Business of Media
ABC ordered to pay ex-commando Heston Russell’s legal fees
The ABC is facing a bill of significantly more than $1.2m in the fallout of its defamation battle with former commando Heston Russell, after the public broadcaster was ordered to pay Mr Russell’s legal fees, reports The Australian’s Ellie Dudley and Sophie Elsworth.
Justice Michael Lee on Tuesday ordered the ABC to pay an inflated proportion of Mr Russell’s legal fees, known as indemnity costs, due to the fact the broadcaster rejected an early offer to settle the case.
Network Ten doesn’t want to buy Southern Cross Austereo’s TV stations
Network Ten won’t line up to buy Southern Cross Austereo’s network of 96 regional television signals, which have in effect been put on the market after a surprise takeover offer from rival ARN, reports The Australian Financial Review’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
The TV network, which is owned by US giant Paramount, airs its programs across Southern Cross’s regional network through an affiliate deal that contributed the most of the primarily radio network’s $106.7 million in TV revenue last year.
WPP fires employee detained in China, launches investigation into bribery charges
WPP said it terminated the executive currently detained in China on charges of bribery and is conducting its own investigation into the matter, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Patience Haggin.
On Saturday, the Shanghai police’s economic crimes investigation division said that three suspects at an unnamed advertising company had been detained on criminal charges of accepting bribes as nonpublic officials. That statement referred to one current and two former employees of GroupM, an ad-buying unit of WPP, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.
‘They just have to be fair’: will the actors’ strike finally come to an end?
Trick or treat but don’t cross the picket line. The union representing Hollywood actors recently issued its striking members with fashion advice for Halloween. “Choose costumes inspired by generalized characters and figures (ghost, zombie, spider, etc),” it said, anxious that they do not dress as film characters that might be seen as promoting the content of major studios, reports The Guardian’s David Smith.
The effective ban on dressing up as Barbie, Marvel superheroes and Wednesday Addams did not go down well. Actor Ryan Reynolds tweeted sarcastically: “I look forward to screaming ‘scab’ at my 8 year old all night. She’s not in the union but she needs to learn.” The union was forced to hastily clarify that the guidelines do not apply to children
News Brands
ABC boss grilled over Gaza conflict coverage
ABC boss David Anderson has defended the public broadcaster’s coverage of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, after being grilled over controversial leaked text messages by its Middle East correspondent Tom Joyner and an interview on 7.30 with a senior Hamas representative, reports The Sydney Morning Herald’s Calum Jaspan.
Television
Review: Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles
Are you ready to Wiggle?
Prime Video’s new documentary on Australia’s supergoup children’s entertainers will have you Wiggling in your chair and reliving your childhood with giddy, awkward enthusiasm, reports TV Tonight’s David Knox.
If you know the songs “Hot Potato” (and who doesn’t?), “Fruit Salad,” “The Monkey Dance,” and “Toot Toot Chugga Chug Big Red Car,” then Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles will put a smile on your dial.
‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ trailer: watch real-life contestants fake die and battle for $4.56 million in Red Light, Green Light
You’d think that volunteering to go on a reality TV series based on a show about a deadly competition would mean you were prepared to at least fake die — but based on the new trailer for “Squid Game: The Challenge,” that thought didn’t occur to every contestant, reports Variety Australia’s Jennifer Mass.
In the new promo for the unscripted show, which debuts Nov. 22 on Netflix and will roll out new episodes through Dec. 6, 456 people are competing for the $4.56 million prize being offered, just like it was in the first season of the streamer’s Korean-language hit “Squid Game.”
See Also: Prime Video launches The Boys spin-off Gen V with supe(r) immersive activations during premiere
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Top Image: Barrister Sue Chrysanthou & Heston Russell