Recorded at Studio 31 at ABC Radio Melbourne, the ABC’s second annual International Women’s Day All Star Hard Hitting Debate features six very different Australians.

Hosted by broadcaster and creative producer Libbi Gorr, the Affirmative Team features barrister and Real Life Housewife of Melbourne Gina Liano, iconic chef and broadcaster Elizabeth Chong, and comedian and winner of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival director’s prize Demi Lardner.

On the Negative Team, arguing that No, Bold Is Not The New Beautiful, are debater extraordinaire Jean Kittson, anchor of ABC News Breakfast and Walkley Award winner Virginia Trioli, and stand-up comic, fashion designer and self-declared bogan Muslim Frida Deguise.

Plus special guest to announce our winning team is Patricia Karvelas, journalist and broadcaster, RN Drive.

Is Bold the New Beautiful?, ABC’s IWD All Star Debate, is a collaboration between ABC Radio and ABC iview and can be heard on Thursday March 8 on ABC Local Radio (Vic, Tas, SA, NT at 7.05pm + NSW, Qld, WA at 10.05pm) and RN (8.05pm). The show will be published exclusively to ABCiView at 8pm and the ABC Listen app.

Photo: On stage at the 2018 ABC IWD All Star Comedy Debate (L-R) Gina Liano, Elizabeth Chong, Demi Lardner, Libbi Gorr , Patricia Karvelas, Virginia Trioli, Frida Deguise and Jean Kittson

The 12-month Your Time cadetships are supported by Screen Australia and are aimed at women who want to develop screen skills, especially in the fields of camera, sound, directing and other craft skills roles where women are historically under-represented.

The Your Time cadetship scheme is one way the ABC is supporting International Women’s Day on Thursday March 8. The ABC will also promote IWD 2018 across its platforms with specialist programming and guest presenters, highlighting the contribution of broadcasters, program makers and women behind the scenes throughout the organisation.

An all or majority women lineup is presenting all key news and current programs on the day and across capital city networks, RN and Radio Australia (including Pacific Beat and Wantok programs). Classic FM will feature 24 hours of all women composers and an all-women lineup.

The results of the survey, conducted by Bauer Media, show there was a near consensus that what Australian women want is equality for all, not just for women. The findings also revealed that 73% of women believe there are not enough women in senior roles. However, only 40% believe there should be quotas for female directors.

Anna Preston, Bauer Media’s national strategy and insights manager, said: “Women want a world where people are judged simply as people – based on their personality, actions and accomplishments and nothing else. The world of true equality is also one where men can freely show emotion, more women and men work in non-traditional roles and where partners can choose who stays at home or is home more to care for the family.”

The survey release coincides with a number of female-led activations from the Bauer brands taking place this week.

Bauer’s Park Street premises will celebrate International Woman’s Day with a consumer activation by Australia’s number one weekly magazine Woman’s Day. The brand will take over the iconic Park St premises granting acts of kindness to passersby.

Today also sees Cosmopolitan editor Keshnee Kemp host an IWD lunch, attended by female leaders across business, sport and media.

“It’s a privilege to be able to celebrate International Women’s Day with such gusto,” said Fiorella Di Santo – general manager food, fashion, luxury and homes. “Bauer brands hold a deep understanding of female audiences in Australia, and we pride ourselves on bringing female-led conversations to the table. Bauer is deeply committed to driving a better and more equal future for women. A better future for women is a better future for everyone”

See separate Mediaweek feature today interviewing Bauer Media’s Paul Gardiner.

Nine CEO Hugh Marks

• Nine’s Hugh Marks on revenue growth, digital upside, success measurement and future of cricket

At Nine we have made great strides in our cultural change to educate and provide more opportunities to the many great women who make up our workforce. I want to thank all those who have supported this change and encouraged those around them to embrace a new way forward for our business.

From a corporate perspective, we are pleased to have a 50/50 gender split on our board, having reached this level without the need to mandate for a quota and on our own accord, long before any of our peers.

We have similar numbers across our executive and senior leadership teams.

At a consumer level, we connect with more Australian women than any other local media organisation. We achieve this because we provide inspiration, education, knowledge and entertainment that resonates and we work hard to understand our audience through investing in research.

Marks then announced the launch of a number of initiatives:

• This year we’ll launch our new business, Future Women. Future Women is a platform dedicated to the advancement of women. Subscription-based, it will offer its members access to exclusive events, forums, networking opportunities and intelligent journalism.

• The 9Mentor programs are designed to support the career progression and development of women at Nine. We have two programs on offer, the Women at Nine program and the 9Gen program.

