Roundup: Sneesby addresses staff, Lehrmann hearing adjourned, Evan Gershkovich's Russian trial
Cannes Lions' comedy category, Red Wiggle joins ACTF Board.
News Brands
Nine Entertainment CEO Mike Sneesby tells staff: We must address ‘issues of the past’
Nine Entertainment chief executive Mike Sneesby has told staff the network must address the “issues of the past” in order to overhaul its culture amid complaints of bullying, intimidation and sexual harassment, reports The Australian's Sophie Elsworth.
On Monday Mr Sneesby sent an email to all staff and said the company is continuing to “work on driving cultural change” as more claims of serious misconduct emerge at the network.
Mr Sneesby – who remains under pressure amid Nine’s woes – has also urged employees to complete updated mandatory sexual harassment prevention training and also complete an anonymous survey to report sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour.
Business of Media
Nothing funny about AI as advertisers look to laugh off uncertainty
This year’s Cannes Lions festival wants to restore humour to advertising, but underpinning a new category celebrating witty work is wider unease over the creative future of an industry rapidly adopting artificial intelligence tools, reports The Australian Financial Review's Daniel Thomas.
For the first time, humour has been added as a category in the annual awards in the south of France, which showcases the industry’s best campaigns in the past year.
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Lehrmann rape hearing adjourned for ‘no-case’ argument
A rape charge hearing against former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann has been adjourned, with his defence set to argue he has no case to answer, reports The Australian Financial Review's Rex Martinich.
Mr Lehrmann, 29, on Monday attended a Queensland magistrates court for the first time since being charged with rape more than a year ago.
The committal hearing at Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, is part of a long-running process to determine if the matter will go to trial.
Russia sets hearing as it moves toward trial of falsely accused WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich
A Russian court said judicial proceedings in the case of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter held in Russia for over a year, would be held in secret, with the first hearing in a regional court beginning on 26 June, the country’s state media reported, reports The Australian.
The 32-year-old journalist, a U.S. citizen who was accredited to work in Russia, was falsely accused of espionage in an indictment approved by prosecutors last week. Gershkovich was detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service while on a reporting trip for the Journal in March last year.
US officials have designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained and have been working to secure his release. Gershkovich, the Journal and the US government vehemently deny the allegations against him.
Television
Red Wiggle joins ACTF Board
Red Wiggle, Simon Pryce, has been appointed to the Australian Children’s Television Foundation Board as a Commonwealth representative for a three-year term, reports TV Tonight.
Minister Tony Burke said: “You’d struggle to find a more well-known or beloved figure in Australian children’s television than the Red Wiggle. Simon is a staple of living rooms and TV screens across Australia and the world. I’m confident that Simon’s experience in children’s entertainment will be a great asset to the Australian Children’s Television Foundation Board.”
“I’ve been very grateful for the opportunity that I’ve had to be involved in children’s entertainment as part of The Wiggles,” said Pryce.
