Business of Media
Judge rules Ben Roberts-Smith ‘not an honest and reliable witness’
Disgraced soldier Ben Roberts-Smith and half a dozen of his comrades who gave evidence to support him in his defamation case were “not honest and reliable”, while soldiers who came forward to testify for Nine were telling the truth, a Federal Court has ruled, reports Nine Publishing’s Max Mason.
Justice Anthony Besanko’s decision last Thursday found The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Canberra Times had proved that the former Special Air Services Regiment soldier had broken the rules of war and disgraced his country and the army by his conduct in Afghanistan.
Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient, sued the three newspapers over 2018 reports by reporters Nick McKenzie, Chris Masters and David Wroe that alleged he committed murder during deployments to Afghanistan. The newspapers argued a truth defence.
In the full judgment, which was released on Monday, Justice Besanko ruled that while Roberts-Smith was “polite and courteous and composed”, he “was not an honest and reliable witness in the many areas”. The judge also gave the same label to six other witnesses who gave evidence in support of Roberts-Smith’s version of events.
The opposite was said of many of Roberts-Smith’s former SAS comrades whose evidence supported findings he is a war criminal, murderer and bully who was complicit in the unlawful killing of four unarmed prisoners in Afghanistan
Twitter’s U.S. ad sales plunge 59% as woes continue
Elon Musk recently said Twitter’s advertising business was on the upswing. “Almost all advertisers have come back,” he asserted, adding that the social media company could soon become profitable, report The New York Times’ Ryan Mac and Tiffany Hsu.
But Twitter’s U.S. advertising revenue for the five weeks from April 1 to the first week of May was $88 million, down 59 percent from a year earlier, according to an internal presentation obtained by The New York Times. The company has regularly fallen short of its U.S. weekly sales projections, sometimes by as much as 30 percent, the document said.
That performance is unlikely to improve anytime soon, according to the documents and seven current and former Twitter employees.
Twitter’s ad sales staff is concerned that advertisers may be spooked by a rise in hate speech and pornography on the social network, as well as more ads featuring online gambling and marijuana products, the people said. The company has forecast that its U.S. ad revenue this month will be down at least 56 percent each week compared with a year ago, according to one internal document.
These issues have been inherited by Linda Yaccarino, the NBCUniversal executive whom Musk named Twitter’s chief executive last month. She started her new job on Monday.
On a Twitter Space audio event on Monday, Musk said advertisers in Europe and North America have put “extreme pressure” on the company, leading “half our advertising” to disappear. “They are trying to drive Twitter bankrupt,” he said.
He did not respond to a request for comment and Yaccarino, through a spokesman, declined to comment.
Spotify to slash podcast workforce, combine Parcast and Gimlet Studios in new round of cuts
Music streaming giant Spotify is making a new round of cuts to its podcast division following a broad round of layoffs in January and job cuts in October, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Weprin.
In a memo to staff Monday morning from Sahar Elhabashi, the head of Spotify’s podcast unit, the company said that it would be reducing its workforce by about 2 percent, representing around 200 jobs.
“We are expanding our partnership efforts with leading podcasters from across the globe with a tailored approach optimized for each show and creator,” Elhabashi wrote. “This fundamental pivot from a more uniform proposition will allow us to support the creator community better. However, doing so requires adapting; over the past few months, our senior leadership team has worked closely with HR to determine the optimal organization for this next chapter.”
In addition, Spotify will merge its Parcast and Gimlet into a single Spotify Studios division, which will join The Ringer in producing Spotify originals. “Both studios will greenlight new shows with an increased focus on always-on programming that drives strong, loyal audiences and attracts advertisers,” Elhabashi wrote.
Google and Facebook urged by EU to label AI-generated content
Social media companies including Google and Facebook have been urged by the EU to “immediately” start labelling content and images generated by artificial intelligence as part of a package of moves to combat fake news and disinformation from Russia, reports The Guardian’s Lisa O’Carroll.
At the same time, the EU has warned Twitter that it faces “swift” sanctions if it does not comply with new digital content laws that come into effect across the bloc on 25 August.
Elon Musk’s company quit the EU’s voluntary code of practice two weeks ago and could be fined up to 6% of its global revenue – a £145m penalty, based on recent estimated earnings – or be banned across the EU if it does not operate under the aegis of the Digital Services Act.
As part of the wider effort to combat Russian disinformation, the EU has also asked Facebook and others to put more resources into factchecking in minority language content and in eastern Europe, where Russian disinformation campaigns are considered to be a threat.
Snap hires new head of engineering from Google
Snap Inc said on Monday it hired a new senior vice president of engineering from Google, the latest in a string of new recruits to advance its advertising business, reports Reuters’ Sheila Dang.
