Business of Media
Will Vicars can’t stop crossing Lachlan Murdoch
The week digital media outlet Crikey (successfully) dared one of the most powerful men on earth to sue it for defamation seemed like an appropriate time to peruse the shareholder register of its publisher, Private Media, reports Nine Publishing’s Joe Aston.
Thanks to the statutory cap on damages in Australia’s defo regime, a courtroom showdown with Lachlan Murdoch won’t be terribly consequential to the value of the disparate equity in Private Media, the largest chunk of which is held by publishing veteran Eric Beecher.
Media Watch host Paul Barry owns 0.57 per cent of Private Media, a fact he often discloses on the program. Recently departed Humm chairman (and the former boss of debt collector Dun & Bradstreet) Christine Christian owns 5.4 per cent of the company through her private entity Molly Bloom Investments, named, presumably, for James Joyce’s character in Ulysses. No wonder Christian’s president of the State Library of Victoria.
But another stands out: Sydney funds management billionaire Will Vicars. The co-chief investment officer of Caledonia owns 2.2 per cent of Private Media. He invested in 2013, through a capital raising.
Judith Neilson reveals reason for split at her journalism venture
Billionaire philanthropist Judith Neilson has broken her silence on the ruckus inside her journalism institute, citing audacious plans to create an Australian “Nobel Prize” in her name as the reason for her falling out with its management, report Nine Publishing’s Mark Di Stefano and Eugenie Kelly.
Turmoil at the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism, based in Sydney, burst into public view in June when four independent directors – former NSW chief justice James Spigelman, editor-at-large of The Australian Paul Kelly, Free TV chief executive Bridget Fair, and Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation chief executive Kate Torney – abruptly resigned.
In her first interview since those resignations, Neilson said she fell out with the institute’s executive director Mark Ryan and director Jonathan Teperson after the development of extensive plans for an annual “Judith Neilson Prize” without her knowledge.
Sean Hannity and other Fox stars face depositions in defamation suit
Some of the biggest names at Fox News have been questioned, or are scheduled to be questioned in the coming days, by lawyers representing Dominion Voting Systems in its $1.6 billion defamation suit against the network, as the election technology company presses ahead with a case that First Amendment scholars say is extraordinary in its scope and significance, reports The New York Times’ Jeremy W. Peters.
Sean Hannity became the latest Fox star to be called for a deposition by Dominion’s legal team, according to a new filing in Delaware Superior Court. He is scheduled to appear on Wednesday.
Tucker Carlson is set to face questioning on Friday. Lou Dobbs, whose Fox Business show was canceled last year, is scheduled to appear on Tuesday. Others who have been deposed recently include Jeanine Pirro, Steve Doocy and a number of high-level Fox producers, court records show.
Why a journalist turned politician is pushing for a judicial inquiry into Australia’s media
ABC journalist turned Independent Federal Member for Goldstein, Zoe Daniel, is pushing for a judicial inquiry into media concentration in Australia, reports 3AW.
She told Tom Elliott it was designed to ensure greater diversity in media views.
[Listen to the interview here]
Agencies
Totem Global welcomes Jason Behan as its director of strategic partnerships
Totem Global has announced the appointment of Jason Behan as its director of strategic partnerships.
Behan’s focus will be to lead the social video monetisation company’s partnerships with the film and television industry to use Totem’s services to generate new revenue for their catalogues using social platforms.
The leadership appointment reinforces Totem’s role in the rapidly growing social AVOD landscape, with the network now generating over 900 million views on social platforms every month.
MKTG Sports + Entertainment Australia welcomes new additions to the team
MKTG Sports + Entertainment Australia, a dentsu Sports International agency, has welcomed several new additions to the team.
Matt Connell, MKTG APAC managing director, noted that it was because of the entire team’s effort that the company is in the position to continue to invest and evolve the business to create new value for clients and partners.
“Today’s announcements reflect our continued momentum, our commitment to attracting new talent and developing our existing game-changing talent to help accelerate our business forward. With further key hire announcements before the end of the year, it’s certainly an exciting time for MKTG.”
Colony Group welcomes Dianne Grice as its new client service director
Colony Group has welcomed Dianne Grice as its new client service director.
Grice brings close to three decades of experience in the industry across Australia and New Zealand to the strategic communications company.
The newly appointed client service director will be responsible for leading management best practice within the business and maintaining strong relationships to cope with burgeoning growth.
Prior to the role, Grice led account management teams across financial services, tertiary education, tourism, hospitality, federal, state, and local government. She believes the key to successful client relationships is an authentic desire to understand their challenges and staying solution focused.
Podcasts
Digital magazine and newspaper app Readly eyes ‘sustainable growth’ as it adds podcasts to mix
Digital magazine and newspaper app Readly’s “North Star goal” is engagement as it endeavours to reach profitability and keep hold of its Covid-19 subscribers with new products such as podcasts, reports Press Gazette’s Charlotte Tobitt.
Readly was among the companies that benefitted from the Covid-19 pandemic, with a boost to subscriber numbers as people found themselves with more free time and new difficulties in accessing print copies.
It is now working hard to create habits and keep as many of those subscribers as possible with a drive towards innovation and being “product-led”.
Television
How Paramount+ and Showtime will compete against streaming giants: A conversation with David Nevins
After giving an address at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Thursday, previewing some upcoming content and discussing the state of the streaming market, Paramount’s David Nevins sat down with The Hollywood Reporter, sharing his thoughts on the growth challenges that the likes of Netflix have been facing as of late and how Paramount’s strategy differs from others in the industry, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Georg Szalai.
In the conversation, the executive — whose title is chairman and CEO, Paramount Premium Group and chief creative officer, Paramount+ scripted series — touted the importance of striking a balance between the streaming and traditional businesses and leveraging existing Paramount franchises and brands for original content.
The Deep sells to more territories
ABC ME animation series The Deep, has sold its fourth season to new territories, reports TV Tonight.
Distributor WildBrain has secured new deals with MBC Group’s channel MBC3 and streaming platform, Shahid (Middle East and North Africa), RTP (Portugal), NRK (Norway), TVP (Poland), YLE (Finland), and Radio Canada (Canada).
These all join commissioning broadcaster ABC (Australia), as well as CBBC (UK), MediaCorp (Singapore), WildBrain’s Family Channel (Canada), Super RTL (Germany), and SVT (Sweden).
Sports Media
Test cricket star Mitchell Johnson rues ABC’s ‘bum deal’ over gambling
Mitchell Johnson says he has fallen foul of the ABC’s “moral compass” after being forced to abandon plans to commentate on the cricket this summer because of a little-known clause barring anyone associated with a gambling company from working for the national broadcaster, reports News Corp’s Peter Lalor.
The former fast bowler and popular cricket identity was due to call ODI matches in Queensland from this weekend, but walked away from negotiations when the ABC told him he could not have any dealings with commercial gambling companies – a move he said was hypocritical.
Former St Kilda champion Brendon Goddard was forced from the AFL commentary box this year and journalist/commentator Roger Oldridge had to give up work as a boundary rider because both have podcasts sponsored by a gambling company.