Business of Media
Former Victorian Liberal powerbroker Marcus Bastiaan wins injunction against Age reporter Nick McKenzie
Former Victorian Liberal party powerbroker and vice-president Marcus Bastiaan has won a court injunction to “restrain” Age investigative reporter Nick McKenzie from interviewing potential witnesses relating to a defamation trial between the pair, reports News Corp’s Sophie Elsworth.
Nine has been ordered to pay Bastiaan’s legal costs of seeking the injunction – understood to be a six-figure sum – ahead of the actual defamation proceedings, in which he is suing Nine Entertainment (which owns the Nine Network, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald) for stories aired and published by McKenzie.
This follows a 60 Minutes expose by McKenzie that aired on August 23, 2020, in which it was claimed Bastiaan was part of a Liberal branch-stacking operation in Victoria.
‘Obscene power imbalance’: Local small publications to down tools for a day
Up to 50 local independent media outlets will stop publishing news for a day in a warning to the federal government and tech giants of what could happen if they are not paid for their content under landmark laws introduced last year, reports SMH’s Zoe Samios.
The news outlets, which include Concrete Playground, Broadsheet Media, City Hub, and Star Observer, are expected to ask readers to write to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers to ensure they receive funding from the technology platforms and avoid the risk of closure. The request will appear instead of news articles on each website for a 24-hour-period.
Multiple industry sources, who requested anonymity because the plan isn’t finalised, said a large group have engaged DOA Consulting – a company run by advertising executive Adam Ferrier and Ebony Gaylor – to handle the campaign. The number of publishers expected to take part in the news freeze is not confirmed, but sources say there could be up to 50 in total.
A new wave of digital media is coming. Will it do better than the last one?
A new wave of digital media companies are coming to Australia, offering Millennial and Gen Z readers news in a punchy, quick and stylish format, reports SMH’s Nick Bonyhady.
They tend to use frequent bolding to break up the page and emphasise subheadings that make salient points clear to the reader at a glance and reach readers where they are online, whether through email newsletters or Instagram.
Mainstream media in Australia missed the boat on the internet in the early 2000s, doing huge damage to its profitability and resulting in thousands of journalists losing their jobs. It tried to get on board with ad-driven sites like Huffington Post and Buzzfeed News in the 2010s, but they did not last. If the new wave of outlets work, they could offer the industry a shot at redemption (and profit) but also fresh competition for established players.
Big development in Andrew O’Keefe assault and choking case
One-time Australian TV game show king Andrew O’Keefe has formally entered pleas of not guilty to assault and choke charges laid after he allegedly attacked a former sex worker, reports News Corp’s Ryan Young.
The 50-year-old appeared dressed in prison greens when he faced Sydney’s Central Local Court on Friday via audiovisual link from the Metropolitan Reception and Remand Centre at Silverwater jail.
O’Keefe was hit with six charges in January after police alleged that he grabbed a woman by the throat, punched her and pushed her to the ground.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges, including intentionally choking a person without consent, three counts of common assault and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
In the weeks after the arrest police laid a further charge after they found O’Keefe with 1.5g of marijuana. He has pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing a prohibited drug and is yet to be sentenced.
James Mathison pleads guilty to corporate charges over $120,000 tax debt
TV presenter James Mathison has been charged with failing to hand liquidators the financial records from his media company that imploded owing $120,000 in unpaid tax, reports News Corp’s Brenden Hills.
The former Australian Idol host has pleaded guilty to two corporate charges that will see him fined a maximum of $17,000 and possibly left with a criminal record.
He is due to face Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday, where it will be “considered” if Mathison should be subjected to a compulsory examination to extract answers from him about the failure of his company, Whitlock Brennan & McCall.
News Brands
Guardian Australia expands coverage after funding from tech giants
Guardian Australia’s expanded state coverage will go live on Monday as the latest stage of its local expansion plans after an influx of funds from Google and Facebook, reports AFR’s Miranda Ward.
Guardian Australia managing director Dan Stinton said the plans to increase the organisation’s coverage and roster of journalists were made before the company secured licensing deals with Google and Facebook believed to be worth around $10 million to $15 million a year, but the extra money helped bring them forward.
“What that funding did is it brought forward investment that we probably would have made in the next two or three years into this one alone,” he said.
Agencies
GroupM seeks to improve advertising for staff, clients and the planet
GroupM will lay out its vision to staff and clients this week on how the company’s global vision to “make advertising better” applies in Australia and New Zealand, with chief executive Aimee Buchanan focusing on what it means for those who work for GroupM, its clients and the broader advertising industry and the planet, reports AFR’s Miranda Ward.
“That, at a global level, is just a hugely inspiring, broad, gives a lot of permission statement,” Buchanan said.
“We’ve spoken to lots of people – internally we had a big internal committee on it – we’ve spoken to media partners, we’ve spoken to clients to really understand their needs, wants and aspirations for what they require from us.
“There are three tenets that we’ve tried to unpack for people: what’s the next era, what does better mean and who are the people that we’re talking about.”
Havas Group reports strong recovery following pandemic
Havas Group has reported a “strong recovery” following the pandemic in the newly released 2021 report for its Paris-based parent company, Vivendi.
The report noted that in 2021, Havas Group’s revenues was AUD$3,502 million (€2,341 million), up by 10.8%.
In the fourth quarter, the advertising and public relations company recorded strong business growth compared to the same period in 2020, and achieved organic growth in net revenues of +9.3%.
In the report, Havas Group said: “All the geographical regions delivered excellent organic performances in 2021, with positive contributions from all divisions: Creative, Media and Health communications.
