Friday March 22, 2019
14 years of laughs: Nova 100 & Melb Comedy Fest celebrate partnership
Nova 100’s Chrissie, Sam & Browny breakfast show will celebrate the official launch of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with their annual live outside broadcast on Wednesday 27 March from 6am at the Melbourne Town Hall (Lower Town Hall). Guests and listeners will be entertained by some of the industry’s top comedians, including Judith Lucy, Urzila Carlson, Arj Barker, Anne Edmonds, Dilruk Jayasinha, Nazeem Hussain, Joel Creasey, Peter Helliar, Josh Earl, Ben Knight and Nath Valvo. Chrissie, Sam & Browny, together with Bendigo Bank, will give listeners at the event the chance to win $1000 cash every 30 minutes.
Chrissie said, “The Comedy Festival OB is an absolute hoot and quite possibly my fave show of the year. Everyone is welcome to come and hang out with us – but we’re not afraid to bribe people either – so we’re giving away $1000 cash every half hour!”
Chrissie, Sam & Browny will also chat to some of the biggest and most interesting comedians each weekday to showcase many of the comedy shows on offer during the Festival.
Jonathan Brown said, “It’s great to finally have some comic talent on the show.”
Nova 100 will also present the Hits & Giggles comedy gala event, featuring a dozen of Australia’s freshest, up and coming new comic talent on Saturday 13 April. Guests can only win tickets to this exclusive event at the Forum Theatre by heading to novafm.com.au or listening to Nova 100.
This year Friday Funnies, an exclusive, annual event for key agencies and clients, will be held at Ludlow Bar in Southbank. Hosted by Troy Ellis, the night will deliver a unique and comedic experience featuring some of the hottest acts from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Throughout the Festival, Nova will feature ticket giveaways to the hottest shows on the circuit and will cover the Festival extensively on-line with reviews, highlights, videos and interviews.
All content will be available on novafm.com.au.
Slow TV investigation demanded a Slow Mediaweek Podcast
By James Manning
Produced by Mint Pictures for SBS, the broadcaster asked for a shorter version for viewers who wanted to experiment with Slow TV. For those with a bit more stamina, and some time on their hands, SBS also ordered a real-time 16 hour, 26 minute version screened on Viceland, Facebook and available from SBS On Demand.
Driving the format in Australia is Adam Kay’s Mint Pictures. So successful was the The Ghan, that Kay pitched for a second year of Slow TV where SBS order two programs – another train ride on The Indian Pacific: Australia’s Longest Train Journey and aboard a small cruise ship along West Australia’s Kimberley coast – The Kimberley Cruise: Australia’s Last Great Wilderness.
SBS packaged up those two Australian productions with acquired productions of The Canal Trip on UK waterways and North To South, overland across New Zealand.
Mint Pictures’ Kay recently visited Mediaweek’s PodcastOne studios where he talked about through the Slow TV genre, how he pitched the ideas and then produced the shows.
Here are some of the highlights from that interview with Mediaweek’s James Manning.
Filming an episode of Slow TV is as much an exercise in patience for the producers as it is for some viewers.
For example when Mint Pictures filmed The Ghan it meant extra trips on the train that traverses Australia from north to south.
Kay and his cameraman did it twice while the rest of the crew made the single trip that was used in the episode.
That first trip was used to shoot some vision on just two cameras from the windows of the train. “We turned that into a development reel for SBS and then we went back and filmed it for real,” Kay told Mediaweek. “Everything that viewers saw on the 17-hour journey of The Ghan was pretty much every daylight minute of that journey. To be true to the concept there was no trickery and no shots used from another trip.
“It is a true narrative timeline that follows a route from A to B.” Kay said there is a lot of trainspotters out there who would have picked up on any footage that didn’t accurately match segments of the journey.
“I was in Los Angeles when The Ghan broadcast and I woke up to 75 emails from members of the public. It mightn’t seem like a lot, but anybody working in television will tell you that is substantial. Seventy of those were from people saying it was the best thing and complimenting the program. Some mentioned it was refreshing to have no music and no voice over – it was just pure sounds from nature and from the train.”
As well as having fixed cameras all over the train, Kay said they also had microphones all over the place. While they may have enhanced some of the recordings, they never added anything not recorded on that journey.
Kay said the production team was very conscious of not wanting to impact on the passenger experience. “Travellers on these trips pay a lot of money, some of them over $10,000 to go on a train or a cruise. Taking a very small team helps us achieve that.
