Sports Media
Tributes for much-loved Herald Sun footy journalist Sam Landsberger
Leading Herald Sun sports journalist Sam Landsberger (above) has died aged 35 after a traffic accident in Richmond on Tuesday morning, reports News Corp’s Jon Anderson.
Landsberger was a highly accomplished and much-loved member of the Herald Sun and Code Sports teams, where his appetite for hard work, ability to find a story and bright personality saw him quickly make his mark after joining the paper in March 2010.
Herald Sun chief football writer Mark Robinson recalled a man who was loved by his colleagues.
“Sam Landsberger had an enormous future in journalism and took giant strides early on,” Robinson said.
“He loved the game and understood it, and he respected his craft. He was such a valuable member of Melbourne’s sports journalism world, someone who could cover all aspects of footy. And people trusted him.”
Herald Sun editor Sam Weir said: “This tragedy is a devastating loss for Sam’s family, friends and colleagues at the Herald Sun and the sporting codes he covered with such passion.
“He was an energetic and talented football and cricket journalist, who lit up the newsroom. Sam excelled in everything he did, from breaking the big stories to expert analysis on Fox Footy. He was well-loved and well-respected and had an incredible career ahead of him. Our thoughts go out to his family. Sam will be deeply missed.”
Michael Miller, executive chairman of News Corp Australasia said: “It is with deep sadness to hear of the sudden death of our talented colleague, Sam Landsberger.
“This loss is profoundly felt across our entire organisation, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.
“Sam was not only a talented, sports-loving professional, but also a cherished friend to many, especially his colleagues at the Herald Sun and Fox Sports.
“He started his career in the communities at Leader, and spent his professional life with The Herald & Weekly Times and News Corp Australia.
“Sam was an incredibly diligent reporter, always in the office with his phone to his ear talking to his valued football contacts. His passion for chasing the big story set him apart from so many.
“That passion and an unwavering commitment to excellence led to him being Young Journalist of the Year at the News Awards in 2013, and he was also a finalist for the Sports Journalist of the Year in 2023.
“Sam will be greatly missed.”
9Network promising to make Paris 2024 Paralympic Games most prominent in history
Australia’s Home of the Olympics and Paralympics, the 9Network, will make the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games the most prominent in history, with a lineup of commentators to cover all the action from Wednesday, August 28.
Nine’s exclusive broadcast features live and free coverage across one curated linear offering on Channel 9 and 9Gem. Plus, more than 20 dedicated high-definition live streams on 9Now, where every event is available, as well as replays, highlights, and behind the scenes content. Stan Sport will also screen the Paralympic Games.
Across 22 para-sports, 4,400 para-athletes will compete in 549 medal events – and viewers will not miss a single event featuring an Australian athlete. There will be more than 300 hours of Paralympics coverage, beginning with the Opening Ceremony on August 28, right through to the Closing Ceremony on September 8.
Hosting the Nine coverage will be a team including Blake Cochrane, Kurt Fearnley, Ellie Cole, James Bracey, Sylvia Jeffreys, Dylan Alcott and Roz Kelly.
Business of Media
Nine redundancies start: Andrew Webster & Andrew Hornery among 85 to go
Nine Entertainment’s publishing arm has approved 85 voluntary redundancies across its five mastheads, reports The Australian’s James Madden.
The 85 staff members who successfully applied for redundancies will leave the company in coming months, a Nine spokesman said on Tuesday.
The majority of those leaving are journalists and production staff who work across the publishing division’s five mastheads: The Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and digital-only titles WAtoday and the Brisbane Times.
“As foreshadowed in June, we have been working with our people in reshaping the publishing business to ensure a sustainable future in response to the challenging advertising market and collapse of the Meta deal,” the spokesman said.
The Australian has been told that the number of applications for redundancies “far outweighed” the 85 on offer.
Among those to have successfully applied for voluntary redundancies are the AFR’s senior correspondent Aaron Patrick, the SMH’s chief sports writer Andrew Webster, the Herald’s former gossip columnist Andrew Hornery, senior writer Helen Pitt, North American correspondent Farrah Tomazin, books editor Jason Steger, The Age’s culture editor Osman Faruqi, Indigenous Affairs editor Jack Latimore, and the AFR’s Ben Potter and Michael Pelly.
Veteran SMH cartoonist John Shakespeare is also leaving the company.
Superannuation giant looks to sell loss-making news site The New Daily
Industry Super-backed news publication The New Daily is for sale after its owners internally conceded the loss-making publication no longer had a path to its goal of financial self-sustainability, reports Nine Publishing’s Calum Jaspan
The New Daily was set up in 2013 by six industry superannuation funds and run by former Age and Herald Sun News Corp editor Bruce Guthrie. In 2016, the online publication came under sole ownership of Industry Super Holdings, the superannuation sector’s collectively held investment arm.
Over time, the fund established a five-year plan to make The New Daily self-sufficient, with advertising revenue and money from tech giants Google and Meta becoming its main sources of income.
The New Daily is staffed by 26 journalists. M&A advisory Grant Thornton is running the sale process, and has since made approaches to several publishers as potential buyers.
Nine video exclusive: Why Foxtel boss Delany gave Nazi salute
New video footage of Foxtel boss Patrick Delany performing a Nazi salute shows him mocking former Socceroos player Mark Bosnich, who infamously made a similar gesture during an English Premier League game in 1996, reports Nine Publishing’s Calum Jaspan.
After an image was published by Crikey on Sunday, Delany, who was at the time chief executive of Fox Sports, said the only context he could think of for the image was that he was demonstrating a likeness between the Sieg Heil and a hand action made by Western Sydney Wanderers fans during a popular chant.
