Wednesday November 14, 2018
Network 10 appoints Sydney Sales Director
10 has released the following statement on Ho’s appointment:
Ms Ho joins 10 from the Seven Network where she has worked for over 14 years in various sales positions, most recently as Head of Digital Sales, Sydney. She will start at 10 in February 2019 and report to 10’s soon-to-be-announced National Sales Director.
Network 10’s Chief Sales Officer Rod Prosser said: “We’re so excited to be welcoming Di to 10. Di is the epitome of what we are creating at 10. Not only is she a skilled sales person with solid broadcast experience, she also has extensive digital experience, making her a perfect candidate to be 10’s new Sydney Sales Director. Above all, she is a dynamic leader who is highly connected to the Sydney market. I’m looking forward to her joining our already stellar line-up of market sales leaders.”
The Sydney Sales Director announcement follows the appointments of Damon Jackson as Melbourne Sales Director, Angela Neville as Brisbane Sales Director, Cameron Mudge as Adelaide Sales Director and Paul Townsend as Perth Sales Director. Grant Madigan was recently appointed Head of Commerce and Sales Operations while Nisar Malik was named Sport Sales Director.
Ms Ho said: “I am thrilled to be joining 10 at this exciting time for the business. The plans Rod has and the great local leadership team they are building, backed by an international broadcasting giant in CBS, is something I am privileged and thrilled to be part of. I look forward to drawing on my broadcast and digital experience to drive strong outcomes for brands, advertisers and media agencies as part of 10’s exciting new future.”
Ms Ho started her sales career at Seven in 2004. She was appointed Group Sales Manager in 2009 before being promoted to Sydney Sales Manager in 2015. She took on the role as Head of Screens in 2016 responsible for Seven’s digital platform sales and transitioned to Head of Digital Sales, Sydney in 2017.
GfK Radio Ratings 7 Summary
Market by Market analysis:
• Sydney
• Melbourne
• Brisbane
• Adelaide
• Perth
Sydney
• Superstar hosts missing on year’s penultimate survey day
• But AJ and K&J keep 2GB and KIIS #1 in breakfast
• smoothfm new #1 FM station as WSFM ratings tumble
• Ratings up at 2Day and at Triple M Grill Team breakfast
• Drive: Will & Woody surge – but Kate, Tim & Marty still #1
Loading...
Reload document
Open in new tab
Melbourne
• 3AW market’s biggest mover with all timeslots powering
• smoothfm win gives Nova Ent FM lock on major markets
• Here comes Christian O’Connell: Gold equal #2, breakfast lifts
• Drive: Hughesy & Kate further ahead at Fox, Kennedy Molloy up
Loading...
Brisbane
• Triple M win #1 overall + Marto, Robin and Moonman #1 breakfast
• Drive: Hit’s Hughesy and Kate overhaul Kate, Tim & Marty lead
Loading...
Adelaide
• Major moves, but Mix still #1 overall and Fiveaa breakfast leader
• Cruise 1323 hits double figures, out-rates Triple M, Nova and Hit
• Drive: Will & Woody maintain lead ahead of Kate, Tim & Marty
Loading...
Perth
• Musical chairs continue: Nova again #1, breakfast busts above 15%
• Drive: Kate, Tim & Marty hold top spot, Hughesy & Kate improve
Loading...
Australia’s #1 news website news.com.au unveils new homepage
News.com.au general manager Melissa Overman explained: “Today we launch a refreshed news.com.au desktop homepage as part of an ongoing product evolution program. The improved user experience provides readers with a new simplified, clean and wide screen format. The page has been built to improve performance and support increased consumer browser habits on larger format screens. It looks great and importantly has been created to offer a premium and more immersive reader experience, which will in turn lift engagement on the site.
“Growing market demands on viewability means we need to deliver inventory of the highest value to our clients. The new homepage includes adhesive, position one, ad formats, which achieve 80% or more in viewability metrics, along with streamlined ad formats. We’ve boosted support for our native product with additional placements to drive audience growth for News Native Networks content.
