Business of Media
Texas sues Google for collecting biometric data without consent
The Texas attorney general filed a privacy lawsuit against Google on Thursday, accusing the internet company of collecting Texans’ facial and voice recognition information without their explicit consent, reports The New York Times’ Kashmir Hill and David McCabe.
Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general, said Google had violated a state consumer protection law that requires companies to inform citizens and get their consent before capturing their biometric identifiers, including fingerprints, voiceprints and a “record of hand or face geometry.”
Violators of the law face fines of up to $25,000 per violation. Paxton said Google had millions of users in Texas who were potentially affected.
News Brands
Two top Channel Seven female executives head for the exit
Seven West Media’s first-ever chief marketing officer, Charlotte Valente, will soon exit the company after only three years in the role, reports Nine Publishing’s Mark Di Stefano.
Staff were told of Valente’s exit recently ahead of Channel Seven’s upfronts next week, according to three people familiar with the matter.
One industry source said the timing was not ideal as Valente and CEO James Warburton were due to showcase the broadcaster’s next 12 months of content to advertisers and marketers.
It comes two weeks after the Kerry Stokes-owned company confirmed chief people and culture officer Katie McGrath had also made for the exit.
Together, Valente and McGrath were two of only three women on the Seven West Media executive team, along with CEO of Seven West Media WA Maryna Fewster. Seven West Media’s annual meeting will be held next month.
Our lettuce outlasted Liz Truss, British paper declares, as PM quits
To the strains of Britain’s national anthem, a national newspaper on Thursday declared a lettuce the victor in a race to see if it could outlast Liz Truss, after the under-fire prime minister resigned, reports Reuters.
The tabloid Daily Star set up a live feed on Friday showing the unrefrigerated iceberg next to a photo of Truss, asking readers: “Which wet lettuce will last longer?”
It later expanded the tableau, adding a wig, a face and grasping hands to the vegetable, as well as two British flags, a pasty on a plate and a red mug bearing the legend “Keep Calm and Carry On”, a slogan used to raise morale in Britain during World War Two.
More than 12,000 Twitter users were watching the feed as Truss announced her resignation outside the prime minister’s Downing Street residence.
Moments later, as viewer numbers hit 21,000, “God Save the King” rang out as a hand reached across the table and set Truss’s photo on its back and the caption “The lettuce has outlasted Liz Truss” appeared.
Radio
Kate Ritchie taking a break from Nova radio show
After a tough time, Kate Ritchie has taken a break from her Nova radio show, reports News Corp’s Jonathon Moran.
The popular radio and television personality made the announcement live on air on Thursday, sharing the tough news with listeners that she has stood down from the Kate, Tim and Joel show for the remainder of the year.
She will however return alongside co-hosts Tim Blackwell and Joel Creasey in 2023.
“This past year has been incredibly hectic and full on for both me and my family,” Ritchie told listeners.
“I have had much change and increased stress in my life, like many of you, in a short space of time. And it has taken its toll.
“But still, I am so proud that our Nova show, with Tim and Joel and the team, is just powering along, and going from strength to strength.”
Speculation mounts on plans for Nova’s Ben Harvey and Liam Stapleton to host national show
Could it be that Nova’s Ben Harvey and Liam Stapleton are making a triumphant return to the national airwaves as hosts of the network’s drive show, asks News Corp’s Anna Vlach?
Rumour has it they will replace current presenters Kate Ritchie, Tim Blackwell and Joel Creasey.
Ritchie on Thursday announced she is taking off the rest of 2022 and will be back in the New Year.
But – adding to the speculation – Harvey and Stapleton are both rumoured to have listed their Adelaide homes for sale.
Television
Judi Dench defends royal family against The Crown in open letter
It seems Dame Judi Dench won’t be watching when the fifth season of The Crown drops next month, reports News Corp’s Wenlei Ma.
The renowned British thespian and self-appointed champion-in-chief of the Windsors has published a scathing open letter criticising the Netflix series for being “crude” and “cruel”.
Dench, who is reportedly friends with Camilla, Queen Consort, complained in a letter to The Times UK that the “closer the drama comes to our present times, the more freely it seems willing to blur the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism”.
Dench is calling on Netflix to add a disclaimer to the start of each episode that The Crown is fictionalised drama. It followed previous demands, including from the former Secretary of Culture Oliver Dowden, for the same warning.
Frasier revival to pay tribute to John Mahoney
The upcoming Frasier revival will pay tribute to the late John Mahoney, who played patriarch Martin Crane but died in 2018, reports TV Tonight.
“His loss is and was devastating and must be given the proper attention in honor of the extraordinary man he was and the contribution he made to the show and to the acting profession,” star Kelsey Grammer said. “We will most certainly be honoring him according to his merit. A man of merit he remains to this day.
“John was a kind man, and the world cannot afford to lose a kind man at any time.”