Podcasts about Seven West Media

Jeffrey Gibb Kennett AC (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian former politician who served as the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999, Leader of the Victorian Liberal Party from 1982 to 1989 and from 1991 to 1999, and the Member for Burwood from 1976 to 1999. He is currently a media commentator. He was previously the president of the Hawthorn Football Club, from 2005 to 2011 and again from 2017 to 2022. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national mental health advocacy organisation. Early life The son of Kenneth Munro Gibb Kennett (1921–2007), and Wendy Anne Kennett (1925–2006; née Fanning), he was born in Melbourne on 2 March 1948. He attended Scotch College; and, although an unexceptional student academically, he did well in the school's Cadet Corps Unit. He also played football (on the wing) for the school.  His failure to rise above the middle band academically almost led him to quit school in Fourth Form (Year 10 – 1963), but he was persuaded to stay on. His Fifth and Sixth Forms were an improvement, but he was still described in school reports as "[a] confident and at times helpful boy. Sometimes irritates. Sometimes works hard" (1964), and "[a] keen, pleasant, though sometimes erratic boy" (1965). After leaving school, Kennett was persuaded by his father Ken to attend the Australian National University in Canberra, but lost interest and left after one year of an economics degree. He returned to Melbourne and found work in the advertising department of the retail giant Myer – kindling an interest for advertising that would one day earn him his living. Kennett's life in the regular workforce was cut short when, in 1968, he was conscripted into the Australian Army.[9] Kennett was selected for officer training and graduated third in his class from the Officer Training Unit, Scheyville (OTU), near Windsor, New South Wales, outside Sydney. He was posted to Malaysia and Singapore as Second Lieutenant, commander of 1st Platoon, A Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR). This military career (and his earlier experience in the Scotch College Cadet Corps) has been noted by many biographers as an essential formative influence on the adult Kennett's character. His sense and regard for hierarchical loyalty, punctuality, and general intolerance of dissent or disobedience may be traced to this period. Kennett returned to civilian life in 1970, reentering a divided Australian society, split by the Vietnam War, of which Kennett was a firm supporter. Having returned to Myer, Kennett became impatient with his work, and so with Ian Fegan and Eran Nicols, he formed his own advertising company (KNF) in June 1971. Thereafter, in December 1972, Kennett married Felicity Kellar, an old friend whom he had first met on a Number 69 tram on the long trips to school. Their first son was born in 1974, followed by a daughter and two more sons. Political career Kennett was elected as a Liberal Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Burwood in 1976, having had an interest in local politics since the early 1970s.[14] His preselection for the seat reportedly irritated then Premier Dick Hamer, who disliked Kennett's campaigning style, and had endorsed the sitting member, Haddon Storey. However, by 1981, Kennett was promoted to Cabinet as Minister for Housing and Minister of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs. He was one of several younger MPs whom Hamer promoted to Cabinet in a bid to renew his government. Kennett retained his post when Hamer was replaced as Liberal leader and Premier by Lindsay Thompson in June of that year. Following the defeat of the longstanding Liberal government in 1982, Kennett was the leading candidate to replace Thompson despite being the youngest member of the outgoing government. On 26 October, he was elected leader of the Liberal Party and hence Leader of the Opposition. He took an aggressive posture against the Cain government, and was often criticised for his "bull-in-a-china-shop" style and his anti-government rhetoric. Under his leadership, the Liberals were heavily defeated by Labor in 1985. Afterwards he faced a challenge to his leadership of the party from Ian Smith. Kennett survived easily, but increasingly, he was seen as an erratic and unapproachable leader. He faced two more challenges to his leadership in 1986 and 1987. In 1987, in one notable incident Kennett referred to the Federal Liberal leader John Howard as a 'cunt' in a mobile telephone conversation with Howard rival Andrew Peacock. The car-phone conversation damaged both Howard and Kennett politically, but aided Peacock in his push to return as Federal Liberal leader (1989). Toward the end of its second term the Cain government had lost support and the Liberals were expected to win the 1988 election. The Liberal vote indeed rebounded strongly – they won a majority of the two-party vote – however much of this margin was wasted on landslide majorities in their heartland. As a result, the Liberals took only one seat from Labor in the capital, and were left four seats short of a majority. Failing to become premier, Kennett was again criticised within his own party, and in 1989 he was deposed in favour of a little-known rural MLA, Alan Brown. Kennett's performance during his first stint as Liberal leader is a matter of debate. Economou sees his 1985 and 1988 election campaigns as weak, while Parkinson believes he was a significant asset in pushing the Labor government of John Cain in several key seats. First term as premier Kennett publicly pledged never to attempt a return to the Liberal leadership. However, when Brown proved unable to challenge the government effectively, he allowed his supporters to call a spill in 1991. Brown realised he didn't have enough support to keep his post and resigned, allowing Kennett to retake the leadership unopposed. With Victoria facing billions of dollars of debt, Kennett was seen as "Premier-in-waiting" from the moment he retook the leadership. Cain had resigned a year earlier in favour of Deputy Premier Joan Kirner, who was unable to regain the upper hand despite being personally more popular than Kennett. The Liberals' advantage was strengthened by an important decision taken during Brown's brief tenure as leader—negotiating a Coalition agreement with the National Party. The Liberals and Nationals have historically had a strained relationship in Victoria; they had sat separately for most of the second half of the 20th century. It had been believed that Kennett had been denied victory in 1988 due to a large number of three-cornered contests in rural seats. The Coalition went into the October 1992 state election as unbackable favourites, having been ahead in opinion polling by large margins for almost two years. They stoked the voters' anger with a series of "Guilty Party" ads, targeting many Labor ministers and highlighting concerns in their portfolios. In the second-largest defeat that a sitting government has ever suffered in Victoria, the Coalition scored a 19-seat swing, attaining a 16-seat majority in the Legislative Assembly. The Liberals won 52 seats, enough for a majority in their own right. Nevertheless, Kennett supported his coalition partner, retaining the Nationals in his cabinet. State school closures In the first three years of office, funding for public schools and the Department of Education was substantially reduced. 350 government schools were closed, including every Technical High School ("Tech") in Victoria, and 7,000 teaching jobs eliminated. The Tech School closures had a widespread, delayed effect two decades later when a skilled labour shortage in the state was declared by the government, attributable largely to the generation of children who were denied a trade-focused high school education, significantly reducing the number of school leavers commencing trade apprenticeships. The few who did so were insufficient to counterbalance the number of retiring tradespeople in the coming years. This directly resulted in the number of Skilled Migrant (subclass 190) visas being made available each year increasing to 190,000 from 2012 and an active campaign to entice migrants with trade qualifications to Victoria. Public transport Other controversial moves included the sacking of 16,000 public transport workers in a major technological upgrade of the system, and the initiation of a major scheme for privatisation of state-owned services, including the electricity (SECV) and gas (Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria) utilities, the ambulance service, as well as several prisons and other minor services. The sale of the Totalisator Agency Board raised $609 million. Between 1995 and 1998, $29 billion of state assets in gas and electricity alone were sold to private enterprise (for statistics, see Parkinson, Jeff, 1999) In the wake of these changes, investment and population growth slowly resumed, though unemployment was to remain above the national average for the duration of Kennett's premiership. While the benefits to the State budget figures were indisputable in the short term, the social and longer-term economic cost of the Kennett reforms have been questioned by many commentators, academics and those who suffered economically through the period of reform. This campaign of privatisations and cutbacks led to governmental acts of privatisation by splitting up Melbourne's rail (Hillside, Bayside, V/Line and West Coast Rail) and tramways (Yarra and Swanston) or budget-cutting becoming popularly known as being "Jeffed". He also cut back many regional rail services including The Vinelander (ran to Mildura, services later restored to Maryborough as a regular V/Line service in 2011) and services to Leongatha, Bairnsdale (returned in 2003), Dimboola (services later returned to Ararat in 2004). The largest public protest in Melbourne since the Vietnam War Moratorium occurred on 10 November 1992, with an estimated 100,000 people marching in opposition to the retrenchment of many workers and the large State budget cutbacks. Kennett was undeterred by this protest, and famously commented that though there were 100,000 outside his office at Parliament that day, there were 4.5 million who stayed at home or at work. High-profile capital works projects This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The Kennett government also embarked on a series of high-profile capital works projects, such as the restoration of Parliament House, construction of a new $250 million Melbourne Museum and IMAX theatre, and a new $130 million Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Other projects included a $160 million expansion of the National Gallery of Victoria; $100 million for refurbishment of the State Library of Victoria; $65 million for a new Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC); and $130 million for the construction of a new civic square on the site of the old Gas and Fuel Buildings, to be known as Federation Square. The relocation of the Formula 1 Grand Prix from Adelaide in 1993 was a particular coup for Kennett, who had worked hard with his friend Ron Walker, the Chairman of the Melbourne Major Events Company, helped deliver Melbourne the hosting rights for the event from Adelaide in 1993. The most controversial project of the Kennett era was the $1.85 billion Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex, a gambling and entertainment centre on Melbourne's Southbank. Initial plans for a casino had been made under the Labor government, however the tendering process and construction occurred under Kennett. A$2 billion project to redevelop Melbourne's derelict Docklands area to include a new football stadium was also undertaken, in addition to the large CityLink project, a project resurrected from the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan, aimed at linking Melbourne's freeways, easing traffic problems in the inner city, and reducing commuting times from the outer suburbs to the CBD. Macedonian name dispute Kennett speaking at a event In the mid-1990s, Premier Kennett backed the Greek position over the Macedonian question in his attempts to shore up local electoral support. Kennett's stance gained him supporters from the Melburnian Greek community, whereas he was referred to as "Kennettopoulos" by the Macedonian community. At Kennett's insistence, his state government in 1994 issued its own directive that all its departments refer to the language as "Macedonian (Slavonic)" and to Macedonians as "Slav Macedonians". Reasons given for the decision were "to avoid confusion", be consistent with federal naming protocols toward Macedonians and repair relations between Macedonian and Greek communities. It was accepted that it would not impact the way Macedonians self identified themselves. The decision upset Macedonians, as they had to use the terms in deliberations with the government or its institutions related to education and public broadcasting. The Macedonian Community challenged the decision on the basis of the Race Discrimination Act. After years of litigation at the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC), the Federal Court and High Court, previous judicial rulings were upheld that found Kennett's directive unlawful as it caused discrimination based on ethnic background and was struck down from usage in 2000. Second term as premier Kennett's personal popularity was mostly average to high through his first term, though that of the government as a whole went through peaks and troughs. Without a by-election in the previous four years, the 1996 state election shaped up as the first test of the 'Kennett Revolution' with the electorate. The Coalition was expected to win a second term at the 30 March election, albeit with a somewhat reduced majority. At the federal election held four weeks earlier, while Labor was heavily defeated, it actually picked up a swing in Victoria. However, to the surprise of most commentators, the Coalition only suffered a two-seat swing, allowing it to retain a comfortable 14-seat majority. The Coalition actually picked up modest swings in Melbourne's outer suburbs, which have traditionally decided most state elections. Several negative trends (for the Liberals) were obscured somewhat by the euphoria of victory. The government's sharp cuts to government services were particularly resented in country Victoria, where the Liberals and Nationals held almost all the seats. The loss of the Mildura seat to independent Russell Savage was an indication of this disaffection, and when in February 1997 independent Susan Davies was elected to the seat of Gippsland West, this trend seemed set to continue. However, the verdict of many was that the 'Kennett Revolution' was far from over – indeed it was seemingly set in stone with the opening of the Crown Casino in May 1997. Kennett's profile continued to grow as he became a major commentator on national issues, including urging the new government of John Howard to introduce tax reform, and actively opposing the rise of the One Nation Party of Pauline Hanson. In this last case, Kennett did not shy away from criticising the media, but also the decision of the Howard government to not actively oppose Hanson's agenda. Kennett was influential in Melbourne bidding for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Three cities initially expressed interest in hosting the event; Melbourne, Wellington and Singapore. Singapore dropped out before its bid was officially selected by the Commonwealth Games Federation, leaving only two candidate cities. In the weeks prior to the announcement of the 2006 host, Wellington withdrew its bid, citing the costs involved with matching the bid plan presented by Melbourne, which became the default host without members of the Federation going to vote. The government lost ground over the next few years, with high-profile disagreements with the Director of Public Prosecutions Bernard Bongiorno, and Auditor-General Ches Baragwanath fuelling criticism of Kennett's governmental style. Kennett's perceived antipathy to Baragwanath led to 1997 legislation to restructure the office of the Auditor-General and set up Audit Victoria. While Kennett promised the independence of the office would be maintained, many saw his government's actions as an attempt to curb the Auditor-General's power to criticise government policy. Widespread community debate and substantial public dissent from Liberal MPs and Party members ensued, with MLA Roger Pescott resigning from Parliament at the height of the debate; citing his disagreement with this Bill and Kennett's style in general. The Liberal Party lost the by-election in Mitcham. Further scandals involving the handling of contracts for the state emergency services response system damaged the credibility of Kennett in 1997–1998, while rural dissent continued to grow. Personal difficulties also began to affect Kennett and his family. The strains of public life led to a trial separation between Felicity and Jeff in early 1998 (patched up by the end of the year), while earlier in Kennett's first term, public scrutiny had led to the forced sale of the KNF Advertising Company, despite all Kennett's involvement having been transferred to his wife's name. There were rumours in 1998 that Kennett might retire from politics; these were mostly centred around Phil Gude, his party deputy. These eventually came to nothing. In July 1998, Liberal MP Peter McLellan, Member for Frankston East, resigned from the party in protest over alleged corrupt Liberal Party Senate preselection, changes to WorkCover and the auditor-general's office. Again, Kennett failed to pick up the warning signs of declining support for his style of leadership. Labor leader John Brumby took care to capitalise on each of Kennett's mistakes over this period, though his absences in rural electorates were misunderstood by many Labor MPs, and led to his replacement by Steve Bracks in early 1999. Bracks, who came from Ballarat, was popular in rural areas and was seen as a fresh alternative to Brumby, who nevertheless remained a key figure in the shadow Cabinet. 