They may like to think of themselves as an oasis of left-wing calm compared to the dog-eat-dog madness of other Holt St newsrooms - but even the digital day spa that is News.com.au has its moments.
Inside Mail hears a 'raw' transcript from Kyle Sandilands' interview with the Game Changers podcast was the talk of the office last week because it contains the radio star's, er, unfiltered thoughts about the website's gossip columnist Annette Sharp.
The interview was a hell of a coup for Game Changers, hosted by industry veterans Craig Bruce and Irene Hulme, as Sandilands broke his silence for the first time since settling with ARN for about $12million following his contract termination.
Sources say the pre-release briefing provided to News.com.au transcribed Sandilands' answers in full - including certain choice words about Sharp that were later edited out of the podcast before it aired.
What did he say about Sharp? We'll be blunt - he called her a c**t.
According to at least one telling, Sharp was upset when she heard about the transcript - and the possibility it may have been read by her colleagues.
But at least Sharp was able to have a crack of her own last week, publishing a harshly critical account of Sandilands' deal with his former employer, with the headline: 'Kyle Sandilands desperate to accept ARN's bargain basement $12 million settlement, claim insiders.' Meow!
Kyle Sandilands (pictured) was interviewed on the Game Changers podcast last week - and according to insiders, the 'raw' transcript of the chat was the talk of Holt Street because of his colourful language used about News.com.au gossip columnist Annette Sharp
Sharp (pictured) told Inside Mail on Wednesday: 'Kyle Sandilands' use of offensive, misogynistic and bullying language says all you need to know about the man'
Curiously, Sharp's takedown went live a day before a colleague published a far more positive write-up about Sandilands' next move, including the suggestion he might be 'working' with One Nation (this was later hosed down by the party).
It's yet another entry in the growing catalogue of examples of Sharp's acid-dripped reporting being starkly at odds with her colleagues' more favourable coverage of all things Kyle and Jackie O.
Discerning readers will recall that Sharp's forensic post-mortem of Jackie O's manager Gemma O'Neill's finances was published on the very same day in March that Inside Mail favourite Mary Madigan served up a gushing exclusive on O'Neill's 'girls' weekend' with Meghan Markle.
That would have made for an interesting news conference...
As for why King Kyle's remarks about Sharp didn't make the final cut of Game Changers, Inside Mail understands a '15-second diatribe' was snipped at the gentle suggestion of Sandilands' manager, Bruno Bouchet.
There were no legal concerns, and Sandilands made no personal objections, but the feeling was the language was 'not necessary for the podcast', Bruce told Inside Mail.
In a statement on Wednesday, Sharp said: 'Kyle Sandilands' use of offensive, misogynistic and bullying language says all you need to know about the man.
'I'm in good company with a host of many other women, and men, he has [verbally] abused.'
The interview was a hell of a coup for Game Changers, as Sandilands broke his silence for the first time since settling with ARN for about $12million following his contract termination . (He is pictured with his former co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson)
Nine isn't out of the woods yet when it comes to redundancies, but that hasn't stopped the rumour mill spinning about the bloodletting at rival Seven.
Nine staff are said to be so floored by the conspicuously gracious response from laid-off Seven staff that they've hatched a theory that the goodwill is being paid for.
It has apparently been the talk of Nine's TV newsrooms that there was a $7,000 bonus in it if staff weren't publicly negative about their forced exit.
The chatter intensified after a series of gushing Instagram posts and media interviews from female staff who'd been let go, including 7News' Grace Fitzgibbon, who described her redundancy as a 'blessing'.
Seven firmly denied there were any payments in exchange for playing nice - describing the rumour as 'completely false' - so perhaps their staff just really, really love being fired!
Grace Fitzgibbon (pictured) described her redundancy as a 'blessing'. Seven has denied rumours that axed staff were given a $7,000 bonus to speak positively about their exit
P.S. We note that Seven did a shout-out in industry newsletter Social Diary this week for 'feel-good' stories to feature in Fitzgibbon's old 7News segment 'The Bright Side'.
It's always satisfying seeing a scramble to backfill the segment after the reporter who built it was shown the door...
The fallout continues from last week's redundancies at magazine publisher Are Media.
