Elon Musk takes on Apple’s power, setting up a clash
“What’s going on here @tim_cook?” Elon Musk tweeted on Monday to Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, igniting a spat between the world’s richest man and the world’s most valuable public company, report The New York Times’ Kate Conger and Tripp Mickle.
In a series of tweets over 15 minutes, Musk, the new owner of Twitter, accused Apple of threatening to withhold Twitter from its App Store, a move that would limit some new users from downloading the app. The action would amount to censorship, Musk said, with no explanation from Apple for why Twitter would be blocked. He added that Apple had also reduced its advertising spending on Twitter.
With his tweets, Musk set the stage for a power struggle with Cook, who holds immense influence over other tech companies through Apple’s dominance. Musk has a vested interest now in Apple’s clout because of his ownership of Twitter, which he bought last month for $44 billion. Twitter is distributed through Apple’s App Store and is used by iPhone and iPad owners around the world. In one tweet, Musk implied he was ready for “war” with Apple.
Senior media figures call for law to stop oligarchs silencing UK journalists
A coalition of senior journalists and editors from across the political spectrum is calling on the justice secretary, Dominic Raab, to back a proposed law to tackle the global super-rich’s use of “abusive legal tactics to shut down investigations,” reports The Guardian’s Rupert Neate.
More than 70 newspaper editors, publishers and media lawyers wrote to Raab on Tuesday demanding that the government take urgent action to stop oligarchs and kleptocrats from using their fortunes to exploit British courts, intimidating and silencing investigative journalists with strategic lawsuits against public participation (Slapps).
The letter, signed by the editors of the Guardian, the Daily Mail and the Times, calls on Raab to urgently act to tackle the “endemic” use of Slapps, which they said was hampering not only investigative journalism but also “law enforcement’s ability to investigate wrongdoing promptly and effectively”.
The signatories called on Raab to support a proposed “UK anti-Slapp law” and “move swiftly to enshrine these proposals” in the statute book.
Agencies
Catch the Sun Communications to offer more hours to Aus advertising and marketing clients
Canberra-based virtual editorial and content agency Catch the Sun Communications is offering Australian advertising and marketing clients more hours in their day by providing overnight editorial turnarounds.
For nearly six years, Catch the Sun has used time zone magic to extend the working day of UK- and Europe-based clients. Using a network of Australia-based freelancers, the agency completes copywriting, editing and proofreading work for northern-hemisphere clients ‘overnight’ while they sleep – by working during Australian office hours – with projects ready and waiting in UK inboxes around breakfast time each morning.
The agency is now reversing this model to benefit local Australian advertising agencies and marketing firms, using a team of editorial and content freelance professionals in the UK to complete projects overnight.
MFA completes the launch of 4th instalment of its E-learning program
Media Federation of Australia (MFA) has successfully completed the pilot run of its newest e-learning course, MFA How to Buy Television, gaining best-practice training for TV trading with a cohort of 41 participants.
The 10-week course was introduced for the Spring semester of the MFA’s e-learning program – which also includes MFA Digital Foundations Certification, MFA Digital Foundations Certificate II and MFA Television Foundations – with the aim of ensuring media buyers are equipped early in their careers with best practice skills and the practical knowledge to buy television at a high standard.
The content was developed collaboratively by more than 30 MFA media agency member experts in broadcast television trading, ensuring it is best practice, channel agnostic and sets an industry standard. The process was led by Initiative Perth head of partnerships Brianna Wells and took a total of 600 hours over 10 months.
All MFA member agencies agreed on the aligned standards and learning outcomes, ensuring the course is tailored to the industry’s requirements, workflows and tools. Students must complete a live TV buy assessment in addition to an exam requiring an 80% pass mark to complete certification.
Radio
Neil Mitchell opens up on feud with Daniel Andrews
Neil Mitchell has opened up about his longstanding political feud with Premier Daniel Andrews, saying the reasons for it are garbage, reports News Corp’s Jackie Epstein.
Andrews hasn’t appeared on the 3AW broadcaster’s program for almost five years, with Catherine Andrews blocking Mitchell on Twitter last year.
Mitchell outlined several possible incidents as to why the Premier had taken his stance.
“I think repeated critical analysis,’’ Mitchell said on his program on Tuesday.
“The last interview was pretty aggressive, it was about Skyrail, he was conducting a survey into Skyrail and before they built it they were doing a study. And I said, ‘are you going to build it?’ and he said yes and I said ‘why are you doing a bloody study?’ and he got quite grumpy about that.”
Television
Ally Langdon reveals Tracy Grimshaw texted her after ‘pretty brutal’ snub
Ally Langdon has set the record straight on being “snubbed” by Tracy Grimshaw last week, reports News Corp’s Bella Fowler.
Speaking on KIIS FM’s Kyle and Jackie O on Tuesday, the new A Current Affair host admitted footage of her predecessor appearing to reject her embrace after her final show looked “pretty brutal”, but was adamant it was nothing to do with their relationship.
The headline-making clip saw Grimshaw walking through a guard of honour as she left the Channel 9 studio on Thursday night, appearing to ignore Langdon as she leant in for a hug, leading to speculation of tension between the pair.
Asked about the awkward moment, Langdon said she, too, was slightly taken aback at the time.
“It’s pretty brutal when you watch the video, and I did say to Karl when it happened, like ‘Grimshaw just snubbed me!’,” Langdon revealed, going on to explain that she had been speaking to Grimshaw earlier that day.
“I had been talking to her as she was driving in that morning, about her last show and how she was feeling, so it wasn’t a deliberate snub. I love Trace,” she said, adding: “It looked really bad, I get that.”
Surprising Sarah Harris will be the difference on The Project
Sarah Harris hasn’t even started at The Project but already she has given the show the one thing it desperately needs – I just don’t know what it is, reports News Corp’s Joe Hildebrand.
And that is precisely the point. When Sarah opens her mouth to say something on any given issue, you never know what’s going to come out. And that is something The Project has been missing for a long time.
The 10 program’s slogan is “news delivered differently”, and it certainly is different to the mainstream news offerings on Seven and Nine, which is what made it so refreshing at first.
But as the years have worn on, The Project has not really delivered the news very differently within itself. While the hosts have changed, you could pretty much set your watch to whatever they were going to say about any particular topic.
But Sarah is different. Having co-hosted a four-hour show (Studio 10) with her for seven years, I never once second-guessed where she would land on any topic – I couldn’t.