In this week’s On Background, one of Sky News’ premier segments delivers what everyone needs: merch; The Australian cops a spray from the judicial megaphone; a Foxtel leader moves up in the world; and a Seven executive’s very forthright feedback for her erstwhile boss.
New 24-hour cash cow
Sky News is still awaiting the outcome of its trademark application for its new consultancy-coded name, News24, after another media company operating under the same banner in South Africa filed a challenge.
But in the meantime, the crack team at Sky are moving ahead with planning for their rebrand. The crew behind one of the broadcaster’s premier segments (and YouTube channels) is planning to break new ground after being freed from restrictions imposed by the UK Sky News, which forbade certain uses of the broadcaster’s name. That’s right, they’re doing merch!
The first cab off the rank, On Background hears, is merch for Lefties Losing It, the satirical segment hosted by captain of industry Gina Rinehart’s first mate, Rita Panahi. Panahi, we hear, is also set to take the segment on the road in the USA, its cultural heartland and her spiritual home, as evidenced by her recent sponsored pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago.
News24 sailor suits, anyone? Company-branded red caps? Sky wouldn’t say.
Manifestly peeved
The Australian copped a spray from the judge presiding over the numerous charges against former broadcaster Alan Jones this week, with a judge calling a report by the newspaper “manifestly erroneous”.
The initial article, published on May 4, said police had “seized a secret dossier” detailing Jones’ loans to “some of the nation’s best-known media personalities, sports stars and entrepreneurs”. It could “embarrass the long list of beneficiaries who remained well and truly in Jones’ debt”, The Australian wrote, and “undermine any evidence they might give”.
The retired radio host’s lawyer Gabrielle Bashir, SC, told the court that “there is, insofar as we know, no secret ledger”, but, based on the Oz’s reporting, issued a subpoena requiring the police to turn over any such ledger.
Peter Singleton, acting for the Commissioner of Police, said he wanted to “correct the record” by saying he did not know if there was such ledger in the documents seized. “We can’t say there isn’t a ledger,” Singleton said.
Whether or not the ledger is real, the dispute was enough to do anyone’s head in, and it certainly infuriated the presiding judge. Judge Glenn Walsh said he was “greatly concerned” at the publication “about some form of ledger that was going to be the subject of evidence before me”.
“I am a jurist of 17 years standing – publication of material that is clearly not correct may have the effect of influencing others in the community as to how the tribunal of fact should determine this.”
The judge added the story could be read by witnesses to the proceedings “who will have an expectation of some form of evidence that is not so”.
“It may have the capacity of damaging the administration of justice in the trial.”
Later in the hearing, Walsh doubled down on his concerns, describing the article as “not only erroneous but manifestly erroneous”.
In The Australian’s defence, it’s hardly the first time a judge has had a spray at media reporting of something before the courts.
One-two punch
Foxtel’s larger-than-life chief executive, Patrick Delany, is set to be shipped off to London, expected to take on a global role at the company’s headquarters a year after it was acquired by British streamer DAZN.
Delany, Foxtel’s boss for the past eight years, has impressed his new bosses and will effectively become DAZN’s second in charge as its global head of operations, two people with knowledge of the appointment said.
While there are still i’s to dot and t’s to cross, his role will focus on building the platform in Europe, the sources said, where it has a disjointed set of sports rights despite its aims to become the “Spotify of sport”.
While the elevation for Delany is a tick of approval for the job he has done at Foxtel, it leaves a sizable hole in its local operations with no clear successor waiting in the wings. Former sports rights boss Rebecca McCloy was seen as fitting that role, but she too jetted off to a new DAZN role in Madrid last year.
So while Delany is negotiating a rights deal with the NRL, he’ll also have his eye on a potential successor – or maybe some talented Aussies and shows to take with him abroad.
He and former Foxtel chair Siobhan McKenna led Foxtel’s transformation efforts over the past decade. There have been successful swings (primarily sport streaming service Kayo) but also major misses, such as streaming aggregation device Hubbl, which is on its way out despite the company injecting more than $200 million into the project.
Foxtel never achieved its aims of an IPO, but it did become a target for DAZN, delivering News Corp hundreds of millions in cash returned straight into its coffers. And now, Delaney appears to have secured his own cherry on top of that win with his international promotion.
Power strugglin’
What was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Southern Cross’ erstwhile executive chairman Heith Mackay-Cruise, who announced on Monday that he was quitting months after overseeing a merger with Seven West Media? Was it punting a host of executives from the Seven side? Reports Southern Cross would sell The West Australian newspaper that is dear to billionaire (and 20 per cent shareholder) Kerry Stokes’ heart? Something else?
One candidate: a blunt challenge from Maryna Fewster, the chief executive of Seven’s newspaper assets, on a staff call two weeks ago.
Sources with knowledge of the call, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Fewster told Mackay-Cruise words to the effect of “you know nothing about this business”.
Mackay-Cruise’s experience in publishing extends to running ACP Magazines in New Zealand two decades ago. At other points in his career he has worked in the early learning sector, and for Pepsi.
Fewster is known to be close to Stokes, so it wouldn’t be surprising if she had his sign-off to challenge the company’s executive chair so openly. Both were approached for comment.
On April 24, Southern Cross appointed Rohan Lund (a former Seven executive) as chief executive with Stokes’ tacit approval. A week later and Mackay-Cruise was out, clearing the way for Teresa Dyson, a long-time Seven West Media director, to become its new chair. Execs from the Southern Cross side of the merger are expected to be the next to go.
Meanwhile, Stokes’ old consigliere Bruce McWilliam maintains set on upping his stake in Southern Cross, but there are suggestions he may be running his own race, rather than alongside his former employer.
Despite all this, Stokes’ folk insist he is happily retired and watching it all play out from the sidelines. There’s nothing like a corporate scrap to keep you young.
A tale of New York
Moves have been afoot at News Corp these past few weeks. Nicholas Gray, managing director for the premium The Australian and Vogue Australia, is moving to lead the division responsible for the struggling state tabloids including The Daily Telegraph and the Herald Sun. Veteran editor, executive and wine buff John Lehmann is moving from Sydney to Melbourne to become managing director of News Corp’s Victorian operations.
The Australian’s editor, Michelle Gunn, though, has been further afield, making a trip to News Corp’s New York HQ with a contingent of other top brass. One person she won’t have been seeing? James Murdoch, who has been busy with negotiations to buy his own media empire.
James’ private company Lupa Systems has reportedly lobbed a $418 million bid for the majority of Vox Media’s empire, which includes New York Magazine. The news was initially broken by News Corp’s own Wall Street Journal.
Other than the cultural cachet that comes with owning a liberal media company, like high society invitations, it is a great way to get one back at 95-year-old Rupert Murdoch, who owned the mag back in the 1980s before moving on in his relentless wheeling and dealing. Most of the Vox assets, like James and wife Kathryn Hufschmid Murdoch, are anti-Trump. Sibling rivalry is so much more interesting when played out through media assets.
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Calum Jaspan is a media writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Melbourne. Reach him securely on Signal @calumjaspan.10Connect via X or email.