Business of Media
News outlets asking a US court to make Murdoch family trust case public
A coalition of media organisations, including CNN, has petitioned a Nevada court to open up the secret proceedings surrounding a legal battle over the future of billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, reports CNN.
The New York Times, Associated Press, National Public Radio, The Washington Post, Reuters and CNN filed a motion this week in the Second Judicial District Court in Nevada to make public the proceedings, objecting to the case being so extensively sealed that it doesn’t even appear on any court schedule or docket.
The Murdoch family, famous for helming one of the world’s most influential media empires that includes Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and outlets in Australia and the UK, is locked in a secret court battle over succession and control of the future of the family business, according to a New York Times report published in July citing sealed court documents.
The filing argued that completely sealing the proceedings “meets neither the substantive nor procedural requirements imposed by the constitutional right of access,” and any concerns over privacy could be met with redactions.
Guardian moving into e-commerce amid revenue shortfall
The Guardian is preparing to launch an e-commerce platform as it continues to look for new areas of revenue diversification, reports Press Gazette.
Chief financial and operating officer Keith Underwood has revealed The Guardian will begin making product recommendations “based on the trust that we’ve got within the brand” with the aim of making revenue through affiliate links.
Speaking on a panel at the FT Strategies News in the Digital Age conference in London this week, Underwood also revealed The Guardian has added 50 journalistic roles in the US over the past year or so.
Despite this The Guardian has just completed a round of cost-cutting that saw about 30 journalists take voluntary redundancy.
Underwood also said that “with the core revenue streams under structural pressure you’ve got to diversify – you’ve got to look at digital transformation and new opportunities, new formats to try and drive new engagement with audiences, and different revenues, different partnerships coming in”.
He noted 70% of The Guardian’s revenues are digital, more than 35% of its total revenues come from outside the UK and 50% of its digital revenues are non-UK.
Becoming “way more reader-funded versus ad-funded than we were before” has given The Guardian “real resilience in our model to try and test new things”, Underwood added. He also described international diversification away from the UK as a “game-changer” for the same reason.
Elle Macpherson’s book tour hits a bump in the road
Earlier this week, Mediaweek reported on the radio road trip Elle Macpherson had embarked on to promote her new autobiography.
It started promisingly with interviews on Nova Sydney, Fox in Melbourne and the national Carrie and Tommy drive show. Macpherson was also on the cover of a magazine again – this time The Australian Women’s Weekly.
But after people started to digest what was between the covers, questions were raised about her advice after her battle with cancer. Macpherson will face another interview on 60 Minutes on Sunday night.
In the meantime, recent headlines this week have included:
The Australian: ‘Dangerous, irresponsible, quackery’: doctors slam Elle’s cancer claims
Guardian Australia: Crucial information missing in Elle Macpherson breast cancer story, experts warn
There has been support though. Rita Panahi in the Herald Sun wrote:
Elle Macpherson is entitled to opt for whatever treatment she sees fit
Richard Munro, who oversaw the creation of Time Warner, dies at 93
Richard Munro, who as chairman and chief executive of Time Inc. navigated the company from its home in magazine publishing through the stormy media seas of the 1980s and, ultimately, to its momentous purchase of Warner Communications in 1989, creating the world’s largest media corporation, died on August 11 in Naples, Florida. He was 93, reports The New York Times. His son Mac said the cause of his death, in a hospice, was melanoma.
When Henry R. Luce, the powerful founder of Time Inc., died in 1967, his will stipulated that his company should remain “principally a journalistic enterprise,” with a stable of high-profile magazines — including Time, Life, Fortune and Sports Illustrated — and a book-publishing arm.
Things had changed significantly by the time Munro took over as president and chief executive in 1980. Time Inc. was in the process of replacing its foundation in journalism and publishing with a more diverse set of media offerings, including HBO, the first major subscription cable channel, which began operating in 1972.
‘Okay, I’m dead now’: Nike ad man’s message after two-decade cancer fight
Jim Riswold, a visionary and irreverent adman whose playful and occasionally provocative Nike commercials featuring Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Bo Jackson redrew the playing field for product endorsements and propelled athletic footwear into the cultural stratosphere, died on August 9 at his home in Portland, Oregan. He was 66, reports The New York Times.
Riswold, who had fought various forms of cancer for two decades, announced his death on Instagram in a statement posted by his children that said, “Okay, I’m dead now.” His family said the cause was interstitial lung disease exacerbated by metastatic prostate cancer.
Described by colleagues and even competitors as an “idiot savant” and the Michael Jordan of advertising, Riswold was an exasperating man who occasionally credited himself — accurately, it turns out — with revolutionising television commercials, turning them into a form of entertainment often more absorbing than the shows they interrupted.
News Brands
Two young Australian media execs star in INMA 2024 30 Under 30 Awards
The International News Media Association (INMA) has honoured 30 young professionals as rising stars in the news media industry in its annual 30 Under 30 Awards.
The 30 Under 30 Awards is part of INMA’s Young Professionals Initiative, and this year’s competition garnered 140 applications. Winners came from 16 different countries.
Now in its fifth year, members of the association’s Young Professionals Committee reviewed applications and voted on five award recipients in six categories: Advertising, Data, Editorial, Reader Revenue, Leadership, and Product.
Executives from News Corp Australia and SBS were among the 30 recipients.