Eric Young, who was previously vice president of engineering for Alphabet Inc’s Google Cloud, will oversee the core infrastructure for Snap, which owns the popular photo messaging app Snapchat.
He will also lead efforts to improve Snap’s ability to target and measure ads on Snapchat, which was made more difficult by privacy updates on Apple’s iOS devices.
While Snap has consistently expanded its audience for Snapchat, which now has 750 million monthly users, the company has struggled to generate revenue at the same pace.
News Brands
Chris Licht of CNN faces a crisis. Here’s why.
Ratings have plummeted. Profits have shrunk. A top star has been pushed out. CNN has had a tumultuous first year under Chris Licht, who took over as the network’s chief executive last spring. And then on Friday, a 15,000-word profile of Licht in The Atlantic cast new doubts about his leadership and future at the company, report The New York Times’ John Koblin and Benjamin Mullin.
All the turmoil has led some staff members to speculate privately in recent days about whether Licht will last as the chief executive — and whether he should. Also fueling speculation was a decision last week to appoint David Leavy — a trusted associate of David Zaslav, the chief executive of CNN’s parent — to a top leadership role at the network, a sign that Zaslav thinks CNN needs urgent management help.
Licht addressed the tumult on an editorial call Monday, saying he will “fight like hell” to win back the trust of CNN’s staff.
“I know these past few days have been very hard for this group,” he said, “and I fully recognize that this news cycle and my role in it overshadowed the incredible week of reporting that we just had, and distracted from the work of every single journalist in this organization. And for that, I am sorry.”
CNN declined to comment beyond Licht’s remarks on the call.
Here are some of the numerous issues that have plagued the network over the past year.
Radio
Jacqui Felgate tipped to replace dumped 3AW presenter Dee Dee Dunleavy
New 3AW recruit Jacqui Felgate is firming as the odds-on favourite to take over from dumped radio host Dee Dee Dunleavy. Insiders say Dunleavy’s sudden exit for the station on Monday might accelerate that plan, but things will be worked out in the coming weeks, report News Corp’s Nui Te Koha, Alice Coster, and Jackie Epstein.
Dunleavy left 3AW on Monday after it was revealed the station would not be renewing her contract at the end of the year.
The station said Elise Elliott will fill in this week on 3AW Afternoons, and a decision will be made about a permanent replacement in due course.
Felgate is considered the golden child after coming over to the Nine Network earlier last year following a lengthy stint at Channel Seven as a reporter and presenter.
Felgate started at the radio station slowly, debuting with a segment on Ross and Russ’s top rating morning show before filling in as a holiday host alongside Brownlow medallist Jimmy Bartel.
She also became a member of the 3AW football team this season, hosting on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons.
It’s no secret the network is looking to skew to a younger audience, with Sydney executives liking what they see, and hear, in Felgate.
Insiders say other contenders to replace Dunleavy include Heidi Murphy and Emily Power.
See Also: 3AW Afternoons host Dee Dee Dunleavy to leave the station
Brisbane radio host Robin Bailey responds to bullying claims
Brisbane radio host, Robin Bailey, hit back at allegations of workplace bullying following her emotional breakdown during an on-air conversation with celebrity chef Matt Preston on Friday, reports News Corp’s Georgia Clelland.
The epic meltdown was triggered by the looming ‘Robin Can’t Cook’ kitchen segment, an upcoming cooking competition where Bailey, a self-professed bad cook, is set to prepare a three-course lunch this coming Thursday, June 8, at the Normanby Hotel.
Online fans rushed to Bailey’s defence after her emotional on-air confession that she perceived her colleagues to be expecting her to fail, sparked workplace bullying concerns among listeners.
“This kind of bullying would be called out if it were any other fear that people would deem ‘warranted’,” one fan argued.
But the veteran broadcaster quashed the rumours, explaining her tearful meltdown as a personal issue, not bullying, insisting that she was not bullied into participating in the cooking competition that left her in tears live on-air.
Television
WTFN marks 20th anniversary with busiest slate ever
Leading independent production business, WTFN Group, turns 20 this week, celebrating with its busiest production year to date and three new network commissions, reports TV Tonight.
Founded in 2003 by CEO Daryl Talbot and chief creative officer Steve Oemcke, WTFN has grown to become one of Australia’s most respected, award-winning independents, with many of its hit domestic shows such as Bondi Vet and Emergency now viewed all over the world.
Starting life solely as a production company (WTFN Entertainment), WTFN has expanded over time, now encompassing distribution (Fred Media), branded content (WTFN BE), talent management (Empire Talent) and a recently launched digital content and channel management business (Radar MCN).
Since 2003, WTFN has produced 1,461 hours of original programming, averaging 73 hours per annum. The company is about to add three more shows to its long list of credits: a crime series and a factual series for the Seven Network; and a new vet series which will be a co-production with an international broadcaster.