News Corp has landed one of the biggest celebrity feud stories for some time as it splashes a Noosa park brawl across its front pages involving Michael Clarke and Karl Stefanovic.
It is a clash that has many recalling the high-profile public spat between James Packer and David Gyngell in a Bondi street in 2014.
The overnight breaking story involving former Test cricketer Clarke, his current girlfriend and Today show co-host Stefanovic was splashed over the front page of The Daily Telegraph plus four pages inside the newspaper. The Sydney publication has also secured a grainy video that shows the confrontation involving the high-profile celebrities.
It was also the lead in other News Corp Australia metro dailies including the Herald Sun, The Courier-Mail and Adelaide Advertiser. The story is also the lead on all News Corp metro websites which must be recording some bumper traffic today.
Headlines varied though in the different newsbrands with The Daily Telegraph opting for “Sex & Out”.
Headlines: Michael Clarke v Karlos
The Daily Telegraph: Sex & Out
Herald Sun: Hit for Sex
The Courier-Mail: Slapped for Sex
Adelaide Advertiser: The Big Bash
Daily Mail Australia: Pip Lashes Pup
Sunrise on Seven: The Big Bash
Seven’s breakfast show and the Adelaide Advertiser shared a headline with Seven using it as an unusual yet effective piece of cross-promotion for its summer sport.
7News.com.au was all over the story, but it shared the home page with the Carrie Bickmore celebrity breakup.
Not surprisingly 9News.com.au doesn’t seem to have reported on the scuffle while it is not surprising it doesn’t seem to have found a spot in the three-and-a-half hour the Today show filled today.
Karl Stefanovic however turned up for work today co-hosting Today with his new co-host Sarah Abo.
As to how the park brawl might impact the media career of Michael Clarke, The Daily Telegraph commented in a piece today:
The former cricket superstar is expected back on the Big Sports Breakfast radio program from leave the week after next, before he is tipped to head to India next month to commentate on the Australian Test tour for television networks around the world.
Despite the regrettable public display while on holiday with Karl Stefanovic, Clarke was a behavioural clean skin for the duration of his high-profile Australian career and is capable of weathering any blowback that might come his way.
Clarke and Matthew Hayden are rumoured to be the two former Australian cricket greats heading to the subcontinent to commentate for India’s TV broadcaster on the four Test series involving Pat Cummins’ team starting on February 9.
It means Clarke’s voice is likely to be heard on Fox Cricket’s coverage of the series back in Australia, after he also spent the start of this cricket summer calling the Twenty20 World Cup as part of the International Cricket Council’s broadcast team.