Günsberg has had (another) busy week. In addition to his three podcasts he releases weekly, Günsberg is hosting two shows with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as it plays music from romantic movies on February 14 and 15 as the Sydney Town Hall.

If all that wasn’t enough, Günsberg also guested on Q&A earlier in the week in an episode with new host Hamish Macdonald. On his Better Than Yesterday podcast this week Günsberg talks about the social media insults he got after his ABC TV appearance.

Listen to Better Than Yesterday here.

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Two dating podcasts for Valentine’s Day

Mamamia and Nova have dating podcasts that, not surprisingly, are being promoted in time for Valentine’s Day.

The Mamamia podcast Eligible is hosted by Rachel Corbett and was promised at its 2020 Upfront event.

Series one, which consists of 12 weekly episodes, is sponsored by Fantastic Furniture and is dropping Friday 14th February at 3pm.

The Nova podcast is Finding a Unicorn (returning this week) which is being described as combining a Married at First Sight over-sharer with a no-filter commitment phobe.

Hosting the podcast are serial dater Carly Bowyer and unlucky-in-love fusspot Eliza Paschke who go on a journey to find out if the perfect match is actually out there or if they are searching for a mythical creature that doesn’t exist – the elusive unicorn!

Bowyer said, “We want people to know that they’re not alone…it’s hard out there and the dating game can totally suck. I’d just ended a relationship, started dating again and quickly realised how cutthroat the dating game was. There were so many bad dates and dating fails, that I needed an outlet to spill all the juicy details so Finding a Unicorn was born!”

A marketing manager with experience in events, content development and digital marketing, she’s been through it all in the dating world, from long term relationships to serial dating – and even appeared on Married at First Sight.

Paschke added, “I make no secret of the fact I have zero success when it comes to love and relationships. Which is why you won’t find a better person to talk about the minefield that is dating. I’ve met a million donkeys on my unsuccessful quest to find a unicorn and instead of being defeated and depressed, I decided venting publicly on a podcast was the answer.”

Paschke studied journalism and worked as a radio producer and is now a public speaker who talks about mental health to high school students.

Listen to Eligible here.

Listen to Finding a Unicorn here.

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Forever New podcasts direct to customers

Melbourne fashion retailer Forever New has launched its own podcast Unforgettable Moments, a series about the defining moments in a woman’s life.

Produced by The Peers Project and hosted by its founder Michelle Akhidenor, the series will feature several inspirational women sharing their stories. The first episode is with Little Dreamers chief executive officer Maddy Buchner.

Carolyn Mackenzie, Forever New manager director said, “We are proud to be one of the first Australian fashion retailers to launch a podcast series and we hope that the Forever New woman will relate, find inspiration and enjoy listening to each episode.”

Listen to Forever New here.

Nova Entertainment’s smoothfm proposition to its audience has always been simple. A mix of favourite songs presented in a low-key hype-free environment.

And it has worked. The Melbourne and Sydney FM stations originally launched with a commercial featuring Michael Bublé endorsing the brand. The ratings climbed steadily and soon passed the expectations from then marketing chief Tony Thomas and programming boss Paul Jackson.

Last year smoothfm ranked #1 for the whole year in Sydney and was one of the stations sharing top spot across 2019 in Melbourne and ended the year #2 FM.

Thomas has since left the company and Jackson now runs marketing and programming. The company doesn’t spend continually on marketing smoothfm, it hasn’t had too, but Nova Entertainment CEO Cathy O’Connor has greenlit a brand overhaul and Jackson and his team have engaged with another major star to help market the stations.

Robbie Williams now joins Bublé as the new smoothfm brand ambassador at the start of a year that will be big for Williams. Off the back of a recent album he is touring the world including dates in Australia and a residency in Las Vegas. Nova Entertainment has managed to have Williams endorse the brand without any cash changing hands. It is a win-win for both parties.

The new smoothfm marketing campaign spend helps promote Williams as much as it markets the smoothfm brand.

