Lehrmannheimer
It’s been an enormous week within the media regulation world, with quite a lot of outstanding trials and hearings happening in Sydney’s authorized district.
At one finish of city, there was Antoinette Lattouf’s Honest Work Fee listening to in her ongoing unfair dismissal case in opposition to the ABC, which your humble correspondent attended. In the meantime on Phillip St was the continued Lehrmann vs Community Ten defamation listening to, in addition to the related cross-claims — particularly, former The Challenge host Lisa Wilkinson’s declare in opposition to Ten for her authorized charges. On the similar time, former ACT DPP Shane Drumgold was combating the findings of the Sofronoff inquiry within the nation’s capital.
The collision of the 2 beforehand separate instances precipitated The Australian’s editorial director, Claire Harvey, dubbing the listening to “Lehrmannheimer”, a reference to the Barbenheimer phenomenon, as she hosted Tuesday’s episode of the broadsheet’s day by day information podcast, The Entrance.
In a promotional submit to her LinkedIn, Harvey stated the episode was a “walkthrough on the Shane Drumgold/Lisa Wilkinson/Bruce Lehrmann/Brittany Higgins authorized melodrama”. I’ll go away judgment of that framing to you, pricey reader, however if you need a walkthrough of the case that doesn’t make popular culture references in speaking concerning the legalities of an alleged rape, yow will discover one by yours actually right here.
Media Briefs put inquiries to Harvey, in addition to The Australian’s editor Kelvin Healey, as as to whether the Lehrmann defamation matter was actually analogous to Barbenheimer and whether or not they agreed with sexual consent activist Chanel Contos that the media must be extra accountable when reporting on gendered violence.
Briefs additionally requested the pair whether or not they felt The Australian had a heightened accountability in reporting on the Lehrmann/Higgins/Wilkinson issues, given the paper’s proximity to proceedings, and whether or not they felt it was discharging that accountability appropriately.
Harvey instructed Briefs that the episode was “fully acceptable”, together with the remainder of The Australian‘s protection.
“This explicit episode just isn’t concerning the rape allegation, nor the primary defamation case the place that allegation is pivotal. The title is clearly an allusion to 2 occasions coinciding in the identical sphere,” she stated.
“The Australian — and I personally – each have an extended document of reporting on allegations of sexual, household and intimate associate violence, from podcast investigations to information and evaluation.
“We’re at all times respectful and delicate.”
Newsrooms see earnings dropping
Whereas it might need been an enormous week within the media regulation world, it’s been an terrible week for media shareholder confidence. Seven West Media introduced a 53% half-yearly revenue drop on Tuesday, which additionally noticed shares tank. Seven blamed a decline within the tv promoting market, with its whole income dropping 4.8%.
The promoting downturn is industry-wide, with 9 Leisure final August reporting its earnings had dropped 38%, additionally off the again of lowered promoting income. Workers at The Guardian within the UK this week are additionally making ready for price cuts, with the newspaper’s homeowners reporting a “past acceptable or sustainable” lack of £39 million off the again of declining digital promoting income. Guardian Australia, which can also be owned by The Scott Belief, didn’t reply in time for publication to Crikey’s questions on whether or not the losses would have an effect on native employees.
Job cuts owing to the promoting market have additionally affected this masthead, with Crikey proprietor Personal Media slicing quite a lot of jobs late final yr after a “very difficult yr for promoting income”, in accordance with CEO Will Hayward.
Whereas Seven and Guardian Australia employees face an anxious wait, employees at Community Ten have much more imminent worries, with homeowners Paramount World this week saying job losses in Australia.
Native job losses have additionally adopted at Craig Hutchison’s Sports activities Leisure Community (SEN), with Information Corp reporting his community reduce at the very least 4 employees whereas Hutchison himself was in Las Vegas for the Tremendous Bowl alongside his highly-paid star broadcaster Gerard Whateley. SEN’s share value dropped 9% over the past five-day reporting interval, and Media Briefs understands SEN employees have expressed critical issues concerning the monetary way forward for the corporate.
TikTok ATO fraud
This week, Australian Taxation Workplace (ATO) commissioner Chris Jordan admitted to Senate estimates that the workplace’s “not match for function” fraud detection programs had been snowed below by the size of a scheme unfold on TikTok that noticed 57,000 folks defraud taxpayers of $2 billion, The Sydney Morning Herald experiences.
A minimum of 150 ATO officers have been investigated as a part of the scheme, which concerned faux companies with ABNs then utilizing faux enterprise exercise statements to assert GST refunds.
The restoration effort, dubbed Operation Protego, has resulted in additional than 100 arrests and 16 convictions by felony investigations, in accordance with a report launched by the auditor-general this week.
The ATO instructed ABC Information in an announcement that almost all of individuals concerned within the scheme had been “former contractors or ex-employees and weren’t working with the ATO on the time they’re suspected of committing Operation Protego fraud”.
Strikes
- Piers Morgan’s nightly discuss present, Piers Morgan Uncensored, will not display on Sky Information Australia, with Morgan leaving Information Corp’s TalkTV opinion channel to deal with his YouTube channel. Uncensored was one of many flagship applications for TalkTV, however Morgan described it as an “pointless straitjacket”.
- Guardian Australia has introduced Karen Middleton as political editor, as first reported by Crikey. Middleton replaces Katharine Murphy, who strikes into Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s workplace.
- Former 3AW Mornings host Neil Mitchell will be a part of Seven’s Dawn as a contributor. Mitchell left the 9-owned program final yr after greater than three many years.
Tweet of the week