Business of Media
Kerry Stokes kept faith in media despite tough questions
Media veteran Kerry Stokes says he never lost faith in the power of television and newspapers despite tough questions from the Seven Group board about whether shareholder capital should be allocated to the struggling sector, reports AFR’s James Thomson.
The billionaire also believes a back-to-basics approach at building material giant Boral under chief executive Zlatko Todorcevski can help the group seize on its leadership position in the Australian market.
Stokes retired as executive chairman of Seven Group last week as the company reported a 7 per cent increase in full-year profit to $504.6 million. The result was helped by a sharp improvement in the fortunes of Seven West Media, in which Seven Group has a 40 per cent stake. Earnings before interest and tax at Seven West leapt 22 per cent to $57 million, after it lowered its cost base, reduced debt and improved its performance under chief executive James Warburton.
Kerry Stokes urges premiers to lift Covid-19 lockdowns
Media magnate Kerry Stokes says Australia must learn to live with Covid-19, calling on state leaders to lift lockdowns once vaccination rates reach 70 per cent and warning that those who choose to remain unvaccinated must bear the consequences, reports The Australian’s Damon Kitney.
In an interview with The Weekend Australian after his decision to step down as chair of Seven Group, the Perth-based Stokes said he disagreed with West Australian Premier Mark McGowan’s recent decision to ban all travel from NSW, even on compassionate grounds.
“I don’t think the current position of total lockout with no compassionate grounds and no essential grounds is sustainable,’’ he said.
Kerry Stokes on son Ryan, and implementing Seven West Media recovery
Kerry Stokes arrived in Perth in 1960 and got his start fixing TV aerials to suburban rooftops before getting into real estate and later building a media and mining services empire, revealed he felt confident enough in the talents of his eldest son and his board to cease chairing the family’s most important public company, Seven Group Holdings, reports The Australian’s Damon Kitnery.
The now 45-year-old Ryan Stokes has been putting his stamp on Seven Group ever since taking over as CEO in July 2015, overseeing a refocus on its WesTrac mining services franchises in NSW and Western Australia and government infrastructure investment through its Coates Hire division, as well as gas development through its stake in Beach Energy.
“Ryan has been an excellent CEO since the time he was appointed. In a number of activities. He was responsible for selling our Caterpillar business in China in 2017. The reason we got the price for it is because, under his direction, the company improved its profitability,’’ Stokes said.
“I am proud of what Ryan has achieved. I remember seeing him off to the States when he went to Merrill Lynch (Ryan worked briefly in New York in the late 90s before joining the Stokes family’s private company, Australian Capital Equity or ACE). He didn’t want to come home from Merrills because I wasn’t going to pay him enough. So I had to pay him a bit more to get him to return.”
Kerry Stokes’ passion remains Seven West, which under the guidance of prodigal-son CEO James Warburton – who once defected to Channel 10 – now boasts its best balance sheet, cost base and growth outlook for many years.
Some analysts have termed it a “Lazarus-like recovery” from 18 months ago when there were fears it could go broke. “Most analysts were not aware of what was happening inside the company. The year before last we set our plan which addressed all the obstacles. It involved an Olympics, the schedule, a whole host of things that would have seen us to debt reduction and solid earnings. We were not prepared for Covid … it caused a series of difficult events we weren’t ready for,” Stokes said.
Ex-Nine CEO Hugh Marks takes on role at Tennis Australia
Almost five months after handing in his security pass at media company Nine, former chief executive Hugh Marks has resurfaced in a consultancy role with the sports organisation whose coffers he helped fatten by a staggering $100 million, reports News Corp’s Annette Sharp.
That was the difference between Nine’s stunning five-year deal with Tennis Australia in 2019 and the previous bid from incumbent Seven Network, which had previously paid $33.5 million plus contra (representing a package of $40 million) for just one year’s tennis rights.