As the dust settles, a source tells us just one person in the marketing team survived the restructure - the rest either took redundancies or didn't get one of the new roles now being advertised to serve their Entertainment, Homes & Lifestyle verticals.
The Marie Claire copy editor was also told to absorb ELLE duties at the same pay or accept redundancy.
There's still no confirmation on whether ELLE/Marie Claire Beauty Director Sally Hunwick (pictured with Nicole Kidman) was let go in Are Media's latest round of redundancies
The fallout continues from last week's redundancies at magazine publisher Are Media, whose CEO is Sally Eagle (pictured)
There's still no confirmation on whether ELLE/Marie Claire Beauty Director Sally Hunwick was let go; however, we note the company is recruiting for a 'Head of Beauty - Luxury' role.
Are Media has also finally replaced Director of Technology Dan Tisi, who was pushed out late last year. Bruce Levine, formerly of ACM, steps in.
A Park St insider wasn't exactly effusive about the hire. Levine is no doubt capable, but his age (early 40s) and background have staff wondering if the brief was simply: 'someone cheaper'.
Meanwhile, surviving staff have another gripe: CEO Sally Eagle's glamorous life once again being splashed across the company's premium pages.
Eagle was recently pictured in the bridal party of a wedding featured on the Homes to Love website... without mentioning she is the top executive at the publisher.
It comes after her 'ambitious renovation' of her Northern Beaches home featured in Belle, another Are Media title.
At the time, staff locked in a pay dispute weren't exactly thrilled to see glossy spreads of Eagle's sprawling coastal home, complete with terraced gardens and a pool.
Any publicity's good publicity?
An Are Media spokesperson said of the redundancies: 'Are Media recently announced a number of organisational changes, which resulted in a limited number of roles being made redundant.
'Like many media organisations, we regularly review our structure to ensure we are best positioned to meet the needs of our business. We do not comment on individual employee matters.'
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas says he's heard nothing further about the threatened defamation action from author Randa Abdel-Fattah, suggesting their once-heated dispute may have quietly fizzled.
Speaking to journalists in Canberra on Wednesday, Malinauskas indicated he was unaware of any progress since Abdel-Fattah flagged legal action back in January.
'I'd have to get an update for you,' he told Inside Mail. 'I've been focused on leading the state at a critical time and haven't received any further information.'
It's a muted response compared to the intensity of the initial blow-up during the Adelaide Writers' Week saga.
Abdel-Fattah had threatened defamation proceedings following her controversial removal from the festival's lineup, accusing the Premier of making damaging public comments.
At the time, she said her lawyers had issued a formal concerns notice, describing Malinauskas' remarks as a 'vicious personal assault' that left her distressed.
The dispute unfolded as Writers' Week descended into chaos - with board resignations and eventual cancellation turning a programming decision into a full-blown political drama.
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas says he's heard nothing further about the threatened defamation action from author Randa Abdel-Fattah
But despite the legal threats and sharp rhetoric, there's been no sign of any case being lodged.
Inside Mail aren't lawyers, but like Writers' Week itself, this saga seems to have collapsed before it ever really began.
Congratulations are in order for the Daily Mail's very own Jana Hocking.
The columnist is set to join KIIS 106.5's breakfast show for the next two weeks as its celebrity news host, while also popping up across other segments.
The stint follows the launch of her national show, Saucy Secrets, on KIIS FM in September last year, pulling triple duty across radio, YouTube and podcast platforms.
Congratulations are in order for the Daily Mail's very own Jana Hocking, who is set to join KIIS 106.5's breakfast show for the next two weeks as its celebrity news host
Barnaby Joyce's absence from Parliament this week hasn't gone unnoticed in Canberra - and now the answer is clearer. While not listed on the official program, Inside Mail can reveal the former Nationals leader is in London for the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference.
According to Inside Mail spies, Joyce was seen travelling business class to the UK alongside his wife, Vikki Campion, joining a contingent of Australian right-wingers who have converged on the high‑profile gathering.
Held from 23–25 June at Olympia London, the ARC conference pitches itself as a meeting of global 'builders', focused on 'human flourishing' and a new 'Age of Reconstruction'.
Inside Mail can reveal the former Nationals leader is in London for the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference along with his wife, Vikki Campion (pictured together)
It's a fancy way of saying 'conservative'.