“When the train first departed there was an announcement that there was a film crew on board. We are not about pointing the camera at any individual because we point the camera at the landscape. We never featured anyone’s face, but there were incidental images of people in the bar or moving around the train. Very quickly we became part of the family on the journey. Nobody had any issues with it.”
Kay had a chopper accompany the train on the entire journey. It was not cheap, but he cut a deal for the hire. He hired the same chopper pilot for both the Indian Pacific and The Ghan. Crossing the Nullarbor by air meant the chopper had to carry its own fuel for much of the journey. He travelled in the chopper all the time and directed the chopper coverage.
There were no choppers available however for the Kimberley cruise, so Mint Pictures used drones for all the ariel photography.
Some of the most memorable footage is when the chopper is flying close to the ground alongside the trains. Kay praised his chopper pilot David Adamson for his skills in the air. Great Southern Rail set the boundaries about how close they could get to The Ghan. “We couldn’t go within three metres of the train! I said ‘that sounds fantastic, thanks very much.’ With the use of a special lens it looked like we really were that close.”
Although he wasn’t travelling on the trains with his crew, Kay said they all knew what to do as they’d compiled a “camera bible” and they had a great director of photography and an on train producer.
Nights were used the wrangle the media after all the cameras combined were shooting hundreds of hours of footage. “There were eight to 10 cameras rolling for 16 daylight hours for every day – do the maths and that is close to 500 hours of footage.”
They had to get all the footage back to Sydney and then sync it all to look for the best camera angles at any given moment of the journey. “It was a massive job. I have never undertaken anything bigger in television.”
Listen to the full podcast interview here.
Kay talks about the chances for more Slow TV next year [yes please] and talks about the challenges his team faced on the Kimberley coast cruise. He also talks about his journey in TV production from working on TV in the UK, a posting to New York and his initial visit to Australia and then his decision to move fulltime. He started at Network 10, moved into the production sector and then ended up a partner in Mint Pictures.
Global theatrical & home entertainment spend hit US$96.8b in 2018
The 2018 global box office grew to $41.1 billion, while global home entertainment increased by 16% over 2017 levels to reach $55.7 billion.
The 2018 THEME Report, a comprehensive analysis and survey of the theatrical and home entertainment market environment (THEME), provides in-depth analysis of the state of the industry and an audience demographic survey.
This year’s expanded study includes new reporting on global 3D box office estimates, data on the volume of original series production for television and online video services, and detailed demographic data for home entertainment viewing in the United States.
The US/Canada box office increased by 7% to $11.9 billion, a record high. Three-quarters (75%) of the US/Canada population, or 263 million people, went to the cinema at least once in 2018. The gender composition of the cinema audience was 51% female and 49% male.
On the global level, seven markets outside the US/Canada saw box office totals of $1 billion or more. The Asia Pacific box office totalled $16.7 billion, an increase of 5% compared to 2017. China was the primary growth driver, with a 12% increase in box office.
Global home entertainment consumer spending increased by 16% over 2017 levels to reach $55.7 billion. The growth was driven by digital home entertainment, with US digital spending increasing by 24% and international digital spending increasing by 34%. Since 2014, digital spending has increased 170% globally.
Other home entertainment findings include:
Globally, the number of subscriptions to online video services reached 613 million, an increase of 27% in just one year. Subscriptions to online video services surpassed cable subscriptions for the first time in 2018.
In 2018, overall spending on home entertainment in the US increased to $23.3 billion, up 12% over 2017.
Americans now spend 52% of their media time on a digital platform.
Bauer Media sells Money brand to financial services group Rainmaker
Paul Dykzeul, CEO Bauer Media ANZ, commented: “We continue to remain focused on deepening our category specialisation and focusing on our core consumer brands, and as a result, the decision has been made to look for a new home for the magazine, with that being Rainmaker.
“Bauer Media has been the proud publisher of Money magazine for 20 years. Under the leadership of Effie Zahos, it is regarded as one of the most respected finance magazines in Australia with readership figures up 15% year-on-year. I wish the magazine continued success under the management of Rainmaker.”
Effie Zahos will stay at Bauer under a new role of finance editor, commentator & financial literacy campaigner. Dykzeul added: “Effie brings knowledge, experience and passion to this area and so we are delighted that she will remain at Bauer. She will play a key role in working to support our Financially Fit Females initiative and liaising with editors across the Bauer brands.”