While Michael Bublé and his music are still integral to the smoothfm brand, Jackson said they didn’t want to go to market again with the same campaign and same smoothfm logo.

Paul Jackson

Williams will initially be featured in four different TVCs as the campaign launches – a 30 second version and then three 15 second edits.

“The commercials were filmed in October 2019,” Jackson told Mediaweek. “Over the years we have featured a number of different artists in smooth marketing campaigns. We started with Michael Bublé and later used Spandau Ballet and then Sam Smith. We then went back to Bublé again.”

Jackson added that Nova Entertainment made the initial approach to Williams’ management.

“Things moved very quickly and from initially having the idea to the shoot was only about three or four weeks.”

Jackson said the smoothfm creative execution is something of a hybrid of where the station once was. “We started the station with the original proposition which was an easy place to relax with ballads. Over the years we became more bright and breezy as we upped the tempo a bit. Now it’s about a feel-good radio station which we unashamedly are.

“We have all been guilty in radio of muddled thinking sometimes, but with smooth we want to be clear and concise about what it really is. It is fun, upbeat and will put a smile on your face.”

Jackson agreed the musical space that smoothfm now occupies is super crowded. “You can now go up and down the dial in Sydney and here stations playing music they would never have played in a million years. Lots of people talk about variety, but we are not a variety format. All of the music on smooth fits together really well. It’s unlikely the audience is going to hear many songs they don’t like across the course of a day.

“One misnomer about the brand is that ‘it is all just slow music’. It was never all just slow music.”

Jackson is very hands on, along with music director Kate Mason and the smooth team, about what goes to air. “It is important to change the catalogue of music frequently. We have been pretty good at keeping things fresh for the audience. We tweak it weekly and then do a big refresh every month.”

All of the team go into the music meeting armed with tunes they think could be added to the playlist. “We rely on both gut instinct and audience research.”

Jackson used as an example Take That, an artist that didn’t always research well because people didn’t know them, but one listeners liked when they heard it on air. “Because listeners trust the radio stations, they tend to like what we play.”

smoothfm has been successful without adding “celebrities” to their breakfast shows. Breakfast ratings are competitive, and Jackson said they don’t lose revenue from advertisers wanting celebrity integration.

“We do integrations, but just different types. The beauty of smooth is that the messages are still there and cut through, but they are not in your face.”

smooth runs most of its commercial load at the top of the hour or on the half hour to give it a good flow of music in between. “We try to stay true to the ‘more music, less talk’ promise,” said Jackson.

“We are probably the only stations in the country that have never talked over the music. We announce at the end of the music, and talk to the audience, not at them.”

The FM stations that now offer a wide variety of tunes across the day are keen to lure away some of smoothfm listeners. Does Jackson have a message for them?

“Please don’t!” [Laughs]

That plea is unlikely to make competitors back off, but having Robbie Williams on side is a persuasive weapon to have in a marketing battle.

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Behind the scenes of smooth’s marketing campaign

smoothfm’s refreshed brand will be supported by a marketing and media campaign in Sydney and Melbourne across TV, OOH, cinema, digital and socials from February 16. The TVC was shot in London and was directed by Vaughan Arnell, a British music videos and television commercials director. The creative features Robbie Williams enjoying the feel-good sounds of smoothfm and is set to three iconic tracks, Williams’ Feel, September by Earth, Wind & Fire and Billy Ocean’s Get Out of my Dreams.

Robbie Williams will take the stage later this year for smoothfm’s Feel Good Night With.

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smoothfm’s revenue success story

Peter Charlton, Nova Entertainment’s chief commercial officer, said: “smooth is one of the most uniquely effective FM offerings out there, in terms of both its ‘feel good’ format and its landmark success to date. Last year, we saw double-digit revenue growth in an undeniably tough market and spent a year as Sydney’s #1 FM station and secured consistently strong results in Melbourne. That kind of success comes down to being able to connect with and engage listeners in a way no other station can, in turn, opening the door for advertisers to do the same. We’re incredibly proud of what smooth represents, both commercially and creatively, and recognise its enormous potential into the future.”

