Social Media
Prime Minister Albanese to seek nationwide social media ban for teens
Inspired by South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, the Albanese government will seek the support of all the states and territories to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media, report The AFR’s Phillip Coorey and Gus McCubbing.
While Malinauskas is proposing to ban children under 14 from accessing such platforms as Instagram, and a requirement that those aged 14 and 15 need parental approval, the prime minister is less prescriptive.
He said the age would be somewhere between 13 and 16 with the final decision to be agreed upon by the federation.
Malinauskas welcomed the move, saying the ban would be more effective if the entire country were on board.
“As I’ve made clear, a national framework will work best to achieve this,” he said in a statement.
Anthony Albanese and premiers to impose age limits on social media access
The social media crackdown would likely rely on co-operation from tech giants that are based offshore and typically resistant to foreign government legislation, reports The Australian’s Geoff Chambers.
Albanese, who has not nominated what ages would be captured under the federal government’s proposed legislation, will draw on findings in the French Report and work with premiers and chief ministers to harmonise laws.
“We know that technology moves fast. No government is going to be able to protect every child from every threat – but we have to do all we can. Parents are worried sick about this. We know they’re working without a map – no generation has faced this challenge before,” Albanese said.
Business of Media
Majority of voters back total ban on gambling ads as Labor delays decision
Voters have backed a public call for a total ban on gambling advertising, with 51 per cent in favour of the reform, as federal cabinet delays a decision on tougher rules out of concern at a backlash from sporting codes, media companies and gaming sites, report Nine Publishing’s David Crowe and Paul Sakkal.
Labor is considering a partial ban that would cut the number of TV ads and stop them from being aired during programs for children, in a move that could disappoint campaigners who have warned of the social and economic damage from gambling.
But an exclusive survey shows Australians strongly prefer a total ban to the major alternatives, with only 32 per cent in favour of limiting the ads to two every hour – the leading option within the government.
The findings in the Resolve Political Monitor, conducted for this masthead, show that 50 per cent of Labor voters want a total ban and 46 per cent of Coalition voters say the same.
Federal cabinet met on Monday but could not overcome final stumbling blocks to deciding the policy, given strong opinions among media companies about the way a total ban would cut revenue and make it harder for them to cover news.
Sporting codes including the NRL and the AFL have also told the government a total ban would restrict the funds they receive from their media deals.
Starboard calls for end of dual-class News Corp shares
Hedge fund Starboard Value confirmed on Monday (Tuesday AEST) it had filed a shareholder resolution to eliminate the dual-class share structure that allows Rupert Murdoch to control News Corp, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, reports Reuters in an item published today by The AFR.
“There are no reasonable arguments to extend super-voting rights and de facto control to the inheritors of a founder,” Starboard’s Jeffrey Smith said in a three-page letter sent to News Corp shareholders.
Starboard announced its move only days after Reuters exclusively reported that it had filed the proposal to abolish the stock structure, which gives Murdoch 40 per cent of News Corp’s voting stock despite owning an equity stake of about 14 per cent.
Murdochs’ real-life Succession stand-off: What you need to know
A blockbuster two-week trial to decide the future control of some of the world’s most famous news brands in the Murdoch family empire begins this week, reports Nine Publishing’s Calum Jaspan.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, 93, is expected to appear in a courthouse in Reno, Nevada, some time after the case begins on Tuesday (Wednesday in Australia), to argue that handing control of his vast and influential assets to his eldest son Lachlan in the event of his own passing is in all their interests.
As things stand, Rupert Murdoch’s voting power in News Corporation and Fox Corp would be evenly distributed among his four eldest children in the event of his death. In theory, this would allow the three more politically moderate siblings – James, Prudence and Elisabeth – to out-vote Lachlan, who is more conservatively aligned with his father.
However, a plan named “Project Harmony” would alter that even distribution, diverting Rupert’s voting rights to just Lachlan, meaning he could not be challenged by his siblings.
Eighty-eight corporate leaders including James Murdoch endorse Kamala Harris
Eighty-eight current and former top executives from across corporate America have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president in a new letter shared exclusively with CNBC.
Among the signers are several high-profile CEOs of public companies, including Aaron Levie of Box, Jeremy Stoppelman of Yelp and Michael Lynton, chairman of Snap.
Other signers appear to be issuing their first public endorsements of Harris since she became the de facto Democratic nominee in July.
They include James Murdoch, former CEO of 21st Century Fox and an heir to the Murdoch family media empire, and crypto executive Chris Larsen, co-founder of the Ripple blockchain platform.
ABC chair Kim Williams breaks bread with board member Laura Tingle
Appointing Kim Williams to anything means getting the whole of the man. He is crash or crash through at every institution he enters,m reports The AFR’s Mark Di Stefano.
Williams was turning heads in Parliament House on Monday, taking coffee in the sun with ABC 7.30’s chief political correspondent Laura Tingle. They share spots on the broadcaster’s board, as Tingle doubles as its staff representative. But with Williams on manoeuvres, it’s fun to think what they were talking about?
News Brands
The Australian Financial Review tells readers about new-look Today’s Paper
The Australian Financial Review has announced the launch of a new Today’s Paper experience across afr.com and our iOS and Android apps:
The new Today’s Paper, available exclusively for subscribers, makes it easier to access a digital replica of the country’s best business, markets, politics and investing newspaper.
AFR Magazine, Fin Magazine, Domain Prestige and all special reports and supplements will be showcased on the landing page, making it simpler to find your favourite content.
It’s also now easier to download and save full editions or single pages as a PDF for later use or offline reading.
To access the new version of Today’s Paper visit afr.com/todays-paper or download the latest version of our iOS and Android app.
As part of this change, we are also proud to announce our new daily Today’s Paper newsletter, coming soon.
