Mason has more than ten years of print and digital experience. Prior to joining Are Media, Mason worked at Broadsheet Media as content director, Pedestrian Group as managing editor and senior style and features editor, and was editor of News Corp’s Primped.com.au. 

For more than two years she worked at Pacific Magazines as features and beauty editor for Girlfriend and Total Girl and began her career at Bauer Media (now Are Media) where she was a beauty writer.

Her career came full circle with her return to Are Media and Mason told Mediaweek it has been a whirlwind but a good one and described the role as her dream job.

“I always really wanted to work in women’s lifestyle exclusively. I came from a background of being a beauty editor and a fashion editor and had a foray in youth, but I never used all of my skills directly to just women’s lifestyle.

“These two jobs are amazing fashion legacy titles with international recognition of being at the front of the fashion game and for talking to women in a smart way, and I thought that is where I have to be.”

Digital focus

Mason said that while she wanted to work in magazines the fact that it was a digital-only role drew her to the job.

“I have a magazine background, but I think digital is where I have really grown and set my career. I wanted to bring my background and experience to these two titles.”

Managing ELLE and marie claire

Mason is splitting her time evenly between the two brands with both sharing the same team of writers, with Mason’s team completely separate from the magazine staff.

“I thought having the one team would be a confusing element, but it makes for great content. The team has worked on both brands since they became part of Are Media and they are able to differentiate between what feels like an ELLE story and what feels like a marie claire story. It is a case of day-to-day and ensuring that both sites are receiving equal love.”

Mason said she sees the two as sister sites, but both have their own distinctive and separate brands.

“ELLE skews slightly younger and marie claire skews slightly older but both have a strong interest in style, curation and considered content. It is a case of ensuring I am not leaning too much one way or another.”

Working with the magazine team

While ELLE is digital-only marie claire has two separate teams – one for the website and one for the magazine. Mason said that while these are separate products she works closely with marie Claire editor Nicky Briger to make sure the site reflects the same core values as the magazine.

“There is definite synergy with marie claire digital and print but they are separate entities within the business, sometimes the print team will contribute to the website but that is not their main focus.”

ELLE’s transition to digital

With ELLE ceasing its print version in 2020 Mason said that the now digital-only product won’t change what the ELLE brand is.

“We still have a really good relationship with Lagardère, which is the international owner of ELLE, and are already discussing with them ways that we can tap into content from around the world that Australians love. We are still going to bring readers longer reads, articles that inspire the reader, and give them shopping intel.

“The digital space is so different now and there was the thought that everything digital had to be quick hit pieces, but more and more we are seeing readers want to engage with longer original content. We will continue to do what the magazine did, but this will be the digital version of that.”

Lessons from Pedestrian

Mason admits that her new crop of sites and Pedestrian TV could not be more different, and while people might ask if she is going turn the sites into another Pedestrian, she can confirm that’s not the case. Although Mason admits she will borrow some lessons from her time there.

“Pedestrian at its core does really well at engaging its readers. The reason for that is that we were doing conversational headlines and you wanted to tag your friends in those headlines and then read the article.

“I will be focusing on tone and using this team of writers and their writing skills to bring that tone out of the site. There is the opportunity to grab people with headlines and to give them content that they will read to the end because they love the voice of these sites.”

Goals for ELLE and marie claire

Mason acknowledged that both brands were doing well before she took her role, one of her goals for this year was to make a clearer distinction between ELLE and marie claire.

“With ELLE I would like to continue the great work but bring in longer conversational content. Examples could be Man RepELLEr and The Cut, sites where people love fashion and beauty but want to talk about it not just be delivered the trends. ELLE has an amazing international tone of being irreverent and that little bit cheeky but also premium and whip smart.

“marie claire has already been doing this, so with its site I would like to do what ELLE has been really good at and bring in that curated style with how and where to shop for trends and how to incorporate them into your wardrobe.”

Mason said that she wants both sites to be considered go-to destinations for fashion shoppers.

