Business of Media
Elon Musk expected to reiterate desire to own Twitter
Elon Musk is expected to confirm his desire to own Twitter when he speaks to the social-media company’s employees, according to a person familiar with the matter, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Carla Lombardo.
The billionaire Tesla chief executive is slated to answer pre-submitted employee questions for roughly an hour at a virtual Twitter all-hands meeting Thursday morning West Coast time, the person said.
In addition to reiterating his interest in owning the company and his view of its importance in the world, Musk is likely to clarify recent comments about remote work and touch on aspects of his strategy for Twitter, including the role of advertising and subscriptions.
Tucker Carlson tops Reuters Institute list of most prominent American journalists
Tucker Carlson is the most famous journalist in the US according to a survey which asked Americans to name five journalists they pay attention to, reports Press Gazette’s Bron Maher.
Carlson was one of five Fox personalities to appear on the list of the ten most-mentioned names.
He beat out Rachel Maddow of MSNBC to the top spot, who in turn pipped former Trump loyalist Sean Hannity of Fox for second.
Agencies
The Volte welcomes Kellie Hush as creative director
The Volte has announced the appointment of Kellie Hush as the creative director of the luxury dress-sharing platform.
Hush steps into the new role with the platform effective immediately. She was the editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar from 2012 to 2018 and recently the acting CEO of The Australian Fashion Council.
The Volte quickly has risen in popularity over the past year. Bookings have doubled in the last quarter, with more than 250,000 monthly users active and 100,000 items listed on the platform.
The Mint Partners launches a studio-style showroom for luxury lifestyle clients
The Mint Partners has launched a new, contemporary studio-style Showroom to meet the aesthetic and functional needs of their growing, luxury brand clientele.
The Showroom serves as a brand showcase for a mix of leading luxury fashion and lifestyle clients creating a bespoke experience for product launches and exclusive showings.
Over recent months, MINT has expanded their fashion credentials, welcoming new brands to The Showroom including French luxury maison Celine, international designer eyewear retailer Sunglass Hut, luxury footwear designer Roger Vivier and eponymous French designed lingerie label Simone Pérèle.
The Showroom is complemented with a sound experience by Danish high-end consumer electronics and design icon Bang & Olufsen – presenting their latest range of high-end quality speakers, headphones and sound accessories.
The Showroom space also plays host for tastings of new release and rare varietals for MINT’s range of premium beverage clients.
News Brands
Sydney doctor Joseph Ajaka issues legal threat to Nine
Sydney doctor Joseph Ajaka has issued a legal concerns notice to Nine Entertainment over the media company’s widely promoted expose into the cosmetic surgery industry, which he says defamed him, reports News Corp‘s James Madden.
Dr Ajaka claims his character was “gravely injured” by the on-air promotion for the 60 Minutes investigation, the program itself (which aired last Thursday), and subsequent newspaper articles in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age — all of which, he says, caused him substantial hurt, embarrassment and loss.
The probe, led by journalists Adele Ferguson and Joel Tozer, alleged the country’s biggest cosmetic procedures group, Cosmos Clinics, founded by Dr Ajaka, engaged in troubling practices including botched outcomes, poor after-care and breaches of social media guidelines.
‘Heartfelt apology’ from ABC boss over bigotry and racism
ABC news boss Justin Stevens has issued a “heartfelt apology” over bigotry and racism at the national broadcaster, reports News Corp.
His apology to employees in an all-staff email followed an internal investigation into “cultural insensitivity” at the ABC.
The inquiry looked into the experiences of Indigenous and culturally diverse staff.
It found some staff ABC felt unwelcome in their workplace, and that their contributions were not being heard in team discussions.
Some also criticised the internal complaints process, and a lack of support mechanisms for those dealing with racism at work.
Radio
Erin Molan calls out ‘damaging’ accusation on-air
Broadcaster Erin Molan has opened up about the “damaging” false accusation she was once involved with a married man while discussing extramarital affairs on-air this morning, reports News Corp’s Nick Bond.
Molan was speaking about the topic with co-hosts Dave Hughes and Ed Kavalee on 2Day FM’s The Morning Crew: Hughesy Ed and Erin when she opened up about a controversy from her own past.
“I’ve been accused of having an affair, six or seven years ago now. It was a false accusation, and I took legal action, because it was so offensive and so hurtful and so damaging,” she said.
“I felt at that time there was nothing you could accuse me of that could’ve been worse, being someone who would do that in terms of hurting people.”
Television
Sarah Ferguson on the darkness she’s seen in the US, trust, and 7.30
It’s always sad leaving somewhere you love, but for journalist Sarah Ferguson, leaving Washington DC during the January 6 hearings – one of the biggest stories of our age – is particularly difficult. Fortunately, though, she is coming home, “always a wonderful thing”, reports SMH’s Kerrie O’Brien.
The 56-year-old Gold Walkley Award winner is also about to take up stewardship of the ABC’s 7.30, one of the top news and current affairs gigs in the country.
To her mind, Australia’s media sits “somewhere between the more aggressive British style and the sometimes slightly folksy style Americans adopt”.
ABC adds politically correct warning to iconic talk show
The ABC has added a content warning to a decades-old talk show. The national broadcaster is celebrating some of its classic programming, ahead of its 90-year anniversary, reports 2GB’s Ben Fordham.
Episodes of Parkinson In Australia are airing, a series of interviews that legendary talkshow host Sir Michael Parkinson conducted in the late 70s and early 80s.
The PG-rated program now comes with the warning: “The following program expresses attitudes that are not consistent with current standards and may offend some viewers.”
Sportsbet betting odds hint Sonia Kruger is hot on Hamish Blake’s tail for Gold Logie
Three years on from Tom Gleeson’s unforgettable 2019 Gold Logie win, the industry is set to crown another TV great on Sunday night, but will it be as a wild a twist as the last ceremony, asks News Corp’s Bella Fowler.
Comedian Gleeson stirred up controversy after running a ruthless campaign gunning for the win, mocking the Logies and his competitors for a number of weeks. When he actually did take out the prize, his win was followed by weeks of irked industry peers slamming a “lack of graciousness” in his acceptance speech.
This year, radio star Hamish Blake has been labelled a “shoo-in” for the gong, but according to Sportsbet, he could be pipped at the post on the night by TV’s golden girl herself, Channel 7’s Sonia Kruger.
Sports Media
Sky transformed English soccer. Will Apple’s $2.5bn deal do the same for MLS?
One wonders if anyone at Major League Soccer had the famous 1984 commercial for the Apple Macintosh playing through their mind as the league penned a $2.5bn deal to stream its games on Apple TV for the next 10 years. Indeed, the image of a sledgehammer crashing into a giant TV screen is a rather apt one to illustrate what the league has done with its new deal, reports The Guardian’s Graham Ruthven.
MLS hasn’t completely turned its back on traditional TV – reports claim the league is still in negotiations with linear broadcasters to show some games – but there’s no denying the significance of the decision to work with Apple, the partner Don Garber wanted all along. “When we started out this process we had a logo on the whiteboard, and that logo was the Apple logo,” said the league commissioner.