Business of Media
‘Fiction or nonfiction?’: Taylor Auerbach hints at book after Bruce Lehrmann trial
Ex-Spotlight producer Taylor Auerbach has hinted at self-publishing a novel about the biggest court case in Australia, reports News Corp’s Mikaela Wilkes.
The former Channel Seven producer turned star witness in the Bruce Lehrmann and Channel 10 defamation case made a bizarre post to X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday night.
“I’ve been writing a book!” Auerbach announced to his 3372 followers.
“I don’t have a publisher – rather, I’m just having a crack, to see if I can do it. It might never be read by anybody but me,” he wrote on Saturday. “And I’m only an each-way bet.”
What the costs decision in Bruce Lehrmann’s failed defamation case means for his appeal prospects and Network Ten
A Federal Court judge has ordered Bruce Lehrmann to pay costs of a higher order than typically seen in defamation cases, but also declared there were “no real winners” in the multi-million-dollar legal battle, reports the ABC’s Greta Stonehouse.
Ten failed in its qualified privilege defence, and the former Liberal staffer was only ordered to pay the usual party/party costs for that part of the trial.
For the majority of the case, Ten was awarded indemnity costs which cover up to 95 per cent of its legal bill — substantially more than what is awarded for party/party, which is only about 65 per cent.
Showtime! Media CEOs’ last stand with Foxtel over future of TV
Anthony Albanese and Michelle Rowland have plenty on their mind going into budget week, reports Nine Publishing’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
No doubt the prime minister and his communications minister will be keen to resolve what appears to be endless brawls with and within the media sector, and resolve the hand wringing from publishing and broadcast bosses convinced that the future of the entire industry is at stake.
Labor goes to war with Meta in far-reaching inquiry
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and X owner Elon Musk could be called on to face federal parliament as Labor launches a far-reaching inquiry into the negative effects of social media, and Meta’s refusal to pay Australian news publishers for their content, reports Nine Publishing’s Tom McIlroy.
Meta – Facebook’s parent company – said in March it would let expire agreements to pay news outlets about $70 million a year for their original journalism, sparking anger from the Albanese government and companies including News Corp, Nine Entertainment and Seven West.
Nine Entertainment and Seven West Media at war over Australian Financial Review publishing deal in WA
Three thousand bucks. The biggest media stoush of the year is a squabble between fierce commercial rivals Nine and Seven over $3000-a-day printing costs – chicken feed to the bean counters at the respective media outlets, not to mention the billionaires with controlling stakes in the companies, report The Australian’s James Madden and Sophie Elsworth.
But this being the media industry, other factors aside from money are at play – namely, pride, ego, self-interest and payback.
There’s always payback.
Television
Eurovision, marred by disqualification and huge protests, crowns Switzerland
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest was anything but typical. Protesters packed the streets of host city Malmo, Dutch entrant Joost Klein was disqualified and several other countries hovered on the brink of quitting, reports Nine Publishing’s Michael Idato.
Somehow, however, the roof on Sweden’s Malmo Arena stayed on and the competition managed to crown a winner – Switzerland – after a nail-biting finish in which Croatia, France, Ireland, Italy, Israel and Ukraine were each momentarily contenders for the crown.
Streaming was supposed to rescue the ailing TV ad business. It hasn’t.
When Mondelez sought to promote a limited edition of its Oreo cookie earlier this year, it did something that would have been unthinkable not that long ago: It didn’t spend a dime advertising on TV, reports The Wall Street Journal’s
Suzanne Vranica.
The snack company had a simple reason for that decision. The people it was looking to reach—Gen Z members, multicultural audiences and households with children—aren’t watching enough television.
Sports Media
New laws risk the end of free sports on TV
The federal cabinet has to make a stark choice. Does it want Australians to have long-term access to free sport or have it go behind expensive paywalls owned by the big international streaming services, asks Nine Publishing’s Greg Hywood?
If it approves the legislation being put forward by Communications Minister Michelle Rowland that is what is going to occur. And soon – probably within the life of the next government, whoever that may be.
Sportsbet’s secret NRL gambling funnel
The ability of Sportsbet to burrow deep into the foundations of the country’s sporting and recreational industries has hollowed out a great many things, reports Nine Publishing’s Mark Di Stefano.
This was on full display last month, with the online bookmaker’s sponsorship of the wildly popular Million Dollar Fish. CEO Barni Evans handed a cheque for $1 million to 19-year-old Katherine man Keegan Payne for catching the prized barra, yet the Sportsbet chief and his marketing gurus were nowhere to be seen when Payne’s national media tour ended in a predictable TV cringefest.