News Brands
Guardian Australia journalists threaten to walk out over pay negotiations
Staff at The Guardian’s Australian outpost have applied for a protected industrial action ballot after negotiations with management over its latest pay deal hit an impasse, reports Nine Publishing’s Calum Jaspan.
The media company’s 140 local workers, the vast majority of them unionised, overwhelmingly voted on Tuesday afternoon in favour of a protected action ballot, arguing management’s current deal does not secure a sustainable future for journalism at the publication.
The ballot means staff can then vote on action, which could vary from speaking publicly about the company and adding union signatures to their emails to walking off the job.
The journalists’ union, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), said the key issues for Guardian workers were bringing redundancy provisions in line with industry standards, installing provisions for freelancers, performance rights and diversity clauses.
Former ABC broadcaster and author Tim Bowden dies, aged 87
Former ABC journalist Tim Bowden – who died on Sunday, aged 87 — discovered journalism as a teenager, sneaking into the back row of the theatre in 1950s Hobart to watch Cinesound newsreels, before television was common in Australian homes, reports ABC News.
“Tim was part of the fabric of the ABC for decades and made a huge contribution to the national public broadcaster and to the nation,” ABC managing director David Anderson said.
“He was generous to his colleagues and was known as much for his sense of humour as his passion for journalism and the ABC.”
Journalist and cinematographer David Brill, who was writing a book with Bowden before his death, said the broadcaster had always maintained his sense of humour.
“He always told me when we used to talk about journalism to keep the English language simple and have a sense of humour,” he told ABC Hobart.
Bowden grew up in Tasmania and after graduating from the University of Tasmania in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts degree he headed for the UK where he worked as a producer and radio interviewer with the BBC’s Pacific Service.
Three years later he was back in Tasmania and joined the ABC where he stayed for the remainder of his long career in journalism.
For Bowden, journalism led him to a posting as a foreign correspondent with the ABC in Singapore in the mid-60s where he covered conflict between Malaysia and Indonesia, before working as a war correspondent in Vietnam.
Next up was a stint in the US where Bowden covered the era’s most significant stories including violent demonstrations at the 1968 Democratic Party Convention in Chicago.
He returned to Australia the following year and settled in Sydney, working as executive producer of the ABC’s flagship current affairs radio program PM.
More recently ABC audiences knew Bowden as host of the TV program Backchat that aired until 1994. He received an Order of Australia for services to public broadcasting that same year.
Bowden’s love of a good story made him the prolific author of 18 books.
His biography of Australian combat cameraman Neil Davis, who Bowden met in Vietnam, became a classic.
Higgins, Reynolds’ lawyers in tug-of-war and shock Peta Credlin connection
Liberal senator Linda Reynolds’ lawyer has accused Brittany Higgins of concocting a plan to weaponise her alleged rape in an “unprovoked attack underpinned by visceral hatred”, while revealing Sky News anchor Peta Credlin finessed one of her powerful public addresses, reports Nine Publishing’s Jesinta Burton.
Higgins’ barrister, Rachael Young, SC, used the final hour of her closing address on Tuesday to savage the conspiracy arm of Reynolds’ Supreme Court defamation claim over several social media posts from July 2023.
Robert Ovadia tees off on Seven’s ‘propaganda unit’
Social media followers of sacked police reporter Robert Ovadia got an early morning look at his messages. The veteran reporter posted a string of apparent screenshots from staff supporting him, along with an attack on “Seven’s propaganda unit” and the Four Corners “hatchet job” that did him in, reports The AFR’s Mark Di Stefano.
“I can be crass, I can be blunt, I can be obnoxious, my humour is dark – 20 years surrounded by trauma and danger will do all of that to you – but I do NOT mistreat women,” he wrote.
Is this an advisable course while one’s before the Federal Court arguing you were unfairly terminated? Days after Seven came forward with 13 women lined up against you?
The sixth screenshot jumped out. It showed a Monday story from the Daily Mail that Seven had been in contact with other networks about alleged complaints made against Ovadia. And the reporter on the anonymous-sourced story? Steve Jackson.
Radio
David Walliams tells Kyle Sandilands it won’t be long before he is sacked!
British comedian David Walliams told Kyle and Jackie O that he’d “never come back” to their show, following a testy interview with the KIIS FM hosts, reports News Corp’s Andrew Bucklow.
David, who is in the country ahead of his An Audience with David Walliams national tour, dropped in to Kyle and Jackie’s O studio during Monday’s show.
He spoke to the pair for 25 minutes, and it was arguably the most entertaining interview Kyle and Jackie O have aired all year.
David admitted he was warned before the interview that Kyle was “controversial”, and he seemed genuinely shocked at some of the things the KIIS FM host said during the chat.
But rather than just sit back and take it, David fired back at Kyle with an endless stream of subtle digs that left co-host Jackie O in fits of giggles.
TV careers: Kyle spoke to David about his showbiz credentials, telling the comedian, “I am also a TV star”.
“Yes, but you’re more of a face for radio, aren’t you?” David said.