1999 election loss Despite Bracks' appeal, Kennett entered the 1999 election campaign with a seemingly unassailable lead, and most commentators and opinion polls agreed that the Coalition would win a third term. However, in a shock result, the Coalition suffered a 13-seat swing to Labor. While there was only a modest swing in eastern Melbourne, which has historically decided elections in Victoria, the Coalition suffered significant losses in regional centres such as Ballarat and Bendigo. ABC elections analyst Antony Green later said that when he first saw the results coming in, it looked so unusual that he thought "something was wrong with the computer." Initial counting showed Labor on 41 seats and the Coalition on 43; a supplementary election had to be held in Frankston East following the death of sitting independent Peter McLellan. The balance of power rested with three independents-Russell Savage, Susan Davies and newly elected Craig Ingram. Negotiations began between the Coalition and the three independents. While Kennett acceded to all but two of their demands, his perceived poor treatment of Savage and Davies in the previous parliament meant that they would not even consider supporting a Coalition minority government headed by Kennett. On 18 October, two days after Labor won the supplementary election in Frankston East, the independents announced they would support a Labor minority government. The agreement entailed Labor signing a Charter of Good Government, pledging to restore services to rural areas, and promising parliamentary reforms. Kennett's supporters urged the Coalition to force a vote of 'no confidence' on the floor of the parliament in a last-ditch effort to force Savage, Davies and Ingram to support Kennett. However, with the Liberals divided on Kennett's future role, Kennett retired from all of his offices, saying he wished to have no further involvement in politics. Labor won the ensuing by-election in Burwood. Rumoured returns to politics Following the Liberals' second successive defeat in the 2002 election, rumours began that Kennett was planning a comeback to politics. The issue came to a head in May 2006 after the sudden resignation of Kennett's successor, Robert Doyle, when Kennett announced he would contemplate standing in a by-election for Doyle's old seat of Malvern and offering himself as party leader. His stance was supported by Prime Minister John Howard, who rated him as the party's best hope to win the November 2006 state election. But within 24 hours Kennett announced he would not return to Parliament rather than running against Ted Baillieu, whom Kennett had been grooming for the top post since 1999. John Howard was reported to have been "embarrassed" by having publicly supported Kennett before his decision not to re-enter politics. In 2008, it was rumoured that Kennett was planning to stand for Lord Mayor of Melbourne. Despite endorsing future Lord Mayor John So in the 2001 mayoral elections, Kennett was quoted as saying "I think the city is ready for a change". Kennett claimed he had been approached by "a range of interests" to run for the position, but in the end did not do so. Former Liberal leader Robert Doyle ultimately won the election. 2020: Indigenous voice to government On 15 January 2020, it was announced that Kennett would be one of the members of the National Co-design Group of the Indigenous voice to government. Life after politics Kennett at the 2018 VFL Grand Final In 2000, Kennett became the inaugural chairman of beyondblue (the National Depression Initiative), a body that was largely formed by the efforts of the Victorian State Government. On 24 June 2008, he announced that he would be stepping down from his role at beyondblue at the end of 2010. This did not happen. After 17 years as the chair of beyondblue, he stood down in 2017, handing the reins to former PM Julia Gillard. He stated "beyondblue is part of my DNA, outside my family, it has been my most important role. Kennett has previously served on the boards of Australian Seniors Finance, a reverse mortgage company, and SelecTV, which was a satellite television group. Kennett has said in an interview that he rarely thinks about the media or "bloody history", though he regrets the "disastrous" introduction of the Metcard ticketing system for trains and trams. Kennett angered gay rights groups in July 2008 when he supported the Bonnie Doon Football Club in their sacking of trainer Ken Campagnolo for being bisexual; and compared homosexuality to pedophilia. Anti-discrimination campaigner Gary Burns pursued an action in the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal against Kennett for making the following statement: "The club felt that once this had been pointed out and you had this gentleman there who was obviously close to young men – massaging young men – it ran an unnecessary risk, and that's why it decided it was best that he not perform those duties again. So the club was trying to do the right thing," The case was dropped due to Gary Burns' lack of funds to pursue the case. Hawthorn FC presidency On 14 December 2005, Kennett was made president of Hawthorn Football Club, taking over from Ian Dicker. Following the exit of the St Kilda Football Club from the Tasmanian AFL market in 2006, Kennett was president when the Hawthorn Football Club negotiated a five-year sponsorship deal with the Tasmanian state government. The sponsorship deal was worth an estimated $12 million for which the Tasmanian government bought naming rights to the club's guernsey, and the HFC committed to playing an agreed number of pre-season and four regular season "home games" at York Park.[56] Kennett was instrumental in Hawthorn's 2007 5-year business plan titled "five2fifty", the core idea being that in the next five years the club will target to win 2 premierships and have fifty thousand members. As part of the plan, the football club wants to be seen as the most professional club in the AFL, and places great emphasis on the welfare of the people associated with the club. Following Hawthorn's 2008 AFL Grand Final victory over Geelong, Kennett claimed that the Cats "lacked the mentality to defeat Hawthorn", this being in reference to the Cats' inability to counter-attack the running game of the Hawks in the aforementioned Grand Final. Kennett's comments led to the subsequent eleven-match losing streak for Hawthorn against Geelong becoming known as the "Kennett curse". He stepped down at the end of his second three-year term in 2011, he also changed the club's constitution so that presidents could only serve two 3-year terms. Second stint Kennett at an AFL Women's match in 2023 In what Fox Footy described as a "stunning return",[59] Kennett was announced as the president of the Hawthorn Football Club on 4 October 2017 following the sudden resignation of the incumbent president Richard Garvey. Garvey had taken criticism on the hiring and later sacking of club CEO Tracey Gaudry. Kennett subsequently appointed Justin Reeves as the club's new CEO. On 4 October 2017 he announced that he would serve the position for a full 3-year term. Soon after his re-appointment, Kennett and the club released a vision statement outlining the future of the club up to 2050. The first five-year strategic plan titled 'Dare to be Different' will drive the club's priorities from 2018 to 2022. Kennett said: "Hawthorn we aren't ones to sit back and wait, we work hard to achieve and deliver exciting results, on and off the field. Our vision for our strategic plan, "Dare to be Different", encapsulates this as we continue to strive for excellence. "We have set ourselves some ambitious targets but all are within our grasp if we continue to innovate, grow and forge new frontiers within the AFL industry." On 6 July 2021, Kennett and the Hawthorn board announced that they would not be renewing head coach Alastair Clarkson's contract following its expiry at the conclusion of the 2022 AFL Premiership season. It was announced that Box Hill Hawks and Hawthorn development coach, former player Sam Mitchell had been chosen by Kennett and the board to become the Hawthorn coach at the end of Clarkson's reign. Chairman of The Original Juice Company On 12 December 2022, The Original Juice Company announced that it would appoint Kennett as Chairman and Non-Executive Director. Honours In the Australia Day Honours of 2005, Kennett received Australia's then highest civilian honour, when he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC). The honour was for "service to the Victorian Parliament and the introduction of initiatives for economic and social benefit, to business and commerce, and to the community in the development of the arts, sport and mental health awareness strategies." In May 2000, he was also awarded an honorary doctorate – DBus (Honoris Causa) – by the University of Ballarat. Media work For a brief period during 2002, Kennett was a radio presenter for Melbourne station 3AK, continuing an interest in mass communication which was also a feature of his premiership. Since 2010, Kennett has been a regular contributor to Neil Mitchell's 3AW radio program every Thursday, as a social commentator. On 28 March 2013 it was announced that Kennett had joined the Seven television network as national political commentator which will involve him appearing on breakfast show Sunrise every Tuesday and on Seven news as required. On 12 February 2017 Jeff Kennett engaged ex-Seven West Media employee on Twitter over leaked documents potentially breaching the company's own gag order on Amber Harrison.  

Welcome to a midweek update from Unmade, on the morning after News Corp's main marketing-industry focused event of the year, D_Coded. Yesterday's big announcement was Tubi. Two months after announcing the sale of Foxtel, News Corp is back in the TV business.Also today, Enero's sinking share price hits the lowest point in more than a decade.News Corp Australia gets back into TV with TubiFor a while now, I've been puzzled by Tubi.It's the biggest asset in the extended News Corp universe not to have a presence in Australia. In the US, Tubi is a big deal. Its share of total TV viewing is nearly 2% and it's bigger than Peacock, Paramount+ and Max. In some quarters it's been bigger than Disney+.Actually, it's not entirely true to say that Tubi has not had a presence in Australia. Tubi has been here all along and repped by Foxtel Media. But it didn't receive much love, even as it built towards 1.3m active monthly users locally.When I interviewed Foxtel boss Patrick Delany this time last year, I told him I was surprised they were not doing more with Tubi.At the time, Delany argued that the reason for Tubi's success in the US is the fact that it's entirely free to its audience. While Australia's free to air networks are available over the airwaves, US viewers are used to paying for everything they watch via cable. So Tubi was a bigger point of difference, he argued.However, I suspect that was not the only reason. With Foxtel about to pass into the ownership of DAZN, Tubi now represents News Corp's seat back at the table of television. It didn't make sense for News Corp to go hard until the Foxtel deal was done.Tubi has a straightforward business model. There's no paid membership tier. It's pureplay FAST - free ad-supported streaming TV.That puts Tubi in the same space as 7plus, 9now, Tenplay, along with global players like Paramount's Pluto TV. And of course, with the FAST services being offered by the connected TV providers.Incidentally, Tubi lives within the other half of the Murdoch empire, Fox Corp. News Corp is effectively a local rep.In today's podcast I interview News Corp's executive chairman Michael Miller. He pushes back against my assumption that Tubi lacks premium content. And while it's true that Tubi has a deep archive, a look at the home page this morning reminds me of the experience of standing in the discount section of my local video store. They looked like blockbusters, but I just hadn't heard of them.(Titanic 2, anyone? Jack's back… and he's got a score to settle about the whole floating door episode.)Tubi's secret weapon is the world's favourite price point: free. There are plenty of Australians who can't or won't afford to pay for their streaming.And its not-so-secret weapon is the marketing firepower of News Corp. Would Kayo or Binge have grown without the company's cross promotion?In my conversation with Miller, he places Tubi as a “top three or four” marketing priority for the year.And News Corp is backing the push with an aggressive price point - a launch price of a $15cpm.Considering that's likely to be big brand advertising on the main lounge room screen, that's an aggressive price.By the way, in case you can't read the small print on the screen behind sales boss Barrett in the photo above, the price is for campaigns with a minimum spend of $20,000, running before June 30. And “independent measurement unavailable”.The rest of today's conversation with Miller spans the other announcements around D_Coded, including marketer-friendly expansions of its Intent Connect planning system, and the company's continuing efforts to make the concept of engaged reach a thing.Miller also makes it clear that News Corp still views the coming election and US trade war concerns as a delay, not an end to the News Media Bargaining Code framework. “We have been patient,” he says.Unmade Index fights off Trumpcession fears as Enero sinks to decade-long lowDespite an early selloff triggered by global concerns over a looming Trumpcession, the Unmade Index bounced back in later trading yesterday to finish flat.The biggest local weight on the Unmade Index, Nine, was lifted by its majority-owned real estate platform Domain. Nine was up by 1.3%, while Domain rose 1.8%.ARN Media was up by 4.9%, taking it back above a $200m market capitalisation.Among stocks moving in the other direction, print and marketing group IVE lost 8.6%, while Seven West Media lost 3.2% to land on its lowest point since January. Southern Cross Austereo was down by 3.6%.Enero Group, owner of ad agency BMF among others, slumped by 6.7% to land on its lowest share price in more than a decade.The Unmade Index ticked up by a fraction, rising by 0.09% to land on 551.2 points.Time to leave you to your Thursday. We'll be back with more tomorrow.Editing was courtesy of Abe's Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production.We'll be back with more soonHave a great day.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmade + Mumbrellatim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to a Best of the Day wrap from Unmade.Today: We share the highlights from Compass Auckland, Ooh Media finally discovers some momentum, and big moves on the Unmade Index.If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade's events, including HumAIn (6 May), REmade (23 September), Unlock, and Compass (November), all returning in 2025.* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media Unmade.‘Embrace AI, or face an extinction-level event'The final episode of the 2024-25 series of Compass rolled into Auckland last week.The audience at the iHeart Lounge heard from Matt Martel, managing editor for audience and platforms at the New Zealand Herald, Jo Mitchell, CMO of The Warehouse Group; Paul Pritchard, group CEO of Overdose, and Angela Watson, CEO of Colenso BBDO on some of the key topics getting adland out of bed and keeping it awake at night.The topics ranged from the impact of last year's closure of Newshub to the disruption being wrought by AI, to whether it's time for marketers to dial back on their platform spend.Pritchard told the audience that the biggest challenge he saw the industry face last year was “lack of control”. He added: “I felt like things happened to us, not because of us.”According to Martel, the closure of Newshub should be taken as a signal for action. “It was a strong and important part of New Zealand media. It's now gone.