See also:Effie Zahos: Money editor and author asks why TV avoids finance talk
Chris Page, managing director Rainmaker group commented: “This acquisition is a milestone moment for our business and we look forward to building on the magazine’s reputation as the most-read personal finance title in Australia.”
The Rainmaker group was founded in 1992 and provides market intelligence, industry research, media and publishing, events and consulting services.
It produces strategic, tactical, and analytical information about the financial services industry predominately for Superannuation Funds, Investment Managers and Financial Planners.
The group comprises Rainmaker Information, Financial Standard, Selecting Super, Select Adviser, FSiTV, CompareOnline and Custom CPD Solutions.
Network 10 in partnership with customer engagement platform Braze
Network 10’s general manager digital Liz Baldwin said: “We’re continuing to invest in growing our audiences across our digital brands 10 Play, 10 All Access and 10 Daily. To do this, delivering a top-notch user experience is essential. Through our partnership with Braze, we’re able to create deeper relationships with our audiences so they can have an optimised and personalised experience across our ecosystem.
Liz Baldwin
“We can now easily capture a person’s interest or intent and activate this user across our platforms with content that is relevant to them. It’s exciting for us, for our members and for our advertisers who we can easily collaborate with to target specific audiences for their campaigns in ways and at times these audiences want to be communicated with.”
Other Braze clients include KFC, Canva, Fox Networks and Telstra.
Braze’s senior vice-president of global alliances Matt McRoberts said: “We’re excited to welcome Network 10 to the existing network of brands recognising the value of digital customer engagement in the Australia region.”
Baldwin added: “We’ve continually said that we are accelerating our data solutions. Our partnership with Braze is another step forward in delivering this strategy.”
Network 10’s partnership with Braze follows partnerships with other leading data technology providers including Tealium and Lotame.
Mercado on TV: Unbundling the week – from New Zealand to NSW
By Andrew Mercado
And despite so little choice, many viewers stuck to the commercial networks (7, 9 and 10) because turning the dial all the way around to Channel 2 must have been too time-consuming for some. That’s why British sitcoms like Are You Being Served? and George And Mildred would play repeatedly on the ABC to average audiences, only to then top the ratings when they screened with commercial breaks on Seven.
Seven learnt well from that experiment and have always relied on more English content than Nine or Ten. This week alone, they have aired First Dates UK, Julie Walters’ Coastal Railways, Robbie Coltrane’s Critical Evidence and Billy Connolly’s Made In Scotland, as well as their multiple Martin Clunes series. Brit sitcoms might be a bit thin on the ground these days, but actors and comedians who can multi-task will always find themselves something to match their interests.
One such busy beaver is Idris Elba. In addition to Luther, which just aired its fifth series on BBC First, he has also done self-titled specials about clubbing and fighting, as well as two autobiographical comedies. The Long Run (iview) is based on his 1980’s childhood about a family from Sierra Leone living in a London high-rise tower block. Meanwhile, Turn Up Charlie (Netflix) is about a once-famous pop star now slumming it as a DJ, who finds himself being a nanny to his famous friends’ neglected daughter.
Whilst neither show is a must-see, both are breezy viewing and happy shows are in short supply these days. Reality TV is consumed with participants being hideous to each other, and romance shows are merry-go-rounds of he-said, she-said scenarios. But as MAFS tied itself into knots over another “texting scandal”, this week also saw fallout from the Christchurch massacre on Australian TV. Sunrise’s Kochie finally got around to asking Pauline Hanson a tough question, only to find himself accused of being a bully. Sam Newman, however, went a step further and called him a “white supremacist” before then making a joke of Jacinda Ardern’s accent, thereby proving why the new-look Footy Show has moved on without him.
Meanwhile, Waleed Aly flew to New Zealand to interview their Prime Minister only to find himself sitting down with our Prime Minister the next night for a commercial-free interview. Will Jacinda Ardern’s interview this Monday on The Project prove to be as riveting and revealing as Scott Morrison? Will the ABC win Saturday’s ratings with their NSW election night coverage? And will anyone be able to understand anything Shannon “Straya” Noll says as Celebrity Guest Announcer on Sunday Night Takeaway? Stay tuned
TV Ratings Analysis: March 21
Thursday: Week 12 2019
By James Manning
• Seven News 887,000/742,000
• Nine News 775,000/773,000
• A Current Affair 481,000 (No Brisbane)
• ABC News 602,000
• 7.30 468,000
• The Project 387,000/434,000
• 10 News First 352,000
• SBS World News 104,000
Breakfast TV
• Sunrise 280,000
Today 192,000
Seven
One episode of Home And Away did 414,00 after the week went from a high of 658,000 on Monday.
