Business of Media
YouTube star MrBeast rejects Elon Musk’s bid: ‘My videos cost millions’
MrBeast, the most followed YouTuber, rejected Elon Musk’s request to upload his hugely-popular videos to X because the mogul’s social media site wouldn’t generate “a fraction” of the money he earns from the Google-owned platform, reports News Corp’s Shannon Thaler.
See also: Media buyers share their perspectives on whether “YouTube can do it all”
On Saturday, the 25-year-old internet sensation uploaded his latest video for his 224 million-plus subscribers, notifying his X followers with a post that read: “I uploaded, go watch or I’ll drop kick you.”
Russian hackers were inside Ukraine telecoms giant for months
Russian hackers were inside Ukrainian telecoms giant Kyivstar’s system from at least May last year in a cyberattack that should serve as a “big warning” to the West, Ukraine’s cyber spy chief told Reuters, reports Reuters’ Tom Balmforth.
The hack, one of the most dramatic since Russia’s full-scale invasion nearly two years ago, knocked out services provided by Ukraine’s biggest telecoms operator for some 24 million users for days from Dec. 12.
Nigel Lythgoe under investigation by ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ production company amid Sexual Assault Lawsuits
Nigel Lythgoe has become the subject of an investigation led by Sony Pictures Television’s 19 Entertainment, which co-produces “So You Think You Can Dance” with Dick Clark Productions, an insider tells Variety, reports Variety’s Michaela Zee.
Sony declined to comment on the investigation.
Sports
‘Devastating blow’: Sam Kerr ruptures ACL six months out from Olympics
Sam Kerr has ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament, in a devastating blow to the Matildas captain and the national team’s Olympic hopes.
See also: Matildas superstars return to Optus Sport: New season of Women’s Super League
The Chelsea forward and 2023 Ballon d’Or runner-up sustained the long-term injury during the Women’s Super League leaders’ warm weather training camp in Morocco, the club confirmed in the early hours of Monday morning.
News Brands
Sky News to revive ‘dying art’ of debate
A new debate show on the Sky News 2024 programming line-up is designed to combat political correctness, give the average Australian a voice and revive the dying art of disagreement, reports The Australian’s James Wigney.
The Jury, which premieres next month, hosted by journalist Danica De Giorgio, will invite two guests to debate a wide range of hot-button issues, from the cost-of-living crisis to nuclear power and gender identity to censorship.
Entertainment
Golden Globes 2024: Check out the full list of nominations
The 81st annual Golden Globe Awards nominations have been announced, kicking the US Awards season into high gear, reports Chattr’s Anita Anabel.
In no surprise, Warner Bros’ Barbie and Binge’s Succession, two cultural phenomenons led the nominees with nine apiece. At the same time, Universal’s Oppenheimer had eight nods and Apple Original Films’ Killers of the Flower Moon and Searchlight’s Poor Things tied with seven.
Blockbusters lure film buffs back to nation’s cinemas
The Australian box office earned almost $1bn in 2023 thanks to a string of cinema blockbusters as operators invested millions of dollars to enhance the big screen experience, reports The Australian’s Chris Herde.
According to cinema reporting platform Numero, the Australian gross box office in 2023 was $986m – up 4.4 per cent on last year and 62 per cent ahead on 2021 when the world was in the grips of the pandemic.
Opinion: From The Twilight Zone to Frontline, streaming the hit shows of the 20th century
Television’s history is lengthy and fascinating, but also worryingly scattered. In trying to put together a list of the best shows currently available for streaming from the 20th century, I would accumulate numerous misses for every title I could find, reports The Sydney Morning Herald’s Craig Mathieson.
With the greatest respect, I’ve left out shows from the 1990s that are still airing (The Simpsons) or remain popular comfort viewing (Friends). What’s below – in chronological order of debut – is a time capsule well worth opening.
TV’s first Indigenous PM was never in her sights, says Deborah Mailman.
As the the third and final season of Total Control approaches, star Deborah Mailman is content that her character, Alex Irving, never became the first Indigenous Prime Minister, reports TV Tonight’s David Knox.
After Alex started as a renegade Independent and rose quickly through the corridors of power, it seemed like the top job was in her sights.
In a reality where a Referendum was defeated, achieving such seems more likely in a world of fiction. But according to Mailman, the show arguably had less lofty ambitions.
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Top Image: Elon Musk & MrBeast (James Stephen Donaldson)