“I want to make both sites shopping destinations. When you want to know what to buy’ these are the two sites you come to. You go to ELLE for that trend driven addition and you go to marie claire to understand how to make that capsule wardrobe for your work life.”

The Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts Paul Fletcher needs to be across a lot in his portfolio. In the past few days he has been meeting with film director Ron Howard on the set of his movie Thirteen Lives in Queensland, helping celebrate World Radio Day and extolling the virtues of Sydney’s new Western Sydney Airport and the Ipswich Motorway Upgrade which he visited.

He has squeezed in a meeting with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and conducted a swag of interviews including CNBC and he will be on Q+A tomorrow.

Paul Fletcher also delivered a keynote one day one of SPA’s virtual Screen Forever conference yesterday.

The sector might have been hoping for news about mandating investment levels for SVOD and AVOD services operating in Australia, but there are no dates yet about legislative action.

The minister started reminding his audience of the changing patterns of video content consumption.

“We’ve seen challenges within our domestic market with advertising-based business models unable to deliver the returns necessary to justify investment in many genres of media content,” said Fletcher.

“While free to air television maintains a strong hold on news and current affairs viewership, the overall audience for linear free to air television has declined at an annual rate of 6 per cent from 2014 to 2019. We’re now seeing people increasingly turning to online subscription services to access genres like drama, comedy, action and documentary. The shift is particularly stark in younger age groups.

“In the first quarter of 2020 almost 70 per cent of Australians aged over 14 used a description video on demand service, up from just over 20 per cent in the first quarter of 2016.”

The minister noted the FTA TV business model has been fundamentally challenged by the arrival of the streaming services with the flow-on consequences for the screen production sector.

Fletcher noted the Government understands action is needed. “Because the way that Australians consume screen content is changing we need to make sure that our incentives and our regulations are changing as well. As new ways of delivering content have continued to expand the market, the government has faced a choice – we could sit here and do nothing, but the prognosis for the screen sector in Australia would be quite grim.

“We could sit back and simply watch while the variety of Australian content declines, jobs are lost and fewer Australian voices and stories are heard. Alternatively, we could engage with the opportunities that change presents and set out to preserve the vibrancy and quality of the Australian screen sector.

“For me, the choice was very clear: we needed to lean in and take action rather than sitting back and doing nothing. The Australian screen sector, after all, plays an important role in creating jobs and stimulating the economy just as, and arguably even more importantly, it plays a vital role in shaping Australia’s national identity and in reflecting the diversity of our population.”

See also: Make It Australian: Screen creatives call for action on local content

For those who might think the government has been inactive, the minister reminded them: “In 2019-20, $439 million in funding was delivered, supporting content production, the promotion of Australia as a film destination and the training of screen practitioners.”

The minister then got around to recapping action the government has planned: “As part of the reform agenda we’re proposing to introduce a new class of commercial television broadcasting licence. The proposal is that this new licence would continue to be subject to the 55 per cent overall Australian content requirement and the new more flexible sub-quota arrangements for children’s drama and documentary content which took effect from 1 January this year. The system would be designed to encourage broadcasters to invest in the content that their audiences want while providing incentives for high-value production.

“The green paper also contains a proposal that large subscription video on demand services – or SVODS – and advertising video on demand services – or AVODS – which operate in Australia should be required to invest a proportion of their Australian revenues in Australian content. This proposal would support the continuing creation of Australian stories on our screens as SVOD and AVOD services grow in popularity with Australian consumers. At the moment SVODs and AVODs face no regulatory requirement to provide Australian content.”

Why the delay? “These reforms, as set out in the green paper, are significant and complex and there will be a development process, including interaction with the media sector, the broadcasting sector and the screen sector as we develop and refine these ideas before we are in a position to consider legislating them,” explained Paul Fletcher.

Radio plays an important part of everyday life over the holiday season, with GfK’s 2021 Summer Listening Report showing that Australians are more likely to listen to media than watch it over summer.

