New information on a supposed deal between the King of Radio and his former(?) employer.
Also in this edition of Media McKnight
- Amber Sherlock v Nine
- Media whinges over Ben Roberts-Smith release
- Regional radio ratings
- The Federal Court needs to do better with its livestreams
- Why I’m giving myself a slap
You can watch the video version of Media McKnight in the video player below:
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BIZARRE KYLE SANDILANDS CLAIM
Are Kyle Sandilands and ARN close to doing a deal to put him back on the air?
News Corp has made that sensational claim, claiming the parties are edging closer to a settlement.
That would result in Sandilands returning to the air just over a month after he was terminated by the network.
As you can imagine, this report has sent the media into overdrive.
But, according to my sources, it’s just – and I quote – “wishful thinking”.
Insiders tell me that, as much as Kyle would love to work out a solution, he won’t be returning to work any time soon.
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Sanildands is due back in court on Friday – coincidentally so is Jackie O – and the report says he would do the show with – or without – her.
Which, I do believe to be true.
I’d argue there’s very little chance of a Kyle and Jackie O reunion, especially after everything that’s come out.
Kyle is really hurt over Jackie’s claims and all trust is gone.
Without trust, there’s no way he can co-present a show with someone.
So, that just wouldn’t be happening – even if she was open to the idea, which I don’t believe she is.
Meanwhile, with the pair due in court on Friday and I’ll have a special edition of Media McKnight on Friday at 6pm AEST. Employment lawyer, Michael Byrnes, will join me for his take on the latest legal manoeuvres.
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DOES AMBER SHERLOCK HAVE A CASE AGAINST NINE?
The battle between Channel 9 and former weather presenter Amber Sherlock does not look set to end any time soon.
Sherlock has lodged a claim in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, claiming Nine sacked her because of her age and gender.
It’s a claim Nine denies.
Insiders at Nine have been at pains to point out the role was truly made redundant, with at least three people now on rotation for the 6pm Sydney news weather segment.
They say they can no longer have someone just employed to read a three-minute weather segment and not contribute to other roles.
Those insiders also point out that Belinda Russell, is just one year younger than Amber and is a fill-in co-host for Today Extra as well as a variety of other productions.
This week on McKnight Tonight, I spoke with employment lawyer – Michael Byrnes – from Swaab.
Despite all the noise around the case, including claims and counterclaims about how well liked she was by staff members and – of course – the infamous ‘jacketgate’ video, he explained the core issue that will decide the outcome.
“Nine are going to be arguing, its main argument is going to be, “we terminated Ms. Sherlock on the basis of genuine redundancy”, no other reason. Indeed, if you start opening up either conduct or performance, ironically, it actually weakens that position because a redundancy is meant to be divorced from or separate from your conduct your performance”.
We also spoke about the alleged promise made by News Director – Fiona Dear.
Sherlock has claimed Dear told her over coffee “You’ll be here forever, we’ll wheel you and Pete [Overton] out of here,”.
According to Michael, a comment like that – even if Dear did say it – has no relevance:
“That to me is not relevant in what ultimately was the reason or an examination of what ultimately was the reason for the termination of employment”.
It will be interesting to see what comes out in court because, from what we know, it’s hard to see how Sherlock will win this case.
Nine seem to be digging their heels in and don’t seem to be in the mood for a settlement, but you never know the twists and turns a court case will take.
You can see the full interview with Michael on the McKnight Tonight YouTube page.
And don’t forget Michael will join me on Friday night LIVE at 6pm AEST to unpack Kyle and Jackie O in court, which will be happening earlier that day.
THE CHASE FOR BRS
There’s a certain entitlement the media has when it comes to doing their job.
And if an organisation, like the police, don’t play along, they get very upset.
Take this reporting by 9NEWS about the release of Ben Roberts-Smith.
Look at some key quotes from a story by 9NEWS on the day BRS was released from prison:
“This was Ben Robert Smith stepping out of Silverwater. What should have been a routine release quickly turns into a covert operation. Standard procedure sees inmates at Silverwater picked up from this designated area. Robert Smith instead hidden from the media as correctional staff orchestrate a secretive escape from the spotlight. His extraction captured by our news helicopter. The former soldier in this silver Audi driven by his girlfriend. Corrective officers providing an escort, leading them out through a back exit, eventually onto a public road. A waiting photographer’s car is obstructed, but determined to get his shot, he makes a run for the car that stopped at an intersection. One flash after another until Ben Roberts-Smith turns on a wry smile, giving a thumbs up”.
You can see the report in the video player above.
They don’t like it when the police don’t capitulate, do they?
Look at the language used to paint a sinister picture:
“covert operation”
“hidden from the media”
“secretive escape”
Is there an issue with the Police letting a high-profile person avoid the media?
The media certainly think so.
There is now an investigation into why he was given special treatment – all because the media is upset they didn’t get their shot.
It is interesting how the media believes it should have unfettered access to people because they are just doing their job, but they don’t like it when the tables are turned.