• Through Her Lens is a video and event series to showcase the stories behind Nine’s leading women and share inspiration and knowledge.

Emma Watson (c Shutterstock)

Working with the editorial team at National Geographic, Watson will curate the account, highlighting the work of eight National Geographic female photographers.

The photographers, from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Australia, the United States and the Philippines, cover a wide range of important and relevant topics including male guardianship and the longstanding ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia, the effects of displacement on women and girls running from Boko Haram in Nigeria, unequal pay in India for women day laborers in the brick industry, the bond between mothers and their babies evident even in nature, advancements in women’s rights and the importance of self-identity and the power of hope for a better tomorrow among our world’s young girls.

The National Geographic Instagram account is the most-followed brand on Instagram and one of the top 15 most-followed accounts on the platform. Both Watson and National Geographic have a combined total following of 129 million followers and this experience will be amplified via Facebook Stories on the National Geographic magazine Facebook page, extending the reach by another 22 million followers.

Plibersek defended the right of The Australian to ask questions about the Adani project, saying reporters were simply “doing their jobs” after journalists were booed at the National Press Club.

Following Plibersek’s speech – ahead of International Women’s Day – journalists were heckled by some members of the audience, and attacked on social media, for asking about the Sydney MP’s position on Adani.

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Twitter Australia CEO Suzy Nicoletti

“Twitter has global goals to have women make up 31% of the leadership team in our organisation,” the American-born Nicoletti told The Australian yesterday.

“Globally we have 32.5% and in Australia we have been able to exceed that by making it to 50%.”

Twitter hosted an event for young women entrepreneurs at its Sydney headquarters yesterday in conjunction with the female startup program, She­Starts, which was set up by accelerator BlueChilli.

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Following a spate of burglaries over the past fortnight in which Melburnians were confronted by thugs armed with knives, crowbars and baseball bats, Mitchell has called on the state’s leaders to address the re-emergence of the crime trend that police acknowledge is linked to continuing problems among African youths.

Comedian Kate Langbroek revealed a “crazed, violent, terrifying attack” on her St Kilda home on Friday night. Langbroek told listeners of her radio show that her babysitter was walking to her car about 10pm when a man tried to get into the passenger seat. When the babysitter ran back to the home, the man tried to kick down the door. Langbroek yesterday posted a photo of her bruised arm, sustained trying to keep him out.

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3AW morning announcer Neil Mitchell writes a column today for The Australian:

Let’s cut through the political spin here, and the defensiveness of the police, and do-gooder lawyers who think the best way to rehabilitate a young criminal is to take them to a long lunch.

Let’s listen to the frightened and worried Victorian public. That’s what matters in this law and order debate: the public’s perception of its safety.

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Tiffany Dunk

In the newly created role of managing editor, Dunk will be responsible for setting and driving the editorial direction for lifestyle.com.au.

Lifestyle says Dunk will create, curate and produce lifestyle.com.au content that speaks to its audience’s mindsets with a visual and voice-first approach. Her appointment comes as part of Foxtel’s reimagining of its Lifestyle offering and digital experience.

Hannah Barnes, group general manager of Lifestyle, Digital & Family, said: “We are delighted to welcome Tiffany to lifestyle.com.au. A highly passionate and experienced editor, presenter and journalist, Tiffany brings a wealth of expertise to the role and her appointment reflects our commitment to growing Lifestyle’s digital brand.

“Lifestyle.com.au is already a strong player in the digital landscape, with over 1.2m unique browsers and over 1.5m social video views per month. Our focus is on delivering premium quality lifestyle content that our audience trusts, and Tiffany’s diverse skills make her the perfect choice to navigate the exciting opportunities ahead in video and voice.”

More at mediaweek.com.au.

Combining the latest scientific data with state of the art digital recreations, the co-production with the UK’s Mallinson Sadler Productions (MSP) and Australia’s Electric Pictures reveals the full scope of the shipwrecks, treasure, sunken cities, geology and technology at play on the floor of lakes, seas and oceans around the world, solving riddles that have long lain buried beneath the waves.

The series will premiere globally in 2018 on National Geographic in 172 countries and 43 languages.

Andrew Ogilvie of Electric Pictures said, “I am thrilled to be joining Crispin Sadler, the team at MSP and National Geographic to produce this landmark series. By combining resources, we are able to harness the skills and experience of some of the most talented television professionals in both the UK and Australia to produce a very high-quality series that will delight audiences wherever it is shown. It is a truly global project that takes the ‘draining’ technique of using CGI to peel back the ocean, and other large bodies of water, to reveal what lies below and applies it on a much larger scale than has been seen before.”

