Business of Media
Andrew O’Keefe found guilty of ‘degrading’ attack on woman
Embattled television presenter Andrew O’Keefe has avoided jail time for kicking and spitting at a woman during a “frightening and degrading” assault, reports News Corp’s Adelaide Lang and Lauren Ferri.
The 52-year-old was found guilty of common assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of possessing a prohibited drug and contravening an apprehended violence order in Sydney Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday.
The former host of Channel 7’s Deal or No Deal pleaded guilty to the AVO charge but fought the rest of the charges in a three-day hearing last year.
News Brands
Harder, faster: Kim Williams takes lessons from News Corp to ABC
Kim Williams once wrote that Australia’s public broadcaster was an “enormously harsh and difficult place to work” that was “mired in internal factions, divisions and industrial rigidities”, reports Nine Publishing’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
Decades after he last worked there, and after being named as its next chairman, he now says the ABC is “Australia’s campfire”, and an organisation that needs to listen to staff, take on board scrutiny, and “adapt or die”.
ABC builds its own AI model
The ABC is working on its own large language model – a type of artificial intelligence trained on vast amounts of data – to “enhance” its work, while also warning staff against using AI platforms like ChatGPT or Midjourney to create content for news, reports Nine Publishing’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
In an internal email sent to ABC staff last month, Matt Brown, the ABC’s news standards editor, said the public broadcaster was piloting AI technology in its news teams and developing its own.
Katherine Maher named CEO of NPR
NPR announced on Wednesday that Katherine Maher would be its next chief executive, picking a leader with an extensive track record in the nonprofit world but without one in the realm of public radio, reports The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin.
Maher was previously the chief executive of the Wikimedia Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the popular online resource Wikipedia by raising money and providing technology infrastructure, among other services. She is the chief executive of Web Summit, an organization that holds technology events around the world.
LA Times fires 115 journalists in ‘HR Zoom webinar’ following union protests
The Los Angeles Times said it was laying off 115 journalists – or more than 20% of its newsroom – the day after members of Congress warned in a letter that sweeping media layoffs could undermine democracy in a high-stakes election year, reports The Guardian’s Lois Beckett.
The 142-year-old newspaper, which has one of the largest print circulations in the US, has also lost its executive editor and managing editor in recent weeks. On Friday, the union representing the newsroom’s journalists held an unprecedented day-long walkout, urging Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong, the paper’s billionaire owner, to reconsider a planned staff reduction in response to the paper’s struggling finances.
Entertainment
No Oscar for Margot? We unpacked the (many) snubs and surprises from this year’s nominations
Christopher Nolan may finally win his first Oscar, as atomic bomb hit Oppenheimer takes the lead with 13 Oscar nominations, including leading actor and supporting actress, reports the ABC’s Jessica Riga.
Although Barbie was nominated for eight awards, including best picture, fans of the film were shocked to see Margot Robbie snubbed for best actress.
Greta Gerwig was also surprisingly left out of the best director field, despite Barbie becoming the highest-grossing film of 2023.
Television
Where White Lotus season 3 is being filmed in Thailand
The filming locations of the third season of global television smash hit White Lotus have been revealed, with the addictive drama to be set at Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui and the Anantara Mai Khao Villas Phuket, reports The Australian’s Milanda Rout.
Bloomberg reported this morning that rooms at luxury resort on Koh Samui are blocked out throughout the high-season months of February and March. Rooms are also unavailable at Anantara’s property on the holiday island of Phuket for several weeks in April and May.
Hotel executives confirmed White Lotus would be shot at different locations across Thailand and would include filming in Bangkok, the news agency reported.
Jon Stewart is returning to ‘The Daily Show’ during US election cycle
Political comedian Jon Stewart is returning to The Daily Show as executive producer and will host every Monday starting Feb. 12, through the 2024 election cycle, Paramount announced on Wednesday, reports Reuters‘ Helen Coster.
The show will feature a rotating lineup of hosts for the other three nights it airs each week, the company said.
The Daily Show airs weeknights at 11 p.m. ET on the Paramount Global-owned Comedy Central cable network and the next day on the Paramount+ streaming service.
Katrina Blowers and Samantha Heathwood are the new faces of 7NEWS Queensland’s 4pm bulletin
In a major reshuffle at 7NEWS Queensland, the network has announced Katrina Blowers and Samantha Heathwood as the new faces for its 4pm weekday bulletin, reports News Corp’s Georgia Clelland.
This change follows Kendall Gilding’s departure in December after a remarkable 12-year tenure with the network.
Katrina Blowers, who has been a prominent figure for the weekend news audience, is set to transition from her weekend role to present the 4pm bulletin on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
Sports Media
MLS’s Netflix deal could be profound, if they’re willing to show the warts
The sight of Formula One cars racing down Las Vegas Boulevard two months ago proved the power of streaming. More specifically, it highlighted the popularity of Drive To Survive, the Netflix docuseries that has transformed F1, particularly in the United States. November’s Las Vegas Grand Prix was attended by almost every celebrity and public figure with a Wikipedia page – and Major League Soccer was clearly watching, reports The Guardian’s Graham Ruthven.
MLS will be the subject of its own Drive To Survive-style show – produced by the same film-makers (Box To Box Films) – in 2024 with an eight-part series promising to offer “a definitive, never-before-seen insider’s view into the league.” MLS players and coaches can now look forward to becoming reality TV stars.