Business of Media
Nine boss Mike Sneesby ‘a dead man walking’
Nine Entertainment chair Peter Costello has refused to publicly back embattled chief executive Mike Sneesby, as the media group’s seven-person board prepares to meet for the first time since sexual harassment allegations against former news boss Darren Wick were revealed, report The Australian’s Sophie Elsworth and James Madden.
It’s understood that the majority of the board is deeply unhappy about the way Sneesby and Costello have handled the Wick matter, particularly the decision taken by the CEO to personally approve a near $1m payout to the former news boss, despite the fact a serious harassment allegation was hanging over his head.
Editor-in-chief of news.com.au among casualties in News Corp Australia restructure
Rupert Murdoch’s Australian media empire has been reorganised into mastheads which are free, tabloids which are subscription-based and so-called prestige titles the Australian newspaper and Vogue magazine, report The Guardian’s Amanda Meade and Jonathan Barrett.
Staff have been told a number of roles will change and “some impacted people will regrettably leave our business”.
The casualties of the restructure to emerge so far are Lisa Muxworthy, the editor-in-chief of Murdoch’s most popular Australian website news.com.au, and John McGourty, the group director of the Editorial Innovation Centre and a former deputy editor of the Daily Telegraph.
3AW host Tom Elliott makes further harassment claims against Darren Wick
High-profile Nine Radio host Tom Elliott has lashed his own employer over its handling of the sexual harassment scandal that has engulfed the media giant, and revealed that he personally knows four female staffers from the company who claim they were mistreated by former news boss Darren Wick, reports The Australian’s James Madden.
Melbourne-based Elliott, who presents the mornings program on the Nine-owned 3AW, told his listeners on Monday that the fresh harassment claims against Wick – who resigned from Nine in March, citing exhaustion – needed to be taken seriously.
A wave of allegations pertaining to Wick’s inappropriate behaviour towards female staff at Nine have been aired over the past week, but most of the claims have been made by Sydney-based staff.
Radio
Former producer reflects on 18 years with Bob Rogers
Clinton Maynard is joined by Garry King, former producer for Bob Rogers, to reflect on working with Bob for 18 years, reports 2GB.
[Listen to the interview here]
See Also: Remembering Bob Rogers: Radio industry celebrates life and times of the radio legend
Port Adelaide chairman and former Sunrise host David Koch to co-host FIVEaa breakfast radio show on Friday
Breakfast TV veteran David Koch is returning to the timeslot he made his own for two decades – but on a very different medium, reports News Corp’s Antimo Iannella.
The former Sunrise host will join Will Goodings for FIVEaa’s breakfast show on Friday, filling in for the absent David Penberthy.
Port Adelaide chairman Koch said he’s excited to set the early alarm again after finishing up on Seven’s early morning show in June 2023.
Television
Big Little Lies creator says Australian TV needs to be braver
Emmy Award-winning producer Bruna Papandrea says Australian TV creators need to be brave and look towards break-the-mould shows like The Bear and Beef if they are to capture a chunk of the lucrative international market, reports Nine Publishing’s Thomas Mitchell.
Despite having had an enormous run of success with adaptations of female-led crime novels such as Big Little Lies and The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, the Adelaide-born producer insists there is no formula for success other than the willingness to take risks.
‘It’s back to my first love in the entertainment industry’: Chrishell Stause says of Neighbours role
American TV personality Chrishell Stause is bringing some Hollywood sparkle to Ramsay St in a guest role on Neighbours, reports News Corp’s Jackie Epstein.
The wife of Australian music sensation G Flip, Stause is best known for starring in global hit series, Selling Sunset. She will arrive in Erinsborough in July to start filming, playing Yasmine Shields, a glamorous and successful businesswoman in pursuit of an exciting work opportunity.
“I am honoured and excited to join such a beloved and iconic show,’’ Stause said.
Netflix is teeing up music-competition shows. Think ‘Love Is Blind’ meets ‘The Voice.’
Netflix is ready to jam. The streaming giant is developing new music-competition shows in the image of long-running broadcast hits like American Idol and The Voice as it tries to expand the breadth of its programming and appeal to the tastes of its nearly 270 million subscribers, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Jessica Toonkel.
One show in the works, tentatively called Building the Band, will feature musicians auditioning to be in bands and rehearsing together without seeing each other until their final live performance, according to people familiar with the situation. Think Love Is Blind meets The Voice.