The start of the AFL season gave Seven a huge Thursday boost. It gave Seven its best primary share this year and equal second best since last October. Seven’s winning combined channel share was 36.8%, which was not only the best this year, but the best since that Royal Wedding Friday night in early October last year.
The Richmond v Carlton opener was a one sided affair early on. The metro audience was 728,000 with 475,000 in Melbourne. The pre and post-show audience in Melbourne was over 200,000.
A Better Homes And Gardens Special on global gardens screened on Seven and 7TWO in different markets with an audience of 254,000.
Nine
A Current Affair screened across four markets – no Brisbane – with 481,000.
The NRL did 430,000 metro which was down from last week’s season opener on 522,000.
Viewers in AFL markets saw RBT and then New Amsterdam.
10
The Project featured Waleed Aly with Prime Minister Scott Morrison in an ad-free interview to start the program. The segment boasted a metro audience of 585,000, which was up 93% on last week’s 6.30pm average audience. It proves the audience will tune in earlier for the right content – although finding something that compelling every week would be a challenge.
The Project had its biggest one hour audience since October 2018. The segment with the PM also attracted 226,000 Facebook live streams.
On Monday night, Waleed Aly meets with the Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern to talk in the aftermath of the Christchurch terrorist attack.
The only Australian journalist invited for a sit down interview, Aly hears first-hand the tragic events of Friday 15 March, the day 50 people lost their lives and another 50 were injured.
Show Me The Movie! then did 293,000, Gogglebox was on 567,000 and then an encore screening of Hughesy did 269,000.
ABC
Escape From The City was in Orange last night with 366,000 watching.
Informer then did 144,000
That programming combo delivered a primetime primary share of just 9.1%, the station’s lowest since January. Melbourne dropped to 8.2% where a lot of the ABC Tiger supporters were missing.
SBS
Part one of a repeat Great British Royal Ships did 167,000.
The second and final episode of Jumbo Jet: 50 Years In The Sky did 189,000.
The final episode of UK drama Trust Me was a cracker with 75,000.
Week 12 TV: Thursday
| THURSDAY METRO | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Seven | Nine | 10 | SBS | |||||
| ABC | 9.1% | 7 | 25.2% | 9 | 17.7% | 10 | 12.9% | SBS One | 4.1% |
| ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY | 2.3% | 7TWO | 4.0% | GO! | 3.1% | 10 Bold | 3.8% | VICELAND | 1.1% |
| ABC ME | 0.5% | 7mate | 3.9% | GEM | 1.6% | 10 Peach | 2.5% | Food Net | 1.0% |
| ABC NEWS | 1.3% | 7flix | 2.4% | 9Life | 1.9% | NITV | 0.1% | ||
| 7Food | 1.4% | ||||||||
| TOTAL | 13.2% | 36.8% | 24.3% | 19.2% | 6.4% | ||||
| THURSDAY REGIONAL | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Seven Affiliates | Nine Affiliates | 10 Affiliates | SBS | |||||
| ABC | 8.8% | 7 | 20.0% | 9 | 18.3% | WIN | 12.6% | SBS One | 4.0% |
| ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY | 2.8% | 7TWO | 5.5% | GO! | 3.0% | WIN Bold | 3.4% | VICELAND | 1.3% |
| ABC ME | 1.2% | 7mate | 4.6% | GEM | 2.9% | WIN Peach | 2.6% | Food Net | 1.1% |
| ABC NEWS | 1.4% | 7flix | 3.2% | 9Life | 1.9% | Sky News on WIN | 0.9% | NITV | 0.4% |
| TOTAL | 14.2% | 33.3% | 26.1% | 19.5% | 6.8% | ||||
| THURSDAY METRO ALL TV | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTA | STV | ||||||||
| 82.8% | 17.2% | ||||||||
THURSDAY FTA
- Seven News Seven 887,000
- Nine News Nine 775,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 773,000
- Seven News / Today Tonight Seven 742,000
- Seven’s AFL: Thursday Night Football Seven 728,000
- ABC News ABC 602,000
- Gogglebox 10 567,000
