Business of Media
Morgan Stanley misleading and ‘irresponsible’, Network 10 says
Network 10 has accused Morgan Stanley of being biased and misleading its clients after the investment bank’s analysts said the broadcaster’s poor ratings were helping its rivals Nine and Seven withstand a softer advertising market, reports Nine Publishing’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
Morgan Stanley’s Andrew McLeod also wrote, in a note circulated on Wednesday, that 10’s poor performance could be a “point of inflection” that turns a three-horse commercial television race into a two-player market.
In a note to investors McLeod noted that despite a falling metropolitan TV ad market – it fell 6 per cent in the six months to December, Nine had reported a 3 per cent increase in free-to-air television revenue.
Every percentage point of the free-to-air television audience is worth an extra $34 million in revenue for Nine Entertainment, McLeod wrote, adding the company was on track to reach 39 per cent of the market this financial year.
But 10 has strongly disputed the figures used and the assessment in the analyst report. It did not consider 10’s streaming assets – 10 is owned by US entertainment giant Paramount – and a spokeswoman for the network said shows like The Bachelors and Australian Survivor had outperformed rivals.
“The report by Morgan Stanley, which was published on March 14, 2023 is littered with factually incorrect information and bias with some aspects based on unsupportable assumptions,” a spokeswoman said.
Tasmania’s The Examiner newspaper parts ways with editor in wake of fake trans incident letter
The editor at the centre of a faked account of a man entering female change rooms at a public pool being printed in a major Tasmanian newspaper has parted ways with the publication, report the ABC’s Damian McIntyre and Adam Holmes.
Mark Westfield has told the ABC he is no longer the editor of The Examiner newspaper, just days after explaining he did not have time to check the claims made in letters to the paper.
The letter detailed a supposed incident in which a man had started to undress in front of children in the female change rooms at the Launceston aquatic centre.
The Examiner published the controversial letter last week under the headline “Girls getting changed, then in walks a man”.
The letter writer said the man was forcibly removed by another patron, and further claimed that staff at the council-run centre did not respond because the person identified as a female.
The text of the letter was re-shared on social media by trans-exclusionary groups and others, garnering tens of thousands of views.
However, Launceston City Council released a statement saying the letter had no basis in fact and that no such incident had occurred at the facility.
Crikey boss Peter Fray set to depart amid Murdoch lawsuit
Crikey boss Peter Fray is expected to announce his departure from its publisher Private Media as early as next week after four months of leave triggered by his outburst at the Walkley journalism awards in November last year, report Nine Publishing’s Nick Bonyhady and Zoe Samios.
Industry sources, who spoke anonymously to discuss a sensitive matter, said Fray and Private Media were on the cusp of announcing an amicable end to his time as editor-in-chief and the media veteran had already begun his search for a new position.
Asked about his negotiations to leave Private Media and employment plans on Wednesday, Fray said, “I am still employed by Private Media”, and declined to comment further. The chief executive officer of Private Media, Will Hayward, declined to comment.
The pending separation comes at a difficult time for Private Media, which is facing a defamation claim from media mogul Lachlan Murdoch over Crikey’s commentary on former US president Donald Trump.
Murdoch, who is executive chairman of Fox Corporation and co-chairman of News Corp, launched his legal claim in August over a June 2022 article calling the Murdoch family Trump’s “unindicted co-conspirators” following the 2021 riot at the US Capitol.
BuzzFeed US encourages reporters to write more stories in attempt to turn profit
BuzzFeed Inc. is encouraging its newsroom to produce more articles in an effort to boost traffic, as its news division continues to lose money and the digital publisher braces for continuing declines in revenue, reports the Wall Street Journal’s Alexandra Bruell.
BuzzFeed News editor-in-chief Karolina Waclawiak told staff at a recent meeting that increasing the news division’s volume and traffic was part of an effort to help the newsroom meet a goal of becoming profitable this year.
“There are so many things outside of our control—the advertising market, the economy, a recession,” Waclawiak told the newsroom, according to a transcript of the meeting reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. “But what we can control is how many stories we publish each day.”
Waclawiak during the staff meeting also noted that the effort to increase volume came while the newsroom was “much smaller than it used to be.”
Entertainment
Lizzo announced as headline act for Splendour in the Grass
Pop and R&B star Lizzo is set to headline this year’s Splendour in the Grass music festival, reports News Corp’s Nicole Madigan.
The body positive superstar takes the stage in July, following her Record of the Year win at this year’s Grammy’s for her hit About Damn Time.
Lizzo released her fourth studio album, Special, in 2022, reaching number two on the ARIA Albums Charts.
The singer, rapper and songwriter is one of a strong line-up for the famed festival, which is hoping to make up for a less than successful event in 2022.
Television
‘Just be human’: Peter Hitchener on surviving more than 50 years in news
After more than half a century in the media, it’s no surprise that newsreader Peter Hitchener knows how to deliver a story. But what makes him unique is the enthusiasm he seems to hold for each one, no matter the subject, reports Nine Publishing’s Meg Watson.
He’s just as excited telling me about the moment, as a rookie broadcaster on the ABC, he introduced the moon landing – “I actually got to say, ‘now, we’re crossing to Cape Canaveral for the pictures!’” – as he is talking about a neighbour’s husky he’s recently been walking.
“I’ve got some lovely new photographs of her and she’s beautiful,” he says, grinning. “She has one electric blue eye and one that’s brown. She’s just gorgeous!”
The 77-year-old Order of Australia medallist admonishes himself for not yet uploading an image of the dog to his second Instagram account, @petersanimalpix. The page features amateur snaps of “furry friends” he comes across through his charity work and personal life with wholesome captions like “hope you’re having a good day” and hashtags including “#havingfun #hopingyouarethesame”.
Nancy Meyers Netflix movie shut down over budget issues
Netflix is shutting down its Nancy Meyers movie, the star-studded romantic comedy that was expected to be her first directing vehicle in nearly a decade, report The Hollywood Reporter’s Aaron Couch and Borys Kit.
According to sources, Netflix and Meyers could not come to an agreement on the budget. Meyers is said to have asked for a budget of at least $150 million, but the studio did not want to go over $130 million. It was a steep price tag for a genre that is usually more in the midbudget range and one that could have made it the most expensive romantic comedy of all time. Meyers, who last directed the 2015 Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro feature The Intern, has commanded budgets on the higher end for the genre and is known for her work with big stars such as Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. She is also known for her Architectural Digest-worthy production design.
The romantic comedy had Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Michael Fassbender and Owen Wilson circling roles, with Meyers writing, directing and producing the film known as Paris Paramount. (It was unclear if that was the actual title, a working title or code name.) The film was first announced nearly a year ago, and a week ago things seemed to be heating up, with a number of castings reported.