“With consumer behaviour changing, in terms of people wanting to go directly to the source versus the sideways trend of consumption, we felt that it was the right time to enhance the site for our consumers and advertisers.”
News.com.au editor-in-chief Kate de Brito added: “News.com.au has been the number one news website in Australia for 39 consecutive months. We have maintained this leadership position by catering to our readers’ huge appetite for breaking news, politics, entertainment, finance and lifestyle content. A third of our readers come directly to the news.com.au homepage multiple times a day, making news.com.au a habitual, must-read destination for more than 9.8 million readers every month. To continue to evolve to meet the needs of our audience, this homepage refresh is the next step in helping our readers find the news they want, when they want it.”
Following an extensive program of work, News DNA’s product and UX teams invested months gathering data, extracting insights and examining the local and global market. New widescreen designs were rigorously beta tested by homepage editors and consumers.
Feedback from the millions of Australians who use news.com.au every month helped to deliver an intuitive consumer experience. Consumers responded positively to the premium design, liked the evolved advertising placements and felt that the content discoverability had improved significantly.
The new news.com.au homepage includes:
• A new simplified, clean and wide screen format.
• New content layout, larger images and a centre aligned logo.
• Improved user experience with improved content discoverability and faster load times.
The ultimate reality show: 60 Minutes superstars gather for anniversary
By James Manning
The celebration comes just three weeks before a special 40th anniversary edition of the show goes to air on Sunday December 2.
Guests at the anniversary celebration saw a four-minute highlight reel that features original executive producer Gerald Stone and founding reporters through to members of the current team.
Longtime 60 Minutes reporter Liz Hayes said on the episode that 60 Minutes is “the ultimate reality show”.
Nine Entertainment CEO Hugh Marks found time in possibly his busiest week ever to host the event. (Marks has the Nine Entertainment AGM this week and then continues working on Fairfax Media merger plans ahead of the Fairfax Media shareholder vote next Monday.)
“A show that has been around for 40 years says a lot about the people who have been involved in that journey,” said Marks.
“On behalf of Nine and its management, past and present, we want to say thank you. It’s a show that contributes so much to this business, to our industry and to television. It can’t be forgotten and it shouldn’t be underestimated.
“Without wishing to ignore all the good work done by people over the decades, I want to focus on the people who work at 60 Minutes today. The people who have longevity in this industry are constantly able to reinvent what they do.
“We are very proud at Nine to have 60 Minutes on the register. We will always have a debate about the start time, and I am sure I will get a few people reminding me how successful it was at 7pm Sunday this week.
“The show works in all timeslots and it works for a reason… the people in this room who contribute to what makes an iconic show.”
Marks noted that around 10% of people watching are doing so on 9Now. Therefore they are not counted in the OzTAM overnight numbers.
He added: “It is one of our most successful shows on YouTube. And one of our only shows on YouTube that writes good revenue.”
Also speaking to guests was the current executive producer of the show Kirsty Thomson. She noted the main reason the audiences keep coming back – “the stories that we tell”. She had calculated that a total audience of 160m had watched 60 Minutes content this year across digital, social and television.
Thomson paid tribute to all the show’s editors and producers. “Our camera crews and sound recordists over the years have spent at least six months of every single year away from their families, as they lugged camera and recording gear around the world.”
She also noted the great work from the reporters who travelled the world and after studying their subjects had to come up with the one question no one else would dare ask in an interview.
Thomson also had a special thank you for the CEO. “I know you didn’t think your first year as CEO would be completely dominated by 60 Minutes, but it was, and you were amazing.” (A reference to the 2016 Beirut kidnap scandal.)
She also mentioned the continued support from Nine’s director of television Michael Healey and national director of news and current affairs Darren Wick, who she described as “passionate advocates for the program”. She also gave a shout out to the 60 Minutes legal team who kept the show on air each week.