Two former prime ministers, Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott, are among the headline speakers, joined by a tight circle of commentators and political figures including Peta Credlin, Rowan Dean and Greg Sheridan. Former deputy prime minister John Anderson and Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie are also in attendance.
Joyce also found time to sit down with Karl Stefanovic, with the embattled Nine personality revealing he sat down with him and former Neighbours star-turned-right-wing activist - and friend of Nigel Farage - Holly Vallance for a chat on his podcast.
Whether this one gets pulled, like the Tommy Robinson interview, remains to be seen.
Australia's ambitions for a future FIFA World Cup bid may already be facing an early hurdle, with Inside Mail hearing that senior FIFA figures were left unimpressed by Anthony Albanese's absence from the tournament in the United States.
While sending the PM abroad amid a persistent cost‑of‑living crisis and following a deeply divisive Budget to watch football may not have been the best political optics domestically, the decision appears to have carried consequences internationally.
Instead, Australia's presence was led by a lone Labor representative, Jerome Laxale, alongside a number of Liberal MPs who attended as part of a Football Australia delegation, notably at no cost to taxpayers.
Even so, the scaled‑back political showing is understood to have left a sour impression among FIFA chiefs. An own goal?
The NSW Young Nationals are gearing up for their state conference in Nelson Bay next month, and if the draft motions are anything to go by, the policy workshop leaves more questions than answers.
Inside Mail's most curious pick? Motion 17 - a proposal to introduce minimum fitness standards for political candidates seeking preselection.
Yes, really.
Hopeful MPs could soon face not just factional numbers and branch stacking anxieties, but a 'minimum fitness and health screening' before they are allowed anywhere near a ballot.
Inside Mail can only assume this raises some practical questions.
Will preselections begin with a beep test in the car park? A timed regional sprint? A compulsory push-up quota before you're allowed to hand out how-to-vote cards?
It's a mercy that Barnaby jumped to One Nation when he did.
In a sign the Liberal Party is losing its grip on its traditional base, Harris Farm Markets CEO Angus Harris - a favourite in Sydney's once staunchly Liberal eastern suburbs - couldn't resist taking a swipe at Angus Taylor.
Speaking at an Amazon event in Parliament House on Tuesday, Harris was among the guest speakers, appearing midway through the program after Australian cricket stars Usman Khawaja and Nathan Lyon.
Harris Farm Markets CEO Angus Harris couldn't resist taking a swipe at Angus Taylor (pictured)
When introducing him, the emcee mistakenly referred to Harris as 'Angus Taylor'.
Taking the stage, Harris leaned into the mix-up, joking he could relate to the opposition leader.
'I feel bad for going after the cricketers because everyone is leaving, just like Angus Taylor.'
Ouch.
Inside Mail thinks Taylor might want to pencil in some urgent face time with NSW Liberal leader, and Vaucluse MP, Kellie Sloane for a crash course on winning back voters who don't blink at paying $80 a kilo for artisan cheese.
Parliament was alive with the sound of music as politicians took to the stage to show off their musical chops at the launch of the Parliamentary Friends of Live Music.
Co-chaired by Labor's Cassandra Fernando and the Nationals' Sam Birrell, the event featured a steady stream of MPs stepping into the spotlight.
Arts Minister Tony Burke put his money where his mouth is, performing on guitar with his band of fellow Labor MPs, Left Right Out, belting out The Angels' classic Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again.
The lineup included Julie-Ann Campbell and Luke Gosling on vocals, Patrick Gorman on bass, Susan Templeman on tambourine, and guest of honour Tim Minchin on keys and vocals.
Before the set, Minchin addressed the room on the importance of supporting and investing in live music. Best known for his sharp musical comedy, he is also the composer and lyricist behind the Tony Award-winning Matilda the Musical.
Meanwhile Fernando teamed up with Birrell for a bipartisan duet, while the LNP's Angie Bell impressed with her saxophone stylings on Baker Street.
Parliament was alive with the sound of music as politicians took to the stage to show off their musical chops at the launch of the Parliamentary Friends of Live Music
Politicians hit the stage to show off their own musical prowess
The room was packed with MPs watching, with Melissa Price spotted enthusiastically singing along to Bell's performance.
