As newspapers continue to fight digital disruption, a business success story continues to unfold at The Australian. It has just picked up another award and it has received extraordinary download numbers for its podcast The Teacher’s Pet. The news brand has also been linked to recent controversies surrounding the departure of a prime minister and boss of the ABC.

ABC chairman Justin Milne announced the board’s decision on Monday September 24, 2018, which stated: “It was not in the best interests of the ABC for Ms Guthrie to continue to lead the organisation.”

Since then, Guthrie has come out saying that she was “devastated” by the move and that she would be considering her legal options.

Guthrie’s sacking was reportedly due to her leadership style, which didn’t sit well with the ABC Board. However, she said that she had had no complaints about it.

A report by Fairfax Media said that the ABC chairman told Guthrie to “get rid” of its high profile presenter Emma Alberici in an email sent on May 8, citing government complaints. “I think it’s simple. Get rid of her. We need to save the ABC – not Emma,” Milne wrote.

Speaking on ABC Radio Melbourne today, Alberici revealed that the Fairfax news report was the first time she’d heard of this.

Since the Alberici revelations, there have been calls from commentators and ABC staff for Milne to resign.

Hundreds of ABC staff gathered outside the broadcaster’s building in Sydney, asking Milne to stand down as chairman while an independent inquiry into the allegations takes place.

The MEAA has published a statement, which in part reads: “They would indicate Mr Milne has no understanding of editorial independence, proper complaints handling processes, or the appropriate distance a board chair needs to keep from staffing matters.

“If true, Mr Milne should resign immediately.”

The developments have the Twittersphere talking again with “Justin Milne”, “ABC Staff”, “Emma Alberici”, “#HandsOffOurABC” and “ABC Board” all trending nationally.

New from PodcastOne: Bernadette Schwerdt’s online business guide

Launching on PodcastOne next week is Bernadette Schwerdt’s How To Build An Online Business.

The series is being billed as “the ultimate guide to launching and growing a business online”.

Schwerdt is an author and a commentator for ABC TV, and contributor to BRW, Mamamia, The Australian Financial Review and Sky News.

Bernadette Schwerdt

The series is recommended for people with a crazy idea, a hobby, a business or special expertise.

Best-selling author and digital marketing specialist Schwerdt reveals the inside tips and tricks that Australia’s most successful online entrepreneurs use to build their multimillion-dollar businesses.

The series promises to help listeners identify the best business ideas to pursue, guide them on how to set it up and give them strategies to grow it quickly using low-cost tools.

For those with existing businesses, they will learn how to maximise online impact and access the little-known but powerful tools and technologies the top disruptors use to create a global presence.

Featuring interviews with some of Australia’s most successful disruptors, Schwerdt reveals the underlying patterns common to all successful online businesses – what they did right, what they did wrong, what they would do differently and the shortcuts to building an online business.

Listen to Bernadette Schwerdt’s online business guide here next week.

Listening to podcasts made easy on the Apple Watch

With the new software upgrade to watchOS 5, listeners can use the Podcasts app to play shows and episodes.

Apple’s instructions: If you have an Apple Watch Series 3 or later, open the Podcasts app on your Apple Watch, scroll up, then tap Library. You can also use Siri to play shows from the Apple Podcasts catalog. On any Apple Watch with watchOS 5, you can sync Apple Podcasts to your watch.

By default, all your Apple Podcast subscriptions sync to your Apple Watch when it’s charging. Episodes are automatically removed from your Apple Watch after you listen to them, and shows that you subscribe to refresh automatically with new episodes.

If you want to manually choose podcasts to sync, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, go to My Watch > Podcasts, and tap Custom. Then choose shows with episodes in your podcasts Library to sync to your Apple Watch.

For more information from Apple look here.

Tory Maguire hosting new weekly podcast for The Age & The SMH

Fairfax Media and some of its contributors and staff have dabbled in podcasts but they are starting to ramp up production. This week it told readers about a new weekly podcast:

This week we launch our latest podcast Please Explain. Hosted by national editor Tory Maguire, with regular contributors such as David Crowe, Peter Hartcher, Adele Ferguson and Stephen Bartholomeusz, we cut through the noise and give you an insight into the stories that drive the nation.