According to The Daily Mail recently, there were ‘panic stations’ at Nine after the outlet ran a gossip item about star newspaperman Nick McKenzie’s romantic history.
Coincidently, McKenzie was the reporter who broke the original stories about allegations of war crimes by Ben Robert-Smith.
And it turns out, the network apparently suggested that because of his high-profile investigative work, McKenzie’s relationships should be off limits.
The Daily Mail says it rejects the suggestion made to them that McKenzie ‘isn’t a celebrity’ on par with Karl Stefanovic, and therefore tattle about his personal life is not newsworthy.
Give me a break.
He’s on the TV and he’s a high-profile journalist.
You cannot shove cameras in front of people’s faces unless you are willing to take it in return.
One of the most hypocritical moments I ever saw on TV was when Ray Martin, the anchor of A Current Affair at the time, really got upset when John Saffron accosted him outside his home.
It’s something A Current Affair continues to do to this very day.
Nine needs to calm the farm and just cop it on the chin when websites are writing gossip columns about their talent.
REGIONAL RADIO RATINGS
Radio ratings for Mount Isa were released last week – three years after the last set of results.
In overall rankings:
Hit 102.5 remains the big winner on a 48.6 share – down 1.2%.
4LM is second on a healthy 18 share – up a massive 11.5 percent.
ABC North West Queensland is in third place on 14.7%.
Triple J is in 4th on 8.9…
And Radio National rounds out the top 5 with a 1.4 percent share.
In the all-important breakfast slot:
The HIT team scored a 49.6 share
Just like the station overall, the 4LM breakfast team is on the rise by 12.9% to post a very strong 20 percent.
ABC North West Qld also did well on 16 percent.
Spencer Howson – who was Brisbane’s number 1 breakfast announcer during his time at the ABC – is doing a PhD into the value of local radio to regional Australians, and was in Mount Isa for the past week interviewing people from the region about their listening habits.
He joined my from Mount Isa to talk about the results. You can see the full interview in the player above.
Considering the HIT breakfast show is broadcast from the Gold Coast, I asked him whether ‘live and local’ is as important as previously thought.
“Maybe local is not what drives people to choose their radio station these days. If you want local information, you tend to go to Facebook”.
Spencer says entertainment in the morning is the number 1 factor when it comes to choice, reinforcing the point local news is available online.
There are many more insights in this interview, it’s worth taking a look.
COURT TV FAIL
Rebel Wilson is in court this week, accused of defmation by actress Charlotte MacInnes.
The Federal Court of Australia is well funded – and well resources, but it’s audio-visual unit is a disgrace.
It’s about time they invested in proper gear and a proper team to showcase justice in action.
And it’s also time they allowed that vision to be used outside of court on TV News bulletins and social media.
Yes, we get the livestream, but there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to look back on open justice.
One other complaint I have is the decision to stop the livestream because a witness didn’t want to be seen.
I believe Justice Elizabeth Raper made a bad decision allowing that to happen.
During the Bruce Lehman defemation action against Channel 10 and Lisa Wilkinson, Justice Michael Lee allowed the testimony of one witness to be exempt from the livestream.
But, because he believes in open justice, he decided a replay of that testimony be played out a short time later.
There are valid mental health reasons for stopping the livestream of a witness, but open justice means allowing the public to see that testimony.
Concerningly, barristers were somewhat mocking of the livestream viewers, saying people can come to court if they want to see the testimony.
While that’s true, it’s now 2026 and open justice is not limited to location.
Open justice means everyone – no matter where they are – should be allowed to see all testimony in order to understand the final verdict.
A SALUTE AND A SLAP
It’s the segment where I praise someone, but also pull them into line over something.
Last week it was Karl Stefanovic… and this week it’s… me.
And for a very embarrassing reason.
First, as always, the good.
The McKnight Tonight YouTube page is really starting to find its audience.
While we’re not at the stats enjoyed by Karl, the growth has been consistent – and organic.
In the last 28 days we’ve had almost 95-thousand views and added over 450 subscribers.
That might not seem much compared to big media companies like Nine, Seven and Sky, but there’s been no marketing for this page – it’s literally just people finding the content in their algorithm.
And while we are monetising, it’s not yet a living wage.
There’s a long way to go.
Over at TikTok the numbers have been amazing with some videos getting hundreds of thousands of views, but monetising there is extremely hard.
Now for the slap, which occurred last week when I was talking about an interview Karl Stefanovic did with Richard Marles.
Unfortunately, I stated the interview was with Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
How did it happen?
I have absolutely no idea.
Sure, I’m one guy in a garage making this content, but it’s just a very weird mistake to make.
It was a brain fart that made it to the final product – and it is very embarrassing.
So, a salute for the work we’re doing from our garage and the growth we’re experiencing. But a slap for getting a key detail wrong.
McKnight was wrong!
A special edition of media McKnight streams on Friday night at 6pm AEST to cover Kyle and Jackie O in court.
There won’t be any editions of Media McKnight or McKnight Tonight next week, but both shows return the following week.
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