Business of Media
Nine admits its Andrew Laming upskirt story untrue
Nine has admitted the central claim of a television news report about a federal MP – which earned the network a Walkley Award – is untrue, leaving the media company potentially liable for a massive damages payout, reports News Corp’s James Madden.
On March 27 last year, Nine aired a segment on its nightly news bulletin in which then federal MP Andrew Laming was accused of committing the criminal offence of taking an inappropriate “upskirting” photo of a Brisbane store worker, Crystal White, without her consent.
Laming was never charged over the incident, and repeatedly requested Nine apologise to him for the erroneous claim that he upskirted White. He also asked for the story to be removed from the network’s digital platforms. Nine refused to comply.
The former politician subsequently launched defamation proceedings against Nine last August, seeking general damages, aggravated damages and special damages, as well as legal costs that will run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Netflix seeking top dollar for brands to advertise on its service
Netflix is looking to charge brands premium prices to advertise on its coming ad-supported platform, according to some ad buyers, a sign the streaming giant is expecting strong interest from companies that have long looked to reach its audience, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Suzanne Vranica.
Executives from Netflix and Microsoft Corp, which is supplying the technology to facilitate the placement of video ads on Netflix, met with some ad buyers last week, some of the buyers said. Netflix is seeking to charge advertisers roughly $65 for reaching 1,000 viewers, a measure known as CPM, or cost per thousand, the buyers said.
That is substantially higher than most other streaming platforms, the buyers said.
Snap cuts 20% of employees and restructures
Snap, the maker of the messaging app Snapchat, is laying off 20 percent of its employees, discontinuing at least six products and appointing its first chief operating officer in seven years, the social media company said on Wednesday, reports The New York Times’ Kalley Huang.
The cuts are set to affect close to 1,300 of Snap’s 6,400 employees, the company said. Snap is closing down its division that produced exclusive short shows with celebrities and other influencers, as well as its social mapping app, Zenly; its music creation app, Voisey; and hardware including its drone camera, Pixy.
At the same time, Snap said it was appointing Jerry Hunter, a senior vice president for engineering, to chief operating officer. Hunter will become the No. 2 to Evan Spiegel, who is a founder of Snap and its chief executive. The chief operating officer role had been vacant since 2015.
Charlie Newling: Ex-Bachelorette star threatened to kill stepdad
A former reality TV star told his mum he would kill her husband in front of her and that he would “piss on him after torturing the low life c**t, a court has heard, reports News Corp’s Clare Sibthorpe.
Facts tendered to Waverley Local Court showed Charles Stanley Newling, who featured in the 2018 season of the Bachelorette, made the vile threats in more than 37 drunken text messages he sent his mother in the space of three hours.
According to the facts, Newling’s mother and stepfather, who married when Newling was 13-years-old, were extremely fearful due to Newling’s increasingly violent behaviour.
News Brands
‘A true man of peace’: what the papers say about the death of Mikhail Gorbachev
The familar face of Mikhail Gorbachev looks out from the front pages as many of Wednesday’s papers marked his death by heaping praise on the man who helped bring about the end of the cold war, reports The Guardian’s Martin Farrer.
The Guardian has a large picture of the former Soviet leader and the headline “Mikhail Gorbachev 1931-2022: Soviet leader who ended the cold war dies aged 91”.
The front page report says Gorbachev would always be associated with his attempts to reform the old USSR “a process that he ultimately lost control of, leading to the country’s collapse”.
Radio
Radio host Lauren Phillips is recovering after being rushed to hospital
Radio host Lauren Phillips is recovering after being rushed to hospital at the weekend with difficulty breathing, reports News Corp’s Jackie Epstein.
The KIIS FM breakfast host told her co-host Jase Hawkins and Clint Stanaway that she ended up in an isolation ward at the Alfred Hospital.
“Bit scary on Saturday night, I woke up breathless and choking,” she said.
“They tried to get my breathing back… they couldn’t quite get on top of it so they said we have to take you into the Alfred. They were really amazing at calming me down.”
Phillips said she thought it may have been Covid or a virus.
Television
Holey Moley US could film in Australia
A fifth season of Holey Moley USA could be Australia-bound with casting underway for a new season by Eureka Productions & Mysticart Pictures, reports TV Tonight.
A casting call-out is seeking applicants 18 years and older who hold a passport and can travel internationally next February and March.
Previous seasons were filmed in California, but an Australian mini golf course was assembled at Redlands in Brisbane for a locally-produced 2020 season on Seven.
Netflix announce all-star Australian cast for Boy Swallows Universe as filming begins in Brisbane
Australian acting stars Travis Fimmel, Phoebe Tonkin, and Simon Baker will bring Boy Swallows Universe to life on the silver screen, leading an all-star cast, reports News Corp’s Amy Price.
Following the start of production on the series, Netflix announced on Thursday that Melbourne teen Felix Cameron has been cast as young protagonist Eli Bell in the screen adaptation of Brisbane author Trent Dalton’s best-selling novel, after making his acting debut in Penguin Bloom (2020).
Tonkin will star as his mother Frances Bell while Fimmel, of Vikings fame, will play her boyfriend, Lyle Orlik and teen actor Lee Tiger Halley is his brother, Gus Bell.
Baker joins the cast as their estranged father Robert, who the brothers are sent to live with when their mother goes to Boggo Road Gaol.
MKR judge Manu Feildel pans show’s cooks ahead of finale
With the latest season of My Kitchen Rules coming to an end tonight, judge Manu Feildel has smashed the calibre of cooks fronting this year’s competition, reports News Corp’s Mikaela Wilkes.
“Without being an a**hole, I think we could’ve had some better cooks,” Feildel told Confidential. “People have got to be more experienced – real foodies.”
Feildel’s blunt assessment comes as two teams – Kate Wildermuth-Watt and Mary Job and Janelle Halil and Monzir Hamdin – are set to go into tonight’s grand final episode.
See Also: Janelle and Monzir win the My Kitchen Rules crown for 2022
Not holding back, the celebrity chef has also questioned Australia’s commitment to reality cooking shows, which could be responsible for a softening of ratings this season, despite a relaunch.
“I’m not sure if there’s an appetite for more,” Feildel said.