Category Archives: Australian media

NSW police commissioner says appointment of media adviser under review after new information received

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Karen Webb says checks still under way in the appointment of Channel Seven journalist Steve Jackson to the role of police media adviser

The New South Wales police commissioner, Karen Webb, has revealed the appointment of a new police media adviser is under review after she received new information about the candidate.

A spokesperson for NSW police told Guardian Australia the review of the appointment of the Channel Seven and News Corp journalist Steve Jackson to the $320,000-a-year role “remains ongoing”.

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ABC broadcaster James Valentine ‘hopeful and terrified’ after oesophageal cancer diagnosis

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Sydney Afternoons’ host told listeners he will need surgery to remove his entire oesophagus and is taking several months off

Broadcaster and saxophonist James Valentine has revealed live on ABC radio that he has oesophageal cancer and is taking several months off to undergo surgery.

The host of Sydney’s Afternoons program, Valentine told his listeners the cancer was discovered after he “choked and retched” while eating curry at a party in December.

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The Juice Media told to censor satirical video with image of Tasmanian premier or face heavy penalties

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Maker of ‘honest government’ ad parodies says state’s antiquated electoral laws could be ‘weaponised to silence critics’

“It was a real ‘what the fuck’ moment,” Giordano Nanni says about his company, The Juice Media, being told to censor an image of Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff or face heavy penalties.

The Juice Media is well known for its satirical “honest government” series, which takes potshots at all sides of politics in videos that resemble government-funded propaganda.

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Australian news media could seek payment from Meta for content used to train AI

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News media bargaining code could apply to tech companies using massive amounts of online information for generative AI, researchers say

Australian media companies could seek compensation from Meta for its use of online news sources in training generative AI technology, researchers have said.

When Meta announced last week that it would not sign new deals to pay for news in Australia for use on Facebook, it downplayed the value of news to its services, stating that just 3% of Facebook usage in Australia was related to news.

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Kumanjayi Walker’s family’s complaint about The Australian’s coverage not investigated by media watchdog

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Revelation comes after inquest into 19-year-old’s death shown texts between journalist from newspaper and Zachary Rolfe

The family of Kumanjayi Walker complained to the media standards watchdog in 2022 about The Australian’s coverage of the Warlpiri man’s death, questioning why the journalist responsible had not disclosed her personal relationship with Zachary Rolfe in her articles.

But the Australian Press Council decided not to investigate the 2022 complaint, saying it considered it was “unlikely that a breach of [its] standards of practice has occurred”.

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Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers argue evidence is not available to rule out Britanny Higgins’ consent

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Lehrmann’s lawyers also admit client’s evidence is ‘unsatisfactory’ but say it would be overstating it to say he is a ‘compulsive liar’

If the court finds that sexual intercourse took place between Bruce Lehrmann and Brittany Higgins it will also have to find she was “so intoxicated as to be unable to consent” and that evidence is not available, Lehrmann’s lawyers have told the federal court.

“The evidence simply does not permit a positive finding of fact that Ms Higgins’ intoxication was, at any relevant time, such that she could not consent to sexual activity,” new submissions filed in Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten and Lisa Wilkinson said.

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Meta on collision course with Australian government after announcing end to journalism funding deals

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Publishers informed on Friday Meta would not enter new deals when current contracts expire and Facebook news tab would shut down in April

Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Meta, has set itself on a collision course with the Albanese government after announcing it will stop paying Australian publishers for news, and plans to shut down its news tab in Australia and the United States.

Meta informed publishers on Friday that it would not enter new deals when the current contracts expire this year.

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Jesse Baird and Luke Davies disappearance: NSW police officer Beau Lamarre arrested amid search for missing couple

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Lamarre, 28, turned himself to NSW police on Friday morning and is assisting with inquiries at Waverley police station

A serving police officer has been arrested as New South Wales homicide detectives continue investigating the disappearance of the former Channel Ten presenter Jesse Baird and his Qantas flight attendant partner, Luke Davies.

Const Beau Lamarre – a former celebrity blogger – handed himself in at Bondi police station about 10.30am on Friday. No charges have been laid.

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TV presenter Jesse Baird and partner Luke Davies missing after blood found at home and in skip bin

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NSW police searching for former Channel 10 presenter, 26, and Qantas flight attendant, 29, after blood discovered at Paddington property and on personal possessions in Cronulla bin

New South Wales police are investigating the suspicious disappearance of the former Network Ten presenter Jesse Baird and his partner, Luke Davies, from Sydney’s eastern suburbs after bloody items were found in a skip bin.

Police said Baird, 26, and 29-year-old Davies, who works as a flight attendant for Qantas, were last seen in Paddington on Monday.

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Lisa Wilkinson told Ten boss she worried about losing Sydney home if network didn’t cover her legal fees

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Court documents reveal details of emotional call with Beverley McGarvey in which Wilkinson blamed network for failing to stop bad press

Lisa Wilkinson told her boss at Ten she was afraid she would have to sell her Sydney harbourside property if the network did not pay her legal fees, according to documents filed in the federal court.

The Network Ten chief executive, Beverley McGarvey, said that in a highly emotional call last year Wilkinson blamed the network for failing to stop the bad press that she believed had destroyed her reputation.

