Business of Media
Why the ABC canned The Drum (and Ita saved Q+A)
When a former student then working for the ABC panel show The Drum asked me to go on as a panellist, I said I’d rather plunge my hand into boiling oil, reports The Sydney Morning Herald’s Jenna Price.
Anyhow, he said: you made me take risks when I was a student. He said: Julia [Baird] wants you to come on. Eventually, I said yes, filled with dread.
After the show, he gave me a C minus. Do better, he said. Interrupt. Be yourself. The cheek of the youngster who, from recollection, was a straight high distinction student. He says now he can’t recall if he actually gave me a mark. “But C minus would have been about right.”
See also: ABC’s Chris Oliver-Taylor attributes show cancelations to new “brave on change” approach to content
Federal government adopts all five recommendations from review of the News Media Bargaining Code for Google, Meta deals
The News Media Bargaining Code will be strengthened to ensure media outlets receive appropriate remuneration for the use of their content on digital platforms after the federal government revealed it will adopt all five recommendations made by a Treasury review, reports News Corp’s Sophie Elsworth.
This includes giving the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission directions to prepare interim reports on the digital platforms, outline the extent to which they make news content available and determine whether there are power imbalances between them and publishers.
News Brands
Nine journalist not required to disclose sources, judge rules
A Nine journalist will not be required to name 13 confidential sources she spoke to for a story that criticised the medical practice of renowned orthopaedic surgeon Munjed Al Muderis after a judge found she was entitled to journalist privilege, reports The Sydney Morning Herald’s Harriet Alexander.
Al Muderis is suing The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes over stories published in 2022, which he claims convey the defamatory imputation that he performed osseointegration surgery negligently and used high pressure sales tactics, among other allegations.
How News Corp got ‘Airbus Albo’ to take off — and dragged the media along with it
From “Airbus Albo” to “the honeymoon’s over”, News Corp has used the thudding power of repetition to reset the political narrative – at least as far as gallery insiders are concerned. It’s a tough job and you have to admire the chutzpah in trying. But before you get too critical of News Corp, have a go at making Peter Dutton appear electable first and see how you fare, reports Crikey’s Christopher Warren.
The Holt Street brains trust will be satisfied they’ve ended the year having convinced the gallery to chin-strokingly believe that Labor – or at least Anthony Albanese – is in trouble.
Social Media
TikTok allowing under-13s to keep accounts, evidence suggests
TikTok faces questions over safeguards for child users after a Guardian investigation found that moderators were being told to allow under-13s to stay on the platform if they claimed their parents were overseeing their accounts, reports The Guardian’s Hibaq Farah and Dan Milmo.
In one example seen by the Guardian, a user who declared themselves to be 12 in their account bio, under TikTok’s minimum age of 13, was allowed to stay on the platform because their user profile stated the account was managed by their parents.
Entertainment
Qantas passengers watched more Barbie and The White Lotus in 2023 than any other program
Qantas says Barbie, starring Margot Robbie, was the number-one film watched by passengers on its domestic and international flights despite it only being added to the collection in November, reports News Corp’s Matt Bell.
And those who wanted to binge on a series while 40,000 feet in the air collectively spent 300,000 hours watching the second season of The White Lotus – which was more than any other show.
Bump’s Nathalie Morris and Carlos Sanson Jr. on what to expect from Season Four
Bump is full of characters who viewers become increasingly intimate with and, in turn, increasingly attached to – characters like Oly (Nathalie Morris), a bookish, fervent feminist and Santi (Carlos Sanson Jr.), a sensitive and artistically gifted stoner, who come together after an unexpected teen pregnancy, reports Variety Australia’s Chelsea Donaldson.
Oly’s family is Australian, whereas Santi’s comes from a Latin American background; cultural themes are explored, and there are many funny moments when their big, messy families come together.
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Top Image: Ellen Fanning and Julia Baird (L to R)