Thomson then introduced a promo for the 40th anniversary special coming on December 2, which has been put together by Nine’s Stephen Taylor and Jess Burton.
“And a special thank you to [director of comms and PR] Vic Buchan who is a fan and for calling me on Sundays to tell me what she thinks of it.”
Her final good wishes went to Gerald Stone, Ian Leslie, George Negus, Ray Martin and Jana Wendt: “Thank you so much for starting this show and for continuing after that difficult first episode. Thank you so much for not getting axed. It has enabled so many of us to have our dream jobs and we owe it all to you.”
60 Minutes originals on hand included executive producer Gerald Stone plus his reporters George Negus, Ray Martin and Ian Leslie.
Other guests included Jana Wendt, Jeff McMullen, Ellen Fanning, Peter Overton (who made a dash to the event after reading the evening news bulletin) and Michael Usher.
All of the current reporting team were on hand – Liz Hayes, Allison Langdon, Tara Brown, Charles Wooley, Liam Bartlett and Tom Steinfort.
Current Nine executives included program director Hamish Turner, head of content production and development Adrian Swift and the recently returned former director of news and current affairs Mark Llewellyn.
There was also a room brimming with current and former staff including producers Jonathan Harley (now with Twitter) and Bryce Corbett.
Gallery:
Isentia CEO Ed Harrison makes appointments to executive team
Following an extensive executive search, Paul Russell (pictured) has been appointed Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Kelly Young (pictured) Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and Peter McClelland Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Ed Harrison, Isentia Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, said the new leadership will bring fresh perspectives to the business as it continues to innovate.
“The demand for media intelligence continues to grow in size and complexity. We want to move faster and meet the evolving needs of our clients through innovation and, to do that, we need a strong leadership team that can bring all the pieces together. We’re delighted to have secured such high-quality talent, bringing a broad range of skills, business acumen and industry experience that will be critical to our future success,” Harrison said.
“Isentia has a longstanding reputation as a technology leader and, with a new leadership team in place, we have the opportunity to cement our position as the leading media intelligence company in Asia-Pacific. Paul, Peter and Kelly are proven and well-respected leaders who bring fresh perspectives and new capabilities that will positively impact our products, our clients and our people.”
Paul Russell was most recently CTO at Yahoo7, where he transformed the technology function of the business, building innovative products while reducing costs. He has held numerous CIO and technology leadership roles at companies including Salmat, Network Ten and Fairfax Digital. He joined Isentia on November 7, 2018.
Commenting on his appointment, Russell said: “This is an exciting time to join Isentia. I’m looking forward to working with Ed and the rest of the team to accelerate the digital transformation of our services and have the opportunity to progress how we do business in the future.”
Kelly Young joins from Bauer Media where she held the role of People and Culture Director. She has deep experience on the frontline of business transformation and in building performance cultures. Having held numerous senior HR roles in various divisions at Fairfax Media, Young has also led numerous organisational development programs. She will join Isentia on January 7, 2019.
On her appointment, Young said: “I am thrilled to be joining Ed and the Isentia team and delighted to be working alongside some great people.”
Peter McClelland has many years’ experience in finance, operations and strategy across a range of industry sectors, including market-leading media and retail companies. He was most recently CFO at Velocity Frequent Flyers and previously held roles as CFO and COO at out-of-home advertising company oOh! Media and CFO at Luxottica Group. He will join Isentia on February 18, 2019.
McClelland said: “I am excited to be joining the Asia Pacific region’s leading media intelligence company. I look forward to working with Ed and his team, and bringing my financial, operational and strategic expertise to effect change, and build growth in the business.”
Guy Sebastian returns to reality TV – this time on The Voice
The announcement was made on Nine’s Today show this morning.
In 2003 Sebastian became the first winner of Australian Idol. He shot to fame with his first solo single, Angels Brought Me Here, which debuted at number one and was the fastest-selling Australian single in ARIA chart history.