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‘Significant credit issues’ with both Bruce Lehrmann and Brittany Higgins in defamation case, judge says

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Justice Michael Lee made remarks during cross-claim hearing made by journalist Lisa Wilkinson against Network Ten over legal fees

There are “significant credit issues” with both Bruce Lehrmann and Brittany Higgins in the defamation case the former Liberal staffer brought against Network Ten and its presenter Lisa Wilkinson, Justice Michael Lee has told the federal court.

“There are a number of significant differences they’ve given in court, a number of in-court representations and out-of-court representations,” Justice Lee said of the two principal witnesses.

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Antoinette Lattouf lawyer calls for ABC to hand over any communications with the Australian

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Presenter also seeking correspondence between ABC managing director David Anderson and outgoing chair Ita Buttrose

A former ABC presenter who says she was sacked because of her race and political opinion is seeking a court order forcing employees of the public broadcaster to hand over records of any communications they had with a journalist at the Australian.

Antoinette Lattouf was contracted to work five shifts as a casual presenter of Sydney’s Mornings radio program in December but says she was told not to return for the final two shifts.

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Ben Roberts-Smith defamation appeal: news companies argue ex-SAS corporal’s case ‘fundamentally flawed’

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Roberts-Smith, 45, is seeking to overturn June defamation trial judgment that found he engaged in war crimes in Afghanistan

News companies defending a defamation appeal launched by Ben Roberts-Smith over reports he engaged in war crimes in Afghanistan have told a court the ex-SAS corporal’s case is “fundamentally flawed”.

The appeal by Roberts-Smith, 45, seeks to overturn his June defamation loss against Nine newspapers and the Canberra Times over 2018 reports on war crimes during the Victoria Cross-recipient’s Afghanistan deployments.

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Andrew O’Keefe avoids jail time for assault and drug possession convictions

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Judge tells court assault was ‘violent and degrading’ as former TV host ordered to serve 18 months on community corrections order

The former TV host Andrew O’Keefe has avoided jail despite being found guilty of “violent and degrading” domestic attacks.

The broadcaster was hit with three sets of charges over multiple incidents in 2021, including assault causing actual bodily harm, breaching a domestic violence order and possession of the synthetic stimulant drug mephedrone. O’Keefe denied the charges.

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In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org

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ABC denies sacking Antoinette Lattouf and attempts to have termination case thrown out

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Move comes as pressure mounts on broadcaster’s management with union members passing vote of no confidence in managing director David Anderson

The ABC has claimed it did not sack the journalist Antoinette Lattouf from her casual radio role, paving the way to attempt to have her termination case thrown out.

It comes as pressure mounts on the broadcaster’s management, with union members passing a vote of no confidence in the managing director, David Anderson.

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Australia joins international call for local content quotas on streaming TV platforms

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Statement from peak bodies argues independence and viability of global screen industry under threat unless mandatory quotas for non-US content introduced

Australia has joined an international campaign calling on governments to provide better protection for local screen industries in a market dominated by global streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime.

Screen Producers Australia (SPA) issued a joint statement with counterparts in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada, demanding regulation to force streaming services to make content that is relevant to local markets where they operate.

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ABC Sydney staff threaten to strike over termination of radio host Antoinette Lattouf

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Comes as national broadcaster files its response to wrongful dismissal claim brought by presenter

ABC journalists in the broadcaster’s Sydney offices have threatened a walkout unless management addresses concerns over the handling of the termination of radio host Antoinette Lattouf.

On Tuesday morning, the Sydney Morning Herald reported it had seen a chain of leaked WhatsApp messages showing a letter-writing campaign from pro-Israel lobbyists targeting the ABC managing director, David Anderson, and the chair, Ita Buttrose, in the week starting 18 December over Lattouf’s December fill-in job on ABC radio in Sydney.

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Nour Haydar to join Guardian Australia’s Full Story podcast team

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Former ABC journalist looks forward to crafting ‘engaging interviews, stories, and investigations’ alongside award-winning team

The former ABC journalist Nour Haydar has joined Guardian Australia’s Full Story podcast team.

Haydar will be the co-host of the daily podcast alongside Jane Lee. She is replacing Laura Murphy-Oates, who was chosen for an Atlantic Fellowship for Indigenous Social Equity.

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Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers call for substantial damages despite ‘unsatisfactory’ evidence in defamation case

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Network Ten describes former Liberal staffer as ‘fundamentally dishonest’ in submissions released by federal court

Bruce Lehrmann’s legal team has accepted their client’s evidence in his defamation trial against Network Ten was “in a number of respects unsatisfactory”, but not to the extent that he is a “compulsive liar” or had raped Brittany Higgins, newly released documents reveal.

In written closing submissions released by the federal court on Friday, Lehrmann’s legal team also said the defence “significantly and unfairly” overstated the “acknowledged problems” with parts of his evidence.

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Brittany Higgins told ‘complete falsehoods’ amid ‘political hit job’, Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers say as defamation trial ends

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Judge concludes case and reserves his decision after more than four weeks of evidence

Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers have argued on the final day of his high-profile defamation trial that Brittany Higgins told “complete falsehoods” and her allegations were part of a “political hit job” fuelled by her partner.

Justice Michael Lee on Friday concluded the case and reserved his decision after more than four weeks of evidence and submissions.

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