“We need to act. Because if we don't act, we can see the train that's coming down the tracks at us.“The problem is not the quality of what we do, it's the monetisation of what we do. If we don't change what we do now, if we don't embrace AI, if we don't embrace different ways of doing what we've always done, then there will be an extinction-level event for everyone in this room in ten years, if not sooner.”And Pritchard urged a rethink for where the industry spends its marketing budgets: “We spent a lot of time letting international technology players come to every market and sell, sell, sell at really low costs. And that disrupted the media. It challenged the content and the quality of that content. And then when they disrupted it, they decided to put the prices up.“And it's a pretty simple economic environment that we're all facing. The thing we can do to counter it is we can own our own content. We can own our own customer.“We decided that it was just better to throw money at something that continually worked, right? Those metrics of return on ad spend and cost of customer acquisition -they were really attractive for a long time.“Now they're less attractive, but everyone's hooked on it. So maybe we need to go cold turkey for a little bit.”The event was organised by Unmade with the support of NZME, Lumo and Scentre Group's BrandSpace.Ooh Media's turnaround beginsOoh Media will likely soon make it official with its acting chief revenue officer Mark Fairhurst after his first two months in the chair sparked a turnaround in the company's sales trajectory.The emergency appointment of Fairhurst, previously executive general manager of QMS, came in December following the exit of chief revenue officer Paul Sigaloff after just 19 months.In its full-year results released this morning, Ooh Media's revenue and profits were virtually flat for the year, up by 0.3% to $635.6m and 3% to $287m respectivelyOoh Media's 2023 and 2024 results were almost identical. However the company's momentum entering the first quarter has radically improvedOoh Media is on track to bring in 14% more revenue in the current quarter compared to the same time last year.CEO Cathy O'Connor again acknowledged that Ooh Media's sales operation has been slow and hard to deal with. She told today's analysts' call: “We heard from the market that we were slow to respond.”Ooh Media's said its new offering Reo - which assists mid-tier retailers enter the retail media space by outsourcing sales operations and assisting with the digital side - is also picking up momentum. Newly announced clients include Officeworks, Petbarn, and Australia Post, with others in the pipeline.Unmade Index buoyed by Ooh Media and IVE Group resultsOoh Media's improved performance saw it lock in a hefty 15.6% jump in market capitalisation during an action-packed day on the Unmade Index.IVE Group, which also reported solid results today, rose by 6.4% while Seven West Media gained 2.9%.Meanwhile, Nine lost 5.8% as the market continued to digest news of CoStar's bid to buy its majority-owned real estate platform Domain.As a result of the decline of Nine - the biggest weighted stock - the Unmade Index sank by 0.3% to 560.6 points.Best of the Day: News winners; Clems loser; Slater & Gordon's strugglesABC back at the topABC News moved back past News Corp's news.com.au as the site with the biggest audience. According to Ipsos Iris, the ABC's monthly audience grew to 12.5m in January, ahead of news.com.au which lost 3.4% to land on 11.8m.Another Omnicom ad restructureDani Bassil became the latest Clemenger Group CEO to be ousted after failing to recapture the creative brand's glories of previous decades. Omnicom announced that Clemenger, Traffik and CHEP Network will all be folded into the Clems brand. Under chief creative officer Ant Keogh, who departed in 2017, and CEO Peter Biggs, who left in 2014, Clemenger Melbourne was regularly the world's most awarded agency.Too little, too SlaterLaw firm Slater & Gordon was criticised for failing to adequately handle a PR crisis after a critical all-staff email leaked the salary details of employees along with criticism of management.Meanwhile IVF clinic Genea was tonight dealing with an even bigger PR crisis after revealing that a data leak has seen hackers seize highly personal patient details.Today's podcast was edited by Abe's Audio.Time to leave you to your evening.We'll be back with more tomorrow. Have a great night.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmade + Mumbrellatim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Temple & Webster has seen its share price fly to an all-time high after its revenue jumped 24% off the back of bathroom fixtures and couches. Seven West Media has seen its worst-ever half year results as it tries to transition away from its free-to-air TV and newspapers. Treasury Wine Estates, the wine giant, has taken its lower-priced wine brands off the sale/divestment market after failing to find a buyer. _ Download the free app (App Store): http://bit.ly/FluxAppStore Download the free app (Google Play): http://bit.ly/FluxappGooglePlay Daily newsletter: https://bit.ly/fluxnewsletter Flux on Instagram: http://bit.ly/fluxinsta Flux on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@flux.finance —- The content in this podcast reflects the views and opinions of the hosts, and is intended for personal and not commercial use. We do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, statement or other information provided or distributed in these episodes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In QAV Episode 806, Cameron and Tony cover key market updates, including Elon Musk's $97B bid for OpenAI, Trump's steel tariffs, and the resurgence of iron ore as a buy. They analyze portfolio performance, noting that long-held stocks tend to outperform, and discuss Nick Scali, Beach Energy, and Seven West Media's earnings. Cameron unveils the ‘Reilly Indicator', suggesting that a lack of sell signals could indicate an impending market correction. They revisit the ‘Crazy Girlfriend Rule' for stocks that repeatedly disappoint, explore the impact of COVID lows rolling off charts, and debate when bad news stops being a red flag. The Pulled Pork segment examines Grange Resources (GRR)—a strong performer but with a looming mine closure. The episode wraps with fun discussions on horse racing, Al Pacino, and flat-pack furniture frustrations.

A better outlook on advertising for Seven West Media helped drive it to gains on the market after its half-year report. MARKET WRAP: ASX200: up 0.01%, 8,484 GOLD: $2,941 US/oz BITCOIN: $156,560 AUD Industrial stocks were up 1% percent, while Health Care was the worst sector, down 2.9%. CSL which blamed falling vaccination sales in the US for its earnings of $2.01 billion being below market expectations. Shares finished almost 5% lower, to $256.96. Seven Group jumped 6.1% Seven West Media also gained 6.1%. Nine Entertainment lifted a huge 14%. Gold miners Northern Star up 4%, Evolution gaining 4.9%, and De Grey lifting 3.9%. Macquarie Group was up 1.6% to $231.54 after its 3rd quarter trading update Breville Group down 2.2% despite a 10% increase in revenue, and a 16% lift in net profit to $97.5 million. Dominos Pizza dropped 3.5% to $34.73, potentially driven by profit taking after Friday’s big share price surge. CURRENCY UPDATE: AUD/USD: 62.81 US cents AUD/GBP: 50.9 pence AUD/EUR: 61 Euro cents AUD/JPY: 95 Japanese yen AUD/NZD: 1.11 NZ dollars See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Forty-seven year old Scott Cabrie was brutally murdered by two young men, strangers to him whom he picked up one night during a shift as an Uber Driver.To understand the full impact of the crime and the sentences handed down to the offenders, we need to understand who Scott Cabrie was.There was no one knew him better than his best mate, and our guest for today's episode, Cameron Thomas.On Thursday this week, we will be releasing part two of this episode where we interview Scott's brother, Ian. You can listen to that episode early and ad free by signing up to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts.Got a True Crime question you want answered on the podcast? Send us a question by recording a voice message here.For Support: Lifeline  on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Cameron ThomasExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from Seven West Media.Thank you to the Hervey Bay Community Centre for supplying recording facilities for Cameron Thomas.GET IN TOUCH:https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com  Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a "Shortcut" episode. It's a shortened version of this week's more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed.Forty-seven year old Scott Cabrie was brutally murdered by two young men, strangers to him whom he picked up one night during a shift as an Uber Driver.To understand the full impact of the crime and the sentences handed down to the offenders, we need to understand who Scott Cabrie was.There was no one knew him better than his best mate, and our guest for today's episode, Cameron Thomas.On Thursday this week, we will be releasing part two of this episode where we interview Scott's brother, Ian. You can listen to that episode early and ad free by signing up to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts.Got a True Crime question you want answered on the podcast? Send us a question by recording a voice message here.For Support: Lifeline  on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Cameron ThomasExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from Seven West Media.Thank you to the Hervey Bay Community Centre for supplying recording facilities for Cameron Thomas.GET IN TOUCH:https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com  Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today's episode of the Unmade podcast features the third stop on our Compass tour, when we rolled into Sydney. Plus, further down, the board of radio network SEN signal that they want to be dealt into the deal-making action.You should be at next year's Compass. If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, why not do it today? Your membership includes:* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade's events, including HumAIn, REmade, Unlock, and Compass, all returning in 2025* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media Unmade.Transparency deprioritised: 'If there are dodgy agencies out there, those two probably deserve each other'The third chapter of this year's expanded six-state Compass Roadshow rolled into Sydney earlier this month with four of the industry's most high-profile people.Telstra CMO Brent Smart has been the client behind some of the industry's most talked-about advertising work this year. Peter Horgan chairs the Media Federation and is the outgoing CEO of Omnicom Media Group. Lou Barrett leads sales at News Corp Australia. Jasmin Bedir is CEO of creative agency Innocean and founder of gender equality initiative Fck the CupcakesAn early topic was the price of not doing distinctive work.According to Smart: “I think the really brave marketers are the ones who create boring things. That's super brave.”Later in the conversation, he expanded on the point: “The bravest markers are the ones doing boring, invisible marketing.” Of the Telstra work, Smart said: I don't think it's brave, I think I'm commercially smart. I do it to drive a commercial result. I don't do it for vanity or to win awards. I do it because it's more commercially effective to be creative.”Meanwhile Horgan flagged the challenge of procurement departments driving down agency remuneration. He told the room that his challenge of the year was : “Pushing back on weaponised procurement, which means we don't need humans any more in the communications ecosystem, trying to push back on that reductive narrative.”He added: “Two years ago the revenue was easy… and the humans were hard. This year, humans aren't easy, but the revenue is bloody hard.”Smart argued that it is in brands' best interests to avoid simply chasing the lowest cost with agencies.. “Screwing down your partners is not how you get discretionary effort from your partners. A lot of clients forget we can pay an agency a fee, but the bit you can't buy is their passion and how much they care, and that's a good commercial decision.”For Bedir, a theme of the year was the rise of generative AI. “I am deeply concerned about gen AI. What I hear from clients is there's a lack of governance in most organisations. There's so many suppliers trying to peddle you stuff that magically makes your problems go away. That's the latest gold rush.”Accountants on the marchAnd Barrett warned of a media landscape dominated by CEOs who had come up through finance. Recent months have seen Seven West Media, Nine and Southern Cross Austereo all put their chief financial officers in the top chair Asked to nominate a challenge for the industry, Barrett said: “The rise and rise of the CFO. With so many CFOs running media companies now, I worry we're going to end up with a lack of creativity.”Bedir also warned that the industry is struggling to find diverse new talent: “I'm concerned about the pathway of getting people in to the industry. If you've got the same group of people we end up with the same outputs.”And Horgan also flagged as a problem for the industry, the issue of brands investing less in understanding their media investments, He said: “Transparency is a double edged word, which needs to be owned on the client side as well."It's not the focus that was. There's a bell curve of clients out there who have ten person team, haven't been able to sell expertise they need to board and are not able to sell the expertise to the board. You do the maths. If there are dodgy agencies out there, those two probably deserve each other.And Barrett added as an issue: “Over reliance on social and platforms. These guys are not paying taxes in Australia. They are not paying for content.” She added: “I'm not talking about Google, I'm talking about Meta.”Smart also acknowledged that he had learned a new lesson this year, having not previously given enough priority to influencing the staff of the brands where he has worked. He said: “Something that is often overlooked by marketers is, make your staff proud to work for the brand. That has an incredible impact on how they show up. I wouldn't have thought as much about that in the past. But I've seen some incredible impact.”Unmade Index rises as SEN tells the M&A market: Deal us inThe Unmade Index nudged upwards for a second day on Wednesday, while SEN Radio's owner Sports Entertainment Group used its AGM to signal that it wants to be a player in media deal making.SEG's chairman Craig Coleman told shareholders that the company has been tidying up its balance sheet including selling Perth Wildcats and its New Zealand station SENZ. SEN has reduced its net debt to $13.3m and delivered an EBITDA profit of $9.6m in the last financial year.Coleman told investors: “We are now well positioned to be an active participant in beneficial media consolidation moves.”However, although SEN said it was on track to improve its profitability in this financial half, it said the radio market remains tough. “Our media division is seeing a tightening in the economy with businesses feeling the impacts of a lingering slowdown which is not isolated to any particular industry.”SEG is the smallest of the ASX-listed audio players with a market cap of $64m, compared to ARN's $225m and Southern Cross Austereo's $130m.SEN's share price did not move after the update yesterday, after seeing a drop of 8% the day before.The Unmade Index closed 0.41% down on 451.6 points.Time to leave you to your Thursday.Today's podcast was edited by Abe's Audio. (Special thanks to Team Abe's for cleaning up what was poor audio recorded at the venue.)We'll be back with more tomorrow.Have a great day.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