“North America and Europe were the biggest contributors, enjoying solid organic growth. Asia-Pacific and Latin America also reported highly satisfactory performances.”
Last year, Havas Group also pursued acquisitions and majority stakes in Singapore-based creative agency BLKJ, customer experience Nohup in Italy and two French-based: CSR communications Agence Verte and healthcare communications agency Raison de Santé.
The company also continued development around the world, winning several new clients in creative creative, media expertise and healthcare communications.
Havas Creative won ASDA, COX Communications, Easyjet, JLL, Nestlé, New York Presbyterian, Petropolis, Telecom Italia, VW, World Bank x IMF.
Client wins for Havas Health & You include: AbbVie, Amgen, Genentech, Hutchison, Medipharma, Ipsen, Myovant, New York Presbyterian, Novartis Otsuka, Pfizer, Sanofi, Trevana, Vifor.
Meanwhile, Havas Media won Boiron, Dolce & Gabbana, Forevermark & DeBeers, IAG Group International Airlines Group (Iberia, Vuelig and IAG Cargo), Land O’ Lakes, Ola Group, PEPCO, Pernod Ricard, Red Bull, Sears, Unilever (Western Europe), Weleda.
Havas Group were also record year with more than 1,300 creative awards and distinctions given to its agencies around the world last year.
Among the awards were 38 Lions (one Grand Prix, five Golds, nine Silvers and 23 Bronzes) awarded at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in June, which this year included the 2020 and 2021 editions.
The agency walked away with 20 awards from the One Show, including four Golds, five Silvers and ten Bronzes, as well as the prestigious Green Pencil.
Havas Creative and Havas Media also took first place in their category in the R3 Europe ranking, which distinguishes the new business performance of industry players.
Television
Viewers opt for Nine over Seven, 10
Saturday night viewing offered a rare modern ratings experiment, reports TV Tonight.
If Nine, Seven and 10 all screened the same content for 5 hours, where would viewers go?
Australia Unites: Red Cross Flood Appeal averaged 233,00 metro viewers for Nine, 189,000 for Seven and just 117,000 for 10.
This reiterates the power of the lead-in with A Current Affair at 275,000 in Sydney & Melbourne, leading Border Security (254,000). A Dog House replay on 10 was just 63,000 in the same cities. But it’s also possible viewers identified the event more with Nine for their history in such national events or possibly deeming it as host broadcaster.
ABC’s Q+A records worst ratings since it began airing in 2008
The ABC’s prime time political chatfest show Q+A recorded its worst-ever ratings on Thursday night, just one week after a controversial decision to evict a pro-Russian apologist from the audience, reports News Corp’s Sophie Elsworth.
The program, hosted by Stan Grant, discussed gender, equality and justice and attracted just 175,000 viewers across the five major capital cities, figures from ratings company ozTAM showed.
The show, which airs at 8.30pm AEDT, had an all-female panel in its Sydney studio including National Farmers’ Federation president Fiona Simson, Podcaster Lillian ‘Flex Mami’ Ahenkan, businesswoman Wendy McCarthy, refugee and gender policy advisor Najeeba Wazefadost and Quillette and columnist at The Australian Claire Lehmann.
Why Rob Mills wants an Aust Idol ‘do over’
After a 13-year hiatus, Rob Mills has pulled on his dancing shoes and is doing the cha-cha all over again on Dancing With The Stars: All Stars. The ballroom may not be the most natural place for the singer, but together with his dance partner Alarna Donovan he is hoping to whirl and twirl his way to take home the famed mirror ball trophy, reports News Corp’s Catherine Nikas-Boulos.
“At the end of the day we’re having fun too, and in these times, that’s what matters most.”
Looking forward, Rob says he would like to continue to work in TV and is gunning for a presenting role in Australian Idol – the show that launched his career in 2003.
“I’m putting it out there. It’s coming up to 20 years since I was on. I would love for it to return and to be able to nurture new talent,” he says.
Australian Idol won’t air on Channel 7 in 2022
The much-hyped return of Australian Idol won’t go ahead on Channel 7 this year as planned, reports News Corp’s Annette Sharp.
Network insiders have told this column the production has been put in the too-hard basket for now — although there are hopes the show might still proceed in 2023.
“You need a good six months to get around to the towns for the talent search and we’ve run out of time to do that,” one source said on Saturday.
Seven insists that the program is still under option and may get the green light for next year as a rival to Nine’s Married At First Sight.
Million Dollar Island for Seven in 2023
Seven sources have confirmed the rights to new adventure reality series Million Dollar Island, set to screen in 2023, reports TV Tonight.
The Dutch format which screens on Prime Video sees 100 contestants on a remote desert island for up to 50 days competing to win their share of a cash prize.
Described as “Survivor versus Squid Game“, both NBC and Britain’s E4 are set to screen adaptations of the Talpa and Studio Lambert series.
Upon arrival each contestant is given a bracelet worth $10,000. During their time on the island, contestants gain and lose bracelets through various challenges, but when a player leaves the island, they must choose who will receive their portion of the money.
Twist in bombshell Neighbours racism claims
The investigation into the loudly voiced claims of racism and cultural insensitivity on the set of Neighbours has been completed but in a surprise twist the findings will not be made public, reports News Corp’s Fiona Byrne.
It is understood the investigation was quietly concluded before Christmas and while some conversations are still in process, recommendations from the report are believed to have already been incorporated into the show’s production.
Neighbours is filmed in Melbourne at studios in Nunawading.
Fremantle, the producer of Neighbours, declined to provide details of the findings nor the changes implemented at set level.