- A Current Affair Nine 481,000
- The Chase Australia Seven 480,000
- 7.30 ABC 468,000
- The Project 7pm 10 434,000
- Hot Seat Nine 429,000
- Home And Away Seven 414,000
- Thursday Night NRL Live Nine 411,000
- The Project: Waleed & The Pm 10 387,000
- Escape From The City ABC 366,000
- Seven’s AFL: Thursday Night Football – Post Match Seven 361,000
- 10 News First 10 352,000
- Seven’s AFL: Thursday Night Football – Pre Match Seven 342,000
- The Chase Australia-5pm Seven 310,000
Demo Top 5
16-39 Top Five
- Seven’s AFL: Thursday Night Football Seven 209,000
- Gogglebox 10 158,000
- Seven News Seven 110,000
- Seven’s AFL: Thursday Night Football – Post Match Seven 110,000
- Thursday Night NRL Live Nine 107,000
18-49 Top Five
- Seven’s AFL: Thursday Night Football Seven 312,000
- Gogglebox 10 263,000
- Seven News Seven 191,000
- The Project 7pm 10 186,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 177,000
25-54 Top Five
- Seven’s AFL: Thursday Night Football Seven 336,000
- Gogglebox 10 302,000
- Seven News Seven 239,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 224,000
- The Project 7pm 10 211,000
THURSDAY Multichannel
- Father Brown PM 7TWO 164,000
- NCIS (R) 10 Bold 146,000
- Seven’s AFL: Thursday Night Football 7mate 131,000
- Neighbours 10 Peach 126,000
- Peter Rabbit ABCKIDS/COMEDY 122,000
- Kazoops! PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 119,000
- Bondi Rescue Ep 2 (R) 10 Bold 118,000
- Hawaii Five-O (R) 10 Bold 117,000
- Hey Duggee AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 116,000
- Pj Masks PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 114,000
- The Big Bang Theory – (R) 9GO! 114,000
- Ben And Holly’s Little Kingdom ABCKIDS/COMEDY 113,000
- Peppa Pig PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 113,000
- Rusty Rivets ABCKIDS/COMEDY 112,000
- Wanda And The Alien PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 109,000
- Survivor: Edge Of Extinction 9GO! 108,000
- Octonauts ABCKIDS/COMEDY 108,000
- Noddy Toyland Detective PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 107,000
- Peppa Pig AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 106,000
- Dino Dana ABCKIDS/COMEDY 101,000
THURSDAY STV
- Live: AFL Carlton V Richmond FOX FOOTY 263,000
- Live: NRL Dragons V Rabbitohs FOX LEAGUE 230,000
- Live: Thursday Night Footy On Fox FOX FOOTY 146,000
- Live: The Late Show With Matty Johns FOX LEAGUE 84,000
- Selling Houses Australia Lifestyle Channel 68,000
- Live: Thursday Night Footy On Fox FOX FOOTY 63,000
- Live: NRL Thursday Night League FOX LEAGUE 63,000
- Gold Rush Discovery Channel 56,000
- Outback Opal Hunters Discovery Channel 47,000
- Paul Murray Live Sky News Live 43,000
- Who Do You Think You Are? Uk UKTV 41,000
- The Bolt Report Sky News Live 37,000
- Criminal Minds TVH!TS 34,000
- Family Guy FOX8 30,000
- Credlin Sky News Live 30,000
- Paw Patrol Nick Jr. 29,000
- Grand Designs New Zealand Lifestyle Channel 29,000
- Antiques Roadshow Lifestyle Channel 28,000
- Paw Patrol Nick Jr. 28,000
- The Simpsons FOX8 27,000
Shares all people, 6pm-midnight, Overnight (Live and AsLive), Audience numbers FTA metro, Sub TV national
Source: OzTAM and Regional TAM 2018. The Data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) without the prior written consent of OzTAM
Media News Roundup
Business of Media
10 goes Dutch on ownership: CBS relocates ownership of TV asset
The clog-loving nation has one of the world’s most favourable international corporate tax regimes, with several of the NYSE-listed American media giant’s corporate peers – including Nike, Google and Ikea – domiciling their foreign subsidiaries among Holland’s windmills.
A little over a year ago, CBS bought 10 after the television group had been placed in the hands of liquidator KordaMentha.