This is a "Shortcut" episode. It's a shortened version of this week's more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed.This is part two of a two part episode with our guest, Kate Pausina.In our last episode, former Queensland Police member, Kate Pausina, told us about her glory days in the job.She's back today to talk about the moment her beloved career took a turn and the events that led to her filing a formal complaint in 2018 before leaving the service. Kate contributed a chapter to the 2024 book "When Cops Are Criminals" by Veronica Gorrie, which you can purchase here.Got a True Crime question you want answered on the podcast? Send us a question by recording a voice message here.Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes. For Support: Lifeline  on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Kate PausinaExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from Seven West Media and Ten Network.GET IN TOUCH:https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com  Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a "Shortcut" episode. It's a shortened version of this week's more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed.This is part two of a two part episode with our guest, Kate Pausina.In our last episode, former Queensland Police member, Kate Pausina, told us about her glory days in the job.She's back today to talk about the moment her beloved career took a turn and the events that led to her filing a formal complaint in 2018 before leaving the service. Kate contributed a chapter to the 2024 book "When Cops Are Criminals" by Veronica Gorrie, which you can purchase here.Got a True Crime question you want answered on the podcast? Send us a question by recording a voice message here.Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes. For Support: Lifeline  on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Kate PausinaExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from Seven West Media and Ten Network.GET IN TOUCH:https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com  Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead.In today's audio-led edition, we ask whether Donald Trump's podcast strategy will signal an advertising shift; we look back at the Seven and Nine AGMs, and forward to the ABC, Seven and Are Media upfronts.f you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade's events, including HumAIn (2025), REmade (2025), Unlock (2025), and Compass (November);* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media Unmade. Did Joe Rogan put Trump over the top?Just a week ago, the consensus was that the US election was too close to call. Now, everybody is an expert on why a Donald Trump victory was inevitable.One underplayed factor was the strategy of Donald Trump's team to make him available on several podcasts including The Joe Rogan Experience. With podcasts skewing younger and more male than most mainstream media, will Trump's victory change how marketers see the medium?Also today, Seven West Media and Nine set very different tones at their AGMs; and we look forward to the ABC, Are Media and Seven's 2025 scene setting upfront events.Further reading:* Google Trends: ‘Did Joe Biden drop out?'* Unmade: Index bottoms out as TV networks share a gloomy outlook* The Saturday Paper: ‘The mighty and powerful Joe Rogan'* Pivot: How Trump will impact media* Joe Rogan Experience: #2219 Donald TrumpToday's episode features Tim Burrowes and Abe Udy.Editing was courtesy of Abe's Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production.Time to leave you to start your week. We'r taking a scheduled publishing break tomorrow while I travel to Compass Brisbane. We'll be back with more on Wednesday.Have a great dayToodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmade This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today's interview features Australia's most talked about business writer, Joe Aston, whose book on Qantas has dominated the political cycle for the last ten days.Also today, in the Unmade Index, Seven and Nine held their AGMs, taking different approaches to acknowledging their failings.If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* Complimentary tickets to all of Unmade's events, including HumAIn (2025), REmade (2025), Unlock (2025), and Compass (November);* Member-only content and our paywalled archives; * Your own copy of Media Unmade.‘No amount of PR can fix the operations of a company that is failing': Joe Aston on how profit-chasing caught up with the Qantas brandToday's conversation with Joe Aston takes place where brand, business, and lobbying collide.His book The Chairman's Lounge contains the most detailed examination yet seen of the Qantas-operated network of invitation-only lounges for politicians and the business elite.Across Australia's capital cities, alongside the well signposted Qantas Club and Qantas Business Lounges, is a third type of lounge, hidden behind mirrored doors, with word ‘Private' written on them. The Chairman's Lounge isn't just a space with an a la carte menu and top shelf wine; being invited to become a member means a range of travel perks. No matter what type of ticket they buy, a Chairman's Lounge member will likely be upgraded when they fly.At the very least, they'll be sitting in the front row of economy. Ever noticed those smartly dressed people enjoying the extra leg-room of row 4, being greeted by name by the cabin crew and handed a glass of something nice from the business trolley? Chances are they're CL members.And for influential politicians travelling internationally, CL status means buying an economy class ticket and sitting in a first class seat.The Chairman's Lounge has been an incredibly effective lobbying tool, allowing Qantas more access to politicians than any other business in Australia. Says Aston: ”What the Chairman's Lounge does is make Qantas the most powerful lobbyist in Canberra.”And that's without taking into account the bosses who bend their company travel policies towards Qantas, even if other alternatives are cheaper. As Aston puts it: “It's worth every cent. The operating costs aren't that high compared to what it gets people to do, and that is spend millions and millions more than they otherwise would”.Aston's book covers the period where underinvestment in operations began to catch up with the Qantas brand. He is critical of the board for failing to hold former CEO Alan Joyce to account as the brand deteriorated. That includes Australia's most famous adman Todd Sampson. “I do think it is ridiculous that he's still on the Qantas board - he proved to be completely useless when it mattered.Not, by the way, more useless than than anyone else, and not less useless: just as useless.Theres a risk of burying the lede in this interview. His Rear Window column in the Australian Financial Review was often an agenda setter. So what will he do next?Aston hints that he may launch a newsletter of his own: “Doing my own reader-funded content is something I've thought about.”He acknowledges that his style of writing on the edge puts him in danger of attracting threatening letters from defamation lawyers. “It's all a risk calculation,” he says. “It's how much revenue you can generate and is it enough to just pay for whatever litigation costs come your way. “Index bottoms out as TV networks share a gloomy outlookThe Unmade Index recovered marginally on Thursday after hitting another all-time low the day before.Yesterday saw The Unmade Index lift by 0.15% to land on 424.2 points. The Index, which tracks the value of Australia's ASX-listed media and marketing sector, began at the start of 2022 on a nominal 1000 points.Both Nine and Seven West Media held their annual general meetings yesterday.Nine's chair Catherine West used a significant her address to shareholders to acknowledge that the company still needs to do more to address its problematic culture within its newsrooms.SWM's chair Kerry Stokes dedicated one paragraph of his address to tell his shareholders that his company has now modernised its culture, and four paragraphs to complaining about the ABC's coverage of the problem.Nine told the market that after an Olympics boost, TV revenues have returned to the 10% rate of decline seen in the previous financial year. It warned “we are seeing no tangible signs of improvement to date”.Seven said its revenues are likely to be down about 6.5% for the half.Nine's market cap grew slightly yesterday, up by 0.9% to $1.75bn. Seven West Media lost 3%, to land on $239mMeanwhile, Ooh Media recovered by 2.1% and Southern Cross Austereo was up by nearly 1%. ARN Media went in the other direction, losing 4.2%.Time to leave you to your Friday.I'll be back tomorrow with Best of the Week.Have a great day.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead.In today's audio-led edition, Seven West Media and News Corp lobby for government help on funding; households make the switch to ad-funded tiers, and we look ahead to the final upfront events of the year.If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade's events, including Unlock (this Thursday October 31), Compass (across November), HumAIn (Q2 2025) and REmade (Q3 2025);* Member-only content like this post; and all of our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media Unmade. Fighting disinformation by funding news: Media bosses stop up the rhetoric; Ad-supported TV back in vogueAfter last week's softener from the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society, Australia's big media players are moving into lobbying overdrive. Seven will argue this week that the giant digital platforms are a force for evil; while News Corp's boss is arguing that the little end of town cannot be the solution.Instead, Seven and News Corp are lobbying for the government to support the not-too-big, not-too-small Goldilocks solution of companies like, well, Seven and News Corp.As the Australian reports, the editor-in-chief of Seven West Media, Anthony De Ceglie, will tomorrow use a Melbourne Press Club speech to attack the platforms including Elon Musk's X, and Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, saying: “Elon Musk doesn't care about the truth. In fact, he revels in peddling lies and boasts about using his bin fire of a site to influence the US election.“Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg is seemingly happy for Meta to profit off the page impressions that child sex offenders create when they routinely use his site to prey on their next victim.“Against these evil forces — and calling them that is not an exaggeration — there is only one true antidote. The news. The truth. The fourth estate.”De Ceglie will also champion the idea of a tax break for producing news and current affairs content.And News Corp's executive chairman Michael Miller argues in The Australian today that the government should try to force Meta to go on supporting the big media players it did deals with three years ago:“The government is at risk of abandoning the engine rooms of Australian news, which is where the bulk of the jobs are and where the bulk of important Australian stories are told,” he said.“The parliament's primary focus should be those deals Meta has walked away from.As well as discussing De Ceglie and Miller's arguments, today's edition of Start the Week examines new numbers from Kantar which suggest a big jump in household penetration of ad-supported streaming services - up from 10% of homes to 25% in just a year; and looks across the agenda of media events over the next couple of weeks.Further reading:* The Australian: Seven boss Anthony De Ceglie slams government for not supporting media* The Australian: News Corp boss Michael Miller urges government to prioritise survival of mainstream media outlets* Unmade: Landing lights glimmer for a digital levy to fund news* Mi3: Meta barked, Australia blinked: News Bargaining Code to be shelved as Feds prepare possible digital ad tax* The Australian: Viewers are increasingly signing up to streaming services with advertising, Kantar research showsToday's episode features Tim Burrowes and Abe Udy.Editing was courtesy of Abe's Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production.Time to leave you to start your week. We'll be back with more tomorrow.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmade This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Isabel Vieira and Liv Declerck discuss an interstate healthcare merger which could have major implications for WA. Plus Ryan Stokes signals support for struggling Seven West Media; Higher costs dampen Fortescue's results; BP Australia's plan for Kwinana biofuel plant takes a step forward.

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today's edition features a fascinating exploration of how Four Pillars Gin became such a huie brand success, with an in-depth conversation with co-founder Matt Jones. Also today, we share details of the Sydney panel for Unmade's Compass roadshow.If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade's events, including Unlock (October 31), Compass (across November); HumAIn (2025), and REmade (September 2025).* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media Unmade. Smart, Barrett, Horgan and Bedir revealed for Unmade's Compass Sydney panel next monthCat McGinn writes:We can today reveal our Sydney panel for our annual industry meet-up Compass, which will travel to six states for the first time.The Sydney edition, taking place on November 13, will feature Brent Smart, CMO of Telstra; Lou Barrett, managing director of client partnerships at News Corp; Jasmin Bedir, CEO of creative agency Innocean; and Peter Horgan, outgoing CEO of Omnicom Media Group, for a lively discussion of the year just gone and outlook on 2025.The pub conversation will also be featured as an Unmade podcast.Unmade's paying members are entitled to a complimentary place while tickets are also on sale here. Unmade's Compass will for the first time take place across six states. We'll be announcing each state's speaker lineup across the next few days* Wed 6 November - Hobart;* Tues 12 Nov - Brisbane: The Prince Consort;* Wed 13 Nov - Sydney: The Sporting Globe; * Mon 18 Nov - Perth: The Globe; * Tues 19 Nov - Adelaide: Elephant British Pub; * Wed 20 Nov - Melbourne: The Garden State Hotel.Love and craft and marketing - how Matt Jones helped create the legend of Four Pillars GinA year on from a $100m exit, Four Pillars Gin co-founder Matt Jones has written a book about the business discipline behind the creation of one of the great Australian brand success stories.Unusually for the author of a business book, Jones is not just a strategist, but one who put his money where his mouth was. Along with partners Stuart Gregor and Cameron Mackenzie, he made the decision to create a luxury gin brand, and then executed it brilliantly.Lessons From Gin: Business the Four Pillars Way tells the story of how they did it, and offers a series of insights that anybody building a brand could borrow from. The book breaks the story into four stages - thinking, crafting, sharing and growing.In today's Unmade podcast, Jones shares with Unmade's Tim Burrowes some of the lessons applied, and learned, along the way.He makes the case that many business are underpowered in having marketing brains at the top. Like Jones, Gregor came from the communications world as owner of the PR agency Liquid Ideas. Mackenzie was the only working directly in the production of alcohol.Says Jones: “We were far heavier in terms of creative industries, creative mindset, brand mindset, marketing mindset than 99% of leadership groups out there in the world.“My perspective on the whole is that businesses are underweight when it comes to those voices around the leadership table. And I think that is something that we absolutely benefited from, that we valued these things that we might call brand leadership. We valued them at the heart of the business, not just the marketing strategy.”Lessons from Gin will be published by Wiley on October 30 and is available on presale. On October 31 Jones will deliver the keynote at Unmade's Unlock conference in Sydney where he will discuss the role of telling stories in building brands. Tickets are on sale now, or complimentary to Unmade's paying members.SCA moves back past VinylTim Burrowes writes:The old order reasserted itself on the Unmade index yesterday with Southern Cross Austereo moving back past Vinyl Group.SCA lost 1.1% to land on a market capitalisation of $111.5m, But Vinyl Group lost 4.4% to land on $111.1m.Most acitvity on the Unmade Index was negative yesterday with Domain losing 1.3% and parent company Nine dropping 0.8%.Seven West Media bucked the trend, growing by 3%The Unmade Index fell 0.67% to land on 454.1 points.Today's podcast was edited by Abe's Audio.I'm about to hop onto a flight to Sydney to cover tonight's Foxtel Upfront event. I'll let you know how it went in tomorrow's newsletter.Have a great day.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today's edition features one of the highlights of last week's REmade - Retail Media Unmade conference, our leadership panel. If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade's events, including Unlock (October 31), Compass (across November); HumAIn (2025), and REmade (September 2025).* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media Unmade. Growing pains, data gains, and techy brains: retail media's leaders reflect In today's audio edition, we hear from the retail media leaders in a session which concluded our retail media conference REmade last week.Dan Ferguson, chief marketing officer for Adore Beauty Group, Sarah Minassian, head of retail media at Metcash and Marc Lomas, MD of commerce for GroupM AUNZ shared their views on the surge in retail media and its growing industry impact.The panel presented a unified case that retail media is on a fast track, and with year-on-year expansion, demanding attention, investment - and increased integration across the industry.In the conversation, moderated by REmade's Curator Cat McGinn, Lomas argued “We are rapidly approaching Retail Media 3.0 where it's no longer a separate entity - it's just media, seamlessly integrated across channels and treated the same as other forms of media."Another key takeaway was the need for better collaboration and data sharing between brands, retailers, and tech partners. The message was clear: transparency builds trust, and trust fuels the kind of partnerships that can really scale retail media. Minassian said “It's about having authentic conversations, building trust, and aligning everyone's expertise to move forward at a million miles an hour."The panel doubled down on putting customers first. Whether it's using podcasts or digital channels, keeping customer experience front and centre drives genuine engagement. As Ferguson said, “We listen to our customers. They give us sharp and direct feedback, and it's what drives our decisions. At the start of the pandemic, our audience told us, ‘less of the hard sell,' and we changed our tone of voice accordingly. That kind of customer feedback is what shapes everything we do."On the tech side, integration is key. Metcash is focusing heavily on building the infrastructure needed to enhance its retail media offerings, while Adore Beauty's commitment to leveraging customer data shows just how important tech and data are in taking retail media to the next level.Lomas added: "When you look at the way consumers are starting to shop, younger demos are rekindling the love of the store. The store is a new canvas for innovation, and syncing experiences between online and offline through technology is where retailers can really step in and deliver."And Metcash's Minassian called out the need for more diverse voices at the table to shape the future of the industry, reminding women to apply for roles, even if they don't feel they have the "perfect" experience.* REmade will return in September 2025. Subscribers who become paying members of Unmade now will get a whole year of access to paywalled content and all our events, plus a ticket to the next REmade, Upgrade todayUnmade Index hovers as Nine moves up and Seven moves downDeclines from Ooh Media (down 1.2%) and Seven West Media (down 2.8%) were offset by increases in the valuation of Domain (up 1.5%) and Nine (up 0.4%) to slightly lift the Unmade Index yesterday.The index closed up by 0.2% at 451.6 points.Today's podcast was edited by Abe's Audio. We'll be back with an end-of-week update tomorrow.Have a great day.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Anthony Whealy KC is a former NSW Supreme Court Judge, and is the current Chair at the Centre for Public Integrity.Whealy and our guest host, Criminologist Dr Xanthé Mallett delve into the most defining moments of his storied career and offer candid insights on the state of legal proceedings today.Xanthé is also here to answer your burning true crime questions. if you have a question or a comment about today's episode, you can leave a voice message using the link below.Send us a question by recording a voice message here.Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes. CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest Host: Dr. Xanthé MallettGuest: Anthony Whealy KCExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from the ABC and Seven West Media.GET IN TOUCH:https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a "Shortcut" episode. It's a shortened version of this week's more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed.Anthony Whealy KC is a former NSW Supreme Court Judge, and is the current Chair at the Centre for Public Integrity.Whealy and our guest host, Criminologist Dr Xanthé Mallett delve into the most defining moments of his storied career and offer candid insights on the state of legal proceedings today.Xanthé is also here to answer your burning true crime questions. if you have a question or a comment about today's episode, you can leave a voice message using the link below.Send us a question by recording a voice message here.Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes. CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest Host: Dr. Xanthé MallettGuest: Anthony Whealy KCExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from the ABC and Seven West Media.GET IN TOUCH:https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today: As Vinyl Group this morning announces yet another acquisition, we talk to CEO Josh Simons about the bust-up that saw the ousting of Brag Media co-founder Luke Girgis, and the background to his opportunistic acquisition of Mediaweek.If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade's events, including HumAIn (2025), REmade (next week), Unlock (31 October), and Compass (November);* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media Unmade. ‘I stand behind the acquisition every day of the week': Vinyl boss Josh Simons on the bumpy Brag Media buyoutAmong the bosses of Australia's ASX-listed media companies, nobody has had a more random path to the hot seat than Josh Simons. From the lead singer of rock band Buchanan, Simons went on to found Vampr, a social networking site for the music industry, before seeing that acquired by the company he went on to head, Vinyl Group.Simons was the architect of Vinyl's $8m+ purchase of the Brag Media group, publisher of The Brag and local editions of Rolling Stone and Variety among others, at the start of the year.The initial plan was for Vinyl Group to be a portfolio company with its Brag Media arm run separately to its music platform interests. But that quickly fell over, with the less-than-amicable departure of Brag Media co-founder Luke Girgis five months after the takeover.That left Simons taking what he describes in today's interview with Unmade's Tim Burrowes as “a masterclass in media” as he relocated from Melbourne and took charge of the Brag Media publishing operation.That's included a lesson in the publishing etiquette around journalistic independence. Simons concedes that he was “naive” when he took control adding: “I'm not dogmatic in terms of my views on things. And I think it's important to be able to know when you've said something stupid.”Vinyl Group, with a market capitalisation of a little under $92m, is behind only Nine, Domain, Ooh Media, Seven West Media, ARN Media and Southern Cross Austereo when it comes to local ASX-listed media companies. When it comes to the narrower business of publishing, Vinyl is fourth if you also include the dual-listed News Corp. As Simons observes dryly: “It's not lost on my parents.”During the interview, Simons offers few clues about what led to the ousting of Girgis, although he hints: “We had to invest in areas that were previously just not being invested in. We needed to bring journalists in.”Hires have included Lars Brandle as head of content, and promoting former Daily Mail and Cartology executive Jess Hunter to head of Brag Media. Since recording the interview, editor-in-chief Poppy Reid who was part of the Girgis era, announced her exit.Earlier this month, Vinyl Group completed the fire sale acquisition of Mediaweek for just $1m after owner Trent Thomas was forced to sell the title following allegations of harassment towards staff. The timing and price of the deal was, Simons says, “almost too good to be true”. The integration is being overseen by Vinyl Group's chief operating officer Joel King.Simons hints there are more media acquisitions in the entertainment space to come, including overseas. Asked about the fact that Vinyl Group's tech platforms are global while the media companies are local, he notes: “Rome wasn't built in a day. We've got broad, ambitious plans for global. Rest assured that we're looking around the world to find teams that might add value in any of those areas inside the media part of Vinyl.”As we were publishing this morning, Vinyl Group announced to the ASX that it has agreed to buy event and brand activation agency Funkified from founder Gus Stephenson for $2.5m. Funkified has been Brag Media's in-house events supplier since 2021. It had a turnover of $4m and EBITDA profit of $430,000 in the last financial year. In the interview, Simons also fleshes out his strategy for Vinyl Group, which as well as Vampr includes music credits database Jaxsta and online retail platform Vinyl. The job of the media arm is to fund investment in the company's (so far) loss-making tech. “Our media company now is really the engine that allows us to invest in technology. In the past, we've seen media companies try and buy tech companies, and it hasn't worked out so well. And so what we're trying here is buying media companies to fuel tech.”Despite being an ASX-listed company, Vinyl Group's shareholder register is dominated by a handful of wealthy investors including WiseTech Global founder Richard White and Songrtradr boss Paul Wiltshire.Says Simons: “I'm quite calm and optimistic about where everything's at.” Asked whether Vinyl Group still belongs on the ASX, he adds, intriguingly: “Yeah. Especially if you knew what I know.”* Declaration of interest: Via his super fund, Tim Burrowes owns shares in most of Australia's listed media companies, including Vinyl Group.Inflation relief lifts Unmade IndexThe Unmade Index bounced yesterday as the market absorbed improving inflation numbers. The index - which tracks Australia's listed media and marketing companies - grew by 1.5% to 449.3 points - outperforming the wider ASX All Ordinaries which grew by 0.15% yesterday.Among the larger stocks, Nine saw the biggest lift, up by 2.44%.In the audio space, ARN Media and Southern Cross Austereo grew by 1.6% and 1.1%, while radio company Sports Entertainment Group lost 5.5%.Today's podcast was edited by Abe's Audio.As we count down to next week's REmade conference, we'll be back with a retail media-led edition of Unmade tomorrow.Have a great day.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead. In today's audio-led edition: James Warburton invests in Boost Media; troubled Disrupt Radio says it's in a “holding pattern”; the AFL and NRL lobby on betting ads; and LinkedIn admits to training its AI on user content.We've upgraded Unmade's membership. Annual members now get a free ticket to all of our events. That includes REmade - Retail Media Unmade on October 1; Unlock on October 31; our Compass series in November; and HumAIn next year.If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership also includes members-only content, access to our paywalled archives and your own copy of Media Unmade. Upgrade today.If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade's events, including HumAIn (2025), REmade (1 October), Unlock (31 October), and Compass (November);* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media Unmade. Telstra kicks off new campaign around grand final; Warburton invests in Boost; Disrupt Radio staff still unpaidTelstra is among the first brands to reveal its plans for a big campaign launch timed around AFL grand final, according to The Australian today. The Oz also features good and bad news from streaming radio, with Disrupt Radio still in a funding crunch and Broad Radio about to go from pre-recorded live.Over in the AFR, Seven West Media is the topic of the day, with former boss James Warburton revealing an investment in ad inventory reseller Boost Media alongside private equity company CVC; and questions about Seven Group's appetite to remain invested in its media arm SWM.And today's AI chat covers the revelation that LinkedIn is training its large language model on posts from its users; the role of generative AI in creating media content; and a new version of OpenAI.Further reading: * The Australian: Disrupt Radio is two months behind in staff payments, future of station unclear* The Australian: Broad Radio launches new live programs on the women-only radio station* The Australian: Telstra gets animated to shake off corporate image* Australian Financial Review: Ex-Seven chief James Warburton, CVC Emerging Companies ink media deal* Australian Financial Review: Seven West Media stokes tension behind the scenes at Seven Group* Unmade: Publishers await their Independents Day* Sydney Morning Herald: ‘Nanny state': NRL, AFL storm the field over gambling ads* Mumbrella: AI generated content doesn't work – But if it did? The media's screwedToday's episode features Tim Burrowes, Abe Udy and Cat McGinn.Editing was courtesy of Abe's Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production.Time to leave you to start your week. We'll be back with more tomorrow.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

This is a "Shortcut" episode. It's a shortened version of this week's more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed.We're back with our guest host, Criminologist Dr Xanthé Mallett to go beyond the headlines of this week's biggest true crime stories.Xanthé is also here to answer your burning true crime questions. if you have a question or a comment about today's episode, you can leave a voice message using the link below.Send us a question by recording a voice message here.Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes. CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest Host: Dr. Xanthé MallettExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from France 24, Seven West Media and Channel 10.GET IN TOUCH:https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back with our guest host, Criminologist Dr Xanthé Mallett to go beyond the headlines of this week's biggest true crime stories.Xanthé is also here to answer your burning true crime questions. if you have a question or a comment about today's episode, you can leave a voice message using the link below.Send us a question by recording a voice message here.Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes. CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest Host: Dr. Xanthé MallettExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from France 24, Seven West Media and Channel 10.GET IN TOUCH:https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to a Tuesday update from Unmade. In the interests of topicality we're reworking our publishing rhythm this week. We've brought forward to today our usual Thursday audio-led interview to focus on the Paramount Upfronts which kicked off in Sydney yesterday. And our member-only post which usually happens on a Tuesday, will be later in the week. Further down, we've also got better news on the Unmade Index which finally broke its eight day losing streak.If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade's events, including HumAIn (2025), REmade (1 October), Unlock (31 October), and Compass (November);* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media Unmade. How Paramount is making one plus one add up to moreParamount yesterday become the first of Australia's TV companies to show its hand during 2025 Upfronts season.One of the challenges of covering Upfronts presentations is that they tend to be a grab bag of announcements, without there necessarily being a unifying theme.That was certainly the case with Paramount, with announcements covering free to air commissions for Network 10, local commissions for streaming service Paramount+, the company's global content pipeline, converged trading technology upgrades with Paramount Connect, and a rebrand that will see 10 Play disappear so it will be Ten across both linear and streaming.And that in itself was the unifying theme. Albeit by accident rather than plan, the global ownership structure of the company leaves Paramount as the best placed media company to argue that the sum of its parts adds up to more than the whole.While Paramount Plus isn't the biggest subscription streaming platform with an advertising tier, it gets to be the only one that is part of a local Upfront.While a distant third behind Seven and Nine in broadcast TV, Ten gets a pipeline of global formats and content from its parent company.While 10 Play isn't as big as Seven's FAST (free ad supported TV) channels, advertisers and agencies can buy across both Paramount+ and 10 Play.To lean in to the acronyms, Paramount is the only company locally that can offer advertisers audiences across SVOD, BVOD, FAST and FTA. The sum of the parts has the potential to equal more than the wholeUnder Hugh Marks, Nine's portfolio felt like a company where its assets across TV, streaming, publishing and radio added up to more than the whole. More recently one plus one has equalled two at best.Seven West Media's TV and publishing assets feel similarly disconnected, even more so since being split into seperate divisions ready for some sort of M&A activity.ARN Media's (so far failed) takeover plan for SCA was about being stronger in the single medium of audio. Southern Cross Austereo's valuation will go up as soon as it finally offloads its fading regional TV licences (presumably mostly to Paramount) and becomes a pure play audio company.So what to make of Paramount's announcements?There's a further investment in live reality TV alongside I'm A Celebrity. Big Brother returns to its original home where it ran for its first eight seasons, before three seasons on Nine where it relaunched well out of the 2012 Olympics before fading, and five seasons on Seven which took much of the life out of the format by moving to a cheaper pre-recorded format.Big Brother will be live on Ten and streamed 24 hours a day live which is almost exactly the sort of content FAST was invented for.There were no other major format surprises. Have You Been Paying Attention, MasterChef, Taskmaster, Survivor, and Thank God You're Here all return. The Project stays on air.Talking ‘Bout Your Generation (or Talkin' ‘Bout Your Gen as it will be this time) has been revived minus Shaun Micallef as host. Sam Pang will get his own show.During the podcast conversation with sales boss Rod Prosser and programming lead Daniel Monaghan, I didn't detect much of an appetite to go after a big (and expensive) sporting code. The kite flown at the weekend by NRL boss Peter V'landys feels more like an attempt to scare Nine into thinking it could face an auction.There was also some paranormal activity from Paramount.An Australian version of sitcom Ghosts, which started life in the BBC in the UK will be cast shortly (I have my suspicions we won't see it on screen until 2026). I'm intrigued how the caveman character of Robin from the original will translate into a local character without controversy around First Nations people. Monaghan tackles that in the interview.And a spooky six part scripted drama Playing Gracie Darling will land on Paramount+As well as talking about the content announcements, the interview addressed the question of how the TV industry can stop sounding defensive about its fading linear numbers and start getting aggressive about streaming.Prosser acknowledges: “We don't see ourselves as a free-to-air business anymore. We see ourselves … as a premium video business. Obviously, the free-to-air asset is incredibly important.It's important to recognize a couple of things. The first thing is that the free-to-air linear still drives the biggest reach.