Sam Altman to return as CEO of OpenAI
Sam Altman is to return as chief executive of OpenAI after the ChatGPT developer said it had “reached an agreement in principle” for his reinstatement, reports The Guardian’s Dan Milmo.
The San Francisco-based company made the announcement after days of internal turmoil after Altman’s surprise sacking on Friday. Nearly all of OpenAI’s 750-strong workforce had threatened to resign unless the board overseeing the business brought him back and then quit immediately afterwards.
As part of the agreement reached overnight, the deal includes the establishment of a new-look board chaired by Bret Taylor, the former co-chief executive of software firm Salesforce. It will include the former US treasury secretary Larry Summers and Adam D’Angelo, the tech entrepreneur and current board member who played a role in Altman’s firing.
Lehrmann was ‘utterly destroyed’ by Ten program, court told
Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann was portrayed as a “prominent rapist” and one of the “most revolting predators of the recent history of this country” in an episode of Network Ten’s The Project, a Sydney court has heard, reports Nine Publishing’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
On the opening day of Lehrmann’s defamation trial against Ten and its former star host Lisa Wilkinson, his barrister Matthew Richardson SC, played the entire 26-minute episode, and described it as being strategically edited to heighten the emotions and attack the alleged perpetrator.
Prominence legislation due this year
The Federal Government expects to introduce legislation this year on Prominence, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said yesterday at the National Press Club, reports TV Tonight.
Pressed on why the legisltation would favour one type of company over another she replied, “I think there are two things that are important here. The first is that prominence was a policy that we took to the last election, to legislate a prominence framework. But secondly, we’re doing this as part of a broader media reform agenda to update our laws for the digital age.
“The reality is that smart devices, connected TVs are not what we used to have when I was growing up. It’s not a box sitting in the corner. It is a smart device, which extrapolates large amounts of information. But importantly, it means that local Australian TV services have been made more difficult to find.”
ATSB releases final report into fatal helicopter crash in remote NT that killed Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released its final report into a fatal helicopter crash in the Northern Territory that killed Netflix star Chris “Willow” Wilson and left the pilot with significant injuries, report the ABC’s Thomas Morgan, Sarah Spina-Matthews, and Jack Hislop.
Wilson, one of the stars of the Outback Wrangler TV series, was killed on February 22 last year after the Robinson R44 helicopter he was travelling in crashed during a crocodile egg-collecting mission in the Northern Territory’s remote West Arnhem Land.
The only other occupant of the helicopter, pilot Sebastian Robinson, was seriously injured in the crash.
Radio
Watch out, Melbourne – Sydney’s radio cyclone is about to make landfall
During Wednesday’s show, shortly before announcing they had signed a mammoth $200 million deal to stay on the air together for another 10 years, Kyle and Jackie O were speaking to a listener, “Mitch”, about his deepest sexual fantasy, reports Nine Publishing’s Michael Koziol.
It’s not to everybody’s taste – even radio legend John Laws appeared to baulk at the vulgarity just this week – but there is no doubting its success. Kyle Sandilands and Jackie “O” Henderson have been broadcasting together for more than 20 years and are still breaking ratings records.
And now they are embarking on a whole new chapter, with the show to be broadcast in Melbourne, on KIIS FM, for the first time. Cyclone KJ is about to make landfall in the garden state.
‘Grubby buffoon’ Kyle ‘won’t work in Melbourne’, Project star and radio host Steve Price predicts
Project co-host Steve Price has unloaded on fellow radio host Kyle Sandilands and labelled him a “grubby buffoon” during a discussion of the FM shock jock’s lucrative new deal, reports News Corp’s Joshua Haigh.
On Wednesday evening’s edition of The Project, Price appeared to share his thoughts on Sandilands and Henderson’s new deal.
While Price conceded Sandilands and Henderson were “certainly worth $200 million”, he was less complimentary about their prospects in the Melbourne market.
Melbourne radio host Lauren Phillips breaks down amid brutal axing
A Melbourne radio show duo found out hours before going on-air Wednesday that they’d brutally lost their jobs amid Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson’s landmark new deal, reports News Corp’s Lexie Cartwright.
“Last night, we all received a phone call from management … Mine was during ‘black hawk down hour’ when all the kids are cracking it trying to get to sleep,” Jase Hawkins began.
“[Management were] informing us that the show will be finishing up at the end of this year. We’ll be finishing up at the end of 2023. Kyle and Jackie O will be taking over in 2024.”
Lauren Phillips, who joined Hawkins on the show two years ago, held back tears as she said “this is certainly not the way we wanted to bow out.”
Search for former 2GB radio host missing in Cape York croc country suspended
The search for a former radio host who went missing near croc-infested waters has been called off after one week, reports News Corp’s Madeleine Achenza.
Roman Butchaski hosted a fishing show on 2GB radio station before he went missing near the Olive River crossing near Cape York on November 12.
An extensive search of the river and surrounding bushland by SES volunteers and wildlife officers on the ground and a rescue helicopter was called off after just seven days.
Television
Squid Game: The Challenge is weird, cruel, and utterly captivating
There are so many reasons why Squid Game: The Challenge shouldn’t work, reports the ABC‘s Jared Richards.
Boasting the biggest cast and cash prize in reality TV history (456 people clamouring for USD$4.56 million), the show’s logistics are enough to send even the most seasoned producer of The Bachelor into a head-spin. But perhaps even more mind-boggling is The Challenge’s concept itself.
Cast your mind back – just for a second, I promise – to September 2021. Much of Australia (and the world) is in lockdown, but an ultra-violent, stylish, South Korean drama is cutting through the stale air of stasis, dread and fear.
Sports Media
Piers Morgan shuts down Karl Stefanovic’s offer after Australia’s World Cup win
Piers Morgan wants no part of Karl Stefanovic. The two television personalities have a long-running feud that went nuclear during the infamous 2023 Ashes series, reports Fox Sports.
Despite the hostilities between the two parties, Stefanovic tried to get Morgan back on the show in the wake of Australia securing the World Cup trophy.
“We invited Piers Morgan on our show to celebrate Australia’s success, the guy has been bagging Australia for months, still whining about that run out of The Ashes,” Stefanovic said.
The response should come as no surprise. Morgan emphatically shut down the offer with an extremely hostile message.
“I would rather garotte myself with rusty swords,” Morgan said in response.
Socceroos, Matildas success boosts cash for Football Australia
The Socceroos’ FIFA Men’s World Cup success and the rising popularity of the Matildas generated a 48 per cent increase in revenue during the last financial year for the governing body, Football Australia, reports Nine Publishing’s Zoe Samios.
Almost $20 million in prizemoney from the Socceroos’ performance, and a large increase in sponsorship and merchandise sales, delivered total revenue of $113.3 million for the financial year ending June 30, compared with $76.5 million the previous year.
The results mean Football Australia has made as much money as it typically did when it received revenue from the national competition, the A-Leagues. The most amount of money Football Australia ever generated before the split of the A-Leagues from the governing body was $132 million – in FY18.