Business of Media
Court rules that The Australian Financial Review defamed PNG minister
Nine Entertainment’s business publication The Australian Financial Review must pay Papua New Guinea politician William Duma more than $500,000 in damages after publishing a series of articles about him that ran a “false narrative”, reports The Australian’s Sophie Elsworth.
On Tuesday, Federal Court judge Anna Katzmann concluded that the AFR published numerous reports in 2020 by reporters Angus Grigg and Jemima Whyte that implied Duma, now PNG’s state enterprises minister, behaved corruptly in the handling of petroleum licences when he was petroleum and energy minister from 2007 until 2014.
In her judgment she said the reporters “did not accurately report the contents of many upon which they relied” and “did not always check facts”.
Justice Katzmann also said the articles made false claims that Duma accepted a bribe from Horizon Oil in his role as minister, conspired with a lawyer to use a shell company as a vehicle for the payment of bribes and behaved corruptly in 2017 in relation to efforts to relocate a naval base.
Defamation case filed against 10
Former Coalition staffer Bruce Lehrmann has commenced legal action against Network 10 in the Federal Court, reports TV Tonight.
He is also suing News Life Media, publishers of news.com.au.
Companies were sent legal letters in December but yesterday matters were formally filed with the court.
The exact nature of the case is unclear and neither media corporation has yet filed any documents in reply.
Andrew O’Keefe alleged to have left woman with scratches all over arms and chest
Embattled former television presenter Andrew O’Keefe is alleged to have spat in the face of a woman before kicking her and leaving her with scratches all over her arms and chest, a court has been told, reports News Corp’s Lauren Ferri.
The 51-year-old is facing the second day of a hearing in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court over a charges of common assault, contravening an AVO, resisting a police officer and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The charges related to an incident in September 2021 at a Sydney apartment, where neighbour Nicole Taylor told the court she could hear O’Keefe singing in the apartment below hers.
“The floorboards were pretty unforgiving…it escalated to the sound of a scuffle almost, there was a disturbance,” Taylor told the court.
“There was loud noises and yelling…the level of noise where you realise something was wrong.”
Taylor told the court she could tell O’Keefe was “aggressive and angry” while the alleged victim was attempting to “calm him down”.
Meta won approval to buy a virtual reality app, but FTC laid groundwork to halt big tech’s next deal
The Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit to block Facebook parent company Meta’s acquisition of virtual reality app developer Within presented the court with a legal question that used to exist on the periphery of antitrust law and is now critical to the government’s efforts to rein in big tech: How to assess proposed deals by dominant firms in nascent markets, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Winston Cho.
During the seven-day trial in December where the FTC challenged the deal because it allegedly put Meta in prime position to monopolize VR fitness apps, the company questioned how the acquisition of one app in a developing market could harm competition. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila approved the deal in a blow to the agency’s bid to dismantle the tech giant but advanced one of its key legal theories arguing that the purchase of competitors in budding markets can hurt competition. Additionally, he agreed with the FTC that mergers between companies that don’t currently compete against each other can violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which bars deals “whenever the effect would substantially lessen competition and tend to create a monopoly.”
“Given the actual potential competition doctrine’s consistent, albeit distant, history of judicial recognition, the Court declines to reject the theory outright and will apply the doctrine as developed,” the judge wrote in the 65-page order.
Disney shareholders set to vote on Peltz at April 3 annual meeting
Walt Disney Co said on Monday it had set its annual shareholder meeting on April 3, with a focus on activist investor Nelson Peltz‘s bid seeking a seat on the media and entertainment conglomerate’s board, reports Reuters.
The board recommends shareholders vote against a proposal of Peltz’s Trian Group that would reverse recent board changes to bylaws and against a shareholder proposal requesting a report on the company’s reliance on China operations.
Earlier this month, Peltz’s hedge fund Trian Fund Management wrote to Walt Disney shareholders to make the case for replacing board director Michael Froman.
In its letter to shareholders, Disney wrote Peltz “has demonstrated that he does not understand Disney’s businesses” and that he “lacks the perspective and experience to contribute to the objective of delivering shareholder value in a rapidly shifting media ecosystem.”
News Brands
‘Race against time’: what the papers say after the Turkey-Syria earthquake
The aftermath of the earthquake that struck on both sides of the Turkey-Syria border dominates Tuesday’s newspapers, reports The Guardian’s Jordyn Beazley.
The front page of the Guardian shows the anguish of a girl in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Now rescued, she was one of an unknown number of people who remain trapped after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Just over 24 hours since the earthquake hit, the death toll passed 4,300.
The Times uses the same picture as the Guardian, with the headline “Giant earthquake kills thousands in their sleep”. The front page draws attention to the destruction in a region that has long been plagued by war, and mentions Britain’s efforts to fly in rescue and aid workers.
The Financial Times shows another image of a person rescued from a crumpled building and says “Thousands dead after biggest quake in 84 years shakes Turkey and Syria”. It says “hundreds of families are still trapped under the rubble in Syria’s north-west Idlib province”.
ABC open to formats for the greater good
Back in 2010 then-ABC Director of Television Kim Dalton had a ban on the public broadcaster picking up international formats, reports TV Tonight.
But times have changed.
Since then ABC has successfully screened shows such as Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds, War on Waste and Back in Time for Dinner to wide acclaim and strong ratings.
Jennifer Collins Acting Director, Entertainment and Specialist tells TV Tonight there are definitely times a format is a good fit.
“I’m really selective about formats. I’m not interested in a show just because it’s a format and it’s worked elsewhere. It’s got to be a particular format that works with a public service broadcaster, and it has some public value.,” she said.
Television
Rebooting a masterpiece: Fawlty Towers set for TV sequel
“Basiiiil!” The shrill voice of Sybil Fawlty, long-suffering wife of obnoxious hotelier Basil Fawlty, is set to ring out once more after plans for a reboot of the iconic British comedy Fawlty Towers were announced, reports Nine Publishing’s Michael Idato.
But the plan is likely to ruffle feathers. Reboots are generally far riskier than the sure bet most television executives believe they are. And this project is riskier than most: Fawlty Towers is considered one of television’s untouchables: a precious masterpiece for which only 12 half-hour episodes exist.
In the project’s favour is the fact that it’s being steered by the show’s original co-creator and star John Cleese. The US studio Castle Rock is developing the series with Cleese and his daughter Camilla Cleese, who will write the new series and also star in it.
But the more pressing question is whether you can remake a masterpiece. Will & Grace? Well, it worked. Sort of. Dynasty? A complete train wreck. Lost in Space? Not so bad. Twin Peaks? The jury’s still out on that one. And Full House? Well, that speaks for itself. Once was bad enough.
‘Scoop’: Prince Andrew revealed as Netflix’s next royal target
Netflix will continue to milk the royal cash cow with a new feature film chronicling the inside story behind Prince Andrew’s disastrous BBC Newsnight interview, and his infamous “inability sweat” defence of sexual assault allegations, reports News Corp’s Justin Vallejo.
On the heels of its massive success with the limited series Harry & Meghan and the fictional drama The Crown, Netflix has begun production on Scoop with the casting of major British stars Gillian Anderson and Billie Piper.
Prince Andrew will be portrayed by actor Rufus Sewell, who played the villainous Count Adhemar in the 2001 Heath Ledger classic, A Knight’s Tale.
Anderson, who portrayed Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Crown, will take on the role of Newsnight’s former lead presenter, Emily Maitlis, while Piper, best known for hit single Honey to the B and Doctor Who, will star as Sam McAlister, the Newsnight producer who booked the interview.
Billed as an investigative drama, the film will be based on the memoir by McAlister, Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews.