Business of Media
Musk goes for a social media kill
When Elon Musk mulled taking Tesla private in 2018, he posted on Twitter to tell the world about it, report AFR’s Mike Isaac and Lauren Hirsch.
When he got stuck in traffic in 2016, he tweeted the idea of an underground tunnel system to alleviate “soul-destroying” congestion. And when he challenged President Vladimir Putin of Russia to one-on-one combat last month, he broadcast it on Twitter.
Now Musk is putting his money where he mouths off.
On Monday, a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that Musk, the billionaire chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX and the world’s wealthiest person, had bought a 9.2 per cent stake in Twitter, the social media platform where he has more than 80 million followers.
Nine settles with Clementine Ford, agrees to pay $39,000
Nine Entertainment has settled defamation action with Clementine Ford and will pay her tens of thousands of dollars in damages after the company’s former star columnist took legal action against The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age executive editor Tory Maguire, reports News Corp’s Sophie Elsworth.
On Tuesday, Federal Court judge Jayne Jagot ordered the publisher and Maguire to pay Ford $39,000 in damages and accrued legal costs which are expected to be about $20,000.
Ford, represented by solicitor Rebekah Giles, last month launched defamation action against Maguire and the company over comments made to the Guardian Australia.
WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar exiting when Discovery deal closes
WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar will depart as the AT&T entertainment unit’s merger with Discovery closes, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Georg Szalai.
“With the pending transaction with Discovery nearing close, now is the right time to share with each of you that I will be departing this amazing company,” Kilar wrote in an internal memo to staff on Tuesday.
“There are many feelings one could have in a moment like this, but for me there are none bigger, or more lasting, than the feelings of gratitude and love that I have for this team, this company, and this mission. I’ve never been more fulfilled professionally. I’ve never been happier professionally.”
Channel 4: who’s in the running to buy the British broadcaster?
The government is hoping to cash-in on a £1bn-plus bidding battle by offering the chance to own a British broadcasting crown jewel – but Channel 4’s existing business model make it an unattractive prospect for many potential buyers, report The Guardian’s Mark Sweney and Jim Waterson.
Channel 4 was founded by Margaret Thatcher’s government 40 years ago to provide a culturally challenging alternative to the BBC and ITV. It is publicly-owned but commercially-funded.
Its existing public service broadcasting-led remit requires it to reinvest profits into new commissions and buying commercially unattractive – but culturally important – content such as news, current affairs, films and documentaries. This is the antithesis of a golden ticket for private equity investors, who want to cut costs and boost profit margins.
Agencies
Sabio promotes Lauren Faulkner to general manager
Sabio has announced the promotion of Lauren Faulkner to general manager.
Faulkner, a proud Waanyi woman, will oversee a team of 35 across the creative marketing agency’s offices in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sydney.
She first joined P4 Group as an account manager seven years ago and has held several roles in the agency including senior account manager, account director and communications group account director, before her most recent promotion to operations director in 2019.
As operations director, Faulkner delivered strategic account leadership and streamlined agency processes and procedures to enhance client and team retention.
Following the Sabio rebrand with sister agency Ruby Communications, Faulkner also become the agency’s representative within the Public Relations Organisation International (PROI) Worldwide Group, and attended international forums on the agency’s behalf.
Prior joining P4 Group and Sabio, Faulkner was an account executive at The Red Republic and spent time working with e-commerce brands in New Zealand.
Television
The show that made Zelensky a TV star is coming to our screens
The official synopsis for Servant of the People, the 2015 Ukrainian TV series starring Volodymyr Zelensky, reads: “What happens when an ordinary, honest man accidentally gets elected president of Ukraine? Will he turn the world upside down?,” reports SMH’s Thomas Mitchell.
Yes, we’re talking about that Zelensky and no, not even Nostradamus could’ve predicted these hypothetical questions would soon be met with very real answers. Not even on his best day.
Before becoming the actual Ukrainian president, Zelensky, a comedian and actor by trade, played the president in a TV sitcom. In 2015, he wrote and starred in Servant of the People, a series about Vasily Petrovich Goloborodko, an unassuming high school teacher catapulted to the national presidency after a video of him ranting about corrupt government officials goes viral.
Latest season of Underbelly sparks crazy Melissa Caddick theories
The latest season of Underbelly based on the disappearance of Sydney conwoman Melissa Caddick has sparked a wave of wild theories after it left viewers with more questions than answers, reports News Corp’s Mitchell Van Hormigh.
The two-part miniseries titled Vanishing Act, which aired on Channel 9 Sunday and Monday night, was “inspired by real events” with producers having to fill in many gaps in the story that remains a real-life mystery, and viewers throwing out their own theories including that she was “fed to sharks” or cut off her own foot.
Caddick, 49, disappeared a day after authorities raided her $6.8 million Dover Heights house, an affluent area in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, on November 11, 2020.
‘Racist’: The Project slammed for Covid joke
The Project has come under fire over a “racist” joke aimed at a member of South Korean boyband, BTS, reports News Corp’s Duncan Murray.
An online backlash spurred by the band’s legions of fans led the hashtag “Stop Asian Hate” to trend on Twitter.
A segment aired by the program on Sunday used manipulative editing to suggest one of the band members had Covid-19 while at the Grammys.
Screen Forever 2022: 7plus looks to drama commissions
Last week at the Screen Forever conference, Seven was quizzed by Brian Walsh around the network lacking a streaming platform equivalent to Nine (Stan) and 10 (Paramount+), reports TV Tonight.
Both Seven & Foxtel had previously dabbled in the short-lived Presto platform.
Head of Scheduling Brook Hall indicated the network was looking at commissions for 7plus.
“50% of our audience now is non-broadcast, but we haven’t made a huge content investment there. We’re just doing smart, economical deals there, trying to leverage our existing audience, push them across,” he replied.
“But there’s a couple of bigger plays, we’re looking at for 7plus at the moment. Two of those will be drama-focused.”