Business of Media
Twitter lost 46pc of its Australian ad dollars after Musk’s takeover
Elon Musk’s very public $US44 billion ($66 billion) takeover of Twitter prompted major advertisers to abandon the platform in droves, with new figures showing a 46 per cent drop in Australian ad revenue in the final quarter of 2022 compared to the previous year, reports Nine Publishing’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
Twitter’s ad revenue in Australia fell to $3.9 million in October-December from $7.3 million in the last three months of 2021, data from Standard Media Index shows. Standard Media measures how much media agencies spend on different platforms. Musk became owner and CEO of the social platform in October.
This fall was despite the “social media” category – the broader market including Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, for example – rising 4 per cent.
At the time, major advertising agencies – such as global giant IPG – publicly announced they had paused their spending with Twitter.
“Elon’s irrational and often very public tweets did not inspire confidence at the time of him taking over the company,” Lucy Formosa Morgan from IPG Mediabrands-owned media intelligence company Magna Global said.
“There’s been a lot of cynicism surrounding Twitter since Elon took over the business so we’re having to work hard to rebuild client confidence and trust in the platform.”
Twitter to promote only paying users’ tweets, Elon Musk announces
Twitter’s feed will promote only the tweets of users paying its monthly subscription service, Elon Musk, the site’s owner and chief executive, has tweeted, reports the Guardian’s Alex Hern.
From 15 April, the “For you” tab on the site, which attempts to algorithmically curate popular posts for users, will feature only “verified accounts”, Musk tweeted, describing the decision as “the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over”.
Voting in polls on the site will also require verification “for same reason”, Musk added.
From 1 April, existing users with verification badges on the site, now known as “legacy verified”, will lose them unless they pay the monthly fee. A “verified account” will need to pay the fee and provide a working phone number.
Media jobs on the line as ACM announces closure of four regional WA newspapers
Australian Community Media (ACM) has announced the closure of four major mastheads in Western Australia’s South West, which is expected to lead to job losses, report the ABC’s Jacqueline Lynch, Sam Bold, and Sam McManus.
In a letter to staff, ACM said it had made the “preliminary decision” to shut down the Mandurah Mail, the Augusta-Margaret River Mail, the Bunbury Mail and the Busselton-Dunsborough Mail.
It said publishing would cease at the end of April unless a buyer was found.
“ACM has had no choice but to consider options in the face of a number of challenges faced by the company and the media industry more broadly, which have been exacerbated by the 80 per cent increase to newsprint costs, which are well publicised,” the letter said.
“We have identified several Western Australian mastheads that are not profitable from a revenue perspective.”
US court reinstates Adnan Syed murder conviction in Serial podcast case
A court in Maryland has reinstated the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, the Baltimore man whose alleged involvement in the 1999 murder of 17-year-old Hae Min Lee was the subject of the hit podcast Serial, reports the Guardian’s Julia Carrie Wong.
Syed, 41, was convicted of murdering Lee in 2000 and sentenced to life in prison, though he always maintained his innocence. In September last year, state prosecutors revealed they had uncovered new evidence they said undermined Syed’s conviction and pointed to two alternative suspects.
A circuit court judge then threw out Syed’s conviction, saying that the state had failed to turn over exculpatory evidence with the defense. Prosecutors declined to recharge the case, entering what is known as a “nolle prosequi” in the court record.
In December, Young Lee, Hae Min’s brother, filed an appeal arguing that prosecutors violated state law requiring them to give sufficient notice of hearings to victims or their representatives so they may attend in person.
In its ruling on Tuesday, the Maryland appeals court agreed with Lee that the state violated his rights by giving him just one business day’s notice, and said “this court has the power and obligation to remedy those violations, as long we can do so without violating Syed’s right to be free from double jeopardy”.
Radio
Erin Molan marries herself in 2DAYFM’s ‘Wedding for One’ stunt
Unlucky in love, Erin Molan took some convincing to walk down the aisle, reports News Corp’s Mikaela Wilkes.
