Those who were eagerly anticipating the blockbuster trial where Kyle Sandilands goes up against his former employer ARN Media from October 12 may be disappointed.
Well, that is if those in radio industry circles were to be believed heading into the weekend. Word is the parties have advanced negotiations and are nearing an agreement to settle Sandilands’ $85 million contract claim in the Federal Court. If all goes to plan, the settlement could be announced as early as this week.
Sandilands has started work on his next act. CBD hears the former radio shock jock’s next venture is shaping up as a subscription-based live online show – audio and video – with the working title Kyle Sandilands Live.
Expect a number of former staff from his Kyle and Jackie O Show to be included in the project, which we hear will be “uncensored” and will be live five days a week as a 6am breakfast product. That will mean it’s aimed at the same audience demographic as his former FM radio show.
Just when it kicks off will be subject to Sandilands’ settlement negotiations with ARN.
We can’t say we’re surprised. Sandilands has been saying for months how eager he is to return to air, both to pay his mortgages – four of them, to be precise – and no doubt to try and stop his audience from bleeding to other shows.
No word, sadly, on the exact value of Sandilands’ settlement. But no doubt ARN chief executive Michael “Stepho” Stephenson and his chairman Hamish “The Hammer” McLennan will be thrilled to get close to ending one half of the $160 million humiliation ritual that has dogged the company for the better part of this year.
ARN declined to comment. Sandilands’ spokesman was contacted for comment.
The Kyle and Jackie O controversy and associated litigation has created no shortage of reputational and commercial drama for Stephenson and McLennan in the months since.
In late March, Sandilands launched legal action against ARN Media claiming he was owed upwards of $85 million after the KIIS FM owner terminated his contract following the expiration of a two-week deadline the company set to fix his “serious misconduct” against co-host Jackie O Henderson. Then ARN filed a counterclaim. Henderson, meanwhile, has tied the company up in a separate lawsuit.
At least the prospect of settling with Sandilands will give The Hammer and Stepho one less thing to worry about.
One Nation rattles the tin in Melbourne
One Nation’s efforts to rattle the tin in South Melbourne on Friday evening have only added to mounting intrigue over the party’s plans for Victoria, where Pauline Hanson says she plans to run a candidate in every seat in November’s state election.
Spotted inside the high-profile event were some of One Nation’s staunchest supporters, including Gina Rinehart lieutenant and former Northern Territory chief minister Adam Giles, along with Pauline’s daughter, Lee Hanson, and Mark Nicholson, the creator of the Please Explain cartoons.
Others among the 270 guests included comedian Elliot Loney, lobbyist Mark Jones, as well as Danny Wallis, the prolific buyer of homes built on The Block. Also there was Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting spinner, James Radford, and One Nation’s sole seat holder in the Victorian parliament, Rikki-Lee Tyrrell, along with Colleen Harkin, the director of education programs at the right-wing Institute of Public Affairs. Then there was Albert Park hairdresser and former Liberal candidate turned One Nation supporter Michael Piastrino and controversial Whittlesea councillor Aidon McLindon.
Tickets to the Friday fundraiser cost between $200 and $500. A limited number of meet and greet tickets with Hanson and Barnaby Joyce were priced at $2000 a pop. Hanson’s chief of staff James Ashby told CBD 10 people had forked out for the private audience.
The event was organised by Virginia Gibson, who is a granddaughter of former prime minister Joseph Lyons.
Ardern back on the speaking circuit
Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has had plenty on her plate recently. The newly minted resident of Sydney’s northern beaches has had various property inspections to contend with, as she and her husband Clarke Gayford look to settle down in the Emerald City.
But then there’s also her growing list of appearances on the Australian speaking circuit. Fresh off the heels of her stint at Sydney Writers’ Festival last month, Ardern has been billed as the star attraction of the Women Unlimited Leadership Summit in Sydney in late August.
Early bird tickets are going for $1200 each. But we doubt the premium will be a deterrent. The two-day Sydney summit promises a Q&A between Ardern and author Holly Ransom on the “architecture of influence”, along with appearances and panels from NSW Deputy Premier Prue Car, as well as City of Sydney councillor Yvonne Weldon and high-profile ABC broadcaster Annabel Crabb.
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