Radio was particularly important to younger people, with nearly one in two listeners aged between 10 and 24 saying they would “feel lost” if they couldn’t listen to radio for a week.

Overall, nine out of 10 radio listeners said they listened to radio as much or more over summer, a figure that has held stable over the past four years of the survey.

“Radio serves a critical role during the summer months as a medium that listeners can turn to 24/7 to meet their needs for information, entertainment and companionship,” said Joan Warner, chief executive officer of industry body Commercial Radio Australia.

“For advertisers, radio reaches audiences while they are travelling or at their holiday destination, at a time when they have more time to consider purchases.”

The study, which was conducted nationally from January 12 to 28, found that 93% of listeners consider radio a valuable source of information over summer and nine out of 10 agreed that radio gives them ideas or inspiration about things to see and do.

Respondents also said radio made them feel happy while they were off work and enhanced time spent with family and friends.

Sixty-three percent of all people aged 10+ and almost three in four radio listeners said they are more likely to listen to media than watch it in summer.

With more people travelling over the period, 62% of radio listeners and 35% of people who don’t usually listen to radio, tuned in at their holiday destination.

For younger audiences aged 10 to 24, 29% said they spent more time listening to radio in the car and almost half listened to radio via smartphones.

Radio also fulfills an important role for those alone over the holiday period. The survey showed that 70% percent of listeners said radio is a “great companion”, 57% agreed radio makes them feel more connected to the local community, and 72% percent of those aged 55 to 64 described radio as “like an old friend”.

Netflix’s latest made in Australia title will be Surviving Summer, a 10 episode drama series being produced with Werner Film Productions and ZDF Enterprises.  

The show revolves around Summer Torres who is a fierce Brooklyn teen who’s just been sent to Australia to live with family friends the Gibsons, in a tiny coastal town on the Great Ocean Road. Ari Gibson is an introverted but ambitious young surfer returning to competitive surfing after a life-threatening injury. Summer’s about to spend the next three months falling in love with surfing, driving Ari crazy… and upending everyone’s lives.

Three-time Emmy nominated producer Joanna Werner will be the Executive Producer/Producer and has produced Dance Academy, H2O: Just Add Water, and Clickbait.

Werner said:  “I am so excited to start filming Surviving Summer all along the Great Ocean Road at some of the most stunning beach locations in the world.  We have assembled an amazing crew and cast who have been training hard to get ready for what will be an incredibly exciting and demanding shoot with drama, surfing, skating, stunts and more.  Fingers crossed for some great surf conditions and for a safe and fun shoot!”

The series is supported by Film Victoria and will shoot in regional Victoria March through April 2021. ZDF Enterprises are co-producers and will handle worldwide sales outside Netflix rights territories.

The Cast and Characters:

• SUMMER TORRES (Sky Katz, USA) (Raven’s Home) is a 15-year-old force of nature – expelled from school in New York and sent to the Australian coast, she finds herself giving up her skateboard and falling in love with surfing.

• ARI GIBSON (Kai Lewins, AUS) (Wild Boys, Carlotta) is completely obsessed with surfing, but a serious injury a year ago has shaken his confidence and put a dent in his dream to make the State team. His life is about to be changed again when rebellious Summer walks in.

• BODHI JOHNSON (Savannah La Rain, AUS) (Content, the soon to be released Bosch & Rockit) is the calming centre of the group. Since being picked up by a major sponsor, she’s been cultivating her social media profile – but that image is a cover for a lot of self-doubt.

• MARLON SOUSA (Joao Gabriel Marinho, BRA) (Malhação) has a wisecrack for every situation. Out in the water, he’s a showman, talented and flashy – but he’s got a strong competitive streak and when things don’t go his way, he tends to blame everyone but himself.

• POPPY TETANUI (Lilliana Bowrey, AUS) (5 X’s QLD Junior State Surf Champion) is chatty, funny, outgoing – and more determined than ever to achieve her dream of one day becoming world champion. But she’s carrying a heavy weight after the recent death of her mother and will have to rediscover what drew her to surfing in the first place, or she risks burning out completely.