“The second fact is linear audiences are declining. I think none of us can have our heads in the sand about that.“We were artificially propped up through Covid. I think everyone recognises that.“And that decline that we knew was coming has come. And I think we'll see stabilisation in those audiences now.”“The reality is television is still a mass-reaching vehicle. And I think there's no reason to be defensive around that. We own it.“But I do think the linear audiences have found their place.”* Declaration of interest: My travel and accommodation for the event was covered by ParamountUnmade Index finally breaks losing streakThe Unmade Index finally broke an eight day streak of declines to record a move upwards yesterday, growing by 1.36% to 443.3 points.The best performer was Domain, majority owned by Nine, which rose by 4.3%. That in turn helped lift Nine by 2.1%.Rival TV network Seven rose by 2.9%.Among the larger stocks, Southern Cross Austereo had the worst of it, slipping by 3.8%. SCA's market capitalisation of $122m is the lowest it has ever been. The smaller audio stock of Sports Entertainment Group, owner of SEN radio, lost 7.6%.Today's podcast was edited by Abe's Audio.We'll be back with another newsletter tomorrow.We also have a clarification. In Saturday's Best of the Week, I reported that VOZ streaming would launch on November 25, as a means for advertisers to frequency cap their campaigns across differing media plartforms. I mentioned that this had previously been announced as December 29. In fact, that date is the full launch of VOZ as a trading currency and remains the same.Have a great day.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Nicole Morris joins us again on Australian True Crime to talk about her latest book devoted to missing persons. The book is simply called Missing, but there's nothing simple or easy about the stories she tells inside. Nicole is the director and founder of the Australian Missing Persons Register, which she created in 2005. Prior to that, there was no national database of missing people and no hub for families who are missing someone to share information, resources and support for each other. Missing, and Nicole's previous book, Vanished, have both been written in close collaboration with these families. The portraits she paints of the disappeared are intimate, in depth and relatable. Click here to view and purchase Nicole's books.Click here to visit the Australian Missing Persons Register Facebook page.Send us a question by recording a voice message here and it may be answered on next week's episode.Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes. CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Nicole MorrisExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from Seven West Media and The ABC.GET IN TOUCH:https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a "Shortcut" episode. It's a shortened version of this week's more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed.Nicole Morris joins us again on Australian True Crime to talk about her latest book devoted to missing persons. The book is simply called Missing, but there's nothing simple or easy about the stories she tells inside. Nicole is the director and founder of the Australian Missing Persons Register, which she created in 2005. Prior to that, there was no national database of missing people and no hub for families who are missing someone to share information, resources and support for each other. Missing, and Nicole's previous book, Vanished, have both been written in close collaboration with these families. The portraits she paints of the disappeared are intimate, in depth and relatable. Click here to view and purchase Nicole's books.Click here to visit the Australian Missing Persons Register Facebook page.Send us a question by recording a voice message here and it may be answered on next week's episode.Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes. CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Nicole MorrisExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from Seven West Media and The ABC.GET IN TOUCH:https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today's conversation features demographer Bernard Salt on what really motivates Australians. Further down, the Unmade Index takes a breather after Nine's financial results were no worse than expected.We've upgraded Unmade's membership. Annual members now get a free ticket to all of our events. That includes REmade - Retail Media Unmade on October 1; Unlock on October 31; our Compass series in November; and HumAIn next year.Your membership also includes members-only content, access to our paywalled archives and your own copy of Media Unmade. Upgrade today.Has Australia got it too good to be great?As the lockdowns of Covid fade in people's memories, some of the changes in trajectory are permanent, observes demographer and columnist Bernard Salt. Technology adoption and the pursuit of more space for home working remain. The Zoom room now takes priority over the pool room.However, pursuit of quality of life was a longer term, underlying Australian trait, possibly driven by enjoying a more benevolent climate than European settlers had known.“We're a free, open, easy, sporty, home-focused people, quality of life-focused people,” says Salt. “And it ain't going away. It was there in the 1950s. It'll be there in the 2050s.”Another factor that shaped Australia's destiny is geology, says Salt in his conversation with Unmade's Tim Burrowes. While the more populous US was driven by farming, much of central Australia lacks the rick soils that would have been needed to settle it through intensive agriculture.The conversation also covers how consumer mindset changes depending on life stage.And in a question that was covered before this week's news that the government has controversially closed the door on new topics for the next census, Salt explains why he wants to know more about the rise of pet ownership alongside the loneliness epidemic.* Boomtown is running a webinar today at 10am Eastern featuring Salt's presentation at the Boomtown breakfast event a fortnight ago.Unmade Index flat as Nine offers no more bad newsThe Unmade Index stood still on Wednesday with the market offering a sigh of relief that Nine's annual financial results were no worse than expected. The index lost just 0.1 points, to land on 456.5 points.Nine finished the day up by 0.75% to a market capitalisation of $2.1bn. Seven West Media gained 2.94%.The Market Limited, owner of Hot Copper, Gumtree and Carsguide, jumped nearly 30% despite reporting a drastic fall in profitability.Today's podcast was edited by Abe's Audio.We'll be back with more soon, including a deeper dive into the Nine numbers.If you're interested in retail media, don't forget that our call for entries for the REmade Awards is live only until the end of the weekend.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to Real News - A daily news podcast hosted by Meshel Laurie and Simon Baggs. Don't forget to follow and subscribe to get the latest episodes in your feed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scott Johnson's naked body was found on the rocks at Blue Fish Point near Manly in Sydney in December 1988. Above him loomed the jagged cliffs from which he had fallen the night before.Manly police were quick to declare his death a suicide, even though gay men were being found in similar circumstances around the Sydney shoreline with shocking regularity.Scott was, and still is, deeply loved by his friends, family and older brother, Steve Johnson.Steve refused to give up in his pursuit of justice for Scott. His crusade uncovered the truth about decades of gay hate crimes in Sydney and the police inaction that allowed them to thrive.Steve Johnson has just released a book called A Thousand Miles from Care, and he joins us on Australian True Crime to talk about it.You can purchase "A Thousand Miles from Care" by clicking this link.Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes. For Support: Lifeline  on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Steve JohnsonExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from The ABC, Nine Entertainment and Seven West Media.GET IN TOUCH:https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a "Shortcut" episode. It's a shortened version of this week's more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed.Scott Johnson's naked body was found on the rocks at Blue Fish Point near Manly in Sydney in December 1988. Above him loomed the jagged cliffs from which he had fallen the night before.Manly police were quick to declare his death a suicide, even though gay men were being found in similar circumstances around the Sydney shoreline with shocking regularity.Scott was, and still is, deeply loved by his friends, family and older brother, Steve Johnson.Steve refused to give up in his pursuit of justice for Scott. His crusade uncovered the truth about decades of gay hate crimes in Sydney and the police inaction that allowed them to thrive.Steve Johnson has just released a book called A Thousand Miles from Care, and he joins us on Australian True Crime to talk about it.You can purchase "A Thousand Miles from Care" by clicking this link.Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes. For Support: Lifeline  on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Steve JohnsonExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from The ABC, Nine Entertainment and Seven West Media.GET IN TOUCH:https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A ‘shocking' set of numbers for Seven West Media prompts the question: can Australian TV survive?  Find out more about The Front podcast here. You can read about this story and more on The Australian's website or on The Australian's app. This episode of The Front is presented by Claire Harvey, produced by Stephanie Coombes and edited by Joshua Burton. Our team also includes Tiffany Dimmack, Lia Tsamoglou, Jasper Leak and Kristen Amiet.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today we talk to author and Crikey proprietor Eric Beecher as he publishes a book condemning the power of media moguls. And further down, the Unmade Index bounces back a little after slumping on Monday and then losing some more on Tuesday.If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* Member-only pricing for our HumAIn and REmade (October 1) conferences;* A complimentary invitation to Unmade's Compass event (November);* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media Unmade.‘They do it to make money and they do it to wield power' In today's audio-led conversation, we talk to one of the leaders of Australia's independent media sector, Eric Beecher.A former editor-in-chief of the Sydney Morning Herald early in his career, Beecher has been involved in building and selling two big publishing businesses, and is currently proprietor of Private Media whose flagship is trouble-making daily newsletter Crikey.Last week, Beecher's new book, The Men Who Killed The News, was published by Simon & Schuster. In it, he takes aim at media moguls around the world who use their influence for their own ends. A major focus is the Murdoch family. Beecher has gone from working for Rupert Murdoch and selling a business to what was then News Ltd, to being an influential critic of the company and being unsuccessfully sued for defamation by Lachlan Murdoch.The conversation also covers the imperfection of the industry-funded Australian Press Council (“the lesser of evils”) his views on the sort of public interest journalism that deserves to be publicly funded (“It's about scrutinzing power and government. I do not believe it includes lifestyle journalism”) and what's likely to happen in the Murdoch family's new succession battle.Beecher describes the unregulated influence of owning a media company as “the loophole in democracy”.We talked to Private Media CEO Will Hayward last year:Unmade Index slide endsThe Unmade Index recovered slightly yesterday after its drops of 3.6% and 1.2% to start the week. Yesterday the Unmade Index improved by 1.08% to 477.9 points.Among the larger stocks, printing and marketing services group IVE did best, growing by 3.4%. Seven West Media was up by 3% after hitting a four year low on Tuesday.Enero, owner of agencies including BMF, hit its own four year low yesterday, dropping to a market capitalisation of $106mToday's podcast was edited by Abe's Audio.We'll be back with another newsletter tomorrow. If you're interested in retail media, don't forget that discounted earlybird tickets are on sale for another 12 days for the next edition of REmade on October 1. And our call for entries for the REmade Awards is now live.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today we recap one of the most talked-about sessions at Unmade's HumAIn conference. And further down, the Unmade Index surges on new data suggesting inflation may be back under control.If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* Member-only pricing for our HumAIn and REmade (October 1) conferences;* A complimentary invitation to Unmade's Compass event (November);* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media Unmade. How AI is already changing life for news breakersWhile the audience at HumAIn voted down the debate motion that AI is an extinction level event for media, its impact on the business of journalism is nonetheless undeniable.In a conversation moderated by Unmade's Tim Burrowes, we brought together a panel of news practitioners to discuss how generative AI is already changing practices in journalism and the publishing business model. Our panellists:* Melanie Withnall, Head of News and Information, Southern Cross Austereo* Michael Davis, Research Fellow, Centre for Media Transition* Shaun Davies, Responsible AI Consultant* Ricky Sutton, Author, Future MediaThe topics tackled included how news organisations are already using AI, combating AI as a source of disinformation, using AI as a storytelling tool; the place for news media if generative search wipes out direct traffic, the challenges of algorithmic biases and the ethics of accountability.Melanie Withnall has since announced she would be moving back to the ABC as head of continuous news, audio and video. She is due to finish at SCA tomorrow.Unmade Index back above 500It was an afternoon of optimism on the Unmade Index after new inflation numbers quelled fears that interest rates might go up again.Our tracker of locally listed media and marketing stocks jumped by 2.77% on Wednesday to 500.7 points. This outperformed the wider ASX All Ordinaries which rose by 1.76%.The index has been stuck below 500 points - signifying a halving of value of Australia's media and marketing stocks since we started tracking them in 2022 - for the last two months.It was a particularly good day for TV stocks, with Nine growing 4%, and Seven West Media growing 5.9%. Southern Cross Austereo, which is in both radio and TV, improved by 0.8%.The two outdoor advertising stocks, Ooh Media and Motio, both bounced too, up by 3.6% and 5.3% respectively.Today's podcast was edited by Abe's Audio.I'm speaking at a couple of private industry events in Hobart today and tomorrow, and not planning a newsletter tomorrow unless something urgent breaks. If you're in Hobart and want to say hello late on Friday afternoon, possibly over a beer, then please do drop me a note.If you're interested in retail media, don't forget that earlybird tickets are now on sale for the next edition of REmade on October 1. And our call for entries for the REmade Awards is now live.