Guy Sebastian joins returning coaches Kelly Rowland, Boy George and fellow Aussie Delta Goodrem to complete the lineup of superstar coaches on season 8 of The Voice. This will be the first time since season one that the famous red chairs have been home to two Australian coaches.
“I’m really pumped to join the panel of coaches on the new season of The Voice,” Sebastian said. “Being a musician over the last 15 years has been an extremely fulfilling time. I love that I can share my experience with some new aspiring artists so we can inject some fresh talent into the music industry.
“I am really looking forward to representing Australia with the amazing Delta against the music history-makers Kelly and George – what a way to start 2019!”
Nine’s director of television Michael Healy said: “Guy Sebastian is one of Australia’s biggest hitmakers and a hugely accomplished musician. We would like to welcome him to The Voice family to join fellow Aussie Delta, Kelly Rowland and Boy George in competing to coach a new crop of the best new singers in the land.”
Sebastian has had a big impact on the Australian and international music scene. He is the only Australian male artist in chart history to have six number one singles and two number one albums, as well as becoming the first Australian to perform at the Eurovision Song Contest, in 2015.
Sebastian has released 11 top 10 singles and three top 15 singles, six of which have achieved multiplatinum certification, including the 11-time platinum Battle Scars. It featured Lupe Fiasco and spent 20 weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as going platinum in the USA – making Sebastian one of the few Australian artists with this achievement.
The Voice Australia, hosted by Sonia Kruger, will return to Nine in 2019. The program is produced by ITV Australia.
TV Ratings Analysis: November 13
By James Manning
Seven
After starting its week on 676,000, Home And Away Tuesday did 612,000.
Bride & Prejudice is really starting to get some critical momentum, with one report today comparing it to the best in class Married At First Sight. Izzy and Simon’s relationship unravelled with a broken engagement. Simon last night admitted his mind was on other things. “If Izzy didn’t end it tonight, I would have. I don’t care. I don’t give a shit! I’m not showing any emotion because I’m not feeling any. I’m glad that it ended.” The episode did 653,000 after 668,000 on Monday and 744,000 on Tuesday last week.
The Good Doctor then sealed Seven’s Tuesday win with 602,000 after 677,000 a week ago.
Nine
Workers revolting against poor conditions and the best arm candy were both part of A Current Affair, which was on 694,000.
The second episode of Family Food Fight this week did 419,000 after 384,000 on Monday and 403,000 last Tuesday.
Two episodes of The Big Bang Theory then did 475,000 and 425,000.
Two episodes of Kath & Kim followed on 237,000 and 212,000.
TEN
The Project reported on the reopening of Pellegrini’s, the death of Stan Lee and UFO boss Dana White was on the show from Sydney. The episode was on 414,000 after 433,000 on Monday.
Ambulance Australia then did 539,000 after 520,000 last week. It was 10’s second most-watched show nationally last week and its fourth in metro markets.
US crime night time then with FBI on 291,000 and NCIS: Los Angeles doing 201,000.
ABC
The final episode of Ask The Doctor was on 400,000 after 391,000 a week ago.
The final instalment of Barrenjoey Road then did 374,000 after the first two episodes had audiences of 409,000 and 410,000.
SBS
The second episode of Child Genius did 219,000 after launching on 213,000 on Monday.
Marc Fennell then hosted an episode of Insight on gifted children with 238,000 watching.
