Business of Media
Ben Roberts-Smith ‘extremely paranoid and obsessive’ over inquiry, courts hears
Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith became “extremely paranoid and obsessive” after Nine Entertainment published allegations he had committed war crimes while serving in Afghanistan, a court has heard, reports News Corp’s Max Maddison and Kieran Gair.
In a Federal Court judgment on Wednesday, judge Anthony Besanko said the war hero’s ex-wife, Emma Roberts, asked her former husband to “seek professional help” to address concerns about his alleged “excessive” drinking, anxiety and depression.
Roberts-Smith, 42, is suing Nine newspapers the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age for defamation over a series of reports published in 2018, which he says portrayed him as a murderous war criminal during his time as a Special Air Service soldier in Afghanistan in 2009-12.
AustralianSuper faces questions from APRA after handing over details of its two million members to The New Daily
One of the nation’s largest super funds, AustralianSuper, is being examined for allowing its customer data of more than two million members to be handed over to news website, The New Daily, reports News Corp’s Sophie Elsworth.
It comes as the media outlet – owned by industry super fund umbrella company Industry Super Holdings – was forced to apologise and pay costs to Superannuation Minister Jane Hume for an article written by commentator Michael Pascoe.
On Wednesday it was revealed the financial regulator, the Australian Prudential and Regulation Authority, is examining AustralianSuper after revelations showed the industry super fund gave their members’ information away to the news website.
“That’s why we have quotas!”
Tony Burke, manager of opposition business in the House and former minister of the arts, delivered a passionate defence of maintaining Australian quotas, reports TV Tonight.
Commending Foxtel’s history of local drama, he said the way to achieve a level playing field was to add quotas to Streaming platforms, not to diminish obligations on Subscription and Free to Air Television.
“What’s the government’s solution when they say, ‘Oh, well, Foxtel is now at a competitive disadvantage to the free-to-airs, where we cut their drama quotas’? The solution is, ‘Oh, well, let’s keep the race to the bottom going and let’s make the cuts apply to Foxtel as well,’” Burke said.
Netflix reportedly plans push into video games market
Apple, Microsoft, Sony and Google have all tried to create a “Netflix for games”, offering unlimited access to a library of titles for a flat monthly fee. But a growing number of reports suggest they may be about to face stiff competition from the streaming company itself, reports The Guardian’s Alex Hern.
Netflix has been approaching senior game industry executives about joining it to lead the creation of a subscription games service, according to reports from the tech news site the Information and Reuters.
News Brands
Victorian Liberal powerbroker Michael Kroger has called for the sacking of ABC chair Ita Buttrose
Former Victorian Liberal Party president and ABC board member Michael Kroger has lashed out at the public broadcaster’s chair Ita Buttrose, describing her as “a hopeless failure” and called on her to resign immediately, reports News Corp’s Sophie Elsworth.
Kroger didn’t hold back in slamming Buttrose who he said was allowing the ABC to push an anti-Liberal agenda.
Appearing on Sky News on Wednesday night with host Chris Kenny, Kroger said Buttrose had done a terrible job in reining in the ongoing bias against conservative politicians including members of the Morrison government.
ABC rejected Christian Porter offer to settle defamation court case
The ABC rejected an offer from Christian Porter to settle his defamation case weeks before the minister agreed to enter mediation, reports Guardian Australia‘s Amanda Meade and Michael McGowan.
The former attorney general has claimed a victory in the high-profile case, but it is understood he originally made an offer for a relatively modest financial settlement without an apology or a retraction of the article.
The offer was rejected by the broadcaster in early May and the two parties entered mediation on Friday 28 May, reaching an agreement on Monday.
ABC managing director David Anderson apologised to Christian Porter over Louise Milligan and Sally Neighbour tweets
ABC managing director David Anderson offered a face-to-face apology to Christian Porter for a series of social media posts by two of his senior journalists in the aftermath of the defamation matter involving the public broadcaster and the former attorney-general, reports News Corp’s Nicola Berkovic and James Madden.
Formal mediation between Porter and the ABC had only just concluded on Monday when Anderson approached the Industry Minister to express his disappointment that the tweets by Four Corners reporter Louise Milligan and the show’s executive producer, Sally Neighbour, had tarnished what was achieved at the legal discussions earlier in the day, and had undone the goodwill between them.
Radio
Ben Fordham defends Nine ad but turned down appearance
Channel Nine staple Ben Fordham has defended the media organisation’s Covid-19 vaccine advert as “really well done” after it was slammed for a lack of diversity, reports News Corp’s Mitchell Van Homrigh.
Fordham told his 2GB audience on Wednesday morning that the advert was “really well done” but revealed he turned down a request to appear in the video.
“As for the accusation that it is too white, I’m not sure they had a lot of time to put the whole thing together,” he said.
Television
Nine updates vaccination promo
Nine last night released a new public service promo in its #GetVaccinated campaign, reports TV Tonight.
Added to previous footage were Brooke Boney, Sarah Abo, Travel Guides‘ Kev and Teng, Tina Bursill and sports presenters.
This follows earlier criticism around the casting of the first promo and a lack of diversity.
The Veronicas say doing Celebrity Apprentice was a ‘massive mistake’
The Veronicas have described being on Celebrity Apprentice as a “massive mistake”, accusing producers of “gut-wrenching, soul destroying” editing, reports News Corp’s Cameron Adams.
The chart-topping twins posted a damning statement via Instagram after Tuesday night’s episode, including an open letter to the “crew and production involved” in the Nine show “that knows the truth”.
In an Instagram story posted on Lisa Origliasso’s account, the letter said the duo signed onto the show “under the guise of charity and heart” to raise money for the Brain Foundation, as their mother Colleen has rare progressive supranuclear palsy (a cerebral disorder that affects her cognitive ability and motor function).
Weakest Link takes a ratings nosedive as viewers point out one big problem with the show
The Magda Szubanski-led reboot of The Weakest Link has plummeted in the ratings in its second week on air, reports News Corp’s Nick Bond.
Viewers on social media have given mixed feedback, with criticisms about the show’s attempts at humour and the very structure of the game, which sees contestants compete in rapid-fire rounds of trivia to win cash prizes.
The most common complaint, though? The show’s sound design – in particular the decision to put a booming echo effect every single time Szubanski utters the words “the weakest link”.