Maguire taps into the best of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newsrooms and gets to the heart of the political, business and world issues that matter to Australians each week.

Executive editor of The Herald and The Age, James Chessell, said audio was becoming an increasingly important way for journalists to tell stories.

“Part of the job of producing quality, independent news and analysis means our best stories – and best journalists – must be available on this engaging, immediate format,” he said.

“Our audiences have made it clear they want more journalism that helps them better understand the factors driving and disrupting national affairs in Australia.

“News will always be at the heart of what we do including Please Explain but the podcast also provides our audiences with context and insight they can trust. Some of the revelations from Canberra this week are another reminder that not all sources of news come without an agenda.”

Ben Groundwater’s Flight Of Fancy

Another podcast launched off the back of a newspaper is Ben Groundwater’s Flight Of Fancy. Groundwater is an award-winning travel writer and he hosts the podcast for Fairfax Media’s wildly successful Traveller.com.au brand.

Recent topics have included why Africa should be on everyone’s bucket list and tips for travelling (almost) plastic free.

Listen to Flight Of Fancy here.

The Guardian & others use podcasts to engage with audiences

Other news publishers are players in the podcast space too. The Guardian Australia’s Lenore Taylor and Katharine Murphy host the weekly Australian Politics Live podcast that is now 75 episodes old and drops weekly.

Also from The Guardian Australia is the not-so-frequent Behind The Lines podcast that features journalists from the newsroom talking about their stories.

Listen to Australian Politics Live here.

New appointments at PodcastOne

David Edgley has joined PodcastOne in a new position of social media and digital marketing manager and Emma De Martino in a new role of sales coordinator Sydney

Edgley recently worked for ITV Studios Australia on Love Island in Majorca. Before that he was with Network Ten and Seven West Media in social media roles.

De Martino was most recently a producer at audio agency Eardrum.

Foxtel has launched Fox Showcase – a rebrand of its showcase drama channel – as the new streaming home of drama from Australia and around the world.

As the official Australian home of FX Originals, HBO and Foxtel originals, Fox Showcase is Foxtel’s new premium drama video on demand service for Foxtel customers, filled with a slate of exclusive first-run titles.

Over 100 complete series are available on demand, giving viewers the option to stream as many dramas as they want, whenever they want, at no extra cost to the drama pack.

Patrick Delany, Foxtel CEO, said, “Foxtel sets the bar as the gold standard in home entertainment in Australia. Our recent launch of Fox Flicks brought an unrivalled movies experience to our subscribers with thousands of movies to stream on demand.

“Today, we’re raising that bar even higher by unveiling Fox Showcase, which promises a massive lineup of edgy, thought-provoking and inspiring drama from overseas power houses including FX and HBO, alongside our award-winning Foxtel original dramas to stream when you want, where you want and as often as you want.

“Fox Showcase provides extra value for subscribers included in the drama pack along with five premium drama channels. The showcase channel will be re-branded as Fox Showcase and will continue to be the linear home of drama premieres complementing the Fox Showcase on demand service.”

As the new home of FX originals, Fox Showcase becomes Australia’s exclusive destination for FX’s original programming, including the currently airing American Horror Story, Mayans M.C., Pose and Snowfall, all new seasons of returning series such as American Crime Story, Better Things and Legion as well as upcoming FX Originals and FX’s extensive library content.

“We are thrilled to partner with Foxtel and launch the home of FX originals as a single and exclusive destination for our complete slate of dramas and comedies in Australia,” said Eric Schrier, president of original programming and FX productions.

Upcoming FX Originals include the six-part Australian drama Mr Inbetween, premiering Monday October 1 at 8.30pm. Created by and starring Scott Ryan and directed by Nash Edgerton, the series is inspired by the critically acclaimed feature film The Magician, and delves into the very funny and very dark world of hitman Ray Shoesmith. The series also stars Brooke Satchwell.