Kyle’s lack of showbiz knowledge: David was shocked when Kyle admitted that he “didn’t understand” Monty Python’s Life of Brian, and that he wasn’t aware an Australian actor had played James Bond (George Lazenby) before.
“How has he had this career?” he asked Jackie about Kyle.
“I was homeless. I was eating out of the bin,” Kyle said, offering up an excuse.
“Well you will be again soon,” David replied.
“I live for the day that I get fired,” Kyle said. “The payout alone. I look forward to that.”
“Really? Well, it won’t be long,” David joked.
Keith Urban shuts down Amanda Keller’s questions
Keith Urban sounded rather annoyed on Aussie breakfast radio this morning when asked about his wife, Nicole Kidman, reports News Corp’s Christine Estera.
The country music star was invited on the Jonesy & Amanda WSFM breakfast show to chat about his new album, High and upcoming world tour when the preceding chat focused on Kidman being at the Venice Film Festival.
With that segue, host Amanda Keller began asking questions about the origins of Urban’s relationship with the Aussie actress.
“Speaking of your amazing love story with Nicole, you met at G’day Australia. Is that what it was called?” she asked Urban, to which he bluntly corrected her: “G’day LA.”
Clearly done with questions about his wife, Urban shut down the topic with three simple words: “Anyway, moving on.”
Listen to the uncut eight-minute interview here.
Dr Norman Swan skewers ‘breathtaking incompetence’ of ABC app woes
Prominent ABC radio host and medical expert Dr Norman Swan has criticised the national broadcaster’s “breathtaking incompetence” after an update to its radio and podcasting app disrupted services for some listeners, reports Nine Publishing’s Calum Jaspan.
Swan’s criticisms, shared in an internal staff email chain, came in late August after the ABC received a number of complaints related to changes to the listen app.
Some app features were upgraded, but several bugs were also identified that led to users’ personalised settings and favourite shows disappearing, and the “share” function being removed. In some cases, the app disappeared from devices, including from the digital interface Android Auto installed in many modern cars.
While some presenters and producers have shared their frustration privately, Swan responded to an all-staff email from Radio National manager Dina Rosendorff to voice his displeasure.
Elle Macpherson’s media tour targets key breakfast radio shows
Elle Macpherson has been on a book tour this week to promote her autobiography. The $50 hardback, simply titled Elle, was published by Penguin Books on Tuesday this week.
The key plank of the publicity tour so far has been appearances on key radio shows. Macpherson was in Australia earlier this year where she appeared on a number of TV shows.
Her radio roadshow started with Nova 969 on Monday with an appearance on Fitzy, Wippa and Kate Ritchie. She was on the phone with the Sydney show, but in person at SCA in Melbourne.
She later appeared on the networked Hit drive show Carrie & Tommy. Elle stayed with SCA for a Tuesday morning appearance with Fifi, Fev and Nick at Fox in Melbourne.
In addition to the radio stops, Elle was featured on the cover of Are Media The Australian Women’s Weekly which carried an interview conducted by editor Sophie Tedmanson.
Highlights from the interview with Fitzy, Wippa and Kate included:
Burning her wedding dress
Wippa: Also you share the idea of burning a wedding dress, Elle, which I think a lot of people would have liked to have done in time! What did you burn?
Fitzy: That would’ve been expensive!
Elle: It was an Azzedine Alaïa dress, which was made for me and by one of the greatest couturiers of the world. The embarrassing thing was, many years later, the Azzedine museum asked me for the dress…but I couldn’t tell them it was stuck to the bar on the brownstone that I was living on Ninth Street New York City, like only nylon would stick to a bar!
Elle and sobriety
Wippa: We’ve spoken about this before…the 21 years of sobriety, which is sensational, but there was a point too where you revealed how your relationship with alcohol became a little bit too much, and you had to look after yourself
Elle: To tell you the truth…I just wanted a break and it was a fantastic time for me to address a lot of things that I hadn’t had the time to examine. It’s been amazing getting sober and staying sober.. it has been the foundation of all my of all my life, really, because without being sober, I wouldn’t be here to be sharing this book with you. Yesterday I went to a meeting, and it was really funny, because one of the guys was talking about how he was embarrassed about going to AA meetings in the beginning but he wasn’t embarrassed about falling out of a nightclub or pissing his pants…we have such preconceived ideas about how horrible life is going to be without alcohol, and I’m living proof that life can be so joyous and so free and so powerful!
Kate: What was the biggest thing you learned about yourself when you became sober Elle? What had been hidden by the use of alcohol?
Elle: I think it was the fear of being my true self.
Battle with breast cancer
Wippa: You share also, which is extremely personal, your battle with breast cancer, which I’m not sure anybody was aware of at the time, but you know, the learnings and the teachings that came from that experience too. There’s a lot of people that have gone down that path, and I think everybody knows somebody within their family that have shared in that challenging time.
Elle: It wasn’t really a battle. I mean, the battle was coming to terms with everybody else’s fear, because, you know, cancer is a subject that we’re so many people are afraid of…so my recovery from breast cancer, and I’m happy to say that I’m seven years in clinical remission, as they would say. You know, the hardest part was coming to the decision, first of all, the diagnosis, but the next part was, well, what do I do about it? And, and I was very, very, you know, it was such a magnificent story of rebirth for me.
