Business of Media
Press Club rejects racism calls over scheduling of Price, Mundine speeches
ABC journalist and National Press Club president Laura Tingle has labelled suggestions that scheduling and staging of speeches by Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Warren Mundine were driven by race “highly offensive”, reports Nine Publishing’s Calum Jaspan.
Price appeared at the National Press Club in Canberra last Thursday. Her address was held in a smaller room than the usual venue, which Tingle explained was the result of the senator’s last-minute confirmation clashing with long-planned renovations.
Price and Mundine are prominent advocates for the No campaign in the coming referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Russell Brand accuser calls his denials of rape, sexual assault allegations ‘insulting’
London police say they have received an allegation of a sexual assault dating back 20 years, following media reports about comedian and actor Russell Brand. The comedian and actor has been accused of rape and sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013 following a joint investigation by UK network Channel 4 and the Times and Sunday Times newspapers, reports the ABC.
He has denied all of the allegations and said all of his relationships have been consensual.
Brand, who has been censured by YouTube over COVID-19 misinformation, also suggested that the reports were part of a coordinated attack designed to discredit him because of his views.
Speaking to the BBC’s Woman’s Hour podcast on Monday, one accuser said Brand’s claims were “laughable”.
TikTok targets views of smart TV crowd
It is early days for social media app TikTok – it launched only about six months ago in the app stores of smart TVs in Australia and the US – but how successful it will be is an open question, according to a representative of one of the world’s biggest TV companies, reports The Australian’s Joseph Lam.
“As far as I know, TikTok is not in the ranks of, let’s say, the top five or top 10 in terms of smart TV apps,” Samsung’s global lead of lifestyle TV products, Wonki Kim, said of the popular Chinese video app.
Asked about TikTok’s progress in the TV market, an Australian spokeswoman would not provide user numbers or downloads but said the company would continue to test and invest in its app.
“The app is still in the early stages with testing underway in Australia and around the world,” she said. “We will continue to enhance the product through regular improvements.”
Television
Trisha Stratford, former MAFS relationship expert, dies aged 72
Dr Trisha Stratford, a former relationship expert on the reality program Married at First Sight, has died aged 72, reports Nine Publishing’s Nell Geraets.
Relationship expert John Aiken, who featured alongside Stratford in MAFS, announced the news on Monday via social media.
“I’m heartbroken and devastated that my friend and dear colleague Trisha has passed away,” he wrote on Instagram. “We shared an amazing seven seasons of MAFS together. She loved everything New Zealand, relationships, the All Blacks, the Black Caps, French wine and traveling the world. I’ll miss you, Tish. Thank you for all the memories.” He did not reveal the circumstances of her death.
Neighbours twist: “We also have the unique opportunity to go back in time”
This article includes spoilers for the first episode of the new series of Neighbours
Neighbours fans yesterday were reeling from the unexpected union of Toadie (Ryan Moloney) and Terese (Rebekah Elmaloglou), reports TV Tonight.
It wildly contrasted the 2022 finale in which Toadie married Melanie (Lucinda Cowden) and Terese had rekindled with Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis).
The Fremantle team has been at pains to keep the twist under wraps until broadcast. Now that it is out in the open, Executive Producer Jason Herbison answered these questions for TVT.
With a two year time leap, he hints at “going back in time” to show fans more.
See Also: Back to Ramsay St: How Neighbours is staying fresh after more than three decades on air
Drew Barrymore, Bill Maher delay return of their shows after backlash
Television hosts Drew Barrymore and Bill Maher, who have faced backlash for preparing to resume their shows amid the monthslong writers’ strike, said they would delay their shows’ return, report The Wall Street Journal’s Ginger Adams Otis and Joe Flint.
Barrymore said Sunday she would now wait until the industry’s labor issues with the Writers Guild of America are resolved to bring back her show, which was set to return to the air Monday.
Maher—who said last week that he was reconfiguring Real Time with Bill Maher to run without writers—said Monday he would also delay his return to air, citing the potential progress in talks between the two sides.
Sports Media
Foxtel slams proposal to put women’s sport on free TV list
Putting women’s sports on a government list designed to keep key games freely accessible for Australians would be a mistake, entrenching a “grass ceiling” on the players and sporting codes, Foxtel says, reports Nine Publishing’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
The Albanese government is reviewing the “anti-siphoning list”, a law introduced in the 1990s to prevent key sports from being put behind pay TV paywalls. The legislation lists the key sporting events that must sell their broadcast rights to free-to-air networks.
After a surge in support for the Matildas at the FIFA Women’s World Cup last month, which broke Australian free-to-air TV viewing records, the government rushed to put their future games on the list.
But that does not solve a complex situation where Australians view shows on subscription platforms such as Netflix, through free broadcast services like 9Now or 10 Play, or on the likes of YouTube.