On October 7 the FX original Trust will premiere. Inspired by actual events, the series delves into the trials and triumphs of one of America’s wealthiest and unhappiest families, the Gettys. Created by Simon Beaufoy and directed by Academy Award-winning Danny Boyle, Trust stars an impressive cast led by Donald Sutherland, Hilary Swank, Harris Dickinson, Michael Esper and Brendan Fraser.

Currently in production for FX is What We Do In The Shadows, a television adaptation of the cult New Zealand feature film by the same name. The half-hour comedy series is co-created by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, and set to premiere in 2019. The series follows three vampires living in New York who have been roommates for hundreds of years and are struggling with the challenges of modern life.

Fox Showcase is also Australia’s home of HBO featuring must-see programming including Game of Thrones, Westworld, The Deuce, Divorce, Veep, Ballers and Big Little Lies along with an extensive catalogue including Sex & The City, The Sopranos, The Leftovers, Boardwalk Empire and The Wire, available to stream on demand.

Next year Fox Showcase will also premiere the third season of the Emmy and Golden Globe Award winning True Detective. Starring Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, the eight-part series follows the story of a detective investigating a macabre crime involving two missing children in the heart of the Ozarks, Arkansas.

HBO’s huge hit series Big Little Lies will return for a second season and will be seen Express from the US on Fox Showcase. Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman will again star and executive produce the Emmy Award-winning limited series, with three-time Oscar-winner Meryl Streep joining the cast.

Fox Showcase is also the exclusive home to Foxtel’s own award-winning original dramas, which continue to break new ground and win local and international praise.

On October 28, Fighting Season, a six-part event drama about Australian soldiers returning from Afghanistan, will premiere at 8.30pm on Fox Showcase. Helmed by the award-winning director Kate Woods and starring Jay Ryan, Ewen Leslie and Kate Mulvany, the series is a compelling mystery regarding a possible cover-up, where the lines between killer and family man, between hero and victim, between truth and imagination, are constantly shifting.

In 2019, TV Week Logie Award and AACTA Award-winning Australian drama Wentworth will return to Fox Showcase for a seventh season, along with the highly anticipated second season of Secret City: Under the Eagle.

Currently in post-production, new event drama Lambs of God stars Emmy-winning Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Essie Davis (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries). The four-part series is an evocative drama about three nuns, each a generation apart, living in an isolated convent by the coast, when an unwelcome visitor enters their lives and changes their world forever.

Lambs of God also features Jessica Barden, Sam Reid, Damon Herriman, Sigrid Thornton, Kate Mulvany and John Bell.

Foxtel also announced the commission of new drama series The End that will commence filming in Queensland next week, a joint production with Sky UK and produced by See-Saw.

The End stars internationally acclaimed actresses Frances O’Connor (The Missing) and Harriet Walter (Patrick Melrose). The 10-part half-hour series is about three generations of women with separate but intersecting obsessions – trying to figure out how to die with dignity, live with none and make it count. The cast will also feature Noni Hazlehurst, Robyn Nevin, Luke Arnold, John Waters and Alex Dimitriades.

Production is also about to roll on Upright, a landmark new series starring musician, actor and writer Tim Minchin. Written by Minchin and The Chaser’s Chris Taylor, and produced by Lingo Pictures, Upright is the story of two misfits, thrown together by chance in the middle of the Australian desert, who forge the unlikeliest of bonds in their quest to get a precious piano from one side of the country to the other.

The series will be filmed on location with assistance from the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland.

Created and written by Samantha Strauss, The End is a 10-part series produced by See-Saw Films, the Oscar-winning and Emmy nominated producers of the films Lion and The King’s Speech and the drama series Top of the Lake.

The End is about three generations of a family with separate but intersecting obsessions – trying to figure out how to die with dignity, live with none and make it count.

English-born Australian actress Frances O’Connor plays Dr Kate Brennan, a senior registrar specialising in palliative care medicine. Euthanasia is a hot-button topic in Kate’s field of work and Kate is passionate in her opposition. On the other side of the world, Kate’s mother Edie Henley (Walter) is just as passionate about her right to die. Kate has little choice but to ship Edie out from England and deposit her in a nearby retirement village – Edie’s worst nightmare. While Kate struggles with her own problems, her children are trying to work out who they are, and who they want to be.

