Business of Media
Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers, 24-hour news channel to champion net zero emissions
News Corp Australia, an influential player in Australia’s decade-long climate wars, will end its long-standing editorial hostility towards carbon reduction policies and advocate for the world’s leading economies to hit net zero emissions by 2050, reports SMH‘s Zoe Samios and Rob Harris.
The owner of some of the nation’s most-read newspapers, including the Herald Sun, The Daily Telegraph, The Australian and 24-hour news channel Sky News Australia will from mid-October begin a company-wide campaign promoting the benefits of a carbon-neutral economy as the world’s leaders prepare for a critical climate summit in Glasgow later this year.
Rupert Murdoch’s global media empire has faced growing international condemnation and pressure from advertisers over its editorial stance on climate change, which has long cast doubt over the science behind global warming and has since 2007 attacked various federal government efforts to reduce emissions.
Executive decision: Lachlan Murdoch turns back on media inquiry to reopen Fox News
Lachlan Murdoch will be en route to reopen Fox News offices in Los Angeles on Monday when the Senate media inquiry reconvenes to consider YouTube’s temporary ban on Sky News Australia, reports Guardian Australia’s Amanda Meade.
The co-chairman of News Corp has declined an invitation from the Senate communications committee, saying he hasn’t been in an executive position at the Australian arm of the media company for some 10 years and it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to appear as a witness.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young had wanted to ask Murdoch, 49, to explain his role in the direction of Sky News Australia and News Corp’s other media outlets.
Sky News hosts never accepted invitations to Senate hearing
Sky News hosts Alan Jones, Rita Panahi and Rowan Dean never accepted invitations to appear at a Senate hearing into media diversity despite reports they had pulled out, reports News Corp’s Sophie Elsworth.
A Senate committee will hold a five-hour hearing on Monday after it was delayed by three weeks due to Canberra’s Covid-19 lockdown.
The inquiry will examine Google-owned YouTube’s decision to prevent Sky News from posting content for seven days, as well as the removal of some videos.
But on Friday Sky rejected claims made in other media outlets that Jones, Panahi and Dean had pulled out.
A Sky News spokeswoman said the three “have not changed their minds”. “The hosts never accepted any invitations from the committee to appear at the inquiry,” she said. “Reports in The Guardian and The Sydney Morning Herald were incorrect.”
Murdoch’s Fox News demands external inquiry into ABC program
Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News is demanding an external inquiry be conducted into two episodes of ABC’s Four Corners that focused on the American cable TV network’s coverage of former US President Donald Trump and its role in the 2020 general election, reports SMH’s Zoe Samios.
The 27-page formal complaint was sent to the ABC’s chair Ita Buttrose and ABC managing director David Anderson on Friday, and claims the programs were an attack on Fox News and asks for a response and a correction to concerns about the two episodes within 14 days. The letter according to people familiar with its contents, alleges the ABC has breached its code of practice and the federal government’s standards for the national broadcasters.
Fox News’s general counsel Bernard Gugar has also written a second legal letter in as many weeks to ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose and managing director David Anderson, outlining the many errors in the two episodes that aired on the public broadcaster’s flagship investigative program.
It’s understood the letter, which was also sent to the media watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, highlighted critical information given to the ABC before the airing of the episodes that Fox claims the ABC ignored.
Media baron Bruce Gordon unveils $400m grand plans for Wollongong
Media veteran Bruce Gordon is seeing his 30-year dream for a new $400 million upgrade of Wollongong CBD move a step closer to fruition with the unveiling of the plans for what is known as WIN Grand, reports The Sydney Morning Herald’s Carolyn Cummins.
The project, to be built by Gordon’s private company Birketu, has been put on public exhibition and follows five years of consultation with Wollongong City Council, extensive research on the region’s demographics, and a design competition run in early 2020 which was awarded to Australian architectural firm, BVN.
Birketu and WIN Network chief executive Andrew Lancaster said the design aimed to respect the city’s past while driving it towards an exciting future.
“Wollongong is the city of innovation and WIN Grand aims to encourage fresh business and commercial opportunities by creating a strong pulse of activity within the city centre,” Lancaster said.
News Brands
David King appointed National editor of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald
David King has been appointed National editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, reports News Corp’s Amelia McGuire.
King joined The Age in 2019 as the Sunday editor before moving into the Saturday editor role at the paper. He will replace Tory Maguire who was recently elevated to group executive editor of the mastheads after James Chessell was promoted to parent company Nine’s managing director of publishing.
The national editor oversees the mastheads’ federal politics, business, world and environment coverage.
