Business of Media
Sofronoff findings against me ‘tainted’: Drumgold
Former ACT director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold, SC, wants sections of the Sofronoff report into the prosecution of political staffer Bruce Lehrmann to be changed, saying they were now “tainted” by bias, reports Nine Publishing’s Michael Pelly.
In his first comments since Acting Justice Stephen Kaye found that inquiry head Walter Sofronoff, KC, “might have been influenced” by his contact with journalist Janet Albrechtsen, Drumgold said he wanted “the record corrected to reflect the judgment”.
Microsoft asks to dismiss New York Times’s ‘doomsday’ copyright lawsuit
Microsoft has responded to a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by the New York Times over alleged use of content to train generative artificial intelligence, calling the claim a false narrative of “doomsday futurology”. The tech giant said the lawsuit was near-sighted and akin to Hollywood’s losing backlash against the VCR, reports The Guardian’s Edward Helmore.
In a motion to dismiss part of the lawsuit filed on Monday, Microsoft, which was sued in December alongside ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, scoffed at the newspaper’s claim that Times content receives “particular emphasis” and that tech companies “seek to free-ride on the Times’s massive investment in its journalism”.
Ban on Calvin Klein’s FKA twigs ad revoked after ASA climbdown
The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has backtracked on its decision to ban a Calvin Klein advertisement featuring the British singer FKA twigs, citing the “strength of public feeling”, reports The Guardian’s Mabel Banfield-Nwachi.
The ASA said that after “careful thought” it had decided that “the image was not sexually explicit, that the ad presented FKA twigs as confident and in control and, therefore, that she had not been objectified”.
The ASA had originally said the ad presented her as “a stereotypical sexual object”.
Here’s some news, Meta – you’re defying Australian law
Last week. Meta announced that it will not do further deals with Australian media businesses. Meta is in effect saying: We want to do business in Australia but we do not want to comply with the law of Australia, writes Paul Fletcher, the federal opposition spokesman for government services and the digital economy.
That law, of course, is the News Media Bargaining Code – a detailed series of provisions added to the Competition and Consumer Act by the Morrison government in 2021. We took this action to deal with the problem of digital platforms such as Facebook (owned by Meta) and Google (owned by Alphabet) using content generated and paid for by Australian news media businesses, without paying for that content.
See Also: ‘No one can tell brands how they should react’: Will advertisers punish Meta for exiting news deals?
Meta to wind down sales partner program, have advertisers work directly with company
Meta Platforms plans to wind down its authorized sales partner program by July and move to a model where advertisers work directly with the company, a spokesperson said Tuesday, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Ben Glickman.
ASPs are extensions of Meta’s sales teams that have local presences in various countries. The move is meant to help make the company’s operating model consistent across markets around the world, the spokesperson added.
“We regularly review and adjust how we service clients,” the spokesperson said. “We are focused on making this transition as smooth as possible.”
Warner Bros. Discovery shuts down Rooster Teeth after 21 years
Animation, comedy and gaming studio Rooster Teeth, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, is shutting down, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Caitlin Huston.
“Since inheriting ownership and control of Rooster Teeth from AT&T following its acquisition of TimeWarner, Warner Bros. Discovery continued its investment in our company, content and community. It’s with a heavy heart I announce that Rooster Teeth is shutting down due to challenges facing digital media resulting from fundamental shifts in consumer behavior and monetization across platforms, advertising, and patronage,” wrote Jordan Levin, the general manager of Rooster Teeth.
News Brands
SBS partnership with Qatari-owned Al Jazeera network under criticism from the Jewish community
SBS management will review complaints from the Jewish community over the broadcaster’s longstanding partnership with Al Jazeera, amid concerns the Qatari state-owned television network has an “egregious conflict of interest” when reporting on the Israel-Hamas war, reports The Australian’s Sophie Elsworth.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has written to SBS ombudsman Amy Stockwell to voice its grievances about the taxpayer-funded broadcaster using Al Jazeera’s news reports on its channel.
The council has requested that Stockwell recommend to the SBS board that the broadcaster discontinue its relationship with Al Jazeera.
Sacked ABC presenter Antoinette Lattouf opens up about shock dismissal with Abbie Chatfield
Sacked ABC journalist and radio presenter Antoinette Lattouf has opened up about her abrupt dismissal to podcast host Abbie Chatfield, reports News Corp’s Madeleine Achenza.
In a deep-dive interview with Chatfield on her It’s A Lot podcast published on Tuesday morning, the radio presenter explained how her life has become consumed by the matter.
“I’m going to stick it through, as long as it’s going to take because I think it’s so much bigger than me, and so much more important than me,” she told the podcast.
Radio
The secret weapons adding extra firepower to Jase and Lauren’s Nova breakfast show
The battle of breakfast radio has taken another turn with Jase Hawkins and Lauren Phillips adding Melbourne star power to their Nova FM show, reports News Corp’s Fiona Byrne.
Demon champion Christian Petracca is set to be a footy season regular on the reborn show and popular media identity Clint Stanaway inked a deal on Tuesday to join his former KIIS FM colleagues on-air.
Stanaway, who was part of the Jase and Lauren show during its time on KIIS FM, will join Hawkins and Phillips when they launch their Nova era on Friday.
Television
We’re in a golden age for celebrity documentaries. Pity we can’t trust them
Early in the Beckham docuseries David Beckham gatecrashes his wife Victoria’s interview to cast shade on her working-class roots by revealing she was driven to school in a Rolls Royce. On face value it’s a delightful unscripted moment, reports Nine Publishing’s Gary Newman.
But then I start to wonder. Is it possible that the moment when David pops out from behind the door to correct Victoria was contrived to humanise the Beckhams and get some traction on YouTube?
Of course, I have no way of proving this but nor is it an allegation that’s easily refuted. It comes down to who you are you more likely to believe – me, or the Beckhams who were reportedly paid $US20 million ($30 million) for a docuseries brought to you by their production company Studio 99.