As history has shown, Nine’s offer was too good for Tennis Australia to go past, representing, as it did, $60 million a year from Nine over Seven’s $40 million, although Tennis Australia’s balance sheet ultimately still reflects the punishing cost of Covid-19.
Having garnered himself some favour with the Tennis Australia board, Marks now finds himself in a position of having to replicate that windfall again and again in a role that will reportedly see him negotiating international broadcast deals for the organisation going forward.
It’s a gig that will at least give him something to do and help him break up his days wandering through Darlinghurst with his darling, former Nine executive Alexi Baker who, like Marks, has found employment post-Nine with one of Nine’s sports affiliates.
In her case it is the NRL, which looks to be paying top dollar for Baker.
News Brands
Paul Fenn: Tributes for Sydney news director who died earlier this month
2GB drive presenter Jim Wilson paid his tribute on air the day Paul Fenn died:
Jim Wilson described his former TCN Channel Nine boss as a very decent man, and a great newsman.
“He was a larger than life character.
“Along with Ian Cook, who was a legendary news director, and fronted by Brian Henderson, 9 News Sydney was a formidable team and their legacy lives on.”
Former Nine News journalist who was ‘Manly through and through’
A former journalist who was “Manly through and through” and had a “heart as big as Phar Lap” has died, reports Julie Cross in the Manly Daily.
Paul Fenn, who was described as being larger than life, was a former Channel 9 Sydney News Director, a former forward for Manly Rugby Club, and a regular in The Steyne.
He passed away peacefully at home after a long illness, surrounded by his children, Hayley and Simon.
He was 75.
Steve Howard, a Manly resident and a former editor of several newspapers including The Daily Telegraph and Manly Daily, said he was a “real old time Sydney journo”, as well as an “all-round nice guy” who was known and loved by many in the community.
This tribute from Nine’s Andy Bruyn published on 9News.com.au
In his work life, Paul Fenn built and led a tough team in a sometimes brutal industry – television news.
He made Nine’s News a high mark when others strived so hard to bring it down.
Great reporters and presenters – too many to list and too many to offend through omission – were his colleagues and friends. Laurie Oakes would be telling his story tonight. Peter Meakin will be devastated by his passing. Brian Henderson, Kerry Packer and Peter Harvey will be setting a table for a heroic lunch “upstairs”, while Kenny Sutcliffe toasts the passing of a great mate with a fine Mudgee red.
Paul followed his dad into journalism and took his career from his early days in newspapers in Sydney – some like the Mirror that no longer exist – to the television networks. He worked at Ten, then Nine in an age where it was the star factory of a new news era.
He rubbed shoulders with the big boys – Kerry Packer, Bruce Gyngell, Sam Chisholm and David Leckie and matched their trust with skill, talent and finesse.
Paul Fenn went from newspapers to lead a golden era of television
Paul Fenn was very much larger than life, so he enlarged his life to fit. He was good at sport; you couldn’t stop him. He loved newspapers and television news; you couldn’t stop him. He couldn’t sing; you couldn’t stop him, reports Alan Howe in The Weekend Australian.
He got a cadetship with The Mirror was an accomplished rugby player, first at junior level and later with Manly where he played 176 grade games, 23 first grade, won the reserve’s premiership in 1967 and was later captain. He twice played the All Blacks in 1968, with a combined ACT team and an Australian Services side.
He worked as a reporter on The Mirror for four years until summoned for National Service, serving time in the media corps for two years from 1967. He returned to Sydney to work on The Telegraph, but a few years later was back at the Mirror where he met and mentored Mike Munro.
Both Munro and Fenn were courted by Channel 10. Munro put them off awhile, but on returning from News Corp’s New York bureau moved to television. So did Fenn. They left the Mirror on the same day in 1978, Munro to do 6am police rounds, Fenn as chief of staff.
Both prospered in the new environment, Munro in front of the camera, Fenn bulkily behind it. Both moved on to Nine and so started the golden era of that network’s dominance of news and current affairs as Fenn was promoted to deputy news director and chief of staff, then Sydney news director and later national news director.
