News Brands
News Corp Australia staff stand together to support detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich
Hundreds of News Corporation employees stood together in a sign of solidarity for detained US journalist Evan Gershkovich who has been imprisoned in Russia for 100 days, reports The Australian’s Sophie Elsworth.
The 31-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter was detained by agents from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) on March 29 while on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg and has been held on allegations of espionage.
Staff at News Corp (publisher of The Australian, Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and other publications) joined together in metropolitan and regional locations around the country on Thursday and held signs with a picture of Gershkovich that read, “100 days, #istandwithevan”.
News Corp Australasia Executive Chairman Michael Miller said it was vital the company and employees showed their support for Gershkovich who remains imprisoned.
“The hashtag #IStandWithEvan has become synonymous with keeping the plight of our colleague Evan Gershkovich front of mind for the Australian government and governments around the world,” he said.
NBCUniversal Entertainment shake-up elevates veteran studio chief
NBCUniversal is streamlining its entertainment operations under veteran movie studio chief Donna Langley, giving her oversight of its entire content strategy, including television and streaming, people familiar with the matter said, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Flint.
Langley, one of the highest-ranking and longest-serving studio chiefs in the industry, will become chairman of NBCUniversal Studio Group and chief content officer. She is among the most powerful executives in Hollywood and is one of the most senior women in the industry.
The restructuring is the first major shake-up by Comcast President Mike Cavanagh, who added oversight of NBCUniversal to his portfolio in April after Jeff Shell was forced to step down as its chief executive following an investigation into a complaint of inappropriate conduct. Shell at the time said he had an inappropriate relationship with a woman at the company and apologized to colleagues.
The move expands Langley’s already large role inside the company, and simplifies creative operations at NBCUniversal, which currently has several different fiefs. Under the previous structure, the units creating content for various NBCUniversal platforms were often not cohesive, with occasional turf battles as well as arguments over strategy, according to senior executives.
Television
Fans devastated after Netflix announces hit show Sex Education to end after four seasons
Popular Netflix teen comedy series Sex Education is coming to an end after four successful seasons, reports News Corp’s Christine Estera.
The streaming giant shared the sad update with fans on Thursday morning, while simultaneously dropping the upcoming teaser trailer for Season 4 of the show, which hits Netflix for the last time on September 21.
In a heartfelt letter to fans, creator, lead writer and executive producer Laurie Nunn said that she and the writing team were saddened when drafting up the final season, but it was time for the students of Moordale Secondary School to start a new chapter.
“Writing this feels bittersweet, because we’ve decided the fourth season will also be the final instalment of our show,” Nunn wrote.
“This was not an easy decision to make, but as the themes and stories of the new season crystallised, it became clear that this was the right time to graduation.”
Gary Mehigan: MasterChef now “too professional”
Former MasterChef Australia judge Gary Mehigan has called the show “too professional” in its aspirations for restaurant-level cooking, reports TV Tonight.
Speaking to media during a visit to India, he said, “To be honest, it’s far too professional for my liking. I think it the first season for me is always special because it was unexpected and I think the level of home cooks seemed genuine and certain for their hunger … The first good chunk of the 11 years that I was on it we really found honest, genuine, you know, mums and dads and people that wanted to change their careers and they were honest, their food was quite simple.
“I mean the the finale dessert Season One was a chocolate tart with a chocolate heart piping that was made from tempered chocolate and the drama around that was incredible,” he said.
“And then you fast-forward 10 years and then I can remember Kirsten Tibballs, who’s one of our best pastry chefs in Australia, setting a dessert. I even got bored reading the recipe. There was so many processes. I’m just like, you can’t follow it. I’m not interested. Do you know what I mean? It was just like beyond.”
Sports Media
Sam McClure puts ‘significant’ AFLW ratings drop into context
Television ratings for the AFLW are down 70 per cent on the first season of the competition, with crowds also down 60 per cent, reports 3AW.
Host of 3AW’s Wide World of Sports Sam McClure said the drop in TV ratings and crowds is “significant” but he put the recent figures into context.
He also believes the AFLW “needs time” to develop and believes the quality of the games will “naturally improve” over time.
[Listen to the interview here]
Origin blackout: NRL hits back after players boycott media over pay war
The NRL has hit back after the players’ union announced plans to boycott media duties, including at next week’s State of Origin game, in a move that has further soured relations with head office, report Nine Publishing’s Adrian Proszenko, Zoe Samios and Adam Pengilly.
After months of fruitless talks between the Rugby League Players’ Association and the NRL, 50 senior player representatives agreed on Tuesday night to abandon all media commitments on days when an NRL, NRLW or State of Origin match is to be played.
It means broadcasters such as Nine Entertainment Co and Foxtel won’t be able to interview players before or after the Origin finale in Sydney next Wednesday night.
Some of the players at the meeting had expressed a desire for further industrial action, the last lever they have left to pull. That could remain an option in the future if the current action does not have the desired effect.
“Some players believe this is not hard enough given that we are 20 months into negotiations,” RLPA chief executive Clint Newton said.
“Just let that sink in. We shouldn’t be here, and we don’t want to be here, but we are hoping this is a circuit-breaker to these negotiations to get good outcomes for everyone.”
Opinion: NRL players’ ban would hit harder if they gave 110 per cent with media
When LeBron James was still playing in the NBA with Cleveland he had “three wives away from my wife”. They were a trio of Cavaliers journalists so close to the NBA star they had access to the locker room post-match for a chat before James went to meet the rest of the press, reports Nine Publishing’s Emma Kemp.
Before the Cavs’ finals campaign, while he was being interviewed by reporter Rachel Nichols – for host broadcaster ESPN – a league press minder stepped in to call time. “I’m good, I’m good,” James said. “You know when Rachel and I get together, it’s like 60 Minutes or something – we got a lot to talk about.”
Compare this with Darren Lockyer’s half-time interview with Queensland’s Ben Hunt during State of Origin game one. “We got a really good start,” Hunt said of Queensland’s 10-6 lead at the break. “Few penalties at the start got us in good field position, got some tries. Credit to our boys definitely back end of that half to defend our line.”
At full-time, having won 26-18, Maroons playmaker Cameron Munster had this to say: “That’s Origin footy. You’re playing against the best, and you have to be at your best.”
It is genuinely difficult to find an on-field rugby league interview more interesting than this (Latrell Mitchell and Jake Trbojevic are notable exceptions), and quite possibly easier to be granted a one-on-one with James than it is with Hunt or Munster – and this is before the Rugby League Players Association announced on Wednesday that NRL and NRLW players would boycott game-day media commitments.