Business of Media
WhatsApp and other messaging services left out of new Australian misinformation code, regulator says
Australia’s updated misinformation code still fails to tackle large-scale group messaging and needs tougher requirements for digital media companies to report on harm reduction, according to the media regulator, reports The Guardian’s Paul Karp.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) said it welcomed the new voluntary code of practice on disinformation and misinformation, released in late December, but signalled it would continue to push for powers to compel social media companies to hand over information about how they are combatting misinformation and dealing with complaints.
That push was endorsed by the Morrison government in March 2022, and by the new communications minister, Michelle Rowland, who suggested in June that social media companies could soon be forced to turn over data on posts and audience figures so the government can decide whether to tighten laws on misinformation.
Social media in Australia is self-regulated, with the Digital Industry Group Inc – whose members include Google, Apple, Meta, Twitter and TikTok – responsible for drawing up the voluntary code of conduct.
Twitter malaise a boon for social media rival Reddit
The advertising crisis engulfing Twitter under new owner Elon Musk is presenting opportunities for rival social media outfit Reddit, according to its global chief marketing officer Roxy Young, who says advertisers dismayed by Twitter’s tumult and moderation issues can find a safer home at Reddit, reports The Australian’s David Swan.
Speaking in an interview with The Australian on the ground at the world’s largest consumer technology conference CES, Young said that a multi-tiered moderation system and tight rules around what’s allowed on the platform made Reddit an attractive proposition for advertisers, in comparison to Twitter.
Since Musk took over Twitter in October, numerous brands have paused their advertising amid fears that their ads could appear beside hate speech or other concerning content.
“Reddit has been around for 17 years, and the things that people find on Reddit are community and belonging, and other people who are interested in the things that they‘re interested in, and that’s a different proposition than Twitter,” Young told The Australian.
TikTok boom: How a social media app altered advertising
The early days of TikTok were defined by catchy dance videos and cute puppy content. Nowadays, the social media platform influences global trends and consumer appetites, transforming the structure of modern-day advertising for companies big and small, report Nine Publishing’s Nell Geraets and Billie Eder.
TikTok, which was launched by Beijing-based tech giant ByteDance in 2016, is quickly becoming a leading advertising platform, challenging the likes of Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. In January 2022, creative agency We Are Social reported that the platform achieved an ad reach of 885 million users aged 18 and over, 60 million higher than in October 2021.
Its rapid marketing rise is largely attributed to two things: authenticity and shifting marketing models.
“TikTok is the way,” said Brent Coker, director of brand partnership at influencer agency Wear Cape. “Social media helps customers feel something. It’s almost the opposite of old-school, traditional marketing, which we called ‘push marketing’, where we would push our message on people. TikTok is more like ‘pull marketing’ where we’re providing entertainment value or informational value, and people are drawn to it through engagement.”
Influencers face watchdog crackdown on misleading ads
The competition watchdog will take aim at the influencer advertising sector within weeks, with a sweep of social media that is designed to identify misleading and deceptive behaviour, reports Nine Publishing’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
In select briefings with industry participants, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has said it will look in late January for high-profile cases of influencers making false statements promoting products, omitting key information and not clearly labelling posts that have been paid for by sponsors or advertisers.
The social platforms themselves, such as Instagram and TikTok, are also in the ACCC’s sights, sources said.
The probe comes after the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States fined celebrity Kim Kardashian $US1 million ($1.45 million) in October 2022 for promoting a cryptocurrency without clearly saying she was paid $US250,000.
News Corp investigation upholds allegations of misconduct by senior editor
Media giant News Corporation Australia is considering disciplinary action against a senior editor from its flagship masthead The Australian after an internal investigation verified allegations of misconduct at Christmas drinks last month, reports Nine Publishing’s Zoe Samios.
The senior editor has engaged lawyers and issued a legal letter to the Rupert Murdoch-controlled media company after women employed by the masthead filed complaints about his physical and verbal conduct at an after-work event in Surry Hills.
