Business of Media
Media urges federal court to abandon changes to document access
Journalists and editors from across Australia’s media sector are urging Federal Court Chief Justice James Allsop to wind back rules restricting access to court documents that were implemented without consultation, report Nine Publishing’s Max Mason, Hannah Wootton and Sam Buckingham-Jones.
In the letter sent to the judge on Monday, 58 journalists across Nine, News Corp, the ABC, The Guardian and more wrote that they were shocked and dismayed at “your court’s unexpected decision to dramatically reduce public access to court documents, and urge you to abandon this change, which represents a full-frontal assault on the principle of open justice”.
Separately, the editors of Nine’s mastheads The Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times and WAtoday also wrote to Chief Justice Allsop asking for the new rule to be reconsidered.
On Friday, the Federal Court revealed it had quietly updated its internal rules, adding a new sentence which “prevents a person who is not a party from inspecting certain documents in a proceeding until after the first directions hearing or hearing (whichever is earlier)”.
The changes came into immediate effect following a meeting between the Federal Court’s 51 judges in December, which was only revealed on Friday.
How cinemas in Australia are making a post-COVID comeback
The pandemic dealt a major blow to the box office, but it looks like the cinema is making a comeback, reports 2GB.
The Australian box office reeled in about 940 million dollars last year which is up 55 per cent from 2021.
Executive Director at the National Association of Cinema Operators Cameron Mitchell told Chris O’Keefe despite the upmarket in streaming services, Aussies still want to get the full movie experience.
[Listen to the interview here]
Harry and Meghan say Jeremy Clarkson spreads ‘hate rhetoric’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have accused Jeremy Clarkson of writing articles “that spread hate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories and misogyny”, after the Grand Tour presenter apologised to the couple over a controversial article he wrote for the Sun, report The Guardian’s Harry Taylor, Jamie Grierson and Tom Ambrose.
More than 20,000 complaints were made to Ipso, the independent regulator of most of the UK’s newspapers and magazines, about the column in December, in which Clarkson said of Meghan that he was “dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets”.
In a statement on Monday evening, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: “On 25 December 2022, Mr Clarkson wrote solely to Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex.
“The contents of his correspondence were marked private and confidential.
“While a new public apology has been issued today by Mr Clarkson, what remains to be addressed is his longstanding pattern of writing articles that spread hate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories and misogyny.
“Unless each of his other pieces were also written ‘in a hurry’, as he states, it is clear that this is not an isolated incident shared in haste, but rather a series of articles shared in hate.”
Agencies
Indie PR firm Sefiani acquired by Clarity Global
Public relations firm Sefiani, whose clients include professional services giant EY, aerospace company Airbus and law firm Allen & Overy, has been acquired by global communications agency Clarity, in the latter’s first move into the Asia Pacific region, reports Nine Publishing’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
Sefiani was founded in 1999 by former Edelman executive Robyn Sefiani with a focus on brand and corporate reputation. It has a headcount of 21, all of whom will stay with the Sefiani brand as part of the Clarity Global Group.
It is the latest in a series of acquisitions of local independent agencies by global groups. VCCP Business bought Sling & Stone in late 2021, while European challenger firm DEPT acquired Melbourne-based Two Bulls last year.
Clarity, meanwhile, has been on the acquisition path over the past few years, buying digital agency 93digital, search engine and analytics group 3WhiteHats and UK-based Political Intelligence UK. It has 150 people in offices in London, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Amsterdam.
A spokesman for Sefiani declined to reveal the details of the transaction.
Radio
Mick Molloy’s paparazzi pic confession
Triple M radio host Mick Molloy has admitted live on air to buying his own paparazzi pics after being snapped ordering a burrito in Bondi, reports news.com.au.
The comedian, 56, today told listeners of his new morning show, Mick & MG in the Morning, that because there was no interest from news outlets in the photos, he resorted to shelling out the $70 himself.
He then published the photos on his own TV show in order to complain about the “invasion of privacy”.
The embarrassing anecdote left host Mark ‘MG’ Geyer in stitches.
Television
Waleed Aly’s blunt advice for new Project co-host Sarah Harris
Sarah Harris has revealed the blunt – but effective – advice given to her by Waleed Aly after she was revealed as his new Project co-host, reports News Corp’s Bronte Coy.
The former Studio 10 presenter was announced as Carrie Bickmore’s replacement last November, joining 10’s nightly panel program for the first time last week.
While it’s certainly an exciting opportunity for Harris, she admitted to news.com.au podcast I’ve Got News For You that she’d initially been worried about the scrutiny that comes with it.
However, Aly was quick to help alleviate her concerns.
“I’d mentioned that one of the worries I had about joining [The Project] was all the kind of negative press around the show – sometimes that can come with being on a show that, you know, sets the agenda and just kind of wants to get people thinking and have an opinion on things,” she said.
“And [Aly] just said to me, ‘Don’t read any of it. Not the good stuff, and not the bad stuff, and you have to realise that your public persona is one thing, and you and your friends and your family know who you are.’”
Sports Media
Players to snub NRL media and promotional requests as feud lingers
Rugby league players have taken the extraordinary step of refusing to deal with the NRL when it comes to all media and promotional requests as the pay dispute continues to drag, reports Nine Publishing’s Christian Nicolussi.
Members from the NRL’s media unit, NRL.com, arrived at Cronulla early on Monday to complete a number of interviews and photos, only to be politely turned away midway through the morning.
And officials from the Melbourne Storm and premiers Penrith have already informed the NRL they will not be fulfilling similar media requests scheduled for Tuesday.
The Herald can reveal the players decided to abandon all dealings with the NRL and their staff after the latest collective bargaining agreement proposal fell well short of expectations on Friday.
Senior players are expected to meet this week to discuss potential further measures when it comes to helping the NRL promote the new season.
The players believe the best way to make their frustrations known is to block all media requests from the NRL.