Business of Media
Nine Entertainment’s bombshell cultural review into workplace misconduct out Thursday
Nine Entertainment will release the findings of its highly-anticipated independent review into its workplace culture on Thursday, following widespread allegations of sexual harassment and bullying at the media company, reports Sophie Elsworth and James Madden.
Acting chief executive officer Matt Stanton (pictured) sent an all-staff email on Wednesday to inform employees that the review into Nine’s TV news and current affairs department will be handed to the company’s board and management on Thursday, with a staff briefing to follow later in the day.
The review was announced by former CEO Mike Sneesby in May after The Australian revealed that former veteran news boss Darren Wick had left the company in March after allegations of inappropriate conduct were reported by a female staff member under his authority.
Stanton said the review – conducted by external consulting firm Intersection – was a “comprehensive process and represents an important step for us as we work to strengthen our workplace culture.”
Nine to offer staff support with cultural review results ready to land
Nine’s management will brief staff ahead of releasing the results of an external independent review into cultural issues at the media company on Thursday, triggered by the exit of former director of news and current affairs Darren Wick earlier this year, reports Nine Publishing’s Calum Jaspan.
Acting chief executive Matt Stanton told staff on Wednesday afternoon the company expected to receive the report from independent firm Intersection on Thursday, acknowledging it might be a “challenging time” for some of those involved.
Stanton said the board and management would also be seeing the report for the first time on Thursday, and that while they were committed to transparency, “we may not have all the answers in tomorrow’s briefing”.
Nine is expected to publish a version of the report online after the staff briefing.
Washington Post CEO elevates deal-making to a top priority
For the last several years, The Washington Post has sat out the deal fervor that has swept through much of the media industry, reports The New York Times.
The Post’s new chief executive, Will Lewis, appears interested in changing that.
Lewis, who took over in January, has told confidants that he has a mandate from the company’s owner, Jeff Bezos, to grow the newspaper, including through acquisitions, three people familiar with the matter said. In recent months, the company’s head of corporate development has met with a variety of technology and media companies, exploring deals that could help The Post expand its revenue and subscriptions, one of the people said.
In scouting for deals, The Post is following in the footsteps of other media companies, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, that have bought companies that complement their core news businesses, the three people said. The overall goal is to create a growing subscription-based business that is insulated from the vagaries of the news cycle, which can wax and wane throughout the year.
Television
Cathy Payne named amongst 31 The Most Powerful Women in International TV
As The Hollywood Reporter unveils its annual list of the 31 most powerful women in international television, the global industry finds itself at a crossroads. It’s been a rough year. Layoffs at nearly every studio and major production company have highlighted the overall contraction in the market and signal a broad shift in priorities away from growth at all costs to a laser focus on the bottom line.
Just one Australian makes the list this year…even if she is based in the UK:
Cathy Payne
CEO, Banijay Rights (UK)
Navigating a contracting market dominated by “streamer correction and general industry consolidation” has been a challenge in the past year, says Payne. “It would be good to see when big industry groups [Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery] will settle and future programming strategy become clearer.” The child of a working-class family, Payne always has been focused on improving representation across socioeconomic backgrounds, often a blind spot within the entertainment industry. “I believe grassroot programs that grow change can shift long-term attitudes,” she says. “Talent can come from anywhere.”
The Office: Hannah Howard is annoying says Felicity Ward, but wait there’s more…
With a heavy roster of press interviews for The Office Australia, star Felicity Ward has noticed something about workplace comedies, reports TV Tonight.
“Fiction does two things. It either gives people an escape, or it reflects the world around them in a way that they want to have interpreted,” she says.
“I’m in hospitality, so I’ve never worked in an office in my life. I cannot do an Excel spreadsheet. I can do an excellent cafe latte. But from what I understand, from media that have watched this, every single person has got a story …people want to tell me what their boss did. It just taps into a middle management office culture that people want to exorcise. They want to be seen. They want to feel like they’re not going mad.
“I think the key to The Office is specifically that David Brent, Michael Scott and now Hannah Howard are all people that their staff don’t know how they got the job. You don’t know how they kept the job, and you don’t know how they’re not fired today. They do something every day where you’re like that is a fireable offense. And I think that people like to see that exasperation reflected back to them.”
Sorry, online haters, but The Office Australia is genuinely fun
I’ll concede I was sniffy about the prospect of a local iteration of the British “cringe” comedy, The Office, reports Nine Publishing’s Kylie Northover.
Especially more than two decades after the original. But then, I was suspicious of the US version, which went on to run for 201 episodes, compared with 12 for Ricky Gervais’ groundbreaking mockumentary.
Prime Video’s version is the 13th interpretation of the global franchise and the first to flip the gender roles and have a woman as the deluded middle manager. You likely know all this, given the coverage the series has had in the past few months. And, somewhat unfairly, the slamming it’s already had on social media, based solely on last month’s trailer.
Developed for Australia by writer Julie De Fina (co-creator of Aftertaste) and New Zealand actor, writer and director Jackie van Beek (The Breaker Upperers, The Educators), the Australian Office follows the Gervais template – a documentary crew filming everyday office life – but with an Australian sensibility, and updated for the 21st-century workplace.
It might jar at first, but stick with it; it’s genuinely funny. It’s not groundbreaking, but it was never intended to be.
‘Dallas with Dingoes’: On the set of Netflix’s outback drama, Territory
The most obvious reference point for new Netflix Australian series Territory – which was still called Desert Kings when I visited – are those big flashy American dramas about ranchers or oil barons and their empires. If Home and Away veteran Ray Meagher were in it, you’d maybe call it Yellowstone the Flamin’ Crows, I suggest. “Or, as I would jokingly say on set,” responds director Greg McLean, “back to work on Dallas with Dingoes.”
“I feel ultimately all the great dramas are family stories, whether it’s Shakespeare or Succession or Game of Thrones,” says McLean, whose previous forays into this part of the world have been in the realm of genre (the Wolf Creek franchise, the crocodile creature feature Rogue). “This definitely falls into that category of being a generational family story set in a location people haven’t really seen explored in this way before.”
The landscape is a key player in Territory, giving its impressive cast – which also includes Anna Torv as Graham’s wife, Emily, Dan Wyllie as her brother (and sometime cattle rustler), Hank Hodge, and Sara Wiseman as a Gina Rinehart-like mining billionaire – a serious run for their money.
“My God, it’s a cinematographer’s dream,” McLean enthuses. “It’s such a unique place. The landscape, the history, the power dynamics, the reality of what’s going on in the NT, which I don’t think Australians generally pay enough attention to. It’s a fascinating place to go to and to examine, to look at. I could talk about it forever because I’m just in love with it.”
News Brands
Truckie involved in deadly collision with footy reporter refused blood test
A truck driver involved in a deadly collision with AFL reporter Sam Landsberger refused a blood test after the accident because he did not like needles, reports Nine Publishing’s Melissa Cunningham.
James Latchford, 45, on Tuesday won a legal fight to get his licence reinstated after it was suspended by police following the August 20 collision.
Police allege Latchford, from Seaford, crashed into Landsberger, who was crossing the road at the intersection of Bridge Road and Church Street in Richmond.
Melbourne Magistrates’ Court heard Latchford underwent a roadside alcohol and drug test at the scene and tested negative to both.
Melbourne Highway Patrol officers then repeatedly asked him to provide a blood sample – a standard procedure for drivers involved in serious collisions.
The court heard Latchford questioned why it was necessary and told police he did not like needles.
The court heard nearly two months on from the crash, Latchford was still facing no charges related to his driving on the day.