In the Advertising category:
Marcus Billingham-Yuen, Client Strategy Manager, News Corp Australia
In the Editorial category:
Kathleen Farmilo, Social Media Producer, SBS News, Australia
Judges selected candidates who are under the age of 30, employed by a news media company, big picture thinker with an ability to shape the news media industry, demonstrated expertise and accomplishments, and soft skills that make a great leader.
“INMA is proud to elevate these impressive professionals in our fifth class of 30 under 30 honourees,” said Earl J. Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of INMA. “The world of news media is changing rapidly, and these are the leaders we want at the helm during this transformation.”
Top Media Watch contender gets a chance in hot seat
Journalist Janine Perrett will fill in for Paul Barry in the Media Watch hot seat this month as the ABC continues its search for the program’s next permanent host, reports Nine Publishing’s Calum Jaspan.
Perrett, who has filled in for Barry twice before, will host three episodes – starting September 16 – while he’s on leave. While this latest stint is not a formal audition, Perrett is widely considered a top contender to replace Barry.
Barry, who will host the show until the end of the year, confirmed his departure in June. The ABC has yet to settle on a permanent replacement for the high-rating 15-minute weekly slot but has made a number of informal approaches, internal and external, to high-profile journalists.
Externally, the ABC’s early approaches included sounding out the former editor of The Age, Gay Alcorn, The Sydney Morning Herald’s chief investigative reporter, Kate McClymont, and former Four Corners and 7.30 executive producer Sally Neighbour.
Actress Whelan Browne settles Rocky Horror sex harassment case
Stage and television actress Christie Whelan Browne has settled her longstanding lawsuit against the production company behind The Rocky Horror Picture Show after she alleged she was sexually harassed by star Craig McLachlan, reports News Corp’s Nathan Schmidt.
Whelan Browne launched proceedings in the Federal Court last year, claiming Oldfield Entertainment had failed to provide a safe work environment during the 2014 production, citing breaches of workplace health and safety.
The 42-year-old, who played the role of Janet, had been seeking $1.5m for general loss and damages and a further $500,000 for aggravated damages but on Wednesday revealed she had settled the suit out of court.
“I have now settled my sex discrimination/sexual harassment case with Oldfield Entertainment out of court,” she wrote on Instagram.
In 2018, Whelan Browne and two other actresses made allegations against Mr McLachlan, who subsequently left The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Police later charged McLachlan with multiple counts of indecent assault, but he was later acquitted in court.
The Neighbours and Home and Away star filed defamation proceedings against the ABC and Fairfax Media in 2018 that were suddenly discontinued in 2021.
Radio
Colleagues salute SCA’s Adam Williscroft who is departing after 13 years
Adam Williscroft is about to leave the SCA building at World Square. He is stepping down from his role as music content director – audio on demand & digital radio. The move comes at a time when a number of people are leaving all media company’s and SCA hasn’t been immune to change.
It is Williscroft’s second tour of duty for SCA. When it was known simply as Austereo, Williscroft worked on air and as a music director in Newcastle at NXFM and then in similar positions at Fox and 2Day for a period eight years that ended in 2004.
Between his SCA stints he pulled on the boots for Nova Entertainment as PD at first Nova Brisbane and then Nova Sydney. Toward the end of his seven years there he helped launch Classic Rock which replaced Vega FM. A niche audience loved it, but not enough to pay the bills and the Sydney and Melbourne frequencies eventually became smoothfm.
Heading back to SCA as head of content at Triple M digital radio, Williscroft fed that classic rock audience what they wanted with Triple M Classic Rock. The Triple M DAB+ family now spawns six separate stations which combined is the #1 DAB+ brand.
Crowds arrive for morning a free coffee with Jonesy and Amanda
WSFM’s Jonesy & Amanda made it a feel-good Friday today by shouting their loyal listeners free coffee with their new initiative, Jonesy & Amanda’s Put It On The Tab.
Listeners hoping the high-ratings radio dup might have put in a personal appearance would have been disappointed though.
The breakfast show took over the Bay Vista Parramatta café on Church Street between 6am until 9am. Listeners who headed to the café to order a regular coffee were able to put it on Jonesy & Amanda’s tab.
The Put It On The Tab campaign is a weekly initiative that will see the pair putting different items on their tab each week for listeners to enjoy. This comes after the launch of their Jonesy & Amanda’s London Cab which saw a WSFM-branded taxi pick up listeners and take them to wherever they needed to go, free of charge.
“People are turning away from their daily coffee because they can’t afford it,” said WSFM’s Amanda Keller. “So, we thought tomorrow morning, coffee is on us!”
Next week’s Put It On The Tab item will be announced in the coming days, with a further list of big ticket items to be announced over the next few weeks.
Podcasting
Bronwyn podcast: Burning questions answered on the missing mum mystery
In 10 episodes, the podcast investigation into the unsolved disappearance of Lennox Head mother Bronwyn Winfield by The Australian’s national chief correspondent Hedley Thomas has generated new leads, reinvigorated the police investigation, and prompted big questions, reports that newspaper’s Kristen Amiet.
They’re the subject of two new special episodes, available exclusively for subscribers of The Australian at bronwynpodcast.com. The Australian has also unpacked some of the most-asked questions about the investigation, from queries about bedsheets to a cousin’s staunch denial of a damning phone call more than three decades ago.