Drain The Oceans is co-produced by Mallinson Sadler Productions and Electric Pictures for National Geographic.

For Mallinson Sadler Productions, the executive producers are Crispin Sadler and Mark Fielder.

For Electric Pictures, the executive producers are Phil Craig, Andrew Ogilvie and Andrea Quesnelle.

For National Geographic, Carolyn Payne is executive producer, Hamish Mykura is executive vice president and head of international content and Tim Pastore is president, original programming and production.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has downplayed the threat a $US60 billion ($75 billion) tie-up between Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox Group and the Disney empire will pose to his company’s dominance.

But the head of the $US140 billion video-streaming powerhouse, whose shares touched fresh highs this week, admitted he is concerned about the impact the internet is having on society, reports Fairfax Media’s John McDuling.

“Do I worry about the impact of the internet? Of course as a human being, as a citizen, absolutely,” he told journalists at the company’s Hollywood studio facility on Tuesday, US time.

Netflix is yet to produce an Australian original show. The company’s first local effort, Tidelands, is expected to be released later this year.

As a result, there has been media speculation that a federal government review might recommend a local content quota on Netflix.

Hastings said the experience from international markets was that such measures are ineffective.

“Quotas are well-intentioned ways for governments to try to make sure there’s investment in local content, to try to strengthen local culture,” he said, “but, like most things, the regulations often backfire.”

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What Netflix has done is sharpen the focus of the Seven, Nine and Ten networks. They can’t beat Netflix for drama or comedy, so they’re going to double down on their strengths: local news, domestic reality shows and live sport.

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One week ago we reported on this Netflix commentary from Fairfax Media’s Karl Quinn:

The streaming giant will have a library of 700 original shows this year, but its commitment to Australian production remains uncertain.

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Stranger Things and Star Trek: Discovery top the Digital Original charts in Australia and New Zealand.

The recently released Netflix series Altered Carbon is also much in demand as are Black Mirror, Stargate Origins, Marvel’s Jessica Jones and Marvel’s Runaways plus Daredevil.

I turned off my digital news notifications, unplugged from Twitter and other social networks, and subscribed to home delivery of three print newspapers – The Times, The Wall Street Journal and my local paper, The San Francisco Chronicle – plus a weekly newsmagazine, The Economist.

It has been life-changing. Turning off the buzzing breaking-news machine I carry in my pocket was like unshackling myself from a monster who had me on speed dial, always ready to break into my day with half-baked bulletins.

Now I am not just less anxious and less addicted to the news, I am more widely informed (though there are some blind spots). And I’m embarrassed about how much free time I have – in two months, I managed to read half a dozen books, took up pottery and (I think) became a more attentive husband and father.

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The weekly British music magazine launched 66 years ago with sales peaking over 300,000 in the 60s as The Beatles and Rolling Stones topped the charts. The magazine was a must-read in the 70s and 80s for music fans as four British music weeklies – Sounds, Melody Maker and Record Mirror were the others – battled for stories and readers.

Some Australian specialist retailers used to air freight the British music press in weekly for music fans who used to gather in stores waiting for their arrival.

The brand won’t disappear though as NME will continue to service its digital audience. A statement from Time Inc UK noted:

As part of NME’s digital expansion, it is launching a number of new services. NME Audio, comprising two new music channels NME 1 and NME 2, is available on Regional DAB, the TuneIn App and on nme.com. NME 1 will champion new talent on NME’s radar and NME 2 will feature a range of artists and NME classics.

In addition, a new weekly franchise, The Big Read, is to launch on nme.com, replacing the weekly cover star interview. This in-depth feature will also be the lead item in a weekly curation of nme.com’s biggest stories available in the App Store.

NME will continue to publish special issues in print, such as its new paid-for series NME Gold. The second in the series featuring Paul Weller is available on the newsstand now and further issues of NME Gold are planned for 2018. NME will also be exploring other opportunities to bring its best-in-class music journalism to market in print.

“We haven’t made a call as yet but we’ve got a board meeting next week,” AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said of a possible move by the full AFL Commission to start the grand final later and finish under lights.

“I feel it’s inevitable at some point but it has to be right everywhere and everyone’s got to feel this is the right time to try it. One day we’ll do it and I don’t know when that will be.”

The AFL is confident of smashing last year’s attendance record and achieving a membership record in excess of one million for the first time.

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