CBS controls its ownership of 10 – which is still run locally by Paul Anderson – via a company called CBS Network Ten BV RSIN858052453 out an office in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam.
‘Very sad’: Film and television centre forced out of Callan Park
Rebel Wilson was there trying on costumes for the coming ABC drama series Les Norton this week as the Stan comedy The Other Guy took over from the new ABC-Netflix children’s series The Unlisted.
In six years, Gordon Andersen’s Callan Park Film Production Services has provided offices and workshops for more than 30 productions including Doctor Doctor, Janet King, Redfern Now, Secret City, the Nicole Kidman film Strangerland and the Adrien Brody film Backtrack.
The state government’s Office of Environment and Heritage has ordered him to move out by June 30, saying they want a building he has spent more than $500,000 restoring and maintaining to be empty.
Chinese TV superstar Meng Fei, host of If You Are The One, in WA
Meng Fei – host of the global phenomenon If You Are The One, a dating reality show that draws about 50 million viewers per episode – will arrive next month.
He boasts a following of 32.4 million people on Weibo – China’s Twitter.
Fei’s visit – organised by Australia Star Holdings Group – comes after mega-Chinese broadcaster Hunan TV filmed the second season of Viva La Romance in Rockingham, Busselton and Rottnest in January.
Screenwest has unveiled new initiatives to promote Perth and WA as “film friendly”.
They include online resources and an annual knowledge-sharing training program to help regional development commissions, local governments, tourism associations, chambers of commerce, stakeholders and partners smooth the path for incoming film-makers.
Screenwest chief executive Willie Rowe said “film friendly” was not just a state of mind but a way of doing business.
“A place’s film friendly reputation is vital, and we have developed a range of resources to help communities recognise what sets them apart and how they can use that to attract a production,” Rowe said.
Layoffs begin at 20th Century Fox after Disney deal closes
20th Century Fox film president of distribution Chris Aronson has been informed that he won’t be joining Disney. He’s being given 60 days notice.
Disney appears to be notifying staffers department by department. Some employees are being told they will be kept on for a transition period, either three months or six months, a source says.
Disney closed its takeover of the Fox film and TV studio, FX and National Geographic cable channels, Star India, 30% of Hulu and more just after midnight ET on March 20, and layoffs have been expected ever since.
While Disney never clarified how many people would lose their job, analysts say that by the time the dust settles, 4,000 of the jobs that conglomerate provides could be lost.
News Brands
The ACMA: ‘African gangs’ claim breaches accuracy requirements
The ACMA investigation found a claim broadcast in the current affairs program was inaccurate and in breach of the code.
A Sunday Night reporter stated in the broadcast that there has been a considerable increase in crime by “African gangs” and that they were responsible for “an alarming surge in violent crime” in Victoria.
The ACMA found that, while the assertion in relation to the increase was supported, the comment that they were responsible for the surge was not.
“Viewers deserve to know that news and current affairs programs contain factual statements that are accurate. It is unacceptable for news and current affairs programs to broadcast statements that may mislead audiences,” said ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin.
Following the investigation, the ACMA has requested Channel Seven bring the breach to the attention of its news and current affairs staff, and include it as an example in future code of practice training courses.
The Project: PM denies his government has a problem with Islam
In an uncommon journalistic move, Aly initially allowed the PM to freely take the microphone for a two-minute spiel.
The Gold-Logie winner then cut to the chase with what he felt was the heart of the debate.
“Does Australia have a problem with Islamophobia?” he asked.
“I don’t know if Australia understands Islam very well, and that can often lead to fear of things you don’t understand. That doesn’t always translate into extremism,” Morrison replied.
Aly then asked if Scott Morrison’s Coalition government had a problem with Islamophobia.
“No I don’t believe the Liberal party does… I can’t speak for the National party,” he said.
“Our party is made up of a lot of individuals and in our party, individuals have a lot more freedom to say what they think than a lot of other parties. And it is not for the party to answer for every single member on every single occasion.
“The best way for me to address any problem is to lead by my own example.”
New paid Apple News service to feature The Wall Street Journal
Other major publishers, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, have opted out of joining the subscription service, said the people, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the plans.
Apple and The Wall Street Journal plan to announce the deal Monday at a media event at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. The event is intended to draw attention to the company’s bet on news and entertainment, including a streaming service that will put Apple in direct competition with Netflix, Amazon and HBO.