A Nine photo of its Sydney news team around 2000. Paul Fenn is centre in blue shirt, across to his right a young Peter Overton.
Front row of the photo are Jim Waley, Brian Henderson, Ken Sutcliffe and Ian Ross.
Queensland Liberal MP Andrew Laming launches defamation action against Channel 9
Embattled Liberal MP Andrew Laming has launched defamation proceedings against Nine after a TV news report he claims “injured his character and reputation”, reports News Corp’s Sophie Elsworth.
On Channel 9’s nightly news bulletins on March 27 the report was shown in every state and territory and included reporter Peter Fegan interviewing 29-year-old woman Crystal White about an alleged incident involving Dr Laming that took place in 2019.
In the story, which is still online, Fegan said: “Federal MP Andrew Laming took a picture of her (White’s) bottom while her underwear was exposed, on his mobile phone as she bent down and filled this fridge with drinks at a landscape supplies business in Brisbane.”
ABC’s Ghost Train doco unfair to Neville Wran
The ABC board has been told a three-part documentary about the 1979 Luna Park tragedy may have unfairly dealt with allegations connecting former NSW Premier Neville Wran to an underworld boss, but the program still provided compelling evidence for a new investigation, reports SMH‘s Zoe Samios.
The review of the three-part series Exposed: The Ghost Train Fire, conducted by award-winning journalist Chris Masters and University of Sydney Professor Rodney Tiffen, was provided to the ABC board last week and is expected to be made public on the ABC’s website.
The ABC board has been told a three-part documentary about the 1979 Luna Park tragedy may have unfairly dealt with allegations connecting former NSW Premier Neville Wran to an underworld boss, but the program still provided compelling evidence for a new investigation.
It was complimentary of the documentary makers Caro Meldrum-Hanna and Patrick Begley, but was critical of the way Wran, now deceased, was portrayed, an ABC spokesperson said.
“An independent review of Exposed: The Ghost Train has found the program performed an important public service and describes its production values as ‘world-class’ and ‘exemplary’,” an ABC spokesperson said. “Since its broadcast, there have been responses by the coroner and by the police, who are now offering a reward for information about the fire, and widespread calls in parliament and elsewhere for a new inquiry.
“It contains a critical opinion about one aspect of Exposed – an historical allegation regarding Neville Wran, to which ABC News has responded.”
ABC report slammed for dishonouring Afghanistan SAS heroes
The son of SAS Medal for Gallantry recipient Matthew Locke has condemned an ABC report which claimed a song entitled Getting Away With It — which was played at his father’s funeral — was part of a culture where soldiers thought they could get away with war crimes, reports News Corp’s Matthew Benns.
As Australian troops were evacuating desperate people from Kabul last week, the ABC aired footage of naked drinking sessions and claims from a former medic that the SAS “thought they could get away with anything, including murder”.
The report, and particularly the portrayal of the song so special to so many, has devastated the families of SAS veterans and led to calls for politicians and the chief of the ADF to finally speak up in their defence.
Television
ABC delays Tomorrow Tonight
ABC panel show Tomorrow Tonight, hosted by Charlie Pickering and Annabel Crabb, is unlikely to screen this year, reports TV Tonight.
ABC sources confirmed to TV Tonight, plans for a second season has been delayed due to ongoing covid restrictions.
The series, produced in Melbourne by Thinkative Television (The Weekly with Charlie Pickering, Hard Quiz), screened its first season in 2018, but was announced to return in 2021.
Former MAFS bride Natasha Spencer’s chilling warning for contestants
Casting is reportedly underway for the next season of Married at First Sight and former bride Natasha Spencer has a warning for future contestants, reports News Corp’s Mibengé Nsenduluka.
Spencer, 28, appeared on the Channel 9 dating show last year and claims the experience almost ruined her life and left her battling mental health issues.
