Business of Media
From Dave Chappelle to Ricky Gervais: Netflix seems intent on ruining its reputation
When your car is skidding out of control, almost destined for a crash, they say the best thing you can do is steer into it, reports SMH’s Meg Watson.
It seems pretty unlikely that this advice also applies to multibillion-dollar streaming companies that are haemorrhaging both cash and consumer confidence. But Netflix seems to be following it nonetheless.
The streaming giant has landed itself in yet another controversy, following the release of Ricky Gervais’ new standup special SuperNature. The one-hour show features jokes that have been widely condemned as transphobic, homophobic and “dangerous”, and LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD is asserting it violates a Netflix policy against content designed to incite hate or violence.
If this all sounds familiar, it’s because it is. This is the exact sequence of events we saw around the release of Dave Chappelle’s special, The Closer, less than a year ago.
Senior duo depart activeTV
Two senior staff have departed activeTV after long employment with the production company behind Carols in the Domain, Good Friday Appeal, The Amazing Race Australia and more, reports TV Tonight.
Shauna Kane departs as Head of Production after 20 years and Kay Lawrence as General Manager after 10 years.
Shauna Kane said, “Working at activeTV has been a highlight of my career. I’ve worked on some incredible productions both in Australia and overseas; including The Amazing Race, Country Music Awards of Australia, World Superbikes, Tropfest and The Ultimate Fighter, just to name a few. I’ve produced 20 Carols in the Domain and have been the Executive Producer for many years. Carols is very close to my heart and while I’ll miss the scale of the production, I will truly miss the incredible team that work on it, several who have been there longer than me. 20 is a great number to go out on and I know Carols will continue to delight audiences across Australia for years to come. After 40 years in the industry, I’m going to take a well-earned break and then see what the future holds.”
Kay Lawrence said, “It has been a great experience working with activeTV. Coming from a scripted drama background to the excitement of live television and big reality formats was challenging, but after ten years and with the focus now mainly on Christmas content it’s time for a change. I have a few projects I have been developing and will also be working alongside Andy McIntyre and Nicole Dixon at Big Yellow Taxi Productions on their slate of comedy content.”
‘Death to the enemy’: Ukraine’s news channels unite to cover war
In an age of social media and satellite television, the singular wartime news bulletin evokes images of families tuning in to the radio during the second world war. But in Ukraine, the state-backed broadcast has remerged, albeit with a 21st-century spin, reports The Guardian’s Isobel Koshiw.
Shortly after Russia invaded, the country’s main TV channels started broadcasting the same content 24 hours a day, nicknamed the United News telemarathon. Each channel has a daily slot on the broadcast, which is shown simultaneously on all the channels.
United News was initially aired by five channels owned by various Ukrainian oligarchs as well as the publicly owned channels. It has since been signed into law and now includes all Ukrainian channels that used to show news.
Radio
Amanda Keller breaks down live on air over US school shooting
Amanda Keller broke down in tears during the Jonesy and Amanda show as she addressed the news of the latest horror massacre in the US, reports News Corp’s Bronte Coy.
Eighteen primary school children and three adults were killed in a shooting at a Texas primary school on Tuesday, in a situation that Keller’s co-host Brendan Jones pointed out is becoming “so normal” for America.
Comparing the situation to the Sandy Hook massacre – in which 20 students, aged between six and seven years old, and six teachers were murdered – Keller became overwhelmed with emotion as she discussed the ongoing gun law debate.
Television
FBI finale pulled following US shooting
CBS has pulled the Season 4 finale of FBI following the shooting at a Texas elementary school that saw 21 people killed, reports TV Tonight.
The storyline concerns a school shooting. The official synopsis reads: “As the team investigates a deadly robbery that garnered a cache of automatic weapons for the killers, they discover one of the perps is a classmate of Jubal’s son, who is reluctant to cooperate with the case.”
A repeat will air in its place.
Samantha Armytage on life after Sunrise and the time she went ‘on air drunk’
Former Sunrise co-host Samantha Armytage has revealed she was once “on air drunk”, reports News Corp’s Nadia Salemme.
“I mean, hello, we’ve all be on air drunk,” the TV journalist said, in the latest episode of her podcast, Something To Talk About.
“I was sneaky, I didn’t get written up in the papers – nobody knew.”
Armytage made the admission during her interview with former Today rival Karl Stefanovic, who infamously conducted a broadcast while intoxicated after the Logies.
Karl Stefanovic confirms he was ‘upset’ by Nine election coverage snub
Karl Stefanovic has confirmed he was snubbed by Channel Nine to host its prime time election coverage, reports News Corp’s Lexie Cartwright.
The 47-year-old veteran TV journalist, who has hosted Today since 2005, candidly told former Sunrise rival Samantha Armytage on her podcast that he was “upset” at being overlooked for the coveted gig.
Despite a reportedly strong pitch by Stefanovic and his breakfast co-host Allison Langdon to be the faces of the May 21 bulletin, Nine instead went with stalwart presenter Peter Overton and Melbourne newsreader Alicia Loxley.
‘This is not who I am’: Bachelor responds to shock screenshots
Just days after Channel 10 unveiled the three men set to be fronting the next season of their flagship reality program The Bachelor, disturbing social media posts have allegedly been dug up from a decade ago throwing further scrutiny over the show’s launch, reports News Corp’s Madeleine Damo.
Facebook posts allegedly made by one of the show’s three Bachelors, Jed McIntosh, ten years ago have resurfaced on Twitter that mentions rape among allusions to predatory behaviour such as ‘perving’ and ‘smashing p*ssy.’
It is understood the screenshots were originally posted by a newly created Twitter account.