Business of Media
Roberts-Smith admits sharing classified documents with former comrade
Former special forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has admitted to sharing classified footage of a bomb being dropped on a compound in Afghanistan with a comrade and witness in his defamation trial against Nine, reports AFR’s Max Mason.
Roberts-Smith faced a series of allegations in court on Thursday regarding collusion with other former Special Air Service soldiers, particularly persons 5, 11, 29 and 35, with regards to evidence given to the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force and in his legal action against the media company (owners of this masthead) and three journalists.
The four men, whom Roberts-Smith admitted are all close friends of his, are expected to give evidence in favour of Roberts-Smith in the defamation proceedings.
BuzzFeed valued at $1.5bn in deal to go public via special-purpose merger
BuzzFeed, the news, digital media and lifestyle company, has announced plans to become a publicly traded company through a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) that could value the 15-year-old New York-based firm at $1.5bn, reports The Guardian’s Edward Helmore.
The company, initially known for listicles and online quizzes, also announced plans to buy Complex Networks, a global youth network that engages with millennials and Gen Z, from phone giant Verizon and publisher Hearst for $300m.
BuzzFeed has been on an acquisitions spree over the past year, merging with HuffPost in November and following a consolidation trend in digital media startups.
ABC publishes Craig McLachlan 1990s allegation
Lawyers for actor Craig McLachlan have rejected allegations published by ABC, made by a former TV host who was hosting a UK children’s show in 1990, reports TV Tonight.
At 23 Jeanne Downs was the face of Children’s ITV channel CITV between 1989 and 1991 and alleges groping from behind during a live to air moment when McLachlan, 24, was a guest in 1990.
ABC has also published a clip supplied by ITV.
“I was so overwhelmingly shocked, disappointed, angry, violated, devastated, sad and actually physically hurt as his hand and his fingers were so strong. I fought hard to hold back tears, my body was shaking, convulsing inside,” she told ABC.
Daryl Somers’ former business manager launches fresh legal action
Daryl Somers’ former business manager has hit back at the TV legend and is launching fresh action against Somers’ wife Julie, reports News Corp’s Jackie Epstein.
Somers filed a writ to court earlier this month to sue Alex Mathey for what he called a “defamatory matter”.
The former Hey Hey It’s Saturday host and triple Gold Logie winner is heading for a Supreme Court showdown, seeking a permanent injunction restraining Mathey from “further publishing, republishing or causing to be published or republished” the material.
Mathey, who claims not to be aware of any legal action, had alleged in June last year he was treated “appallingly” by Somers, 69, and his wife Julie while working for them as chief executive and group legal counsel.
News Brands
Political commentator Niki Savva quits the Australian after Peta Credlin joins as columnist
Veteran political commentator Niki Savva has quit her column for the Australian after editors told her she had to share a page with the paper’s new recruit Sky News host Peta Credlin, reports Guardian Australia‘s Amanda Meade.
Credlin, a former chief of staff to Tony Abbott, wanted her column to appear on a Thursday so it didn’t clash with her weekend column for the News Corp tabloids.
But Savva’s column, which she has written for 10 years, is published on Thursdays and she didn’t want to move to another day or appear on the same day.
Savva, a regular on ABC’s Insiders, chose to walk away because she would feel constrained in what she could write about Credlin if they were published alongside each other, sources told Guardian Australia.
‘Painful farewell’: Hongkongers queue for hours to buy final Apple Daily edition
Across Hong Kong on Thursday morning the queues stretched for hundreds of metres, wrapping around corner after corner. Starting before dawn, crowds in the city of 7.5 million people lined up for hours to buy the final print edition of the Apple Daily newspaper, forced to close by authorities which had accused it of national security offences, reports The Guardian’s Helen Davidson.
Normally selling 80,000 copies a day, they printed a million. It was in such hot demand that by mid morning Hongkongers were crowdsourcing an online spreadsheet of convenience stores that still had copies for sale.
“Hong Kongers bid a painful farewell in the rain: ‘We support Apple Daily’,” read the final front page headline. The half page photo showed the crowds of supporters who had gathered outside the building the night before, leaving messages of thanks on the front gate, and waving up to the staff gathered at the windows and balconies, shining their torch lights.
Murdoch seeks to remove editorial independence rules at the Times
Rupert Murdoch has asked the government to abolish the legal restraints on him interfering in the editorial independence of the Times and the Sunday Times that were put in place when he first bought the newspapers, reports The Guardian’s Jim Waterson.
At the moment the two newspapers are required to have largely separate editorial teams, while Murdoch nominally has to answer to a group of independent directors on key editorial matters.
News UK has now asked the government to abolish the independent directors, arguing that they are no longer required and were designed in a pre-internet era.
The company argues that there is no need for the legal protections because it would be “economically irrational” for Murdoch to interfere in the editorial position of the Times or the Sunday Times, as this could cause sales of his newspapers to fall.
Television
ABC and 10 to pick up Diana titles marking her 60th birthday
Both ABC and 10 have picked up new titles on Princess Diana to screen in the next fortnight, reports TV Tonight.
Their broadcasts mark 60 years since her birth, 1 July 1961.
ABC has picked up UK special The Real Diana, to screen at 9:30pm next Tuesday.
60 years after she was born, we celebrate Diana’s life. A rich tapestry of footage, photos and letters piece together her incredible journey from shy teenage nursery assistant to finding her voice as the Princess of Wales.
10 has picked up three part series Diana’s Decades produced by UK prodco Spun Gold TV. The series covers Princess Diana’s life as a cultural influencer from her charity work to her marriage to Prince Charles.
“The whole point is that I’m not a journalist” – Courtney Act on One Plus One
It was an appearance on The Drum earlier this year that led to Courtney Act being asked to host interview series One Plus One, reports TV Tonight.
Following in the footsteps of Jane Hutcheon, Barrie Cassidy, Kurt Fearnley and Stan Grant, the drag queen extraordinaire may not seem like the likely candidate as host. But it’s just the reason she was chosen.
“Knowing that those were sort of some of the shoes that had hosted the show before me was kind of nerve-wracking at first. But then I was assured that the whole point is that I’m not a journalist. I’m not Stan Grant, I haven’t been doing this all of my life. From me specifically they were looking from that non-journalistic approach. So it was really exciting to be trusted with this opportunity,” she tells TV Tonight.
Sports Media
Footy media’s biggest money men revealed
Everyone wants to know who the AFL’s million dollar men are — and they’re not just players on the field, reports News Corp’s Jackie Epstein.
Media figure and former Richmond star Nathan Brown delved into rare territory when he put forward a list of former footy stars — in commentary, radio, digital, newspapers and podcasts — and their estimated salaries.
He uncovered five million dollar men. In comparison there were just two million dollar players in the AFL in 2020 (pay cuts due to Covid), down from nine in 2019.