“MAFS showed me everything that I didn’t want in life,” she told Confidential.
“There needs to be some consideration for people’s mental health and Channel 9 needs to take complaints seriously.
“I’m not surprised that it’s being investigated… I really hope this time they take a serious look at it.”
Why Real Housewives of Melbourne star stormed off set
The catty claws of The Real Housewives of Melbourne have been sharpened this year with one cast member quitting the show part-way through filming and another describing the runaway housewife as not “housewife worthy”, reports News Corp’s Fiona Byrne.
Respected journalist Anjali Rao is believed to have put her foot down at the antics of two of her co-stars in particular, turned on her Louboutin heel and sashayed off set about two thirds of the way through filming of the much anticipated 5th season of the hit show.
The walk off came at the end of June meaning that she will be missing from at least the last two episodes of the 10 part series that is tipped to air in October.
It is unclear if Rao will return for the recording of the traditionally friction-prone reunion special.
Beau Ryan reveals how he transformed from solid NRL player to TV celebrity
Beau Ryan’s life after league began before he’d finished playing. During his five years with Wests Tigers and last season, with the Sharks, after which he hung up his boots in 2014, he was thinking ahead. Because football wasn’t making him a fortune, reports News Corp’s James Phelps.
He is uncomfortable talking about his wealth, but industry analysts value his earnings at about $15 million.
“That first real opportunity came when I was asked to fill in for Kyle and host the morning show with Jackie on KIIS,” Ryan said. “It gave me an opportunity to show I was more than a footy guy and it really paved the way for what was to come next.”
Ryan walked away from Channel 9 and also knocked back a four year offer to host a 2GB sports show to pursue his latest dream, another long shot.
Forging a TV career outside of sport seemed almost unlikely as his bid to play NRL.
“I wanted to prove myself outside of football,” Ryan said. “And Channel 10 were willing to give me a shot.”
Sport Media
Nine boss says sports rights deals aren’t purely about dollars
Nine Entertainment Co boss Mike Sneesby has said he is confident the NRL isn’t solely focused on large amounts of money from a future broadcast partner, despite the code progressing talks with rival networks in an effort to shore up at least $115 million a year from a new deal, report SMH’s Zoe Samios.
Industry sources, who spoke anonymously because the talks are confidential, said the NRL is in talks with the three commercial free-to-air television networks about the potential to run games across multiple networks and ideally wants more than $115 million a year over five years. The sources said no bids have been submitted, but there is interest from Seven for one game a week and the State of Origin matches.
Some inside US-owned Network Ten are also interested in acquiring the rights for the NRL premiership and the State of Origin series, but a bid will depend on whether it has the money following the acquisition of the rights to soccer’s A-League, W-League, key international fixtures involving Australia’s men’s and women’s teams as well as the FFA Cup and other Asian tournaments.
Mike Whitney bowls out Channel Nine’s NRL coverage
Channel 9’s NRL coverage has been bowled over by former Test cricketer Mike Whitney, reports News Corp’s Phil Rothfield.
In an unprecedented ratings disaster last Sunday afternoon, Whitney’s Sydney Weekender show at 5.30pm — which was a rerun — knocked over Nine’s live NRL game in Sydney.
It is a crucial timeslot leading into the 6pm news and meant Channel 7 had a rare Sunday night victory with their news bulletin.
Nine will no doubt claim it was the fact the Brisbane Broncos were playing the New Zealand Warriors with no Sydney club involved.
However, the match was one of the most exciting Sunday games of the year with the Broncos winning a cliffhanger 24-22.
Whitney’s lifestyle show pulled in 165,000 viewers compared to Nine’s 160,000 with the NRL.
It is a shocking result for the network considering the AFL in Melbourne at the same time did a huge 310,000 in the Victorian capital.
The Nine figures are particularly concerning in that the network’s CEO Mike Sneesby is currently locked into negotiations with the NRL to extend their free-to-air deal.