Business of Media
‘Rome was burning’: Bruce Lehrmann denies getting defamation advice
As Network 10 and News Corp published Brittany Higgins’ allegations of rape, former federal Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann messaged his girlfriend to say he was “up for millions in defamation” and told a friend he had both criminal and defamation lawyers – but they were both “fabrications”, a Sydney court has heard, reports Nine Publishing’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
Giving evidence in a Federal Court on Thursday, Lehrmann said he spent more than six hours in his lawyer Warwick Korn’s offices on February 15, 2021, the day Network 10’s The Project and News Corp-owned news.com.au published stories airing allegations of rape by his former colleague Brittany Higgins.
Lehrmann has been accused of raping Higgins in then-Defence Industry Minister Linda Reynolds’ office in 2019. He denies the rape allegation.
“If I’m named tonight then he says I’m up for millions in defamation,” he sent his then-girlfriend while at Korn’s office that day. “Warwick doesn’t think I will be named… If I am then Channel 10 and the department of finance are up for a lot of money.”
Later, he wrote: “Criminal, he says, is off the cards completely,” adding, “one it’s false and second they have nothing… But we may have civil.”
‘More meaningful connections’: will Spotify’s updates mean a proper payday for artists?
Since its inception, Spotify has drawn criticism for helping to turn music from a cherished commodity into a utility. Critics argue that its all-you-can-eat monthly subscription doesn’t encourage long-term engagement, while its uniform, blank presentation of an artist’s catalogue reveals little of the hard work or distinct narrative behind any given release: the platform didn’t display songwriting and production credits until 2018, 12 years after launch, reports The Guardian’s Rhian Jones.
Last week, Spotify announced its biggest ever interface overhaul, designed to address these issues. These updates, which are being rolled out to users in the UK in the coming weeks, include the ability for artists to add 30-second videos to their pages, target superfans with special releases, and give higher profile placement to merchandising and gig tickets. The biggest change comes in the form of a redesigned homepage featuring an endless feed of short-form videos, which looks strikingly similar to TikTok’s feed.
The changes are designed to create “deeper discovery and more meaningful connections between artists and fans”, says Tom Connaughton, MD of Spotify UK and Ireland. “Previously, you probably thought of Spotify as the best destination for listening. This evolution is about bringing the platform and Spotify to life in a deeper way.”
Paramount+ to launch first mobile-only plans in Brazil and Mexico
Paramount Global’s streaming service Paramount+ will launch the “Basic Plan,” its first mobile-only plan, in Brazil and Mexico on April 18 as it looks to broaden its potential consumer reach with a lower-priced offering in markets with high smartphone usage, reports the Hollywood Reporter’s Georg Szalai.
“This new offering is part of our broader strategy to scale Paramount+,” Marco Nobili, executive vp and international general manager for Paramount+, said on Thursday. “With multi-tier pricing options, Paramount+ will reach even more subscribers by fitting diverse customer choices and grow our global direct-to-consumer distribution. With mobile entertainment consumption increasing around the world, a mobile-only option will make our slate of programming more accessible to our audiences in mobile-first countries.”
The move takes a page from the playbook of Netflix, which launched its first mobile-only plan in India in 2019 before rolling it out in other markets in Asia and beyond.
In Mexico, the Paramount+ mobile-only service will be prized at 79 pesos a month, or 709 a year. The streamer had launched in the country with that same monthly price for its standard service, but that has since been hiked to 109 pesos, with the annual subscription now coming in at 979 pesos.
In Brazil, the mobile-only plan will be available in Brazil for 14.90 reais per month, or 133.90 per year. The standard service there costs 19.90 reais monthly, or 178.90 reais per year. In Mexico, the mobile-only service will be prized at 79.00 pesos a month, or 709.00 a year.
Surge in Newsmax ratings shook Fox News, then faded
Tucker Carlson was worried. Fox News had declared late on Nov. 7, 2020, that Joe Biden had won the presidential election, and Carlson, one of the network’s star opinion hosts, was concerned about alienating Fox News viewers, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Flint.
They might turn to Newsmax, he said, a small channel that had taken a hard-line stance, questioning whether Donald Trump had lost the election. “We’re playing with fire, for real,” Carlson wrote in a text message to his producer, according to court documents. “With Trump behind it, an alternative like Newsmax could be devastating to us.”
That threat did materialize—but it didn’t last, as Newsmax’s viewership plateaued and then eventually fell.
Carlson’s message is part of a trove of internal Fox News communications made public in a defamation lawsuit the network is facing. Voting-machine company Dominion Voting Systems alleges in the suit that Fox News aired false claims that its technology rigged the 2020 election. The network was acting out of fear of losing viewers to other right-wing channels, Dominion said.
Radio
How Kyle and Jackie O became a powerhouse duo in Sydney radio
They both started their careers early in the radio industry but Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson didn’t really “make it” until they were randomly paired up to become co-hosts in the year 2000, reports News Corp.
Since then, the on-air powerhouse duo have gone from strength to strength — and largely helped KIIS 106.5FM knock 2GB off the top to become the number one radio station in Sydney.
See Also: Radio Ratings 2023, Survey 1: Highlights + Full Results
On March 16, it was announced KIIS has claimed the title with a leading overall share of 11.9 per cent of the Sydney radio market, ahead of 2GB at 11 per cent — with Kyle and Jackie O picking up a 15.9 per cent share, up 1.1 percentage points.
We take a look at how the colleagues — and best friends — took over the airwaves to become one of the most powerful teams in Sydney radio.
Pictured: 1,000 BBC journalists strike over local radio cuts
Around 1,000 BBC journalists have walked out on strike over the broadcaster’s proposals to cut dedicated local radio programming, reports Press Gazette’s Charlotte Tobitt.
The strike began at 11am on Wednesday and will last for 24 hours, after which a work-to-rule period will begin in which journalists will work only their contracted hours and duties.
Most of the 1.30pm, 6.30pm and 10.30pm regional BBC TV news programmes were not expected to air on Wednesday. The BBC has scheduled a Planet Earth documentary repeat for 1.30pm and Garden Rescue for 6.30pm, although BBC South West did put out its Spotlight news programme at 1.30pm and BBC Spotlight on BBC South West and BBC East Midlands Today were scheduled to go out at 6.30pm.
Television
It’s sold 12 million copies. Now The Tattooist of Auschwitz is coming to TV
The Tattooist of Auschwitz, the bestselling novel by New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based writer Heather Morris is being turned into a six-part TV series for Stan, reports Nine Publishing’s Karl Quinn.
The co-production with Britain’s Sky and America’s Peacock is currently shooting in Europe, with a cast headed by Englishman Jonah Hauer King and Polish actress Anna Prochniak as Lale and Gita, Slovakian Jews who meet and fall in love in Auschwitz, before settling in Australia after the war.
New Zealand actress Melanie Lynskey, who burst to fame as a teenager opposite Kate Winslet in Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures and will soon be seen in the second season of Yellowjackets, plays the author. Israeli filmmaker Tali Shalom Ezer is directing.
Morris, a former social worker, wrote the book after being introduced to Holocaust survivor Lale Sokolov in 2003 as someone who “had a story that might be worth telling”. (The author serves as story consultant to the series.)
UK production company Synchronicity bought the screen rights in 2018 before the book – which has reportedly sold 12 million copies worldwide and been translated into more than 40 languages – had even been published. Soon after, Jacquelin Perske, the award-winning co-creator of Love My Way and writer of the TV series The Cry, was tapped to adapt it for the screen.