GroupM has named Claire Butterworth as Interim General Manager of Investment.

Butterworth will take on key responsibilities to lead GroupM’s investment and partnerships function, following the departure of former Chief Investment Officer Nicola Lewis, who moved to a global role within GroupM’s Addressable TV business Finecast.

Butterworth was previously Chief Investment Officer at GroupM agency MediaCom and will transition into a group role and report to CEO Mark Lollback.

She will work closely with the CEOs and investment leads in GroupM’s agencies, Mindshare, MediaCom, Wavemaker, and Essence, as well as the broader digital and investment community across the group, driving value for clients and ensuring GroupM clients continue to benefit from the very best, modern investment and partnership services.

Mark Lollback, GroupM Australia & New Zealand CEO says: “With more than 15 years’ experience in senior investment and trading, Claire is fantastically placed to lead investment as we build a new future fit structure across GroupM and I’m really excited to welcome her into this role. Claire previously worked at Wavemaker before joining MediaCom, and already works closely with the wider investment community across all GroupM agencies, and has strong relationships with our media vendors, so we know GroupM Investment is in good hands coming into 2021.” 

Butterworth will continue to work closely with the MediaCom investment team.

GroupM invests US$50 Billion each year on behalf of their clients, globally, and represents 1 in 3 ads in the global marketplace. Guided by brand safety, leading privacy principles and premium relationships with global and local media vendors, we put money against goals that move businesses forward.

Earlier this month, Finecast, GroupM’s addressable TV business, announced several senior appointments to strengthen its operations and client teams in line with its growth.

Matt Stephens wasappointed Head of Client Engagement. He has more than 13 years in advertising sales and leadership positions in Television and media. He joins from SBS where he spent the last 6 years leading the NSW Sales Team across TV and Digital, including its BVOD platform. Before that he spent 4.5 years with MCN/Foxtel Media. 

Georgina Fox was named as Head of Operations. She will be responsible for managing supply partnerships for Finecast and leading the operations team that implements all Addressable TV campaigns at GroupM.

Stan Sport and Nine have announced former Wallabies great David Campese and former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika are joining its new Rugby commentary team. 

Michael Cheika was the World Rugby Coach of the Year in 2015 and remains the only coach in Rugby to have claimed major provincial titles in both the northern and southern hemispheres, coaching Leinster to the Heineken Cup title in 2009 and the Waratahs to the Super Rugby title in 2014.

David Campese, renowned as one of the greatest players to ever play the game, starred in 101 Test matches for Australia, and redefined the way Rugby was played. He remains one of the most recognised players in the world.

Led by distinguished Rugby hosts and journalists Roz Kelly and Nick McArdle, Stan Sport’s new commentary lineup also features former Wallabies Tim Horan, Morgan Turinui, Drew Mitchell, and Justin Harrison, in addition to All Blacks legend Andrew Mehrtens and former dual-code international star Allana Ferguson.

Experienced commentators Sean Maloney and Andrew Swain are also on board to call every kick, try and tackle this year.

Campese and Cheika join the stacked commentary lineup as featured experts and will deliver analysis and insight into the game – drawn from their years of experience playing and coaching at Rugby’s highest level.

David Campese said: “I’m really looking forward to getting back into live Rugby commentary and to passing on my knowledge and analysis to the informed and passionate Australian Rugby community. It’s the start of a new era with Stan Sport and I’m grateful to be part of it”

Michael Cheika said: “I am excited about how Australians will be watching Rugby as the game moves into a new era with Stan Sport and Nine. I’m eager to get started with the new Stan commentary team and to share my passion for Rugby with loyal fans and newcomers alike. We’ll be bringing greater coverage to the game, with deeper insight into every match – from Rugby’s grassroots soul all the way to the brilliance of the international level.”