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Top photo: smoothfm announcers Richard Wilkins, Mel Doyle, David Campbell & Cameron Daddo

ABC broadcaster Karen Tighe said she hopes to see the continued rise of female sport commentators and Paralympic sport, accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 18th annual Sport Australia Media Awards in Sydney last night.

Tighe accepted the award at a gala ceremony attended by the best in Australian sports media, and her family, recognition for a career spanning more than 30 years. Tighe recalled phoning her father, Mike, the day she got her first job with ABC Sport in 1989.

“My mum had died three years earlier so times had been tough and I remember getting off the train at Gordon Station, finding a phone booth and ringing him to say I got a job at ABC sport,” Tighe said.

“There were few other women in sports media when I started so to see now the increasing number of passionate intelligent women part of the mainstream sports broadcasting mix and without constant reference of being a woman in a man’s world is a significant, overdue shift.

“What I would love to see now is more women in our broadcast teams in the play-by-play all round commentator role to build on the fine work of a very small number of women at the moment in that space. They are pioneers.”

Joining the ABC in 1989, she was an anchor for golf, tennis and other major sporting broadcasts, including 16 years hosting the Hopman Cup. She forged a national profile in the early 1990s as part of the Friday night television show Live and Sweaty and in 1997 became anchor for ABC Grandstand, where she remains a staple of weekend sport.

Of her sporting highlights, Tighe focused attention on her coverage of six Paralympic Games.

 “I felt a connection with the Paralympic movement from the very first Games I attended in Barcelona 1992, where I was introduced to two athletes in particular who would go on to become synonymous with the Paralympics and transcend their sports, wheelchair racer Louise Sauvage and swimmer Priya Cooper, both multiple gold medallists,” Tighe said.

Fittingly, ABC received the award for Best Coverage of Sport for People with Disability, recognition for its broadcast of the Invictus Games in Sydney.

Sport Australia Media Awards winners

Lifetime achievement award for sports journalism: Karen Tighe

Best reporting of an issue in sport: Shark Island Productions, ‘The Final Quarter’; Highly Commended: Jamie Pandaram, ‘Israel’s holy war’, News Corp Australia

Best sport coverage by an individual – broadcast: Gerard Whateley, SEN Radio and Fox Footy

Best sport coverage by an individual – written: Konrad Marshall, Good Weekend

Best sport coverage by an individual – digital: Mary Konstantopoulos, Ladies Who League

Best coverage of a sporting event: The Age & The Sydney Morning Herald, The Ashes

Best sport profile – broadcast: Josh Cable, Marcus Cobbledick, ‘Collingwood: From the Inside Out’, Good Thing Productions

Best sport profile – written: Samantha Lane, ‘Adam Goodes’, The Sydney Morning Herald & The Age

Best coverage of sport for people with disability: ABC, ‘Invictus Games 2018’; Highly Commended: Catherine Marciniak, ‘Leagueability’, ABC

Best regional, rural and suburban sport coverage: Stuart Walmsley, RUGBY.com.au

Best depiction of inclusive sport: Media Stockade, ‘Power Meri’

Best contribution to sport via digital media: The Herald Sun, ‘Sacked’

Best analysis of sport business: Tracey Holmes, The Ticket, ABC

Best sports photography: Michael Willson, ‘The Kick’, AFL Photos

Instagram will also return to the Parade with a show-stopping float, showcasing how our platforms enable Australians to use their voice and share ‘what matters’ to them and the people they care about.

After the overwhelming popularity of rainbow hashtags, launched for Mardi Gras last year, Instagram is bringing this Pride feature back to the platform. There are over 50 LGBTQ+ hashtags available in collaboration with Sydney Mardi Gras and ACON – including #MardiGras2020, #WhatMatters, and #LoveWins.

On Facebook there is a special Mardi Gras animation, exclusively in Australia, which will play every time someone shares ‘Happy Mardi Gras’ in a post. This new animation features a rainbow heart to represent the LGBTQ+ community, and a celebration of the flags and icons that are unique to Sydney Mardi Gras.

