Business of Media
Meta threatens to yank news content from California over payments bill
Facebook parent Meta Platforms said on Wednesday it would remove news content in its home state of California if the state government passed legislation forcing tech companies to pay publishers, reports Reuters’ Katie Paul.
The proposed California Journalism Preservation Act would require “online platforms” to pay a “journalism usage fee” to news providers whose work appears on their services, aimed at reversing a decline in the local news sector.
In a tweeted statement, Meta spokesman Andy Stone called the payment structure a “slush fund” and said the bill would primarily benefit “big, out-of-state media companies under the guise of aiding California publishers.”
The statement was Meta’s first on the California bill specifically, although the company has been waging similar battles over compensation for news publishers at the federal level and in countries outside the United States.
In December, Stone said Meta would remove news from its platform altogether if the U.S. Congress passed a bill that closely resembles the proposed California legislation.
Hugh Grant unlawful information gathering claims against Sun to be heard at trial
Actor Hugh Grant’s claim against the publisher of The Sun over alleged unlawful information gathering will go ahead to a trial, reports Press Gazette.
Grant, 62, is bringing legal action alleging he was targeted by journalists and private investigators against News Group Newspapers (NGN) in relation to The Sun, having previously settled a claim with the publisher in 2012 relating to the News Of The World.
NGN, which denies any unlawful activity took place at The Sun, brought a bid to have both Grant’s claim and a similar claim by the Duke of Sussex thrown out at a hearing in London last month, arguing that both men had left it too late to file their claims.
But in a ruling on Friday, Justice Fancourt concluded Grant’s claim could proceed to trial – except for any allegations relating to phone hacking.
The judge found that Grant could have brought a claim for phone hacking sooner, as he had knowledge of it, but that his other allegations will have to be tried.
Survey: Half of newsrooms already ‘actively working’ with generative AI
Half of newsroom are “actively working” with generative AI tools like ChatGPT, according to a new survey, reports Press Gazette.
The survey by the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) also indicates that newsroom leaders are the ones spearheading the deployment of AI in newsrooms.
The survey of 101 editors, journalists or other newsroom staff, conducted with Schickler Consulting, focused on how news organisations are already using generative AI, a technology that can produce lengthy plain-language text from short prompts.
Some 49% of respondents answered yes to the question: “Is your newsroom actively working with generative AI tools like ChatGPT?” The remaining 51% answered no.
Television
Nine denies The Summit on the brink
Nine Network has denied a report claiming The Summit “is officially on the chopping block amid poor ratings and astronomical production costs,” reports TV Tonight.
Daily Mail quoted an unnamed network insider stating “The show wasn’t worth the headaches that came with it to be honest. At this stage, it won’t be recommissioned for a second season.”
It also claimed producers recreated the ending, after flying the cast down from the mountain for a week, waiting for weather to subside, then flying them back to the top to recreate the ending.
Nine sources told TV Tonight while there may have been periods waiting for safe weather to film, it did not fly cast down and recreate the ending.
Nine is indeed yet to make a decision on a second season, having been averaging 720,000 in VOZ numbers, but remains optimistic about international format sales for the show developed with Endemol Shine Australia.
Five series in, Rob Sitch still can’t escape Utopia
A few years back actor-director Rob Sitch was stuck in roadworks on a city freeway. “I reckon I had been driving up and down the freeway for four years through those roadworks. I turned to someone in the car and said, this thing looks like it hasn’t changed. When are they going to finish it?” reports Nine Publishing’s John Mangan.
While you or I might shrug our shoulders and leave it at that, Sitch set about weaving his frustrations into the new season of Utopia, the long-running sitcom in which he plays Tony, the eternally frustrated head of the Nation Building Authority, which oversees infrastructure projects like freeways.
After years of battling both the self-serving powers-that-be upstairs and the willing-but-clueless staff around him, is Tony likely to fare any better this time round? “There’s something Groundhog Day about almost every episode,” Sitch says. “He’s the sort of the guy who has his resignation letter in his top drawer, so he’s always thinking that he’s just about to make the breakthrough. Everyone is buttering you up, everyone is putting the goal just out of reach to keep you in your spot.”
Utopia first hit our screens in 2014, and the new season is the fifth, a marathon for Sitch and his team at Working Dog (Santo Cilauro and Tom Gleisner), whose CV includes critically acclaimed sitcoms Frontline and The Hollowmen. Generally, after a couple of seasons they’d move on to something completely different, like the iconic Australian movie The Castle, the trail-blazing primetime talk show The Panel, or one of their two current hits, Have You Been Paying Attention? and The Cheap Seats.
So what is it that has lured them back to the office of the Nation Building Authority?
William Shatner excited for new reality series Stars on Mars, filmed in Australia
William Shatner is excitedly counting down to the premiere of his new reality TV show, Stars On Mars, which was filmed in the Australian outback, reports News Corp’s Christine Estera.
The Star Trek legend hosts the show which sees 12 American celebrities dumped in the remote South Australia town of Coober Pedy, an opal-mining town which has been transformed to resemble the Red Planet.
“Your first look (or maybe your second if you’ve seen this already) of #StarsOnMars on @RealityClubFOX,’ the 92-year-old actor tweeted overnight of the show, which premieres on June 5.
Stars such as cycling champion Lance Armstrong, wrestler Ronda Rousey, singer Tinashe, former Modern Family star Ariel Winter, and Bruce Willis’ actress daughter Tallulah Willis are among the famous faces simulating life as astronauts on a Mars colony – yes, they will all be wearing protective spacesuits.
Pioneering astronaut Neil Armstrong will also make a cameo in the series.
See Also: SXSW Final Wrap: Shatner, The C-Word, BDB, Dolby House, and Amplify x Lego
Sports Media
Channel Nine cuts The Living End short, betting ads lead the way
Social media commentators have blasted Channel Nine’s State of Origin coverage after they cut The Living End’s pregame performance short, choosing to air betting ads instead, reports News Corp’s Isabella Holland.
Australian rock royalty The Living End headlined at the State of Origin opener when just before the group were set to play their second song after opening with White Noise, the coverage switched to betting ads and pregame commentary.
Twitter was quick to hop on the trend with many commentators calling for an end to betting advertisements at sport events.
“They cut off The Living End for betting s***? Can’t wait til betting advertising in sports is banned,” said one user.