Business of Media
Media Watch describes David Anderson as “casualty” of Kim Williams’ crusade
Media Watch last night weighed into the speculation about the unexpected resignation of ABC Managing Director David Anderson, reports TV Tonight.
It added fuel to the media fire that Anderson’s departure is linked to changes in the ABC Chair.
“David Anderson’s resignation after a career that started in the post room 35 years ago is no great surprise. Even though he had four years left on his contract,” host Paul Barry said.
“Running the ABC and defending it against attack, from friend and foe, is a relentless, high-pressure job that has taken its toll.
“And it’s no surprise if he wants his life back.
“But Anderson is also a casualty of Kim Williams’ crusade to restore the ABC to its former glory, with the new chair calling publicly for a harder approach to news and digital content, more Australian drama and arts, revitalising radio, and for the ABC to ‘rediscover its corporate purpose’, which is to offer national leadership and excellence.”
10 Play breaches gambling ad rules, ACMA issues warning
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has found that streaming service 10 Play, operated by Network Ten, breached gambling advertising rules by airing gambling ads outside permitted hours during two live-streamed sports events.
The industry watchdog’s investigation followed complaints from a viewer about two specific live streams on 14 October 2023: the A-League Women’s Central Coast Mariners vs. Newcastle Jets match and a Socceroos friendly match against England.
Under current regulations, gambling ads are not allowed during live sports events between 5am and 8:30pm, including in the five minutes before and after the event. The international match was streamed early in the morning, while the Women’s A-League match was in the afternoon, both falling within the restricted period.
“These rules are in place to minimise potential harm caused by gambling promotional content,” said ACMA authority member, Carolyn Lidgerwood.
“Streaming services are expected to have systems in place to provide their ads in line with the law.”
Television
Grant Denyer’s heartbreaking confession to help others: ‘I still struggle’
Despite years of working on himself, the popular television presenter Grant Denyer is still battling a lifelong tussle with low self-esteem that started in childhood, reports Jonathon Moran.
“My internal dialogue is brutal, my whole life, very savage,” Denyer said on the latest episode of the Mental As Anyone podcast.
“Very mean, horrible. It softened a lot after the Gold Logie (award). It was just very depraved, it was vicious. It was very damaging, crippled by perfectionism as well, which is a torturous condition because you are just never happy with your achievements, no matter how great those moments are. It was constantly attacking myself from the inside out. I’ve had to do a lot of work just to soften that and that still creeps in, it is an ongoing processing. This is the healing that we all do.”
Denyer, 46, won his Gold Logie in 2018.
It was then he first spoke of his personal struggles behind the beaming TV smile and boundlessly energetic persona.
ABC’s Planet America, last with election news and proud of it
This year’s US election race has given ABC’s Planet America more content than it know what to do with, and that’s saying something given it has two television shows and a podcast, reports TV Tonight.
“It is actually a problem. When we make a show, we go, ‘Okay, what are we not covering this week?’ Because there’s too much!” Chas Licciardello, who hosts alongside John Barron, tells TV Tonight.
”We need our own channel, that’s what we need!”
This past week has include a Democratic National Convention, with names including Oprah, Stevie Wonder, P!nk, Presidents Biden and Obama. The 2024 campaign has also seen President Biden bow out, an assassination attempt on Trump and the nomination of Kamala Harris.
“The conventions obviously are designed for TV, so they’re very easy to cover in that respect. But also the nature of our show is that we’re often last with the news,” he says.
“The story might be four days old by the time we get to it.
“But our game is ‘Okay, you know this story. You’ve read four tweets about this story. Let me tell you what you don’t understand about it, or what you think you know, but it’s wrong.’”
Matthew Fox joins Michelle Pfeiffer in Yellowstone sequel series The Madison
Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone sequel series continues to add to its cast, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
The series, titled The Madison, will add Lost star Matthew Fox to the cast, joining series lead Michelle Pfeiffer and Patrick J. Adams.
Fox will play Paul, a “self-reliant bachelor who loves the outdoors.”
The Madison, from MTV Entertainment Studios, Sheridan’s 101 Studios and Bosque Ranch Productions, is “a heartfelt study of grief and human connection following a New York City family in the Madison River valley of central Montana,” with Pfeiffer also set to serve as an executive producer on the series. Adams, who starred in the USA hit Suits, will play a young investment banker named Russell McIntosh.
Sheridan has a number of other projects in the works at Paramount, both for Paramount+ and for TV, including a number of Yellowstone sequels and spinoffs.
Radio
Extremist influencer defies calls to cancel Australia tour, speaks on 2GB
Far-right US commentator Candace Owens is on a collision course with Immigration Minister Tony Burke, vowing to push on with her Australian tour in defiance of calls to reject her visa application, reports Nine Publishing’s Paul Sakkal.
Burke last week indicated he would block Owens’ expected visa application, telling this masthead: “Tickets to these events are selling for $100. I hope she has a good refunds policy.” Owens has not yet applied for a visa.
Speaking on Sydney radio station 2GB on Monday, the far-right influencer – who thinks Trump has become too moderate – said she was excited to travel to Australia for her November tour, VIP tickets for which are selling at $1500.
Owens, who has 18 million followers on her social platforms, has previously made mendacious claims that Israel was founded by a “cult”, spread misinformation about “secret Jewish gangs” operating in Hollywood, and minimised Nazi atrocities.
Campaigns
The Wiggles release song with Sydney Water to reduce water usage
Popular children’s entertainers The Wiggles have been drafted in to teach kids how to save water at home, reports News Corp’s Adella Beaini.
A massive spike in daily water use has prompted Sydney Water to team up with the skivvy-wearing clan, who have written a new song as part of an education campaign.
The jump in daily average consumption from 178 to 183 litres per person coincides with a noticeable decline in efforts by Sydneysiders to conserve water.
“Our water supply is not endless. Our climate and city are changing, and the population continues to grow,” water conservation programs manager Suhanti Thirunavukarasu said.
Sports Media
Hundreds attend the funeral service for 35-year-old Herald Sun footy reporter
Parents should not have to bury their children.
Nor should they have to stand on stage – before hundreds of friends, family, the odd billionaire as well as AFL and sporting luminaries – to share the private intimacy of their very public loss.
Sam Landsberger, a Herald Sun sports journalist, died last Tuesday, and no one was prepared for his departure, reports News Corp’s Patrick Carlyon and Fergus Ellis.
They still couldn’t fathom his absence at his send-off almost a week later at the Temple Beth Israel synagogue in St Kilda.
Landsberger joined News Corp in early 2010 and quickly made a name for himself as a newsbreaker, becoming one of the biggest names in the footy and cricket media landscapes.
He was hit and killed by a truck in Richmond on August 20.
Among those at Landsberger’s funeral yesterday were former Bulldogs players Scott West and Mitch Wallis and current captain Marcus Bontempelli, billionaire businessman David Smorgon, AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon, AFL Players Association chief Paul Marsh, former Australian ODI captain Aaron Finch and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, many Herald Sun journalists and several members of rival media including Caroline Wilson and Damian Barrett.