The End is about Kate and Edie’s stumbling, fractious journey as they find their way back to a relationship. It’s a story about parents and children, ethics and emotion, and mostly how it’s never too late to start again.

The cast will also feature Noni Hazlehurst (A Place to Call Home), Robyn Nevin (Top of the Lake), Luke Arnold (Black Sails), John Waters (Offspring), Alex Dimitriades (Secret City), Roy Billing (Rake) and young Australian actors Morgana Davies (Devil’s Playground) and Ingrid Torelli (Matilda).

Foxtel’s head of drama Penny Win said: “Commissioning The End was a wonderful opportunity for Foxtel and we’re excited to be collaborating with our colleagues at Sky on this, our joint first co-commission. The End will present a universal story that affects us all, with Sam Strauss’s beautiful storytelling being brought to life by an exceptionally talented cast and crew.”

“It’s thrilling to be returning home to Australia to be part of such an original series and to be playing a character as complex, interesting and conflicted as Dr Kate Brennan,” Frances O’Connor said.

“This is a really original project and I can’t wait to get stuck into the character of Edie, who is not quite like any other part I’ve played. Exciting,” Harriet Walter said.

Executive producers for the series are Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Rachel Gardner, Samantha Strauss, Iain Canning and Emile Sherman. Louise Smith and Carol Hughes are producers, with Patrick Walters as associate producer.

Executive producers for Foxtel are Penny Win and Carly Heaton. Executive producers for Sky are Liz Lewin and Anne Mensah.

Production begins in October.

The series will air on Fox Showcase on Foxtel in Australia, on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW TV in the UK and Ireland during 2019.

Endeavor is selling the series internationally.

Lenarcic departed Southern Cross Austereo earlier this year after the broadcaster announced it would fully integrate its metro and regional business units.

SCA said at the time under the new operating model, both regional and metropolitan arms would be aligned under a national structure, supporting improvements to internal processes, communications and corporate decision making.

At Grant Broadcasting, Lenarcic will work alongside Alison Cameron for several months before Cameron moves into the CEO role following Grant Cameron’s move to non-executive chair. This move is expected to be completed in December.

“Rick is highly regarded and respected in regional media in Australia and comes to Grant Broadcasters with a wealth of experience. I am excited to be working with Rick and look forward to him joining our ‘family’ and the contribution that he will make to our company,” said Alison Cameron.

Lenarcic will commence his new role at Grant Broadcasting on the 8th of October.

See also:
Inside Grant Broadcasters: Meet one of Australia’s biggest radio networks
• ‘Our point of difference is that we choose to be intensely local’

Alison Cameron appointed Grant Broadcasters CEO, search for new COO
‘The time is now right for us to look to the future,’ says outgoing CEO Grant Cameron

The family-owned Grant Broadcasters is one of Australia’s fastest-growing independent media companies. As well as interests in 51 regional radio stations, it owns the sales representation company TRSN representing a further 70 independent radio networks and stations, publishes several local lifestyle magazines and has a significant online presence in local markets.

Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger started Instagram in 2010. Facebook then acquired it in 2012 for $1 billion. According to Bloomberg, the social media platform is now worth $100 billion.

The founders have reportedly stepped away from Facebook amid growing tensions with chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg about where the photo and video sharing app is headed.

Systrom shared the news of his and Krieger’s departure via a post on Instagram. He stated the reason for leaving as “to explore our curiosity and creativity again”.

Read the full post below:

Mike and I are grateful for the last eight years at Instagram and six years with the Facebook team. We’ve grown from 13 people to over a thousand with offices around the world, all while building products used and loved by a community of over one billion. We’re now ready for our next chapter.

We’re planning on leaving Instagram to explore our curiosity and creativity again. Building new things requires that we step back, understand what inspires us and match that with what the world needs.

That’s what we plan to do.

