Business of Media
Nine and News Corp urged to pull Clive Palmer’s COVID-19 ads
Five federal crossbench MPs, including the Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt, have written a joint letter to Nine Entertainment and News Corp calling on them to stop publishing ads from Clive Palmer that spread misinformation about COVID-19, reports AFR’s Miranda Ward.
The letter, co-signed by Bandt, Helen Haines, Rebekha Sharkie, Zali Steggall, and Andrew Wilkie, said Nine and News Corp should acknowledge the harm done by the recent front-page advertisements in The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian Financial Review, and News Corp’s The Australian, as well as regional mastheads including The Mercury, Herald Sun and Adelaide Advertiser, and stop publishing them.
“We call on Nine Entertainment Co. and News Corporation to acknowledge the harm done, live up to their civic duties as a national publisher and broadcaster in relation to the pandemic, and refuse to publish advertisements of this nature in future,” the letter said.
The politicians did acknowledge the newspapers using their reporting to call out the misinformation which they argue “stands in stark contract to Nine Entertainment Co and News Corporation’s subsequent corporate decision to publish front page anti-lockdown advertisements from Clive Palmer in these same mastheads for profit”.
Foreign Minister remains “seriously concerned” for Cheng Lei
The Morrison government has told Beijing it expects “basic standards of justice” be applied to the case of Cheng Lei, an Australian single mother of two who on Friday marks one year in detention, reports News Corp’s Will Glasgow.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the Australian government remained “seriously concerned” about the welfare of the 46-year-old television anchor.
Cheng – one of the highest-profile Australians living in China – was nabbed by secret police in Beijing on August 13, 2020, during the most profound breakdown in the two countries’ bilateral relationship.
“We are particularly concerned that one year into her detention, there remains a lack of transparency about the reasons for Ms Cheng’s detention,” Senator Payne said.
“We expect basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment to be met, in accordance with international norms.”
Disney beats Wall Street expectations, hits 116M Disney+ subscribers
As the delta variant of COVID-19 throws a wrench into moviegoing and live events, The Walt Disney Co. nonetheless beat Wall Street estimates Thursday, reporting revenue of $17 billion. The market consensus had been for revenues of $16.8 billion. Earnings per share were $0.80, blowing past the estimate of $0.55, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Weprin.
Disney’s stock was up more than 10 percent in after-market trading.
Disney CFO Christine McCarthy said that the company anticipates an operating loss next quarter, driven in part by higher marketing costs. McCarthy also said the company would forgo a dividend for the first half of 2021. “We don’t anticipate declaring a dividend or repurchasing shares until we return to a more normalized operating environment,” McCarthy said.
The company also gave updated subscriber figures for Disney+, reporting that the streaming service added 13 million subscribers for a total of 116 million, beating Wall Street forecasts of 115 million. Last quarter, Disney reported 103.6 million Disney+ subscribers, falling short of expectations.
News Brands
The New York Times wants readers to pay for newsletters
The New York Times said on Thursday that it would make a slate of newsletters available only to subscribers, including new offerings from John McWhorter, Kara Swisher and other writers, reports the publication’s Katie Robertson.
The Times, which has produced free newsletters for 20 years, now has about 50 newsletters, which are read by 15 million people each week. Eleven of those will become subscriber-only, alongside seven new newsletters, said Alex Hardiman, The Times’s chief product officer.
“We have to make sure that we’re adding much more distinctive value to what it means to feel like you are a subscriber,” she said in an interview. “So a lot of the work now is about making sure that every single time you experience The Times as a subscriber, you know it and you feel it.”
The Times has been devoting more resources to converting readers of its apps and website into paying subscribers. The company has eight million subscriptions and 100 million registered users, who provide their email address but do not pay for a subscription, it reported in its most recent financial results.
Entertainment
Hollywood actor Russell Crowe criticised for filming in rural NSW
Russell Crowe has been spotted filming his latest movie Poker Face in Kiama, NSW this week, reports News Corp’s Mibengé Nsenduluka.
The Hollywood actor was seen snapping photos of the serene coastal town while taking a break from the upcoming thriller, which also stars Liam Hemsworth, Elsa Pataky and Wu-Tang Clan frontman RZA.
Crowe is directing the blockbuster film, which is adhering to strict Covid-safe guidelines amid the state’s growing Covid-19 crisis.
And while starstruck locals have welcomed the celebrity cast, Kiama MP Garth Ward vented his frustration on Twitter as many in nearby towns face stay-at-home orders.
“This makes a total mockery of the Public Health Orders. People can’t see family and friends, funerals limited to 10, no cases in Shellharbour but still locked down but apparently ‘A-listers’ producing movies is essential?” he wrote.
Television
Producers hoping Shane Warne will buy on The Block
If executive producer Julian Cress has his way, world-famous cricketer Shane Warne might turn up to The Block auction, reports TV Tonight.
A young Shane Warne grew up on the corner of Bronte Court, Hampton, home to the current season.
“He apparently learned to bowl against the power pole at the end of the street. It’s the one house that we rented for our production office on the corner,” Cress tells TV Tonight.
“He couldn’t come while we were filming but I’m very hopeful that he will come to the auction and buy back into Bronte Court.
“He should be buying one of the houses just for sentimental reasons and give it to one of his children!”
Wild Wests Tales From Tiger Town breaking TV swearing records
Michael Maguire has topped Tony Soprano and Jimmy McNulty as the biggest foul-mouth on television, reports News Corp’s Michael Carayannis and Jamie Pandaram.
The Wests Tigers coach dropped a staggering 113 F-bombs in 57 minutes in the second edition of Wild Wests: Tales from Tiger Town, the documentary on Fox Sports looking into the club’s 2021 season.
American crime drama The Wire, featuring Dominic West as grizzled Baltimore detective McNulty, averaged 102 swear words per episode, the most of any television show in history according to website casino.com.
That is followed by mafia show The Sopranos, led by the late James Gandolfini as New Jersey crime boss Tony Soprano, with an average of 83 profanities per episode.