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today we talk to one of the world's most celebrated advertising creatives, Sir John Hegarty.Further down, the Unmade Index lifts back towards 500 points, but Seven West Media slumps back to its four-year low.If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* Member-only pricing for our HumAIn and REmade (October 1) conferences;* A complimentary invitation to Unmade's Compass event (November);* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media Unmade‘Take off those f*****g headphones' - Sir John Hegarty on why creatives need to stay connected to the worldAd agency BBH is among the most significant advertising agencies of the last half century. It may never quite have opened its doors in Australia - the closest it came was Singapore - but its local influence on advertising is still remarkable with many of its alumni having built agencies locally.Created four decades ago by John Bartle, Nigle Bogle and John Hegarty, BBH is now owned by Publicis.Sir John Hegarty - who also cofounded Saatchi & Saatchi and TBWA - is behind some of BBH's most celebrated ads. In February he'll be coming to Australia as part of his Business of Creativity course.In this wide ranging conversation with Unmade's Tim Burrowes, Sir John discusses the sliding doors moment early in his career as an art director when he ended up paired with copywriter Charles Saatchi; how a black sheep came to define his career; and the nature of creativity.He also explains his provocative premise that the reason why Sydney is not a great creative hub is because the weather is too good. "A lot of creativity comes out of struggle. You can't sit outside a lovely beach bar and have a beer. You've got to go in and have an idea.”Sir John also argues that the only way for creatives to stay relevant is to stay in touch not just with culture, but with their surroundings. “If you're a creative person, please, will you take those f*****g headphones off? Great creative people are absorbers. They absorb things around them all the time.”He also tackles the separation of media from creative agencies: “one of the greatest mistakes our industry made”.And he shares the anecdote of how his second thoughts about a weak campaign his agency had already sold in, became the acclaimed “Cream of Manchester” ad for beer brand Boddingtons.Further links:* Business of Creativity* Training Day:* The Stormtrooper Scandal* Apple TV: Stones in Exile* Disney+: The Beatles: Get Back* Hegarty on Creativity: There are No Rules* Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson* Backstory book subscriptionToday's podcast was edited by Abe's Audio.If you're interested in retail media, don't forget that earlybird tickets are now on sale for the next edition of REmade on October 1. And our call for entries for the REmade Awards is now live.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade, featuring an interview with the editorial and commercial leaders of The Australian recorded to mark its 60th birthday.Producing independent analysis of the media and marketing industry that goes beyond press releases takes time and resources. If you like what we do, you can support us by becoming a paying member. Become a member todayThe Australian's Gunn and Gray: Is radio the next frontier?; platform friends and foes; and AI optimismIf Meta stops sharing news on its platforms to beat the News Media Bargaining Code, it should be forced to leave Australia altogether, the executive leading News Corp's relationships with digital platforms argues.The comments from Nicholas Gray come during a podcast conversation with Unmade's Tim Burrowes. As part of the News Corp restructure, Gray has been given the expanded, dual role of MD and publisher of The Australian and the company's stable of prestige publishing arm, along with MD of tech platform partnerships.It comes as the industry waits on treasury minister Stephen Jones' decision whether to designate Meta under the News Media Bargaining Code rules. In 2021, Google (owned by Alphabet) and Facebook (owned by Meta), fended off designation by voluntarily striking deals with local publishers. In March. Meta said it would not renew its deals.If designation of Meta occurs, the company would be forced to go into binding arbitration with local companies that appear on the Australian Communications and Media Authority's register of eligible news businesses over how much it must pay each of them to feature their content.Facebook has indicated that it would prevent news links being shared, which would enable it to argue in arbitration that it would not need to pay the publishers.During the conversation Gray argues: “We hope the Assistant Treasurer designates. Obviously then, Meta have a decision.“They've threatened to turn off news as they have in Canada.“If they're designated and if they try to turn off news, we say that won't be enough.We prefer they didn't exit the market entirely, but if they're not prepared to pay for the news that's unquestionably an important part of their service, all of the research says that, and our data says that, then we don't think it's sustainable for them to operate in this market.The call that Meta should be prevented from operating in Australia altogether was first hinted at by News Corp's boss, executive chairman Michael Miller in his speech to the Australian Press Club last month. He called for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which created the bargaining code, to have “the power to ultimately block access to our country and our people if they refuse to play by our rules.”The interview with Gray and The Australian's editor-in-chief Michelle Gunn was timed for the 60th anniversary of The Australian, which celebrated the landmark over the weekend.During the conversation, Gunn is asked about previous reports The Australian is contemplating launching its own radio station, similar to The Times Radio in the UK. Gunn acknowledges that “live audio” is on the table.She says: “We are looking at our success in podcasting. I think it's an important tool for us to grow audience.“Whether it takes the form of live audio or podcasts, and we're still looking at what the mix will be, and what form it will take.”On the same radio question, Gray adds: “We need to be in new places with our brand and our news reporting in the forms that people want to consume it, however they may, in order to develop them as potential subscribers down the track.”News Corp's global chair Lachlan Murdoch already owns radio stations in Australia through Nova Entertainment.The wide ranging conversation also covers the tough publishing environment; The Australian's increasing use of vertical video, lessons learned from failed youth brand The Oz, how AI will change journalism, and The Australian's battles with its rivals at Nine.How Unmade yesterday covered Rupert Murdoch's prediction that newspapers have no more than 15 years left in printThe Unmade Index rose again yesterday. Since the start of last week, our index of Australia's listed media and marketing stocks has risen on six of the last eight trading days.Yesterday saw the index lift by another 1.28%to 490.6 points.Of the locally headquartered media stocks, Seven West Media was the best performer, up by 2.78%.News Corp, dual listed in New York and Sydney, also had a good day, rising by 3.35%, to close at an all-time high market capitalisation of AU$24bn.Only three smaller stocks - Enero Group, The Market Ltd and Motio - bucked the trend and fell.Time to leave you to your Thursday.Today's podcast was edited by Abe's Audio.If you're interested in retail media, don't forget that earlybird tickets are now on sale for the next edition of REmade on October 1. And our call for entries for the REmade awards is now live.Have a great day.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmade This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today, we talk to one of adland's most experienced media executives Michael Anderson as he takes on the new challenge of chairing the ASX-listed research house Pureprofile.Also in this post, the decapitation of most of Seven West Media's leadership team spooks the Unmade Index.If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the best three days to do it. Save 40% forever, with Unmade's EOFY sale. Your membership includes:* Member-only pricing for our HumAIn and REmade (October 1) conferences;* A complimentary invitation to Unmade's Compass event (November);* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media UnmadePureprofile chair Michael Anderson prepares for the AI gold rush: ‘This is going to be the most disruptive technology the planet's ever seen'In today's interview we talk to former Austereo boss Michael Anderson as he returns to the fray as chair of Pureprofile.Anderson is one of Australian media's most storied executives, having run Austereo when it was at the height of its powers before being taken over by Southern Cross Media. Anderson went on to be a board member of Fairfax Media and Ooh Media before taking on the thankless job of CEO of New Zealand's Mediaworks.The conversation - recorded the same day Anderson chaired his first Pureprofile board meeting - ranges across what generative AI-driven synthetic data means for the company (he argues it could be an opportunity); what his board needs to do to persuade the stock market to value the company more highly; and whether a company as small as Pureprofile still belongs on the ASX.Anderson also reflects on the tough media landscape and the lessons that the decline of Mediaworks and its axing of Newshub has for Australian networks. “The value of having news as you lead into prime time became so expensive that the value equation collapsed. I could easily see that trajectory occurring at some point in the future in Australia.”He also discusses how advertisers have abruptly turned their backs on Australia's broadcasters: “This has been coming for a long time and seems to have taken forever to get here. And then all of a sudden is really happening quickly."“Given that we're as close to an economic recession as we're going to get, if not tip over, there doesn't seem to be any let up to what media is experiencing in advertising in the short to medium term, which means it could actually be quite a sustained structural shift.”Anderson also discussed what happened to the merged Southern Cross Austereo after he left, including the defection of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson to ARN when SCA boss Rhys Holleran decided not to offer them a long term contract. Having paid $740m for Austereo, the whole company has now declined to less than a $150m valuation. Says Anderson: “They've done a lot of things that that have contributed to that - so some of that has been management failure, board failure. Losing Kyle and Jackie O would be one of those things you'd put into the basket of going ‘that was unnecessary'.”Red day on the Unmade IndexThe Unmade Index saw a hefty decline yesterday as the share market reacted to Seven West Media's moves to remove most of its top management tier. The index fell by 2.88% to 473.1 points, almost at its all time low. Seven's nearest rival Nine declined 4.18% to a market capitalisation below $2.2bn for the first time since the Covid crisis. Outdoor company Ooh Media fell 4.51%. ARN Media lost another 0.77%.Today's podcast was edited by the excellent people at Abe's Audio.Time to leave you to your Thursday. We'll be back with more tomorrow.Have a great day.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

The supermarkets to face big fines if not complying to the industry code of conduct; Australians saving less than counterparts; Armaguard gets a $50 million lifeline; Resmed falters on new sleep apnea trials; the ATO warns tax lodgers ahead of July 1; job losses at Seven West Media; and Adam Dawes joins us for the Market Wrap.   Host: Deborah Knight Executive Producer: Tom Storey Technical Producer: Declan Helmore Publisher: Nine RadioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today, we talk to the creator of Australian media's most enduring youth media brand, Pedestrian TV cofounder Chris Wirasinha, as he begins to scale up his new venture Linkby. And also in this post, the Unmade Index wipeout has stretched into another week, particularly for audio stocks.If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* Member-only pricing for our HumAIn and REmade (October 1) conferences;* A complimentary invitation to Unmade's Compass event (November);* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media Unmade‘It felt like everybody was getting paid but us' Linkby's Chris Wirasinha on helping publishers monetise their linksIn today's episode of The Unmakers we talk to Chris Wirasinha about his latest venture in the publishing world, Linkby.Like several entrepreneurs who came out of the media and marketing world, Wirasinha has spotted a more scalable tech opportunity as a supplier to his old ecosystem. Just as Matt Farrugia and Henry Innis broke out of WPP to start media mix modelling system Mutinex, and Ben Gunn and Nathan Powell left Nine to start influencer platform Fabulate, Wirasinha is doing the same thing in the space between affiliate marketing and PR.This week, Linkby announced its third round of venture capital funding - a $4m Series A round, to grow its teams in the US, UK and Australia.Linkby provides a new way for publishers to be paid by brands for links in editorial content.During the conversation with Unmade's Tim Burrowes, Wirasinha reveals that Linkby is seeing $30m of marketing spend pass through its pipes, meaning that based on its 30% commission, the company is hitting annualised revenue approaching $10m.As well as discussing the Linkby model, why he came together with his Linkby cofounders and the factors behind choosing a VC-funded path, Wirasinha reflects on how he and Oscar Martin achieved a big number exit from Pedestrian, and the current state of the media market. Hear more about how the founders of Pedestrian TV exited to Nine:Nine lifts the Unmade IndexA better performance by Nine helped lift the whole Unmade Index on Wednesday, despite another tough day for several stocks.Nine lifted by 1.8%, taking its market capitalisation back above $2.2bn. The Unmade Index followed, rising by 0.76% to 476.2 points.It was a bad day for the major audio stocks, with Southern Cross Austereo falling below a $150m market cap for the first time in its history after losing another 3.85%. ARN Media lost nearly 1.5%. Both stocks have lost more than 20% of their valuation over the last month alone.Meanwhile, Seven West Media lost 2.9% to return to its lowest point since 2020.Today's podcast was edited by the excellent people at Abe's Audio.Time to leave you to your Thursday. We'll be back with more tomorrow.Have a great day.