Lehrmann Case Reopens
Ten wins bid to reopen Lehrmann case
Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann allegedly leaked thousands of pages of confidential documents from his criminal rape trial to the Seven Network, including personal text messages, then lied about it under oath, a court has heard, reports Nine Publishing’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
The explosive last-minute evidence was tendered by Network Ten in three affidavits sworn at the weekend by Taylor Auerbach, a former producer of Seven’s flagship current affairs show Spotlight.
There were 12,000 people watching the after-hours Federal Court livestream on Tuesday night, where Justice Michael Lee allowed Ten to reopen its case and bring Auerbach to court to give evidence on Thursday
What does Network Ten’s successful bid to reopen Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case mean for a judgment?
With the finish line in sight, the Federal Court has provided another twist in Bruce Lehrmann‘s defamation case against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson, reports the ABC’s Patrick Bell.
The judgment was originally set down for Thursday, but that date will now instead be used for the case to reopen.
Justice Lee has said he is prepared for the court to sit as late as possible on Friday to complete the evidence before the weekend.
Seven: “We strongly reject the false and misleading claims”
Seven network has responded to explosive allegations made in an affidavit by former Spotlight producer Taylor Auerbach, reports TV Tonight.
“The claims in the affidavits have been presented unchallenged,” a Seven spokesperson said.
“We strongly reject the false and misleading claims relating to the broadcast of material in the Spotlight program. Seven has never revealed its source or sources and has no intention of doing so.”
Business of Media
Publishers are concerned news could be permanently dumped from Facebook
Publishers say Meta’s decision to switch off its hidden news tab will have little impact on how Facebook users consume news and instead they remain worried about their future as the tech company refuses to rule out banning news from its platform, reports The Australian’s Sophie Elsworth and Cameron England.
Many publishers are concerned about the long-term accessibility of news on the social media platform and whether Meta will repeat what it has done in Canada and ban it altogether.
Country Press Australia president Andrew Schreyer said he predicted Meta (the owner of Facebook) would follow in the footsteps of action it took in Canada that resulted in all news being removed from appearing in Facebook users’ feeds.
See Also: Instagram and Threads are limiting political content. This is terrible for democracy
Jon Stewart says Apple told him not to interview FTC chair Lina Khan
Jon Stewart has accused Apple of urging him not to interview the United States’ head tech regulator, the Federal Trade Commission chair, Lina Khan, on his erstwhile Apple TV+ show and podcast The Problem with Jon Stewart, reports The Guardian’s Adrian Horton.
In an interview with Khan on The Daily Show, which Stewart is guest-hosting on Monday nights through the November election, Stewart asked Khan about her office’s pursuit of anti-trust litigation against such major companies as Amazon and Kroger. When the conversation came to the rise of artificial intelligence as backed by major tech companies such as Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft, Stewart told Khan: “I wanted to have you on a podcast, and Apple asked us not to do it.”
“They literally said, ‘Please don’t talk to her’ – having nothing to do with what you do for a living,” he added, to laughs.
Television
Can Virginia Trioli’s new show fix the ABC’s arts problem?
The ABC’s reputation as a home for strong arts and culture coverage is at a low ebb, with the broadcaster facing criticism for successive cuts to arts funding, culminating with the closure of its standalone arts department last year. So, a lot is riding on Virginia Trioli’s eagerly anticipated return to ABC TV this month, with a new, high-profile arts show, reports Nine Publishing’s Kerrie O’Brien.
Trioli’s program, Creative Types, is a six-part series featuring well-known creative Australians at the top of their game across various mediums, and a new addition for the ABC’s 2024 slate.
Screen Forever 2024: Why the numbers crunchers get a say in new ABC shows
ABC’s Audience division is part of a greenlight committee which approves new Scripted commissions, it was recently confirmed at the Screen Forever conference, reports TV Tonight.
Rachel Okine, appointed as Head of Scripted in July following her role as Senior Commissioning Editor at Stan, said the committee looks to four key points when considering new commissions, spanning both strategic and instinctual.
“We look at what has performed in that space at a certain level, what our expectations are in terms of the best case scenario for Audience capture,” she said.