Business of Media
Steve Price’s article claiming ‘minority’ white male status prompts press council complaints
Australia’s press watchdog has received multiple complaints about a widely condemned News Corp column by Steve Price in which he complained he was among a white “minority”, a claim that flies in the face of evidence on media diversity, reports The Guardian’s Christopher Knaus.
The Herald Sun ran Price’s column over a full page on Saturday, allowing him to bemoan the inclusion of “coloured or Asian people” in television advertising, among other things.
Price framed himself as among a minority of white men who could no longer voice their opinion.
Data from Media Diversity Australia contradicts Price’s suggestion that white people are in the minority and that their views are being silenced.
Lachlan Murdoch slams Crikey for ‘offensive and extravagant’ Nixon comparisons in libel claim
Fox Corp chief executive Lachlan Murdoch complained of the “improper use” of his name by an Australian publisher he is suing for libel, according to newly published court documents, reports Press Gazette’s Charlotte Tobitt.
Murdoch, who is also executive chairman of Fox Corp, claimed too that it was “offensive and extravagant” to compare him to Watergate president Richard Nixon because of the role the publisher claimed he and Fox News played in whipping up the US Capitol insurrection of 6 January 2021.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s eldest son is suing Private Media, the publisher of Australian political website Crikey, plus its political editor Bernard Keane and editor-in-chief Peter Fray, over an article by Keane headlined “Trump is a confirmed unhinged traitor. And Murdoch is his unindicted co-conspirator” and the subsequent republishing and sharing of it.
Agencies
Storyation co-founders depart from the News Corp-owned business
Storyation co-founders Lauren Quaintance and Mimi Cullen have announced they are leaving the business.
News of the duo’s exit comes after the agency was acquired by Medium Rare Content Agency in 2019, which was majority-owned by News Corp Australia at the time.
Quaintance took to LinkedIn on Monday to share the news in a heartfelt post. She wrote: “Nine years ago – almost to the day – I took the biggest risk of my life and launched a business with Mimi Cullen.
“Today we’re announcing that almost three years after Storyation was acquired by News Corp we’re leaving the agency we founded.
“It’s been a hell of a journey. In 2013 Mimi and I left big, exciting jobs leading teams in an ASX listed media company that had more than 3,000 staff. And then it was just the two of us in my spare room (me with a new baby on my lap.)
“There’s no question it was a risk. We had a good idea, one that was right for the moment, and we both had a shared energy and drive to move forward,” she said.
The Royals is appointed to the creative account of Nexba
The Royals has been appointed to handle the creative account of Australian-made and owned beverage brand Nexba, as it looks to expand into international markets.
The account was won without a pitch, with the agency having already started work on the sugar-free beverage company’s marketing and advertising strategy.
Nexba was founded in 2010 by brother’s-in-law Troy Douglas and Drew Bilbe.
The beverage company’s growing range of soft drinks and kombucha are stocked in Woolworths, Coles and a number of independent retailers and are available in the UK, Europe, New Zealand and South Korea.
Television
All glitter and tinsel: Are the Logies bound for Sydney?
The NSW government has made an offer to bring the Logies to Sydney from Queensland, reports Nine Publishing’s Linda Morris.
A source aware of the progress of negotiations has confirmed Destination NSW’s approach for Australian television’s night of nights in 2023 or 2024.
Under grilling from Labor’s John Graham in parliament, Destination NSW’s chief executive Steve Cox did not deny it intended to snatch the Logies from Queensland.
Next year’s location of the Logies, the flood impacted Splendour in the Grass festival and noise bleeds at the Sydney Opera House were topics that raised eyebrows when Arts Minister Ben Franklin and Sydney’s cultural leaders fronted post-budget hearings on Monday.
Queensland secured a four-year deal to host the Logies in 2018, but Covid-19 caused the awards’ cancellation for two of those years. Queensland is believed to have first and last rights to extend its contract.
Sports Media
Wayne Carey stood down over white powder at casino
AFL great Wayne Carey has been stood down from high-profile footy commentating roles on Seven and Triple M after a bag of white powder fell from his pocket on to a Crown gaming table, report News Corp’s Damon Johnston and Sophie Elsworth.
The TV and radio networks launched separate investigations on Monday evening after it was revealed the 51-year-old was booted from Crown’s Perth complex last Thursday night.
The Age newspaper, which publishes a weekly column by the double premiership star, said the newspaper was “aware of the story and would look into the matter over the next few days”.
The former North Melbourne captain, who was banished from the club 20 years ago over an affair with the partner of a team mate, has also been banned from Crown casino premises following the incident.
Nine bid pushes AFL broadcast rights into record territory
The AFL is poised to sell its broadcast rights for a record sum after Nine Entertainment Co made an offer worth roughly $500 million a year, report Nine Publishing’s Jake Niall, Colin Kruger, and Zoe Samios.
The bid does not necessarily signal a change in broadcast partners for the AFL, with multiple sources saying the league has been in discussions about a huge six or seven-year deal with incumbents Seven and Foxtel.
The late offer to show matches on Nine and its streaming platform Stan Sport came as rival networks were pitched against each other and asked to lodge their best and final offer, a process designed to extract the richest deal possible for the code.
A source not authorised to speak publicly confirmed that the offer from Nine was worth approximately $500 million per year.
It means that even if incumbents Seven West Media and Foxtel retain the rights they are likely to amount to the richest sport broadcast deal in Australian history and certainly exceed the $946 million being paid to the league over the next two years.
Sportsbet tries to fend off News Corp’s BetR with long-term AFL deal
Online bookmaker Sportsbet tried to extend its multimillion-dollar advertising sponsorship with the AFL until the end of the decade in an attempt to secure its place in the sport before News Corp’s soon-to-launch wagering business arrives on the market, reports Nine Publishing’s Zoe Samios.
Wagering sources familiar with the talks, who requested anonymity to speak freely on the matter, said Sportsbet approached the AFL about extending its current deal, which expires in 2025, until 2030. Such a move, if successful, would prevent another wagering partner from working with the AFL or integrating promotions around matches. The AFL and Sportsbet declined to comment.