Radio
Matty Johns’s radio SOS
Fox Sports star Matty Johns has been sounded out by Triple M to make a comeback to FM radio, reports News Corp’s Phil Rothfield.
In 2018 Johns quit as host of the station’s breakfast Grill Team but made a part-time comeback last year on new sports station SEN on Friday mornings.
Johns told The Daily Telegraph three years ago that the challenge of juggling late-night commitments with Fox Sports with the early hours of breakfast radio was too difficult.
The Triple M breakfast show has fallen in the ratings since his departure.
In last week’s survey, the show rated a 4.7, well behind Kiss, Nova and Smooth on the FM dial.
The Fox Sports star is understood to have been approached late last week.
Rumours swirl about Erin Molan’s future on 2DAY FM breakfast show
2DAY FM radio executives have scotched rumours Erin Molan will be dumped from the program’s breakfast show that also stars Dave Hughes and Ed Kavalee, reports News Corp’s Annette Sharp.
Last Tuesday the trio’s show plummeted to almost a 2.4 per cent market share of the Sydney radio pie.
It’s the show’s lowest figure of the year — despite 2DAY bosses throwing big dollars at a saturated marketing campaign for the program.
Given Melburnian Hughes has a proven radio record and Kavalee is liked by management, sources last week said executives at the Southern Cross Austereo station were considering the position of Molan, a newcomer to the medium who was reportedly signed to help attract Sydney listeners.
Glenn Wheatley prepares to sell Queensland radio stations
The radio network backed by talent manager and industry veteran Glenn Wheatley is looking for a buyer for its two Queensland stations, a deal which could mark an end of an era for a company name with a 41-year history, reports SMH‘s Zoe Samios.
Industry sources familiar with the plans, who spoke anonymously because talks are confidential, said Wheatley and Oceania Partners are preparing to commence a formal process to sell the two radio stations – 91.9 Sea FM and 92.7 Mix FM – on the Sunshine Coast.
Talks are currently in the early stages, the sources said, and there is no guarantee a deal will succeed. Wheatley owns about 5 per cent of EON Broadcasting, while the rest is owned by Southern African firm, Oceania Capital Partners.
Television
Survivor Australia contestant George Mladenov eyes state politics
He saved this season of Survivor Australia and now “King” George Mladenov might just save our state by running for parliament, reports News Corp’s Jonathon Moran.
And after the self-confessed “cockroach from Bankstown” has managed to persuade, flatter, backstab, schmooze, out-think and lie his way into the top five of the reality show, he certainly has the skills to go right to the top.
“We should wait and see, I wouldn’t rule anything out,” Mladenov told The Sunday Telegraph.
“Maybe you will have ‘King George’ in parliament one day. I don’t want to spook people by saying I will be running for preselection soon so we will wait and see. I would definitely consider it. Never say never, I’ll quote (former PM) John Howard on that.”
Sport Media
Sports Flick founder under investigation, mulls legal battle
The Western Sydney man behind a now-defunct sports streaming start-up that offered $60 million for the UEFA Champions League is under investigation by NSW Police over allegations of fraud, reports SMH’s Vince Rugari and Zoe Samios.
Dylan Azzopardi, the founder of online streaming service Sports Flick, shot to prominence this year when his little known streaming service Sports Flick won the rights to broadcast the UEFA Champions League – the most watched club football tournament in the world.
But NSW Police have since confirmed an investigation is underway following a complaint from Sports Flick’s prominent investors, ex-Soccer Australia director and SBS Sport boss Dominic Galati and former National Soccer League coach Berti Mariani.
NRL finals TV ratings war
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo is refusing to back away from an unwinnable TV ratings showdown against the AFL grand final later this month, reports News Corp’s Buzz Rothfield.
The two codes normally have clear air and share grand final weekend, with the AFL on Saturday afternoon and the NRL decider 24 hours later on Sunday evening.
That has changed this year with the AFL bringing its game forward by a week to September 25, with the decider to be shown live into the eastern states at 7.30pm from Optus Stadium in Perth (Channel 7 and Fox Sports) opposing an NRL grand final qualifier (Channel 9 and Fox Sports) at Suncorp Stadium.
The AFL grand final last year on a Saturday night at the Gabba in Brisbane rated a massive 3.8 million, the biggest free-to-air audience share since OzTAM began in 2001, even higher than the Tokyo Olympics last month and Lleyton Hewitt in the Australian Open final in 2005.
Of concern to Channel 9 is that the AFL grand final did a 400,000 audience in rugby league heartland in Sydney.
Abdo was unaware of the clash until contacted by The Sunday Telegraph. He insisted he would not move the NRL game to Saturday afternoon to prevent a clash.