Week 46 TV: Tuesday
| TUESDAY METRO | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Seven | Nine | 10 | SBS | |||||
| ABC | 11.1% | 7 | 21.7% | 9 | 16.7% | 10 | 11.7% | SBS One | 5.4% |
| ABC 2 | 3.1% | 7TWO | 3.0% | GO! | 4.3% | 10 Peach | 3.3% | VICELAND | 1.9% |
| ABC ME | 1.1% | 7mate | 5.0% | GEM | 2.6% | 10 Boss | 2.0% | Food Net | 1.0% |
| ABC NEWS | 1.8% | 7flix | 2.1% | 9Life | 2.1% | NITV | 0.2% | ||
| TOTAL | 17.0% | 31.8% | 25.6% | 17.0% | 8.5% | ||||
| TUESDAY REGIONAL | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Seven Affiliates | Nine Affiliates | 10 Affiliates | SBS | |||||
| ABC | 9.9% | 7 | 22.4% | 9 | 12.6% | WIN | 12.0% | SBS One | 4.8% |
| ABC 2 | 3.5% | 7TWO | 4.2% | GO! | 5.0% | ONE | 3.1% | VICELAND | 2.0% |
| ABC ME | 1.3% | 7mate | 6.7% | GEM | 4.6% | ELEVEN | 1.7% | Food Net | 1.0% |
| ABC NEWS | 1.6% | 7flix | 1.0% | 9Life | 1.6% | Sky News on WIN | 0.8% | NITV | 0.3% |
| TOTAL | 16.3% | 34.3% | 23.8% | 17.6% | 7.8% | ||||
| TUESDAY METRO ALL TV | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTA | STV | ||||||||
| 84.5% | 15.5% | ||||||||
TUESDAY FTA
- Seven News / Today Tonight Seven 908,000
- Seven News Seven 906,000
- Nine News Nine 828,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 812,000
- ABC News ABC 709,000
- A Current Affair Nine 694,000
- Bride & Prejudice – The Forbidden Weddings Seven 653,000
- 7.30 ABC 612,000
- Home And Away Seven 612,000
- The Good Doctor Seven 602,000
- Ambulance Australia 10 539,000
- The Big Bang Theory Nine 475,000
- The Chase Australia Seven 456,000
- Hot Seat Nine 448,000
- The Big Bang Theory – (R) Nine 425,000
- Family Food Fight Nine 419,000
- The Project 7pm 10 414,000
- Ask The Doctor ABC 400,000
- Barrenjoey Road ABC 374,000
- 10 News First 10 350,000
Demo Top 5
16-39 Top Five
- Bride & Prejudice – The Forbidden Weddings Seven 174,000
- Ambulance Australia 10 133,000
- Home And Away Seven 128,000
- Seven News / Today Tonight Seven 112,000
- The Good Doctor Seven 105,000
18-49 Top Five
- Bride & Prejudice – The Forbidden Weddings Seven 283,000
- Ambulance Australia 10 213,000
- Seven News / Today Tonight Seven 197,000
- The Big Bang Theory Nine 195,000
- Home And Away Seven 193,000
25-54 Top Five
- Bride & Prejudice – The Forbidden Weddings Seven 317,000
- Seven News / Today Tonight Seven 254,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 245,000
- Ambulance Australia 10 244,000
- The Big Bang Theory Nine 239,000
TUESDAY Multichannel
- The Big Bang Theory Tx2 9GO! 178,000
- Highway Patrol-Ep.2 Pm 7mate 176,000
- Dino Dana ABCKIDS/COMEDY 174,000
- Andy’s Wild Adventures ABCKIDS/COMEDY 164,000
- The Big Bang Theory Tx1 9GO! 161,000
- Outback Opal Hunters PM 7mate 161,000
- Shaun The Sheep ABCKIDS/COMEDY 159,000
- Ben And Holly’s Little Kingdom ABCKIDS/COMEDY 157,000
- Luo Bao Bei ABCKIDS/COMEDY 155,000
- Mine Kings PM 7mate 151,000
- Highway Patrol PM 7mate 150,000
- Peter Rabbit ABCKIDS/COMEDY 147,000
- New Tricks 9Gem 139,000
- Bluey AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 134,000
- Rusty Rivets PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 129,000
- Octonauts ABCKIDS/COMEDY 128,000
- Pawn Stars PM 7mate 126,000
- Hey Duggee AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 126,000
- Go Jetters PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 125,000
- Spicks And Specks ABCKIDS/COMEDY 122,000
TUESDAY Subscription TV
- Paul Murray Live Sky News Live 66,000
- The Bolt Report Sky News Live 55,000
- Credlin Sky News Live 55,000
- Live: Football: Matildas V Chile FOX SPORTS 505 51,000
- Live: Back Page FOX SPORTS 503 46,000
- Bones TVH!TS 42,000
- Paw Patrol Nick Jr. 42,000
- Nella The Princess Knight Nick Jr. 42,000
- PML Overtime Sky News Live 37,000
- Credlin Sky News Live 36,000
- Criminal Minds TVH!TS 35,000
- NCIS TVH!TS 35,000
- Shimmer And Shine Nick Jr. 34,000
- Seinfeld 111 33,000
- Selling Houses Australia LifeStyle Channel 33,000