Listen to Elle with Fitzy, Wippa with Kate Ritchie
Listen to Elle on Carrie and Tommy
Listen to Elle with Fifi, Fev and Nick
Read the Australian Women’s Weekly interview with Elle
Did Radio National really look to Kyle and Jackie breakfast show for inspiration?
The executive producer of The Kyle and Jackie O Show, Bruno Bouchet, has claimed ABC’s Radio National might be taking learnings from the KIIS FM breakfast show.
Bouchet said there was a Radio National all-staff meeting this week where a manager indicated the success of K&J in Sydney could be listened to for ideas. The meeting included the new Late Night Live host David Marr and Health Report co-host Dr Norman Swan. (See also above.)
Bouchet said Marr reportedly pretended to faint when the suggestion was made. Swan was said then to enquire if he should be asking guests about their favourite sexual positions.
Bouchet later explained how much he liked listening to ABC Classic and Kyle and Jackie O then put part of Megan Burslem’s Classic FM breakfast show to air.
See also: Meet Megan Burslem, a breakfast radio host you’ve (possibly) never heard of
Television
James Packer teams up with Robbie Williams for a 7News Spotlight exclusive
Billionaire businessman James Packer will open up about his mental health struggles in a warts-and-all TV interview in which he admits “money is not a guarantee of happiness”, reports The Nightly’s Clare Rigden.
The 56-year-old’s “raw and honest” chat will air on 7NEWS Spotlight this Sunday in Packer’s first face-to-face interview in more than a decade.
He exclusively tells presenter Liam Bartlett about some of the darkest times in his life, the merry-go-round of medication and doctors who have tried to help, and the daily addiction he can’t shake.
Appearing alongside him is close friend and pop superstar Robbie Williams, whose own battles with his mental health have been well documented over the years.
“(It’s) the same sort of illness that we share,” Williams says. “It’s a disease of isolation.”
Top photo: James Packer with Liam Bartlett and Robbiw Williams on Spotlight
“The toll it takes”: Michael Rowland hints at News Breakfast future
ABC host Michael Rowland has hinted at a departure from News Breakfast is on his mind due to the demanding schedule and the weight news stories are bearing on his mental health, reports TV Tonight.
Speaking to Virginia Trioli on her podcast You Don’t Know Me, Rowland was asked about ‘The thing he can’t stop thinking about …’
“A less intense work life,” he replied.
“I have been doing this job for 14 years, and it does take a toll. I don’t need to talk to you too long to know the effect it had on you.”
“Absolutely, you’re looking at the case study,” Trioli replied.
“I’m getting older, the ripe old age of 55 this year. The toll it takes gets more pronounced every year, the hours, the horrible stories we have to cover as journalists presenting a news program,” Rowland continued.
Sports Media
Is Seven talking to a Fox Footy host to join Kane Cornes on new shows?
Seven shocked the sports world last week with its winning bid to secure the talents of Kane Cornes.
There has been a suggestion that Seven could still be recruiting for media talent to join Cornes on new footy shows to potentially screen on Monday and Wednesday nights.
The Sounding Board podcast has asked if Seven might be in discussions with Fox Footy AFL 360 co-host and SEN 1116 morning host Gerard Whateley about a TV role.
The question was raised by Damian Barrett who is a colleague of Cornes on Footy Classified and at AFL.com.au.
The talk about another Seven signing came after Barrett and his co-host Craig Hutchison talked about the fallout from Cornes and his departure from Nine. Hutchison owns the business that manages Cornes and is also a colleague with Cornes on Footy Classified.
Barrett asked Hutchy: “Is Gerard Whateley going to be working with Kane next year?” Hutchy replied “I wouldn’t have thought so.”
Barrett: “I keep getting asked this.” He added that he knew Fox Footy weas bidding for the services of Cornes for a role on AFL 360. “Now I am hearing that Gerard may be going from Foxtel to Seven.”
Barrett asked Hutchy is Whateley was out of contract at Fox. “I would guess no, but I don’t know,” admitted Hutchison. Hutchy added he had no idea where Whateley would be on TV next year as he didn’t manage his radio star.
There was no discussion that Whateley would end his radio work with SEN. Two years ago Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) announced Whateley would remain at SEN as the chief sports caller as he signed a new contract with the network. He first signed with SEN in 2018 on a four-year contract.
At the time Sports Entertainment Network chief executive Hutchison said he was thrilled that Gerard Whateley will continue to welcome listeners with “Good Morning”.
“We are absolutely delighted that Gerard will continue to help lead the SEN family for years to come,” Hutchy said in 2022.
Later in The Sounding Board podcast this week, the hosts talked about the sighting of “the artist previously known as Fitzy”. Barrett and Hutchy talked about seeing the ABC’s head of capital city radio and sport, Mike Fitzpatrick, at the AFL Awards in Melbourne on Thursday last week. Fitzpatrick was a longtime head of content for SCA’s Triple M network. He was at the Awards with Triple M’s head of sports content Ewan Giles.