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today, we talk digital advertising fraud with a man who knows where the bodies are buried. And further down in this post, the Unmade Index wipeout continues with Seven West Media's growing debt load yesterday overtaking its shrinking market capitalisation.If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* Member-only pricing for our HumAIn and REmade (October 1) conferences;* A complimentary invitation to Unmade's Compass event (November);* Member-only content and our paywalled archives; * Your own copy of Media Unmade‘It's not easy to pick a worse time': DoubleVerify's Jack Smith on fraud in the advertising chainToday's conversation features the man who's been labelled the “godfather of digital advertising”, DoubleVerify's global chief innovation officer Jack Smith.Before joining brand safety service DoubleVerify four years ago, Smith was global chief product officer for the investment arm of WPP's GroupM. In 2007, he founded Media Innovation Group - now part of WPP's Xaxis which can claim to have been the first large scale agency trading desk.The conversation with Unmade's Tim Burrowes kicks off focusing on a new scheme - “FM Scam” discovered by the DoubleVerify Fraud Lab, in which scammers were using software to imitate smart speakers, or hijacking those out in the world. As a result, advertisers were being charged for audio ads without human listeners.As well as outlining the new audio scam, Smith discusses the other places where brands are seeing their budgets targeted by fraudsters.He points to connected TV as the scammers' current big target because it attracts high CPMs. “It's definitely CTV,” he says. “The amount you can charge on connected TV is much higher. Pound-for-pound that's the place where fraudsters are moving to.”The wide ranging conversation also covers Made For Advertising sites; the Forbes scandal; principal media - where agencies resell media to their own clients; Smith's scepticism about whether the finding from the Association of National Advertisers in the US that 64% of ad dollars are leaking out of the chain is as bad as that; and whether advertisers should simply focus their dollars on the walled gardens of social media.Is it a losing battle to stop digital advertising fraud? “The scale of programatic advertising is so much bigger today. It's not easy to pick a worse time.”Further reading:Unmade Index fall accelerates as Seven's debt load outweighs its market capitalisationThe market wipeout of Australia's ASX-listed media and marketing stocks accelerated on. Wednesday, with the Unmade Index, which was already at a record low, losing another 1.54%.The Unmade Index landed on 472.2 points, representing a loss of nearly 53% of its value since the index started at 1000 points at the beginning of 2022.The fall was worse than the wider ASX All Ordinaries which lost 0.5%.Seven West Media passed the threshold where its net debt - $257m when it last updated the market in February - is now larger than its market capitalisation which dropped by 2.9% to $254m yesterday.Meanwhile, Southern Cross Austereo stocks (down 0.7%) dropped to a new all-time low as the company's market capitalisation fell below $170m for the first time.Ooh Media (down 1.1%) hit its lowest point since November last year. IVE Group (down 1.8%) was its lowest since last October.Enero (down 2.8%) fell to its lowest point since last June.Pureprofile, which hit a low point since 2020 on Tuesday, recovered by 11.1% yesterday.How we covered the wipeout yesterday:Today's podcast was edited by the excellent people at Abe's Audio.Time to leave you to your Thursday. We'll be back with more tomorrow.Have a great day.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio led edition of Unmade. Today, we share the closing session of last week's HumAIn conference, where we invited six people from within the media and marketing industry to debate whether generative AI will be an extinction level event for media. And further down, yet more decline on the Unmade Index as Antony Catalo buys a bigger SCA stake.If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* Member-only pricing for our conferences;* A complimentary invitation to Unmade's six-state Compass event in November;* Weekly member-only content;* Access to our paywalled archives - everything gets locked down after two months;* Your own copy of Media UnmadeFrom dinosaurs to chickens - is news media evolving to obsolescence in the face of generative AI?Today audio-led edition of Unmade shares a highlight from last week's HumAIn conference where we invited six pAnelists to debate the proposition: “Generative AI will be news media's extinction level event”.As is traditional for such debates, the participants were invited to impress our audience with the rhetoric and the quality of their arguments on the understanding that these might not be their sincerely held views. They had just four minutes each.The six panelists were:For: Karen Powell, founder & CEO, of B2B marketing agency Omnipresence. Karen argued that the news media industry should face the fact that, like town criers, news media is about to become obsolete;Against: Scott Purcell, cofounder, men's lifestyle site Man of Many argued that AI is an opportunity for publishers;For: Anita Ayres, a fractional CMO, with Tumbleturn Marketing Advisory. Anita suggested that the cycle of disruption will be as disruptive to media as the arrival of the internetAgainst: Tom Robinson, CEO of Edelman Australia. Tom argued that AI is at its peak in the hype cycle, and that people will prevail;For: John Cucka, Head of Kantar Analytics. John pointed out that dinosaurs once ruled the earth, and are now transformed to chickens;Against: Ross Dawson, futurist, keynote speaker, entrepreneur, podcaster, and author. Ross argued that there was a reason why the mammals out-evolved the dinosaurs.At the end of the event, the pro-humanity team, arguing against the proposition, romped to victory based on the votes of an optimistic audience.The panel was moderated by Tim Burrowes while the conference was curated by Cat McGinn.Unmade Index slips as the broadcasters take a spanking and the Cat tightens his grasp on SCAThe Unmade Index slipped another 0.25% yesterday, to 489.9 points, as most stocks dipped.Last night, the ASX was informed that the Antony Catalano-led investment vehicle 19 Cashews, has upped its stake in Southern Cross Austereo to 14.4%. Catalano wants to fold most of his Australian Community Media mastheads into SCA in exchange for a larger slice of the company. Prior to the announcement, SCA slipped by 0.67%Meanwhile ARN Media, which still hopes to land its own takeover of SCA slipped by 5%.Seven West Media shed 2.63% to return to its low point of 18.5c per share. Nine lost 0.35%Vinyl Group - which on Wednesday made the surprise announcement that Luke Girgis, co-founder of its Brag Media acquisition - was unexpectedly departing, lost 8.3%.Today's podcast was edited by the excellent people at Abe's Audio.Time to leave you to your Thursday. We'll be back with more tomorrow. Have a great day.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today, as Mamamia's new CEO Natalie Harvey steps up, she joins co-founder Jason Lavigne to discuss where the independent publisher goes from here. And further down in the post, the Unmade Index falls to a record low.Producing independent analysis of the media and marketing industry that goes beyond press releases takes time and resources. If you like what we do, you can support us by becoming a paying member. Upgrade today.Mamamia hits scale as Harvey takes the helmFor the best part of a decade, Natalie Harvey was one the best known faces of the business of TV advertising, rising to national sales director of Seven West Media. Earlier this year, she moved away from television to join Australia's largest (depending how you measure it) independent publishing house, Mamamia.This month Harvey stepped up from chief revenue officer to CEO. Jason Lavigne, who co-founded the business with his partner Mia Freedman more than 15 years ago, moves in to the new role of executive chairman.In today's podcast interview, Lavigne and Harvey discuss how the business has developed from a single blog to a 150-staff organisation with a powerful publishing platform, Australia's eighth biggest podcast publisher (ahead of the likes of Nine and Nova) and a thriving agency, Squad, which includes clients beyond its advertising roster. Along with growing subscriber revenue, short form video is Mamamia's latest development area.During the conversation, Lavigne signals a route to the “highly profitable” company hitting revenues of $50m (it's not there yet), and addresses the obvious question of whether his change of role is a prelude to an exit (he claims only 15% of his work is done).Meanwhile, Harvey makes the point that her move to Mamamia was about her own development and not a vote against TV in which she remains “a staunch believer”They also discuss how Mamamia has becoming increasingly purpose-driven, around its mission of making the world a better place for women and girls.The company is also leaning into AI, including “Sam” its new artificial voice available to create and articulate scripts for brands featuring in its podcasts. The podcast features Sam in action.Mamamia may be slightly less vulnerable than some publishers to the likely loss of traffic if Facebook is designated under the News Media Bargaining Code and removes news links from its platform. However, Lavigne concedes it will have an effect. During the conversation, he argues that the potential solution is for more effective taxation of platform revenue before the profits end up offshore.How we assessed Mamamia three years ago:It isn't too late to get a ticket to next week's HumAIn - our half-day deep dive into how AI is changing the media and marketing world. Check out the program here.Index slips by another 3%The Unmade Index slipped to another record low on Wednesday, losing 2.77% to land on 506.2 points.The fall in share prices was specific to the media and marketing sector, with the wider ASX All Ordinaries finishing almost flat yesterday.Much of the weight on the index came from the biggest locally listed stock (excluding News Corp which is dual listed in the US and Australia) Nine, which slumped by nearly 4%.Fellow TV company Seven West Media lost 2.4%, and Southern Cross Austereo lost more than 3%.Today's podcast was edited by our favourite people at Abe's Audio.Time to leave you to your Thursday. We'll be back with more tomorrow. I'll be keeping an eye on the ASX today. It's tipped to open down. There's a very real possibility that todayis the day where we hit the milsetone of The Unmade Index falling below 500 points, a loss of 50% sine it began. If so, I'll be reflecting on that threshold.Have a great day.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

It's easy to forget that journalists were once invested with immense trust by citizens. This is no longer the case. Journalists are amongst the least trusted members of society, and it has been largely self-inflicted. The rise of activist journalism over objective journalism, the rush for online clicks, and the narcissistic desire of too many to transition from being journalists to media personalities has blighted the profession. The question is, is journalism beyond saving? Anthony De Ceglie is well placed to answer the question. Anthony was the Deputy Editor at the Daily Telegraph, and is now Editor in Chief of West Australian newspapers, including The West Australian, and the editor in chief of Seven West Media's new evening digital newspaper, The Nightly.Follow Australiana on social media here.Subscribe to The Spectator Australia here.Visit The Nightly here.

The big news publishers in Australia are in an almighty stand-off with Mark Zuckerberg and the tech giant he heads. Meta runs Facebook and has decided its users don't care for news content anymore and it doesn't want to pay for it. The Australian government now faces a choice; pursue Facebook and risk all news being blocked from the site, or let the funding deals currently in place with media companies come to an end, putting journalists' jobs in jeopardy.Today, is it game over for journalism when social media dumps news? Featured: Monica Attard, co-director of the centre for media transition at the University of Technology Sydney

Seven West Media has entered the chat for ARN Media by acquiring nearly 20% of the company out of nowhere. ANZ has achieved a record profit for the last financial year of more than $7 billion, but its firing up quite the competition with the other big banks. DP World, the biggest port operator in Australia, has been hit with a cyber attack that brought their Australian operations to a halt. — Build the financial wellbeing of your team with Flux at Work: https://bit.ly/fluxatwork Download the free app (App Store): http://bit.ly/FluxAppStore Download the free app (Google Play): http://bit.ly/FluxappGooglePlay Daily newsletter: https://bit.ly/fluxnewsletter Flux on Instagram: http://bit.ly/fluxinsta Flux on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@flux.finance —- The content in this podcast reflects the views and opinions of the hosts, and is intended for personal and not commercial use. We do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, statement or other information provided or distributed in these episodes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AustralianSuper, Australia's largest superannuation fund, is in hot water for costing its members $69 million in extra fees. Apple's value dropped by over $190 billion USD late last week after China announced plans to ban iPhones in government organisations. Nine Entertainment is primed to secure the Melbourne Cup broadcast deal after Seven West Media pulled out of the running. — Build the financial wellbeing of your team with Flux at Work: https://bit.ly/fluxatwork Download the free app (App Store): http://bit.ly/FluxAppStore Download the free app (Google Play): http://bit.ly/FluxappGooglePlay Daily newsletter: https://bit.ly/fluxnewsletter Flux on Instagram: http://bit.ly/fluxinsta Flux on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@flux.finance —- The content in this podcast reflects the views and opinions of the hosts, and is intended for personal and not commercial use. We do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, statement or other information provided or distributed in these episodes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Queensland first, and the case of a high-profile man charged with the rape of a woman is facing further delay, Todd Dickinson is set to replace Ben Roberts-Smith's role at Seven West Media, and the second presale for Taylor Swift's Australian stadium tour is underway – and so far, it's been just as stressful for fans as the first.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seven West Media is in a world of pain as the free-to-air ad market continues to tumble quarter on quarter. Mercedes-Benz has turned to its Formula One team for help in building more efficient mass-market electric vehicles. Bluesky, the Jack Dorsey-backed Twitter alternative, has seen demand far exceed its limited invite-system - leading to high prices for exclusive invites. — Build the financial wellbeing of your team with Flux at Work: https://bit.ly/fluxatwork Download the free app (App Store): http://bit.ly/FluxAppStore Download the free app (Google Play): http://bit.ly/FluxappGooglePlay Daily newsletter: https://bit.ly/fluxnewsletter Flux on Instagram: http://bit.ly/fluxinsta Flux on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@flux.finance —- The content in this podcast reflects the views and opinions of the hosts, and is intended for personal and not commercial use. We do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, statement or other information provided or distributed in these episodes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sidney Minassian is the CEO of Saasyan, a leader in AI-Powered Online Student Safety, enabling K-12 schools with flexible cybersecurity controls for the classroom, advanced alerting of cyberbullying & self-harm, and easy reporting of student online activities.A serial entrepreneur, Sidney has founded and led numerous ventures in Silicon Valley and Australia and has served customers across USA, Europe and Asia Pacific. Prior to Saasyan, Sidney was the Founder & CEO of Contexti, a data analytics and AI company which he founded in 2012, built into a multi-million-dollar, 80% annuity business serving 100+ enterprise customers including Seven West Media for the Rio Olympic Games and Australian Open Tennis, Caltex, SAI Global, Suncorp & Woolworths. Contexti was acquired in 2019.

Seven West Media has found a new partner in content-crime with a new partnership with US giant NBCUniversal - so welcome 7Bravo.   Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has announced some pretty crazy results with its revenue looking good.. and billions being poured into the metaverse... but no returns yet.   ANZ has announced a full year cash profit up 5% to over $6.5 billion thanks to the Reserve Bank and its rapid cash rate rises.   ---   Build the financial wellbeing of your team with Flux at Work: https://bit.ly/fluxatwork Download the free app (App Store): http://bit.ly/FluxAppStore Download the free app (Google Play): http://bit.ly/FluxappGooglePlay Daily newsletter: https://bit.ly/fluxnewsletter Flux on Instagram: http://bit.ly/fluxinsta Flux on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@flux.finance   ---   The content in this podcast reflects the views and opinions of the hosts, and is intended for personal and not commercial use. We do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, statement or other information provided or distributed in these episodes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seven West Media is looking to can its $450 million mega-deal with Cricket Australia over a contract breach. Apple is looking at new ways to reinvent the car experience - starting with potentially buying petrol from your car dashboard. AustralianSuper says the total of its members' funds could reach $1 trillion in less than 20 years - which would make it one of the world's biggest pension funds. --- Build the financial health of your team members at work with Flux at Work: https://bit.ly/fluxatwork --- The content in this podcast reflects the views and opinions of the hosts, and is intended for personal and not commercial use. We do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, statement or other information provided or distributed in these episodes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.