Former Today show producer Tom Nicol denies raping woman, will fight charge in trial
Details of a former Today Show producer’s alleged rape after a night on the town will be revealed as he fights the charge at trial, reports News Corp’s Lauren Ferri.
Tom Nicol will front the Downing Centre District Court for trial on October 4, with a jury to be empanelled the following day.
It has been more than a year since the 33-year-old formally entered a plea of not guilty to one charge of sexual intercourse without consent at the same court.
Following a long wait, the breakfast show’s former supervising producer will finally fight the allegation at trial.
The trial is expected to take between seven to 10 days.
Fears of layoffs as Facebook parent Meta reportedly announces hiring freeze
Meta employees have been warned of potential layoffs after the Facebook parent company announced on Thursday it would freeze hiring and “further restructure”, Bloomberg News has reported, reports The Guardian’s Kari Paul.
In company communication with employees, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg cited the uncertain macroeconomic environment for the changes. The announcement comes after several tech companies have been forced to slash headcount in recent months, as advertisers trim spending in anticipation of a recession.
“I had hoped the economy would have more clearly stabilized by now, but from what we’re seeing it doesn’t yet seem like it has, so we want to plan somewhat conservatively,” Zuckerberg told employees during a weekly Q&A session, Bloomberg News reported.
The social media company had cut plans to hire engineers by at least 30% this year, Reuters reported in June. The company had confirmed hiring freezes in broad terms in May, but exact figures have not previously been reported. Meta declined to comment but shared a statement made in a July earnings call, in which Zuckerberg said restructuring would be more of a priority this quarter.
Hundreds of jobs to go as BBC announces World Service cutbacks
The BBC has announced deep cuts to its World Service output that will result in the loss of hundreds of jobs, saying it has been forced to act by the government’s ongoing licence fee freeze, reports The Guardian’s Jim Waterson.
In a move that could weaken the UK’s soft power around the world, the corporation will stop producing radio output in 10 languages, including Chinese, Hindi, and Arabic.
BBC Persian will end its audio broadcasts aimed at Iran, with the announcement coming at a time when widespread protests are taking place in the country.
There will also be a change in focus of the World Service’s English-language radio output, with more time dedicated to live news and sports programming at the expense of standalone programmes.
About 382 jobs will be lost as a result of the proposals, which the BBC said was required to make £28.5m of annual savings. The broadcaster blamed years of below-inflation licence fee freezes imposed by the government, in addition to the rapidly increasing cost of producing programmes because of the state of the economy.
Agencies
Lisa Lie departs from Half Dome to launch her tech platform
Lisa Lie has announced her departure from Half Dome after three years with the independent agency.
The outgoing head of people and culture will launch her own tech platform, Learna, a micro-learning app for people skills.
Learna aims to change the way people learn. The app is being built for fast, practical and useful learning on the skills that make the most difference at work.
Lie took to LinkedIn to share her news, she said: “It’s no secret I’ve absolutely loved working at Half Dome and the opportunities it’s given me.”
Television
Channel Seven cameraman drops camera to help residents fleeing Hurricane Ian on live TV
A Channel Seven cameraman dropped his camera to help a family through rising floodwaters during a dramatic scene on live TV this morning, reports News Corp’s Bronte Coy.
The unexpected moment unfolded while Glen Ellis was filming Seven US correspondent Tim Lester’s cross to the Sunrise studio this morning from Naples, Florida, where “life-threatening” category-4 Hurricane Ian is lashing the area.
Just a couple of minutes into the cross, Ellis spotted several families behind the reporter, who were struggling to evacuate through heavy floodwaters and quickly threw down his camera.
He could be seen running toward them, while Lester called out to him: “Keep going!”
Australian Idol judging panel cops backlash for lack of diversity
Not everybody is rejoicing after this week’s huge Australian Idol reveal, reports News Corp’s Bella Fowler.
On Wednesday, KIIS FM radio host Kyle Sandilands announced he’d be joining Meghan Trainor, Amy Shark, and Harry Connick Jr on the new judging panel of Channel Seven’s impending Idol reboot.
Ricki-Lee, who rose to fame from the 2004 season of the show, and E! News host Scott Tweedie, have been named as hosts.
Naturally, the news prompted a wave of social media reaction – not all of it positive.
“Where is the diversity?” questioned former ABC News reporter Mark Kearney.
“The OG Australian Idol had at the heart of its panel Marcia Hines. This one has … a foul shock jock with a history of racism, misogyny and homophobia? Yucky,” he added of Sandilands, who has a history of making controversial remarks on his morning radio show.
2022 Walkley Documentary Award update
Six documentaries have been “longlisted” for the 2022 Walkley Documentary Award -three of which will become formal nominees, reports TV Tonight.
Walkley CEO Shona Martyn said, “This longlist proves that Australian documentary making is in very good shape. The documentary format allows filmmakers scope and flexibility as they reveal the complexities of stories and pressing issues. Congratulations to all the longlisted teams.”
The six are:
• Step Into Paradise, Darren Dale, Amanda Blue, Fran Moore, and Jacob Hickey, Blackfella Films
• UnHeard, LADbible Group, LADbible Group and Prime Video
• Wash My Soul in the River’s Flow, Kate Hodges, Philippa Bateman, and Archie Roach, Independent Producer
• Franklin, Christopher Kamen, Rock Island Bend Productions
• Ithaka, Ben Lawrence and Gabriel Shipton, Shipton House and ABC
• Delikado, Karl Malakunas, Thoughtful Robot Productions