- Seinfeld 111 32,000
- Family Guy FOX8 32,000
- Two And A Half Men 111 31,000
- The Simpsons FOX8 30,000
- Curious George Nick Jr. 30,000
Shares all people, 6pm-midnight, Overnight (Live and AsLive), Audience numbers FTA metro, Sub TV national
Source: OzTAM and Regional TAM 2018. The Data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) without the prior written consent of OzTAM
Media News Roundup
Business of Media
News Corp Australia loses another key executive to New York
Just last year Susan Panuccio became News Corp’s chief financial officer in March 2017. She previously served as chief financial officer of News Corp Australia, beginning in September 2013, where she sat on the boards of News Limited, REA, Foxtel, Fox Sports Australia, Sky News and AAP.
Before joining News Corp Australia, Panuccio worked 11 years with the News UK business in various roles including chief financial officer, director of strategic program management and director of corporate planning.
More recently The Australian lost its media editor Darren Davidson to New York where he has taken up the position of editor-in-chief at Storyful.
Just this week William Lewis, chief executive officer, Dow Jones, and publisher, The Wall Street Journal, has revealed a new Australian poaching.
REA group manager corporate affairs & communications, Natalie Cerny (pictured), has been appointed chief communications officer for Dow Jones. Cerny will be based in New York and will oversee the global communications team, including internal communications and public relations.
She will start in her new position on January 14, 2019. As a result, her last day at REA Group will be Friday December 21, 2018.
Cerny has been with REA for four years, prior to that she was looking after PR, media and communications for the Australian Grand Prix Corporation out of Melbourne for four years.
Netflix of news: Inkl’s quest to make online news pay
Inkl, the brainchild of former Fairfax Media strategy director Gautam Mishra, uses the same model as fast-growing video-on-demand and music streaming services and is premised on two underlying trends in news media.
Firstly, the rise of streaming music and video services which are educating increasing numbers of people to pay something for content. Secondly a belief in the revival of an old newspaper “consumption life cycle”, which implies, as people enter their 30s, home ownership, career advancement and family life, this triggers a greater appetite for the sort of premium content delivered by news media – although not necessarily in print.
Inkl has already signed up a string of premium publishers including Fairfax Media, publisher of The Australian Financial Review, The Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, The Washington Post and The South China Morning Post.
News Brands
Four Corners: ABC news chief backs staff amid Guthrie-Milne fallout
“Staff and people across the organisation act with amazing integrity and professionalism every day,” Morris said in a Twitter post after the program aired on Monday night. “They’re devoted to serving our loyal audiences in the public interest.”
Emma Alberici rejected Milne’s and Guthrie’s comments on the program that “external career development opportunities” were discussed with her.
“I’ve been reporting business & economics for 27 yrs. In my 16 yrs at @abcnews no-one has ever spoken to me about ‘external career development opportunities’,” Alberici tweeted.
What Michelle Guthrie alleges may be ‘icky’ but it’s not harassment
So what about what former managing director of the ABC, Michelle Guthrie, complained about on TV [Monday] night?
The allegation, hotly denied, seems to be that the ABC chairman, Justin Milne, rubbed her back while they were out for dinner with other board members at the super-lux Sydney restaurant, Billy Kwong’s.
Guthrie described the behaviour as “inappropriate” and “unprofessional” and “icky.”