Minchin's appearance drew a crowd, with plenty angling for photos, none more so than Labor MP for Cooper Ged Kearney, who was clearly thrilled.
'I'm Ged,' she said in a fan-girl tone when meeting Minchin, beaming with excitement.
Australia's most iconic giraffe made his way into Parliament on Tuesday, with Life Education's Healthy Harold fronting an event with Google on social media safety.
Cue the stampede of politicians angling for a photo.
No one appeared more eager to restore order than Speaker of the House Milton Dick, who stepped in to manage the chaos, marshalling MPs into place to ensure everyone got their moment with Harold in something resembling calm.
After gathering the crowd for a group shot, he was quick to move things along.
'Now I can get one with Harold alone,' he said, shooing colleagues away.
Dick, who was also speaking at the event, had earlier been left stalling as the room waited for Harold's arrival.
Addressing a group of schoolchildren, he reflected on the giraffe's lessons for young people, observing, somewhat curiously, that giraffes were 'good sharers'.
One attendee was overheard muttering in response: 'They don't have hands.'
Milton Dick stepped in to bring order to the chaos as MPs fought for a photo with Harold
They say if you repeat something often enough, it starts to sound true, and no one seems more committed to that theory than Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson, who has been working overtime to will leadership tensions inside the Labor Party into existence.
As Anthony Albanese edges towards the halfway mark of his second term, the perennial question of succession has begun to bubble again in Canberra circles.
Health Minister Mark Butler and Treasurer Jim Chalmers have both been floated as potential heirs apparent.
Wilson, unsurprisingly, has picked his favourite.
On Sunday, after Albanese declined to be drawn on whether he saw Butler as a future leader, Wilson declared the 'momentum' behind Butler to topple the PM was 'growing'.
Determined to keep the narrative alive, Wilson pointed to Butler's relatively low profile in the first sitting days of the week, noting the absence of any questions for Butler during Question Time.
'No Dorothy Dixer to [Mark Butler], Albanese is trying to stall the Markmentum,' he said.
Tim Wilson has spent the week attempting to get 'Markmentum' building within Labor ranks
He then sought to rope Chalmers into the theory as well, claiming even the Treasurer was quietly backing Butler following a joint press conference on Tuesday, suggesting Albanese had awkwardly snubbed his own Treasurer by failing to anoint him as successor.
Is any of this true? Probably not. But if Butler does plan a challenge, can his staff let Inside Mail know first?
Adrian Portelli's vanity project My Reno Rules is unlikely to return in 2027, with Inside Mail hearing there is no longer enough time to produce a second season before next year.
Sources tell us the network is insistent the show must air before Nine's The Block and there simply isn't enough pre-production time to make that happen.
While ratings were good for the renovation series, the biggest drawcard for Seven was the fact Portelli paid for the entire thing, which certainly helped the network in these financially troubled times.
Adrian Portelli's vanity project My Reno Rules is unlikely to return in 2027, Inside Mail hears. (Portelli is pictured)
Complicating matters, Portelli hasn't signed on for another season. With each episode costing nearly $1million, it remains to be seen whether Portelli achieved his commercial ambitions.
He was undoubtedly the star attraction, relegating Dr Chris Brown to a supporting role, and there's a certain intrigue to the man once dubbed 'Lambo Guy'.
But unless Portelli bankrolls the project out of his own pocket, Seven insiders say the show's future is doubtful.
That said, the network would happily make more - after all, at zero cost, the price is right!
Former Sunrise host David Koch has taken aim at the TV Week Logie Awards for snubbing the current hosts of the show he once fronted.
Posting to Instagram, the breakfast TV veteran - credited with reshaping the genre in Australia - highlighted the nominees for the 'Ray Martin Award for Most Popular News or Public Affairs Presenter'.
A frustrated Kochie captioned the post: 'So let me get this straight @tvweeklogiesawards @tvweekmag Most Popular News or Public Affairs Presenter nominees for this year's Logies contains both @today.show hosts but neither @sunriseon7 hosts.'
Kochie then pointed out that Sunrise is way ahead of its rivals, having won the ratings war every single day this year, averaging 424,000 daily viewers compared to Today's 308,000.
