Business of Media
Ben Roberts-Smith backer Kerry Stokes must hand over secret documents
Billionaire media mogul Kerry Stokes must hand over documents that could reveal more details of his agreement with Ben Roberts-Smith to bankroll the Victoria Cross recipient’s defamation case, as he fights an application by Nine newspapers to pay a share of the $30m legal costs, reports The Australian’s Stephen Rice.
On Wednesday, Justice Anthony Besanko ruled in the Federal Court that Stokes’s private company, Australian Capital Equity, and the Seven Network must produce correspondence between the companies and their lawyers, as well as records of attendance by the lawyers at the trial.
Stokes is fighting an application by the newspapers for ACE and his majority-owned Seven Network to pay a share of the costs in the failed defamation action, after Justice Besanko last month ruled that several allegations of war crimes against Roberts-Smith by Nine newspapers were substantially true.
Justice Besanko found Roberts-Smith had murdered unarmed detainees, including a farmer kicked off a cliff in the village of Darwan and a one-legged man dragged from a tunnel at the compound known as Whiskey 108.
Roberts-Smith resigned from his executive position at Seven West Media shortly after the verdict.
Meta delays EU launch of Twitter rival Threads amid uncertainty over personal data use
Mark Zuckerberg’s rival to Twitter will not launch in the EU on Thursday amid regulatory uncertainty about the service’s use of personal data, reports The Guardian’s Dan Milmo.
Sources at Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said regulations were behind the postponement of an EU launch, amid a series of clashes between the social media group and the bloc.
It is understood that the main issue for the Twitter competitor, called Threads, is the implementation of the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which contains provisions on sharing user data across different platforms. Meta is awaiting further clarification from the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, on how the legislation will be implemented before considering its next steps.
Threads is still expected to launch in the UK and US on Thursday and is being advertised on Apple’s app store, which shows a service with a Twitter-like interface. Typing “Threads” into Instagram leads to a countdown timer that expires at 10am ET (3pm BST), implying a morning launch in the US.
Harry’s Sun phone-hacking claim is ‘Alice in Wonderland stuff’, court hears
Prince Harry is pushing “Alice in Wonderland stuff” by claiming the royal family struck a secret deal with one of Rupert Murdoch’s media companies over phone hacking, according to the newspaper group, reports The Guardian’s Jim Waterson.
Harry is attempting to take the publisher of the Sun to trial, alleging journalists working for the tabloid hacked his voicemails and illegally targeted him using private investigators over several decades. Murdoch’s company is trying to block the case on technical grounds, arguing that Harry waited too long to file his legal paperwork.
According to Harry, the royal family privately agreed not to sue the Sun and the News of the World over phone hacking. In return, royal family members would receive apologies and payouts at a later date as a reward for staying out of court.
Murdoch’s lawyers said Harry’s case was “fundamentally flawed” and claims of a secret deal belonged in a Lewis Carroll book.
Television
Guest judge joins The Block
The Block judge Neale Whitaker will have a reduced role this season, with real estate agent Marty Fox to feature as a guest judge, reports TV Tonight.
Whitaker took to Instagram to reveal, “I’m very proud to be completing my 17th season as a judge on The Block. It’s an amazing privilege to have been part of this iconic show for 13 years.
“For the 2023 season, however, I’ve put family first and cut back on my judging weeks. My partner of 20 years, David, experienced some serious health issues earlier this year and my priority has been to spend more time at home.
“But I’m happy to announce that real estate guru Marty Fox has been able to bring his expertise to The Block and join Shaynna and Darren on the weeks when I couldn’t be there.”
Sports Media
Club chiefs warned by AFL of 70 per cent slump in TV audiences for AFLW
Television ratings for the AFLW are down 70 per cent on season one and crowds are down 60 per cent at a time when players are demanding more games, according to figures presented at a meeting of club chiefs last week, reports Nine Publishing’s Sam McClure.
The figures were put forward against a backdrop of pay negotiations and the players’ union is adamant women’s football is a far bigger drawcard than the audience metrics suggest.
TV audiences for the AFLW have fallen from an average of 180,000 per match in the competition’s first season in 2017 to just over 53,000 for season seven, which was the second AFLW season held in 2022 and overlapped with the men’s finals series.
The AFL shared the figures with 18 club chief executives at a meeting in Melbourne last week before the Australian Football Hall of Fame dinner.
They were presented as average audiences for home-and-away matches across Channel Seven and Fox Footy.
Slabs of ‘England Bitter’ to be sent to sooky English cricketers ahead of third Ashes Test
Beer giant CUB has brewed a special beverage for England’s whinging cricket team in the wake of its sooky response to being beaten fair and square by the Aussies, reports News Corp’s Peter Rolfe.
A limited edition “England Bitter’’ has been created for Ben Stokes and his band of whiny English cricketers after they refused to share a drink with the victorious Aussies that this week took a commanding 2-0 Ashes lead.
Slabs of the beer, a cheeky nod to Victoria Bitter, were bundled onto a Qantas plane on Wednesday en route to Headingley where they will be delivered to the English team.
The slabs were accompanied by a note inviting the Poms to drink their special beers warm or cold, win, lose or draw Thursday’s third Test against the Aussies.
Sporting greats remember late journalist Wayne Smith
Australian sporting legends turned out in Brisbane to remember late journalist Wayne Smith as a formidable and compassionate newshound who truly loved the game, reports The Australian’s Mackenzie Scott.
More than a hundred people gathered at the home of Queensland Rugby Union, Ballymore Stadium at Herston, to remember Smith, who passed away suddenly last month of a heart attack, aged 69.
Former Queensland and Wallabies coach John “Knuckles” Connolly oversaw proceedings on behalf of Wayne’s wife Robyn, and children Natalie and Phillip, while swimming legends Kieren Perkins and Duncan Armstrong sharing their memories of “Smithy”, who followed them from the start of their careers.
Olympic swimmer Cate Campbell, the new head of Australian rugby Phil Waugh and a string of former Wallabies captains including Tony Shaw, Paul McLean, James Horwill attended, as did players Chris Handy, Andy McIntyre and Anthony and Daniel Herbert. Rugby commentator Greg Clark also paid his respects.