Media Roundup: Radio host scrubs resume, Ita's luxury car spend, Sky News and Bolt's defamation woes and Google's AI ad gamble

Journalism

Peter Fegan drops ‘award-winning’ claims

Peter Fegan appears to have quietly scrubbed his résumé after being called out for some creative licence.

The 4BC host was still flogging himself as an “award-winning journalist” for private gigs, even though those awards were revoked after his now-infamous false claims about former MP Andrew Laming.

But after Steve Jackson discussed the claims in The Australian, that little embellishment had disappeared from his Crowd Pleaser profile.

Read more

Ita Buttrose shrugs off chauffeur spend as ‘irrelevant’

Outgoing ABC chair Ita Buttrose isn’t fazed by the $3600-plus the broadcaster spent ferrying her around in luxury cars last year, brushing off questions as “irrelevant” and arguing she shouldn’t be held to the same rules as staff.

Fair enough, if you’re not the one poring over the travel policy.

As David Ross writes in The Australian, the documents, released under FOI, show Buttrose leaned on Corporate Cars Australia, think luxury sedans and limos with a 24/7 chauffeur vibe, for at least 14 trips.

Read more

Legal

Sky News and Bolt double down in defamation defence

Sky News Australia and Andrew Bolt are going all in on their defence against Sydney lawyer Adam Houda’s defamation claim, telling the federal court they’ll argue the claim that he is a 'Jew hater' is, in fact, true.

As Amanda Meade writes in The Guardian Australia, Houda is suing over two Bolt Report broadcasts and an article from January this year, which he says have seriously damaged his reputation.

Houda maintains the claims are false and defamatory.

Read more

Digital

Election frenzy, celebrity headlines and global unrest shape April’s digital news race

Australia’s online audience turned to news in record numbers throughout April.

According to new data from Ipsos iris, Australians spent an average of 4.9 hours on news websites and apps during April, with 96.4% of the online population aged 14+ accessing news content.

Last month;s rankings show how major publishers jockeyed for audience share during a month heavy with political tension, cultural moments, and fast-moving global developments.

Read more

AI

OpenAI taps Jony Ive for billion-dollar hardware play

OpenAI is jumping headfirst into the hardware game, confirming it will acquire Jony Ive’s stealthy startup LoveFrom io in an all-stock deal worth around $10 billion.

The move ropes in the legendary ex-Apple designer, yes, the iPhone guy, who’ll now lead a new division focused on building AI-powered devices.

As Mark Gurman and Shirin Ghaffary report in The Sydney Morning Herald, it’s the biggest acquisition in OpenAI’s history and brings with it not just Ive’s minimalist magic, but a squad of former Apple design stars.

Read more

Read more

Google starts slipping ads into AI search

Google is officially bringing ads into its shiny new AI-powered Search experience, marking a big shift in how it plans to keep the cash flowing while battling ChatGPT’s growing influence.

The move, according to news.com.au, answers the looming question: how do you monetise AI without wrecking the vibe?

So far, generative AI tools have mostly dodged the ad game, offering cleaner, ad-free answers.

Read more

Radio

Kymba Cahill opens up about the painful reason behind her sudden break from Mix94.5

For weeks, listeners of Mix94.5’s breakfast show Pete & Kymba with Ben Cousins were left wondering, where’s Kymba?

No social media updates. No on-air sign-off. Just sudden silence.

Now, Kymba Cahill's returned to the mic and, in an exclusive conversation for Mediaweek’s Newsmakers podcast, she opens up about the toll of online bullying and the decision to step away from a job she deeply loves.

Read more

Radio veteran Pete Graham signs off for good

After more than 50 years on air, beloved 2UE host Pete Graham is hanging up the headphones.

At 73, the radio legend has decided it’s finally time to swap studio lights for something a little softer.

As Sarah Patterson reports for Radio Today, Graham’s voice has been a fixture on Australian radio since the vinyl days, holding court across more than a dozen stations, including a top-rated run on 2WS breakfast.

Read more

Television

US senators warn Paramount over potential bribery breach tied to Trump lawsuit

A high-stakes legal standoff between Paramount Global and former US President Donald Trump has escalated, with three prominent US senators warning the media giant and its controlling shareholder Shari Redstone that a potential settlement could breach federal anti-bribery laws.

In a public letter sent Monday, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden raised alarm over reports that Paramount may be negotiating a resolution to Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit tied to a 60 Minutes interview with then-vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Read more

Keep on top of the most important media, marketing, and agency news each day with the Mediaweek Morning Report – delivered for free every morning to your inbox.