We remain excited for the future of Instagram and Facebook in the coming years as we transition from leaders to two users in a billion. We look forward to watching what these innovative and extraordinary companies do next.

The 20-part 30-minute series will premiere in the US on October 8 airing on Nickelodeon’s channels and branded media blocks across 170+ countries and territories.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Jonathan Shiff (Mako: Island of Secrets, H20: Just Add Water) is one of Queensland’s greatest export success stories with his succession of high-quality children’s and family television reaching millions of global viewers.

“Jonathan Shiff has succeeded again in selling one of his premium children’s TV series supported by my Government in the international marketplace,” the Premier said.

“Nickelodeon is one of the world’s biggest networks for children’s and family viewing and along with The Bureau of Magical Things, Queensland will be showcased in more than 500 million households across more than 170 countries and territories.”

Shiff achieved similar success with his previous international hits, Mako: Island of Secrets and H20: Just Add Water.

“The Bureau of Magical Things was filmed on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane in 2017 and was set against the backdrop of Gold Coast beaches and homes and Brisbane cityscapes.

“My Government’s support of this production through the Production Attraction Strategy resulted in the creation of 200 cast and crew jobs and generated over $8.6 million in direct Queensland production expenditure.

“The young lead cast hailing from Brisbane, Gold Coast and Cairns will now become some of Australia’s most famous young actors with this Nickelodeon acquisition.

“Jonathan’s eye for talent is second to none and his previous productions have helped to launch the careers of Liam Hemsworth and Margot Robbie (The Elephant Princess), and H20 stars Phoebe Tonkin and Claire Holt,” Palaszczuk said.

The cast is led by Brisbane actress Kimie Tsukakoshi (The Family Law) who is joined by siblings Elizabeth Cullen and Julian Cullen, who both grew up in Cairns before moving to the Gold Coast, along with Gold Coast actors Mia Milnes, Rainbow Wedell (Terra Nova) and Jamie Carter (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) as well as Brisbane’s Christopher Sommers (Predestination, The Water Diviner) and Melanie Zanetti (Tracks).

Queensland talent reigned strong behind the cameras with Queensland-based directors Grant Brown and Evan Clarry, and producer Stuart Wood plus casting director Tom McSweeney.

Far North Queensland-based Jonathan Shiff said: “Queensland talent, together with strong technical crew and stunning location backdrops make The Bureau of Magical Things a high-quality production full of fantasy, surprise and adventure. We are thrilled that Nickelodeon will now bring our stunning Queensland cast of magical heroes to such an incredible global audience.”

The Bureau of Magical Things follows the adventures of Kyra, a regular teenage girl who discovers a secret world of magic all around her and who must unite fairies, elves and humans to save them all.

The Bureau of Magical Things is produced by Jonathan M. Shiff Productions, and supported by principal investment from Screen Australia, in association with the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland, with further support from the City of Gold Coast. This series was commissioned by ZDF Germany and Network Ten Australia and first broadcast in Australia on Channel Eleven. The series is distributed globally by ZDF Enterprises.

—

Top Image: L-R: Julian Cullen, Elizabeth Cullen, Rainbow Wedell, Christopher Sommers, Mia Milnes and Kimie Tsukakoshi

5MMM Survey 5 shares: 10+ 9.8%, Breakfast 10.8%

Cumulative audience: 10+ 204,000, Breakfast 104,000

Around Australia Triple M boasts some great former players – former rugby international Greg Martin in Brisbane, rugby league great Matty Johns in Sydney and Bulldogs star Luke Darcy in Melbourne.

SCA has two sporting heroes on board at Triple M Adelaide – Mark Ricciuto (Roo) and former world champion squash player Chris Dittmar (Ditts).

The duo have been a model of ratings consistency for the past couple of years with share locked above 10% since survey two last year. The best in that period was a huge 13.5% result in survey 5, 2017.

Breakfast has pushed the station share higher too, with only a handful of surveys in single figures in that time.

Roo and Ditts launched their breakfast show back in June 2014, and just last month SCA revealed it had signed them to a new three-year deal.