Incredibly, a lawyer had to get involved.
And so we are having to ask this question: is it sexual harassment to rub somebody’s back?
The answer should be obvious: depends who’s doing the rubbing and under what circumstances.
In this case?
Of course it’s not.
Miranda Devine: The problem with Guthrie’s latest ABC accusation
Guthrie blew any public sympathy for her sacking by the board when she made explosive allegations of “inappropriate touching” by Milne when he rubbed her back during a board dinner at Billy Kwong restaurant last year.
It is an allegation capable of destroying a man and not to be used lightly.
Milne vehemently denies the claim.
He couldn’t have been more adamant.
The Daily Telegraph: ABC leadership crisis consuming its staff
To those within the ABC – and there are far too many for the tasks required, given Australia’s relatively small population – management of the billion-dollar broadcaster is a big deal.
ABC staff obsess over the ABC board’s various announcements and initiatives, and follow closely any perceived political tactics employed by department bosses.
This is the unavoidable outcome of employing a heavily politicised workforce, which imagines its role to be far more important than merely presenting news, current affairs, music and entertainment. Many senior ABC figures frequently boast that the ABC is at the very core of Australian democracy.
Meanwhile, to the people who fund the ABC, it’s always just the same old ABC delivering the same low-rating output to the same primarily inner-city audience.
CNN sues President Trump and aides for barring reporter Jim Acosta
The lawsuit is a response to the White House’s suspension of Acosta’s press pass, known as a Secret Service “hard pass”, last week. The suit alleges that Acosta and CNN’s First and Fifth Amendment rights are being violated by the ban.
The suit was filed in US District Court in Washington, DC on Tuesday morning. It was docketed and assigned to Judge Timothy J Kelly, a Trump appointee. CNN is seeking a preliminary hearing as soon as possible.
Both CNN and Acosta are plaintiffs in the lawsuit. There are six defendants: Trump, chief of staff John Kelly, press secretary Sarah Sanders, deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine, Secret Service director Randolph Alles, and the Secret Service officer who took Acosta’s hard pass away last Wednesday.
The six defendants are all named because of their roles in enforcing and announcing Acosta’s suspension.
“This is not a step we have taken lightly. But the White House action is unprecedented,” CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker said in an internal memo to staff.
In a statement on Tuesday morning, CNN said it is seeking a preliminary injunction so that Acosta can return to the White House right away, and a ruling from the court preventing the White House from revoking Acosta’s pass in the future.
“CNN filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration this morning in DC District Court,” the statement read. “It demands the return of the White House credentials of CNN’s Chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta. The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acosta’s First Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process. We have asked this court for an immediate restraining order requiring the pass be returned to Jim, and will seek permanent relief as part of this process.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association said it “strongly supports CNN’s goal of seeing their correspondent regain a US Secret Service security credential that the White House should not have taken away in the first place.”
Audio
smoothfm Melbourne team celebrate ratings performance
In addition to leading the FM market overall, smoothfm is #1 FM in mornings with Ty Frost, in the evening with Cameron Daddo and on weekends. The More Music breakfast show with Mike Perso and Jennifer Hansen is Melbourne’s #1 FM breakfast. It trails Fox breakfast by less than a point.
The Fox winning FM breakfast team including Fifi Box, Brendan Fevola, Byron Cooke, Leon Sjogren, Thomas Green, Kaycee Frame, Charlotte Kelly and Ali Longhurst.
And as Brendan Fevola reminded Mediaweek yesterday, Fox’s Fifi, Fev and Byron has now been #1 FM breakfast for seven consecutive surveys in 2018.
The smoothfm cume audience is 9109,000 – an increase of 25,000 in survey 7.