All new features will begin rolling out today, and should be available to all Australians in the coming days.

“We’re celebrating the vibrant LGBTQ+ communities that call Facebook and Instagram home, and who use our platforms everyday to connect with their communities and support one another,” said Mia Garlick, head of policy, Facebook Australia. “As part of our ongoing partnership with Sydney Mardi Gras, we’re launching our Your Voice Matters campaign to empower LGBTQ+ expression, highlight the inspiring stories of our local community, and foster safety across the platform.”

Now we have a BBC remake, The Trial of Christine Keeler (Sunday on BBC First), with Grantchester’s James Norton replacing John Hurt as social climbing osteopath Stephen Ward, The Crown’s Ben Miles replacing Ian McKellan as the sleazy Tory War Secretary John Profumo and Les Miserable’s Ellie Bamber replacing Bridget Fonda as the delightfully amusing Mandy Rice-Davies (famous for saying “well he would say that, wouldn’t he” even though that’s not what she really said).

Kingsman’s Sophie Cookson doesn’t make you feel sorry for Christine Keeler like Joanne Whalley did in the movie. In this version, the title character comes across as stupid and selfish, and maybe that’s closer to who she was in real life. If, however, you want to expand a story from two hours to six, there has to be at least one likeable character, and a bit more fun would have been useful.

The other new BBC drama is Dublin Murders (Wednesday on SBS) and what a pleasant surprise to see something set in Ireland. Obviously, there is a gruesome murder, but the lead detectives are not your usual TV cops. Rob (Killian Scott) and Cassie (Sarah Greene) are best friends and the twist at the end of its first episode should hook you for all eight episodes. Be warned though, some loose ends are left dangling at the end. Expect a second series, but nothing is greenlit just yet.

Here’s hoping it doesn’t rain at the bushfire fundraiser Fire Fight Australia Concert (Sunday on Seven and Fox 8). Will you pick your network to watch depending on its hosts? Seven doesn’t stray far from morning show personalities Kochie and Sam and Kylie and Larry, while Foxtel has Shaynna Blaze, Deborah Hutton, Jason Dundas and Rove.

Finally, there have not been enough well-made documentaries about television that remind you how important and life-changing the medium can be. Visible (streaming now on Apple TV+), a new five-part docuseries about the history of LGBTQIA+ representation on TV, is fascinating and only made me cry in every single episode.

But while The Celluloid Cinema acknowledged gay cinema from all over the world, Visibledoesn’t look outside of America when it comes to TV. Visible is beautifully made, but as good as it is, Australian TV is invisible, despite it having gay milestones about 20 years before the rest off the world.

A Current Affair featured a horrifying look at the world of ice addiction with 630,000 watching at 7am.

An hour RBT did 442,000.

After 8.30pm Married At First Sight was replaced in the schedule with the 2017 movie Transformers: The Last Knight with 231,000 watching.

Seven’s My Kitchen Rules: The Rivals got some clearer air last night with no MAFS or Survivor All Stars up against it. The numbers climbed a little to just over 500,000 which was enough to win the slot.

An hour of Modern Family followed with 255,000 and 185,000 for the two episodes.

The Project featured Olivia Newton-John and her daughter and Dancing with the Stars contestant Chloe Lattanzi in an episode that did 433,000 after 7pm.

Ambulance Australia pushed the numbers a little higher to 485,000 which ranked it between MKRand RBT.

Law & Order: SVUrated 286,000 after 8.30pm.

At 8pm Doctor Who was on 212,000 which must make it hard to maintain an 8pm ABC timeslot.

British panel shows followed and lifted the audience with Would I Lie to You on 265,000 followed by QI on 264,000.

Britain’s most Viking town – York – was featured in an SBS repeat of Britain’s Most Historic Towns with 214,000.

Two episodes of Little Drummer Girl followed with an average of 103,000 across the two hours.