Stan recently announced its add-on Sport package will be available for $10 a month and is the only place to watch every match. Viewers can enjoy Rugby ad-free, live and on demand and can pre-activate the Sport package now to get a 30-day free trial for a limited time only. The 30-day free trial will start when Stan Sport launches. 

Unsurprisingly, WandaVision continues to enjoy its time at the top of the charts this week, placing number one on all four charts across Australia and New Zealand. 

The series, which has released over half of the episodes that make up its first season now, is giving audiences more and more action by the week. It was arguably a risky move to release a series that started in the charming yet “weird” way WandaVision did, and hope that people will stick with it long enough to see the story unfold, but it’s a move that has paid off handsomely for Marvel. With The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to be released on March 19, Loki to be released in May, and Ms. Marvel scheduled for release in late 2021, it’s a good sign of things to come for Marvel and Disney+.

At 51.8 points above market average this week on the Australian overall charts, no other show is currently coming close to WandaVision.

The Mandalorian is still holding on to its second place position, despite the season finale of the most recent season airing in December of last year. Whilst the pre-production of a third season may have helped keep The Mandalorian at the pointy end of the charts, it’s also a testament to the immense popularity and staying power of the Star Wars franchise.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars took the tenth spot on the Australian digital originals list this week, in another win for Disney+. The next addition to the Star Wars universe, The Book of Boba Fett, is due for release in December this year. 

The Crown and The Flight Attendant have stayed in the top ten digital originals, seeing a boost from their nominations in The Golden Globes last week. While The Crown moved up a spot from seventh to sixth, The Flight Attendant dipped down a spot from eighth to ninth. 

Primetime News
Seven News 1,057,000 (6:00 pm)/991,000 (6:30 pm)
Nine News 899,000 (6:00 pm)/882,000 (6:30 pm)
ABC News 696,000
10 News First 363,000 (5:00 pm)/249,000 (6:00 pm)
SBS World News 186,000

Daily current affairs
7.30 520,000
The Project 287,000 (6:30 pm)/496,000 (7:00 pm)
The Drum 173,000

Breakfast TV
Sunrise 254,000
Today 211,000
News Breakfast 195,000

Late Night News
ABC Late News 72,000

Nine has won its ninth day in a row thanks in large part to the performance of the Australian Open. The broadcaster had a primary share of 24.5% and a network share of 32.6% which were both comfortably #1.

The Australian Open’s first night session averaged 668,000 and was #1 in 16-39. The highlight of the night was Novak Djokovic defeating Alexander Zverev with a metro audience of 440,000.

On Seven, Holey Moley had 436,000 which was down on the 469,000 that the show had last Tuesday night, and was the lowest metro average the show has produced this year.

In the episode, police officer and dragon boat racer, Teresa Thoi, blitzed her opponents with an arresting display of golfing skills to take home the plaid jacket and golden putter locking in her spot in the Grand Final. 

Teresa Thoi

Following Holey Moley was The Good Doctor with the US drama receiving 300,000 viewers, which was up on last week’s 284,000.

On 10 The Amazing Race Australia had 554,000 which was an increase to the 510,000 from last Tuesday. The show was #1 in 18-49 and 25-54.

The Amazing Race was in Alice Springs and The Footy Mates had the power to dish out a Salvage and Sabotage. The Salvage was awarded to The Kimberley Cousins who scored their own driver for the duration of the leg, while The Super Sikhs, who got handed the Sabotage, were forced to carry a large stuffed kangaroo for the leg. Luckily for the underperforming teams, it was a non-elimination leg.

On The Project, the panel discussed Canberra’s toxic culture and met Tana the rock ‘n roll roadie. The 6:30 pm slot had 287, while 7:00 pm had 496,000.

On the ABC 7:30 had 520,000 as Leigh Sales interviewed Bill Gates. This was followed by Foreign Correspondent with 398,000, and then Catalyst with 296,000.

SBS aired Great Continental Railway Journeys with 205,000 viewers tuning in.