News Corp, which also owns The Daily Telegraph, the Herald Sun and The Courier-Mail, investigated the allegations before Christmas and found them to be true, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke anonymously. The sources said the senior editor wrote to News Corp before December 31.
Television
Sharri Markson becomes Sky News’ new prime time host
Award-winning News Corp journalist Sharri Markson is set to join the Sky News weekday prime-time line-up with her show, Sharri, as part of the network’s 2023 program reshuffle, reports The Australian’s Carly Douglas.
Markson, who previously held the Sunday 7pm timeslot on Sky, will be taking over the network’s important 5pm Monday to Thursday timeslot from veteran commentator Chris Kenny, starting in February.
The investigations writer at The Australian and two-time Walkley Award winning journalist brings more than a decade of news-breaking experience to the prime-time spot.
Markson has delivered coverage in a range of senior roles within News Corp over the years, including in her role as The Daily Telegraph’s national political editor.
During the Covid-19 pandemic Markson published her book, What Really Happened in Wuhan, after a year-long investigation into the origins of the virus.
See Also: New roles at The Australian for Michelle Gunn, Paul Whittaker & Edwina McCann
Netflix confirms season two of Wednesday
The news Wednesday fans have desperately been waiting for has finally come to pass, reports News Corp’s Wenlei Ma.
Netflix confirmed that Wednesday will be back for season two. And despite erroneous speculation earlier this week the streamer might lose the rights to the popular series, it will remain on Netflix.
It’ll be a huge relief for the show’s many fans who had been panicked over why it took Netflix more than six weeks for order more episodes of a show that clocked up 1.2 billion hours of viewing in the first 28 days after release.
In a video released on its YouTube channel, Wednesday Addams had a little message for the fans, “Over the past few weeks, I’ve been hunted, haunted and mimicked millions of times across the internet. It’s been pure torture. Thank you.”
Gold Coast hot spot Cali Beach scouted for new reality show
A Glitter Strip hot spot is rumoured to be getting a reality makeover, reports News Corp’s Amy Price.
Cali Beach, in the heart of Surfers Paradise, has reportedly been scouted to host its own reality show, with sources at the beachside venue confirming filming is already underway.
It is understood the show would follow the inside workings of the entertainment precinct, following VIP guests and performers as well as venue staff and management, including managing partner, Matthew Keegan.
The format would position the show in a similar category to juggernaut reality series Vanderpump Rules, which has been running for nine seasons in the US.
Gold Coast reality star David Subritzky is rumoured to be among the cast, following his recent stints on The Challenge and I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!
Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jennifer Shah sentenced to prison for defrauding thousands of people
US reality TV star Jennifer Shah, known for her role on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, has been sentenced to six-and-a-half-years in prison for defrauding thousands of people in a telemarketing scam over nearly a decade, reports the ABC.
Shah, 49, was sentenced by US District Judge Sidney H Stein as a leader of a nationwide fraud that targeted people who were often unsophisticated electronically and could not afford to lose their money.
She pleaded guilty in July to a conspiracy charge.
Assistant US Attorney Robert Sobelman said Shah was a leader of a “clear and brazen fraud” that stretched from 2012 to March 2021 as bogus services were promoted as enabling people to make substantial amounts of money through online businesses.
He called her the most culpable among more than 30 defendants.
Sports Media
‘Drinking every single night’: Kyrgios gets emotional in first look at Netflix series
Netflix will launch its tennis documentary, Break Point, on Friday, with the first episode providing a rare insight into the life of the sport’s most controversial player, Nick Kyrgios, reports Nine Publishing’s Michael Chammas.
Netflix has provided The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age with a sneak peek at the behind-the-scenes, five-part series, which highlights the demons Kyrgios has battled for most of his career.
The first episode, which will be shown in Australia on January 13, follows the 27-year-old around Melbourne during last year’s Australian Open at a time when many people, Kyrgios included, wondered if it would be his last grand slam on home soil.
“It was important to me that Netflix saw me for me, and not the same narrative general media talks about,” Kyrgios told the Herald and The Age ahead of the launch of the Break Point series.