It must have been lucrative too! This morning the show hosted Sarah McLeod and Superjesus in the Triple M boardroom. Ditts later joked the only time they usually go to the boardroom is for a pay rise!

At the time of the re-signing, Southern Cross Adelaide’s general manager James Pedersen said, “Roo and Ditts have seen consistent audience growth since moving into the breakfast shift in 2014. They are both ultimate team players and this is reflected in their popularity with listeners as well as within the Triple M team.

“We are delighted to have them on board for another three years and we are confident of their continued success.”

People familiar with Triple M regulars will hear many of them on the Adelaide station. Eddie McGuire and Lehmo were both special guests at different times today.

Our favourite piece this week: Alice the WAG talking about her partner’s football trip to Bali.

The WAG, also the show’s producer Alice James, is also one of the ladies on The Angels segment on the show. Discussion on the segment this morning got a bit steamy too!

The breakfast team worked through the AFL Grand Final week, but they get a week’s holiday next week.

Recently on the station was the One Night In September event with Lawrence Mooney, Screaming Jets, Wayne Carey and Brian Taylor. The Jets do very well out of Triple M. They played in Brisbane for the station earlier this week and were on Triple M’s Hot Breakfast in Melbourne today (where they played Up There Cazaly!).

While the station takes the Kennedy Molloy drive show, it continues to broadcast a local early drive show with Jars and Louie, a combo that has been on air since 2014.

Friday: We finish our week in Adelaide looking at SCA’s Hit 107 and ARN’s Cruise 1323.

By James Manning

Breakfast TV watch

Breakfast TV averages metro

Week 38

• Sunrise 264,000 (Sydney 74,000, Melbourne 63,000)
• Today 230,000 (Sydney 68,000, Melbourne 56,000)

Week 39

Sunday

• Sunrise 269,000 (Sydney 80,000, Melbourne 80,000)
• Today 223,000 (Sydney 64,000, Melbourne 66,000)

Monday

• Sunrise 267,000 (Sydney 73,000, Melbourne 65,000)
• Today 231,000 (Sydney 73,000, Melbourne 55,000)

Tuesday

• Sunrise 285,000 (Sydney 77,000, Melbourne 82,000)
• Today 232,000 (Sydney 66,000, Melbourne 52,000)

Wednesday

• Sunrise 280,000 (Sydney 77,000, Melbourne 63,000)
• Today 233,000 (Sydney 69,000, Melbourne 51,000)

Wednesday Ratings

Seven

After 625,000 on Tuesday, the Home And Away Wednesday episode did 602,000.

It was ob doc night then for the next two hours – Highway Patrol did 394,000 in three markets, Motorbike Cops did 550,000 and then 9-1-1 was on 425,000.

Nine

A Current Affair dipped just below 800,000 after two previous nights on 817,000 and then 832,000.

The Wednesday episode of The Block saw more work on the re-do rooms for the audience of 928,000, after a midweek audience of 881,000 last week. Because of the NRL Grand Final on Sunday, the next room reveals won’t be until Monday night.

Episode seven on Bite Club then did 435,000 after 450,000 last week.

TEN

The Project was on 468,000 with a story about an elderly Kalgoorlie madam and an interview with Carrie Underwood.

A steamy episode of The Bachelor saw The Honey Badger pick the final four – Brittany, Brooke, Cass and Sophie. The show did 721,000 after 856,000 a week ago.

TEN’s new Screentime drama Playing For Keeps launched with 465,000, narrowly out-rating Bite Club.

ABC

7.30 featured an interview with the much-in-demand former ABC chair and MD David Hill with 578,000 watching.

The second episode of the new season of Hard Quiz then did 649,000 after launching with 671,000 a week ago.

Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell then did 674,000 – way ahead of the Aussie drama offerings on Seven and TEN.

Back In Very Small Business did 296,000 followed by Black Comedy on 161,000.

SBS

A repeat of Great British Railway Journeys did 269,000 at 7.30pm.

Food Safari Water was on 153,000 followed by Hidden Restaurants With Michel Roux Jr on 128,000 as the superstar chef dined in England’s West Country.