Former Sunrise host David Koch has taken aim at the TV Week Logie Awards for snubbing the current hosts of the show he once fronted. (He is pictured on the show with co-host Nat Barr)
Koch noted that both Today hosts are nominated for Logies, despite their show being behind Sunrise in ratings. (Pictured: Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo)
The man has a point.
Today was once a competitor to Sunrise, but those days are long gone.
Kochie continued: 'This has been going on for years. If you ever complain you're seen as a bad sport. But now I'm out of it I can say @tvweeklogiesawards @tvweekmag honestly WTF?'
WTF indeed.
Perhaps you believe awards like this shouldn't be decided by ratings alone. That's a reasonable point.
Even though the category is titled 'Most Popular', maybe you feel it should come down to the quality of the submissions.
We actually agree on that point. However, Nine's entries were lacklustre - thrown together at the last minute, featuring little of the nominated presenter and instead focusing on highlights from the Bondi massacre with all presenters included.
And the Logies judging panel explicitly instructs judges to consider ratings.
So, did the judges properly review the entries, or merely skim them?
How did a show with much lower ratings and a poor submission secure nominations for both presenters, while the top-rated show missed out?
As Kochie put it: 'WTF?'
Andrew Hastie is clearly making his pitch to take over from Angus Taylor as Liberal leader. He used the party room meeting in Canberra this week to appeal to moderates, saying he has no plans to 'bend the knee' when it comes to One Nation, and that he wants to 'do them slowly'.
For the uninitiated, 'bending the knee' is a Game of Thrones reference - an odd choice for the religiously conservative Mr Hastie, given the show's famously explicit content.
The remark about 'doing One Nation slowly' echoes Paul Keating's infamous jibe as prime minister in Parliament before the 1993 election.
Andrew Hastie is clearly making a pitch to take over from Angus Taylor as Liberal leader
After opposition leader John Hewson pressed him to call an early poll the Coalition thought they couldn't lose, Keating roared back that he wasn't in any rush - because he 'wanted to do you slowly.'
Once again, it feels somewhat naive if Hastie isn't aware of the sexual connotations attached to the phrase. If he was, perhaps he might have decided not to quote Paul Keating on his plans for politically overcoming Pauline Hanson.
It reminded us of Keating! The Musical, in which the actor on stage playing Keating certainly understood those connotations, complete with hip-gyrating moves while singing the song about it.
There is also a touch of Mr Smith Goes to Washington about Hastie's performance. Jimmy Stewart's character was the wide-eyed innocent who arrived in the US Senate believing that politics might live up to its own noble rhetoric, only to discover the cynical machinery waiting for him.
Hastie seems to want the moral clarity of that role, the earnest outsider telling hard truths to a fallen system. The problem is that he's been in Parliament for more than a decade now. At some point, naivety stops looking charming and starts looking like a strategy.
Labor loves a costing war. They waged one against Peter Dutton at the last election, and now they're targeting Pauline Hanson. One Nation, we are told, must submit its plans to the Parliamentary Budget Office. Voters deserve transparency after all.
All very noble, all very convenient, but also deeply hypocritical. Because Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers have developed their own innovative approach to election costings: keeping their plans secret until the votes are safely counted, then break election promises and make announcements afterwards.
Labor is waging a costing war against Pauline Hanson (pictured)
Why submit a policy to the PBO before polling day when you can simply deny it exists, win the election, and discover it later? Capital gains tax changes, negative gearing, superannuation, discretionary trusts - none were front and centre during recent campaigns, most were ruled out. Yet all materialised once Labor took office.
It's a neat trick. Attack opponents for not costing the policies they bother to announce, while dodging scrutiny on the policies you hide.
At least Hanson and the Liberals are putting things on the table to be pulled apart. Labor's model is to say nothing, accuse everyone else of secrecy, and do the exact opposite once those pesky voters are no longer a concern.
The next time Labor demands their opponents submit every policy to the PBO, someone should ask: will Labor be submitting the policies they don't intend to tell voters about? Not that the parliamentary press gallery is up to such lateral thinking.
This is the real black hole in Australian politics. Not Hanson's half-baked ideas or the Liberals' late announcements, but Labor policies that only appear after polling day. Why would anybody think that things will suddenly be any different next time?
此内容由惯性聚合(RSS阅读器)自动聚合整理，仅供阅读参考。 原文来自 — 版权归原作者所有。