The service, described by some as a “Netflix for news,” will offer access to a new paid tier of the Apple News app. Through that tier, readers will be able to consume articles from hundreds of participating magazines and news outlets. The app’s free tier will still let people read a smattering of select articles from a wide variety of publishers.
Newspapers endorse Gladys Berejiklian ahead of NSW election
The Australian: Coalition is best option to keep state safe and strong
NSW voters go to the polls tomorrow with the state in good shape, but the political mood is in a frazzle. What should have been a sure, steady trot to a third term for the incumbent Liberal-Nationals Coalition is instead a tight race to the finish line, with the outcome of the election too close to call. There is a strong chance of a hung parliament, a result that would stall progress and promote more instability in a state that is home to eight million people. The stark choice for NSW voters is between a sturdy, proven outfit led by a dour, workaholic and mostly competent technocrat and an untested team of political opportunists, punting on complacency and a single, second-order urban issue of stadiums to win votes in the bush. Are voters prepared to ditch policy substance for a risky leap into the unknown with a wild bunch of political hucksters?
The Berejiklian government deserves a mandate to continue the transformation of the premier state it started eight years ago.
The Sydney Morning Herald: Coalition deserves third term to get job done
While the Herald thus chooses Ms Berejiklian, the risk at this election is not which party wins but a minority government which puts voters at the mercy of minor parties such as the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers, which is largely a single issue party focused on guns. Before giving a protest vote to minor parties and independents voters should understand the risk of instability if neither party wins outright.
The Daily Telegraph: Gladys Berejiklian and team earned another term
By almost every economic measure, NSW lagged behind just about every other state in the nation.
Eight years later, and due in large part to Berejiklian’s work as transport minister and treasurer, NSW is again a national leader. The economy is strong. Unemployment is at 4.3 per cent. And the budget is easily able to accommodate the biggest infrastructure renewals and developments since the 1930s.
On the strength of their economic record, Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her Coalition team have genuinely earned a further term in office.
With so many significant projects under way, it is clearly in the state’s interest to maintain consistent governmental management. Gladys Berejiklian must be allowed to finish those many jobs.
Radio
Kyle Sandilands ends feud with Ernie Dingo after KIIS FM call
Way back in 2008, Sandilands and Ernie Dingo had a spectacular falling out on radio during a live interview.
Dingo was upset that Kyle and Jackie O had used the infamous “A dingo took my baby” line from the Meryl Streep film A Cry in the Dark earlier on their radio show to promote his interview and he raised it with them on air.
“That’s character assassination as far as I’m concerned towards me,” Dingo told Sandilands in the interview.
“Your game is to sensationalise things and you’re just basically a commercial wanker.”
Fast forward a few years and yesterday the KIIS FM star offered to give $10,000 to a charity of Dingo’s choice if the TV star was willing to call through to the radio show to bury the hatchet.
The former Great Outdoors host left it to the last second but he made it on air this morning and it didn’t take long for Sandilands to bring up their on air spat.
The two stars buried the hatched and Dingo nominated the Mullewa Football Club in WA to receive the $10,000 donation from KIIS FM.
Television
The Living Room returns: Too much Amanda Keller is never enough
The program first hit the airwaves in 2012 and this year will celebrate its 300th episode. The series is made for 10 by WTFN Productions who base the production team inside 10’s Sydney HQ.
The return also means the show’s host Amanda Keller will bookend the week for 10 – she appears on Dancing With The Stars on Mondays and will now again usher in the weekend on The Living Room from next Friday.
Keller returns with her Living Room colleagues Dr. Chris Brown, Barry Du Bois and Miguel Maestre who cosy up on The Living Room couch for an eighth season.
In next Friday’s series return, Du Bois helps Fiona, Belinda and their five children find some breathing space. With three of the boys sharing one room, the couple’s previous attempts to renovate has left every wall in their home in tatters. With some nifty thinking, he turns this curveball into a curve-wall and gives the boys a space of their own.
In the crystal waters of Mo’orea, Tahiti, Dr Chris swims free with the pod. In one of the only places in the world where you can swim with whales, marine biologist Rodolphe Holler and Brown journey beyond the island’s reef to swim with a Humpback calf and watch these gentle giants up-close.
Maestre teams up with the queen of chocolate, Kirsten Tibballs, to create some mouth-watering chocolate lollypops with the world’s newest blend of chocolate, Ruby Chocolate.
The Living Room returns Friday, 29 March at 7.30pm.