During the video, Delany is on Fox Sports’ Hyundai A-League set alongside Bosnich, who was at the time a presenter for the broadcaster’s coverage. Delany was chief executive of Fox Sports at the time. In what appears to be an off-air recording, Bosnich is demonstrating the studio’s new virtual soccer ball, and asks Delany to try to kick it.
“We’ll do it like you would’ve done, mate. You ready?” Delany says, before he places two fingers between his nose and mouth, to imitate Adolf Hitler’s moustache, raises his hand in the style of the Sieg Heil salute and kicks the ball.
Fox Sports, AFL, NRL sued in US over alleged misuse of Meta tracking
Foxtel and its biggest sports rights partners face millions in damages after being accused of breaching US privacy laws using Meta’s tracking tools, putting Australian companies on notice as the Labor government prepares a major overhaul of local privacy legislation, reports The AFR’s Max Mason.
Two class actions were launched in the United States District Court in California against the NRL and AFL this month. Fox Sports, which is part of News Corp’s Foxtel, was also listed as a defendant, along with its streaming subsidiary Fox Sports StreamCo.
The legal actions centre around a tracking pixel in use by Meta, the owner of social media platform Facebook, on subscription services to watch NRL and AFL outside of Australia, and allege the Video Privacy Protection Act has been breached.
Meta’s tracking pixel is a piece of code other companies can put in their own websites. It sends data back to Meta on users and what they’re doing on the web, even outside the Facebook platform, to serve them targeted advertising.
Paramount’s new suitor: Edgar Bronfman unveils $4.3b bid
Paramount Global mogul Shari Redstone, who deliberated for months about whether and how to relinquish control of her family’s film and TV empire, now formally has a new offer to consider, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
A consortium led by Edgar Bronfman, Jr. — heir to his family’s Seagram’s liquor fortune and an executive who formerly ran Universal Studios when his father owned its parent company — unveiled a competing bid for Paramount and Redstone’s holding vehicle, National Amusements.
Bronfman, Jr. submitted a roughly $4.3 billion bid to acquire National Amusements, The Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 19. His offer includes $2.4 billion in debt and equity for National Amusements and Bronfman also would contribute $1.5 billion to Paramount’s balance sheet, which could be used to pay down debt, according to the paper, which cites multiple sources. Bronfman, Jr.’s bid also adds the $400 million breakup fee if National Amusements was to go with a rival deal.
Bronfman, Jr., who also ran Warner Music Group and currently serves as executive chairman to streaming platform FuboTV, has had an eclectic Hollywood career.
Four Corners accused of misleading viewers over Seven producer
A Four Corners investigation into the toxic culture at Seven West Media allegedly withheld key information about one of the central subjects of the expose, sparking criticism that the show misled viewers, reports The Australian’s James Madden.
Last Monday, high-profile ABC journalist Louise Milligan fronted a Four Corners episode, titled Don’t Speak that included “allegations of bullying, sexism, assault and exploitation” at Seven that “have left staff hospitalised, unable to work and attempting suicide”.
The program featured testimony given by Taylor Auerbach – whom Four Corners called a “famous Channel Seven whistleblower” – at the recent defamation trial involving Bruce Lehrmann, Lisa Wilkinson and Network 10.
Sharyn Ghidella aware of Seven network misconduct claims
Veteran newsreader Sharyn Ghidella has revealed she was forced to call out “questionable” behaviour while working for the Seven Network, reports News Corp’s Georgia Clelland.
Ghidella, who was sacked by Channel 7 last month after 17 years in the job, said she was not shocked by accusations of bullying and misconduct against her former employee, aired by the ABC’s Four Corners program last week.
“I did watch it. A lot of that was information that I already sort of knew about,” she said.
“It’s sad that some of these events have taken place, and that people feel the way they feel. I’m sorry for those people who have felt that they haven’t been treated well in television. It shouldn’t be like that.
“No one deserves to be treated badly in any workplace, no matter where you work.”
Dangerous ideas: Controversial ex-ABC broadcasters set to debate identity politics
A few days after ABC presenter Josh Szeps abruptly departed his Sydney radio afternoons show in December 2023 – following disagreements with management over the direction of his program – mornings fill-in presenter Antoinette Lattouf was sacked by the same station after sharing a Human Rights Watch post on Instagram, reports Nine Publishing’s Michael Lallo.
On Saturday, the pair will be joined by American journalist Andy Mills and chair Louise Adler at a Festival of Dangerous Ideas event in Melbourne, “Speaking Bluntly: Identity Politics in Journalism”. The discussion will focus on two important questions: does it matter who journalists are – and what they think?
See also: Whatever happened to Josh Szeps? He’s doing very nicely, thank you
Radio
Unloved host Dave ‘Hughesy’ Hughes’ in Logies outrage: ‘Didn’t get invited’
Dave “Hughesy” Hughes may have hosted the Logie Awards and presented the opening monologue several times in the past – but it seems that wasn’t enough to score him an invitation to this year’s event, reports News Corp’s Bronte Coy.
The comedian and radio and TV regular appeared on The Fox’s Fifi, Fev & Nick on Tuesday, where he launched into a joking tirade about the surprising snub.
The Logies snub comes just two weeks after his Sydney breakfast radio show was abruptly axed.
2DayFM released a statement on August 7, announcing Hughesy, Ed and Erin – hosted by Hughes, Ed Kavalee and Erin Molan, had come to an immediate end after four years.
“You’ve got no shows on TV though, why would you get invited?” Fox co-host Brendan Fevola pointed out.