The smoothfm Melbourne team take a drinks break: [L-R] Georgia Smith (smooth Events & Promotion Manager), Matthew Argoon (Commercial Producer Production), Kate Mason (Head of Music, smooth Network), Mike Perso and Jennifer Hansen (smoothfm 91.5 More Music Breakfast Show), Ty Frost (smoothfm Morning announcer), Lauren Saylor (smoothfm More Music Breakfast Show Producer), Amanda Selak (smoothfm Brand and Promotions Manager) and Alex Martin (smooth Network Imaging Manager).
2GB’s Alan Jones seeking treatment for severe back pain
“There are no more places left to inject me now,” the 77-year-old joked to The Daily Telegraph from his bed in St Vincent’s Hospital yesterday.
He was off-air for four months after surgery on his back and neck two years ago but fought back with exercise and Pilates.
“I hope it is not as bad as all that,” he said before another battery of tests.
“There is a reason for this but they cannot find that out.”
2GB’s Chris Smith had a little more detail for listeners this morning. He said Jones said doctors were hoping to treat the pain with medication rather than subjecting the radio host to more surgery.
Smith added Jones may be back on-air some time next week.
Television
Kicking Goals: Screentime scores second season of Playing For Keeps
Network 10 has confirmed Playing For Keeps is returning to television screens in 2019.
Network 10 said the second season will continue to lift the curtain on the seductive world of football’s elite, proving that when the cream of the crop fly high, they sometimes feel the heat.
Network 10 head of drama Rick Maier said: “We’re thrilled that Playing for Keeps has really found its place in the market. It’s become a bit of a sleeper hit in its first season, regularly delivering in key target demos, and 28-day catch-up numbers are at a record high. Expect more shocks, more frocks and more brilliance from this very excellent cast.”
Playing For Keeps features an ensemble cast including Madeleine West, Cece Peters, Annie Maynard, Olympia Valance, Isabella Giovinazzo and Jeremy Lindsay Taylor.
Playing For Keeps is a Screentime production for Network 10. Principal production investment from Screen Australia, with the assistance of Film Victoria.
Game of Thrones season 8 premiere date and teaser video revealed
The network announced Tuesday the final season will air in April – so it’s only five months away. HBO previously said the final season would air in the “first half” of 2019, so the actual season will start and finish well within that.
There is also now a video teasing the final season. Note: This does not contain any new footage, so it’s not a season 8 trailer. Instead, it sets the stage for the final season with footage from past seasons highlighting what various characters have done in their quest for survival and power.
The move launches HBO’s debut marketing effort for the show’s final season, a campaign titled #ForTheThrone.
Sports Media
Animal Planet boss appointed new Premier League chief executive
Bruce Buck, chairman of Chelsea and the Premier League’s nominations committee, said: “We are very pleased to appoint such a capable leader to this important role.
“We had a very strong field, but Susanna was the outstanding choice given her track record in managing complex businesses through transformation and digital disruption.
“She is a leading figure in the broadcasting industry, a proven business executive and a great developer of people. She is ideally suited to the role and we are confident she will be able to take the Premier League on to new heights.
“Richard Scudamore, having provided exceptional stewardship for almost 20 years, will leave us at the end of the year in great shape and with an excellent executive team and board able to fully support Susanna.”
Dinnage, commenting on her appointment, said: “I am excited at the prospect of taking on this fantastic role.
“The Premier League means so much to so many people. It represents the pinnacle of professional sport and the opportunity to lead such a dynamic and inspirational organisation is a great privilege.
“With the support of clubs and the team, I look forward to extending the success of the League for many years to come.
“The opportunity to lead such a dynamic and inspirational organisation is a great privilege.”
JB Perrette, President and CEO Discovery Networks International, said: “Susanna has been a terrific leader for Discovery over the last 10 years. She has a strong understanding of brands and running diverse media businesses both in the UK and more recently with Animal Planet globally.
“She has been a fantastic team-mate for all of us at Discovery and we are delighted that she has been given this unique and ground-breaking opportunity to lead one of the world’s pre-eminent sports organisations.”
Dinnage will commence her role early in 2019 at a date to be agreed with her current employer, Discovery Inc.
New Magazines This Week
