Business of Media
Domain to repay JobKeeper after resuming dividends
Domain is confident the property market can continue to navigate COVID-19 lockdowns as it declares its first final dividend since 2019 after a rebound in profit, reports AFR’s Miranda Ward.
The company, which is majority-owned by Nine Entertainment (the owner of The Australian Financial Review) reported revenue of $289.6 million, up 10.7 per cent, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $100.6 million, up 21.1 per cent, for the year to June 30.
Domain’s net profit climbed 66.4 per cent to $37.9 million. The company announced that thanks to increased confidence in the property market, it will repay benefits received from the government’s JobKeeper scheme, reducing EBITDA for the present financial year by $5.7 million.
News Brands
Costly fallout from Diana’s infamous 1995 Martin Bashir interview
The BBC has reportedly agreed to pay $1.5 million to a charity chosen by the British royal family to make up for Martin Bashir’s controversial 1995 interview with Princess Diana, reports Fox News’ Tyler McCarthy.
In a 127-page report, High Court Judge Lord Dyson found that Bashir, while working with the BBC at the time, “deceived and induced” the late royal’s brother, Earl Charles Spencer, into securing the interview for Panorama.
The proposed donation is reported by the Mail on Sunday to be roughly the amount the network made for selling the global rights to the interview as well as reparations for its use. The royal family will reportedly decide which charitable organization the money will go to. Sources told the outlet that Diana’s sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, will have a hand in deciding how the money is spent.
Publishing
‘Run for your life’: how papers around the world covered the chaos in Kabul
The fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban has dominated news coverage around the world, with some striking front pages conveying the shocking turn of events and chaos in the capital, Kabul, reports The Guardian’s Martin Farrer.
Hachette to buy Workman for $240 million as publishing continues consolidation
Hachette Book Group said on Monday that it had agreed to buy Workman Publishing, an independent company known for titles like “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” and the “Brain Quest” workbooks, the latest expected acquisition in an industry whose power is increasingly concentrated in a handful of major companies. The cost of the deal was $240 million, reports The New York Times’ Elizabeth A. Harris and Alexandra Alter.
Workman is one of the largest independent publishers in the United States and is appealing to its new parent for, among other reasons, its lucrative backlist. Backlists include books published years ago that continue to sell — as opposed to the front list of new titles — and at Workman, they are a major focus and a steady stream of reliable income. Michael Pietsch, the chief executive of the Hachette Book Group, said that three-quarters of Workman’s revenue comes from those older titles.
T Australia: The New York Times Style Magazine releases its third issue starring Margot Robbie
T Australia: The New York Times Style Magazine has released Issue 3, starring Margot Robbie as well as internationally renowned contributors and experts in their fields: Vanessa Friedman, Hetti Perkins and Besha Rodell.
The third issue of T Australia is themed ‘Impact’.
Issue 3 cover star, Margot Robbie, spoke to T Australia about growing up on the Gold Coast and being kept from Australia for much longer than planned. Robbie has made her mark in Hollywood, and is now a major player in the production industry, championing the work of female directors and screenwriters to tell difficult stories about women.
She also speaks to T Australia about her breadth of work, including the newly released The Suicide Squad movie and the upcoming live-action Barbie film.
The Impact issue also features award-winning author, Bri Lee, whose first book, Eggshell Skull, played a key role in the local #MeToo movement. Bri Lee will become a regular contributor for T Australia magazine, starting with Issue 4.
“Issue 3 of T Australia has been crafted to share personal, reflective stories that shift focus inward rather than out,” publisher and editor in chief, Katarina Kroslakova says.
“In our rapidly changing lives, particularly at the moment with most Australians affected by COVID-19 in some way, the third issue of T really does capture this unusual moment in time – a period in which every one of us has been forced to take stock and consider the impact we have on those around us.”
Entertainment
Bluesfest cancelled again with promoter begging for NSW government insurance scheme
Bluesfest promoter Peter Noble has called on the NSW Government to urgently ratify the Business Interruption Fund it flagged for the live events industry as he is forced to reschedule his festival again, reports News Corp’s Kathy McCabe.
Noble confirmed he will not go ahead with the 2021 Bluesfest he had rescheduled to the October long weekend, after it was dramatically cancelled on the eve of opening gates in April by a public health order due to one case in the Byron Bay region.
He is now pinning his hopes on the vaccination rollout hitting 80 per cent so he can stage his 2022 Bluesfest next Easter, with Jimmy Barnes, Midnight Oil, Paul Kelly and Kasey Chambers among dozens of artists confirming they will hang in there until next year.
Marvel fans call lack of ‘Shang-Chi’ promotion ‘racially motivated’
The Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom is certainly a strong and powerful one. Social media is coming to the defense of the upcoming film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings after several fans noted that Disney isn’t putting enough energy into promoting it, reports The News York Post’s Samantha Ibrahim.
TikTok users have claimed that the lack of marketing for the film seems to have something to do with race.
Marquez Pereira shared his views on the platform and several other fans took to the comments to also question the lack of promo. The video has over 806,000 views and 252,200 likes.
“The fact that ‘Shang-Chi’ is like the least hyped movie feels racially motivated,” Pereira wrote in the quick clip. One user wrote, “They only care about Asians when it’s anime or K-pop … yknow [sic] aesthetic.”
Television
Gold Coast MMA fighter Chelsea Hackett leaves Survivor after on-set health scare
Chelsea Hackett was ruled out of continuing Australian Survivor after she was taken to hospital suffering dehydration and an infection that left her body “shutting down”, reports News Corp’s Amy Price.
Having suffered dizziness and headaches for two days, the Gold Coast professional MMA fighter was checked over by the show’s doctor following Monday night’s tribal council, which took place on day 27 of filming, and subsequently sent to hospital in Cloncurry where she was so dehydrated staff were unable to conduct a blood test.
The show’s medical staff subsequently ruled her out of continuing during Tuesday night’s episode of the Channel 10 reality show.
Nine & Foxtel drop Ellen’s final season
Ellen will just have to “be kind” somewhere else it seems, reports TV Tonight.
The final season of The Ellen DeGeneres Show will be homeless in Australia when it begins in the USA in September, with neither Nine nor Foxtel acquiring rights.
A Nine spokesperson said, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show won’t be returning to Channel Nine for its nineteenth and final season. It’s been a tremendous run and we wish Ellen all the best for her last season.”
Foxtel has also confirmed to TV Tonight it will not screen on FOX Arena.
‘500 calories a day’: The Bachelor’s Juliette Herrera reveals anorexia battle
Former Bachelor contestant Juliette Herrera has opened up about her private health battle, reports New Corp’s Mibengé Nsenduluka.
The Surry Hills stylist struggled with an eating disorder prior to her stint on Locky Gilbert’s season last year and she hopes that sharing her story will help others.
“I struggled with anorexia for 10 years,” she told Confidential.
“I used to work for fashion magazines so I was always self-conscious about my weight. I became obsessed with losing weight and I could never enjoy food. I started calorie counting and would survive on 500 calories a day and workout for two hours. I was skeletal and at one point I went down to 43kg.”
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Butterfly Foundation: 1800 33 4673