Delivered to your inbox for free every morning from Monday to Saturday, the new newsletter will give readers:
• a first look at the front page of the paper;
• links to all the day’s top stories;
• the latest digital edition of the Financial Review newspaper as it was printed – exclusive to subscribers.
Television
Bluey is most watched streaming series in United States
Popular Australian children’s show Bluey has smashed ratings to become the most-watched television series in the US this year, racking up a staggering number of views, reports News Corp’s Iwan Jones.
According to Nielsen, Bluey is the most-watched series on streaming this year-to-date among total viewers in the US, with over 35 billion minutes watched (584m hours).
Daley Pearson – the director and co-founder of the award-winning Ludo Studio which produces Bluey – took to LinkedIn to comment on the incredible achievement.
“Bluey’s now the No.1 most-watched show (of all shows) in the United States of America for 2024. How incredible,” Pearson posted.
“With 35 billion minutes watched this year.”
The feat comes after Bluey was the second-most streamed show of 2023 with 43.9 billion minutes viewed, according to Nielsen, and consistently falls in the top five series on Disney+ by monthly views.
Andrew O’Keefe’s ‘tendency to spit’: judge’s scathing finding
Former television presenter Andrew O’Keefe has lost an appeal against his convictions for domestic violence after a judge found he has a tendency to spit at the woman in a “low, demeaning act” and that her injuries were consistent with being kicked, pushed and scratched, reports Nine Publishing’s Sarah McPhee.
“Obviously, I’m very disappointed,” O’Keefe said outside Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Monday.
O’Keefe was found guilty by a magistrate in January of common assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and breaching an apprehended violence order after a “violent and degrading” incident against a woman inside a unit in Sydney’s east in September 2021.
The 52-year-old former Seven Network host was sentenced to multiple community corrections orders spanning between 12 and 18 months. He denied assaulting the woman, claiming her injuries were self-inflicted, and launched an appeal against his convictions.
‘Someone is going to die’: Kerri-Anne Kennerley’s warning on Elle breast cancer message
TV legend Kerri-Anne Kennerley says “someone is going to die” following supermodel Elle Macpherson’s claims on 60 Minutes to have rejected conventional medical treatment for her breast cancer, arguing that the program failed in due diligence, reports The Australian’s James Dowling.
On Sunday on Nine’s 60 Minutes program, she doubled down saying she saw no possibility of her breast cancer recurring given “the body has the infinite capacity to heal” and it was “fear” that made people ill.
Kennerley was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 and has since advocated for access to screening and a reform of rebates for breast scans. “(During my treatment) I was listening,” she said. “Listening to doctors, then surgeons, then oncologists. That’s how I based my opinion.”
“My advocacy is not on treatment, it’s early detection.”
‘Concerning behaviour’: Block stars exit show after producer intervenes
One of this season’s teams quit The Block on Monday’s episode of the hit reno series, following weeks of on-air drama and speculation about their future on the show, reports News Corp’s Nick Bond.
Young WA engaged couple Jesse and Paige had been having a rough time on The Block since the very first episode, and had been shown on camera increasingly taking out their frustrations on each other.
Tensions came to a head in one late-Friday-night fight that was captured on audio and played at the start of Monday’s episode.
At 11.30pm, with the couple’s raised voices audible throughout The Block, the show’s executive producer Justin Sturzaker intervened.
This juicy Nicole Kidman murder-mystery proves trash can be treasured
This murder mystery ticks many prestige television boxes, starting with Nicole Kidman taking top billing, an esteemed supporting cast, and a twisty plot about a young woman developing doubts about the privileged American family she’s marrying into, writes Nine Publishing’s Craig Mathieson.
But these six episodes beat with a trashy heart and The Perfect Couple delivers outrageous retorts and a wildly escalating plot with a knowing wink. Everyone involved is in on it, and the result is a succinct success – social commentary lags way behind sardonic revelations.
The setting is Summerland, the Nantucket summer home of the Winbury clan. Matriarch Greer Garrison Winbury (Kidman), is a successful crime novelist with a snooty mid-Atlantic accent, while her old money husband Tag (Liev Schreiber) is permanently stoned. The occasion is the wedding of their son, Benji (Billy Howle) to humble wage-earner Amelia Sacks (Eve Hewson). It’s all pastel summer suits, immaculate catering, and sly digs at the rehearsal dinner. Then a guest’s body washes up on the beach the next morning.
Sports Media
Day 1 in the NFL commentary box for Fox $500m man Tom Brady
It is sort of endearing that the man considered the greatest NFL player of all time, who has a 10-year, $375 million (AUS$550m) contract to talk about football games, came across as nervous to open his Fox broadcasting career, reports The New York Times.
Tom Brady — the 47-year-old, seven-time Super Bowl champion — sounded like a rookie out of the gate Sunday. His syntax was stilted. His interesting thoughts were limited. It was a bit awkward.
Brady eventually settled down a little and showed flashes. In the second quarter, he explained “breather plays” that are designed to give Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott a respite from contending with Browns All-Pro defensive lineman Myles Garrett by rolling out and moving away from the rush.
During garbage time, with the Cowboys up big, he displayed some charisma and passion, seemingly referring to Belichick, following an Erin Andrews report, by quipping, “I played for a coach that didn’t mind cussing his players out.” He then sincerely went into why this was a good thing, letting his competitive, do-it-the-right-way personality shine.
Fox Sports will probably garner around 28 million viewers, give or take, for Sunday’s game. On Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans, Brady is scheduled to analyse with more than 100 million people expected to watch.
If the growth Brady showed from the first to the fourth quarter continues, he should be fine. Brady gives Fox a lot to work with.
Read Media Roundup everyday at mediaweek.com.au and in daily Mediaweek Morning Report