It was Molan’s four-year-old daughter Eliza that convinced the popular TV and radio personality to take part in a self-wedding stunt for her 2DAY FM breakfast show on Tuesday.
However, the emotion of knowing that her father, late Senator Jim Molan who died in January, wouldn’t be present for the real thing proved the most difficult part to overcome.
The “Wedding for One” at Doltone House on Darling Island was devised as an ode to Molan’s many listeners who’ve divorced, broken up en route to the altar (as Molan and ex-fiance Sean Ogilvy did 2021), or are perpetually – and happily – single.
Eight single women were invited to participate alongside Molan.
Television
Succession season four premiere draws 2.3 million US viewers, a show record
HBO’s premiere of the fourth and final season of Succession on Sunday night drew 2.3 million US viewers across TV and streaming platforms, a new series high, the network said, reports the Wall Street Journal’s Gareth Vipers.
Viewer numbers for Sunday’s opening episode were the most ever for Succession, surpassing the 1.7 million viewers who watched the season three finale in 2021. It was also 62% higher than that season’s premiere.
HBO said the figures are based on Nielsen data and parent company Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.’s first-party data measuring viewership on its HBO Max streaming platform.
The Emmy Award-winning show, which follows the business dynasty of the Roy family and explores the dynamics of power and sibling rivalry, hit screens in 2018 to wide acclaim.
What Australian Survivor winner Liz Parnov did first after ousting King George to claim her crown
After a mentally and physically punishing 47 days on Australian Survivor: Heroes v Villains, subsisting on not much more than rice and beans, the first thing newly crowned Queen of Survivor Liz Parnov did was order one of every option from hotel room service, reports News Corp’s Lisa Woolford.
Turns out her eyes were way bigger than her deprived belly as the 28-year-old Olympic pole vaulter barely managed a mouthful from each delicious dish.
However, she did have plenty of room to savour her sweet victory over her one-time ally and frenemy, the consummate game player King George Mladenov, in Monday night’s Survivor Grand Finale.
“It felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders,” Parnov said, of being the only one in two seasons of 10’s local version of the hit reality show to take out one of the game’s greatest players.
“Watching the episode last night was just a lot, like, emotionally and just like reliving all of those feelings again of being able to execute taking George out, and actually it worked was just incredible. Taking out a player like that is really challenging and you need to pick your time. Otherwise, if you screw that up, you are toast.”
Leaked Nine letter reveals details for next season of The Block
A leaked letter from Channel Nine to residents of a street in Melbourne’s southeast appears to have outlined plans for the next season of The Block, reports News Corp’s Bronte Coy.
The full document was shared to Reddit after being sent to those living along Charming St in Hampton East last week, who were warned that filming would be taking place just five days later.
“Every year we work on the (TV commercial) to reveal the street to our loyal viewers,” it read.
“It showcases the houses and the location. In this case, we will be featuring the 1950s.”
This appears to be a major spoiler for the upcoming 2023 season, with the letter indicating that it’s not only the promo being shot there – but the whole series.
It went on to explain the retro theme of the promo, saying “1950s cars” as well as other “period piece props and costumes” would be brought to style the street. It then had a big request for residents.
“As we are dressing the street, we do request on Friday evening that you please not park on the street or in your driveways. We would like to keep modern cars out of the shots. If you need assistance to move your vehicles we can assist you in the morning.”
Sports Media
News Corp boss says activist athletes are a liability to their sports
News Corp boss Michael Miller says professional athletes are a liability to their codes when they become activists and reject support from mining companies, energy providers or other prospective sponsors, reports Nine Publishing’s Jon Pierik.
Miller, executive chairman of a powerful media conglomerate whose interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, internet and pay television service Foxtel, also raised concern about the commercial progress of battling AFL expansion clubs Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney.
But his comments about athlete activism are most likely to raise eyebrows, especially in light of furores over the sponsorship of Australia’s cricket and netball teams last summer, prompted by ethical concerns raised by players.
International and domestic cricket and netball are broadcast on Foxtel.