When she takes on the powerful, she’s a hero, but when she punches down…
In this edition:
- Robin Bailey ambushes Courier Mail journalist over reader poll
- ARN’s big winner: former CEO Ciaran Davis’s payout revealed
- Kyle & Jackie O’s fiercest critics claim credit – and they have a point
- ARN’s future: Karl Stefanovic signed, talkback heavyweights courted
- Gambling ad reforms: what they mean for free TV, NRL rights and local content
- Channel 7 shakeup – who leaked the Mark Ferguson story?
- Ita Buttrose on the ABC, the media industry and the future
- Sh*t I Just Don’t Care About: Gary Lyon’s hot mic apology
You can watch the video version of this article in the player below:
WHY IS ROBIN PUNCHING DOWN?
Some of the most powerful men in media are learning not to mess with Robin Bailey.
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But questions are being raised in Brisbane media circles on whether the KIIS FM Brisbane breakfast host is a poster girl for women’s empowerment or just a bully.
It’s a claim she recently made against a journalist from the Courier Mail.
Bailey took exception to a line included in Mike Gambaro’s wrap of the most recent radio ratings. It was a survey that saw the Robin, Kip & Corey surge 2.1 points, jumping into second place.
Gambaro wrote in the piece:
“Despite the success, the reader poll found 53 per cent opposed their return, with Bailey also voted as Brisbane’s least liked host”
The radio star wasn’t pleased and hatched a revenge plan.
Her producers were instructed to invite Gambaro onto her radio show to talk about ratings the following morning.
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Gambaro, who is on the entertainment beat for the Courier Mail, accepted the invite in good faith.
That’s when the ambush happened.
“Why would you put that?” Bailey demanded to know.
You can hear the full exchange in the video player above.
Gambaro did his best to defend his column, but the host pushed back, saying:
“And I’m not just here to have a crack at you. But what I will say is this, this weekend in the papers, tomorrow I’m, my boys and I are the front page of Q weekend, and on Sunday, you’ve got an exclusive extract from the book. What I don’t understand with this, and I do get that this is entertainment and you’re after clicks, but this should be a positive story about radio, and it’s not even the facts. That, to finish an article like that is just like a mean boy bully in a, in a school yard. Like, why would you do that? It’s so unnecessary”.
It’s worth noting the KIIS FM Brisbane breakfast trio were giggling when they knew they were about to launch into their ambush.
They were enjoying it.
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And despite Bailey saying it was factually incorrect, that is just plain wrong.
The paper ran a poll, and those were the results – whether Bailey likes them or not. It’s also worth noting that Gambaro had also included other results from the poll in reference to other sections of his report.
What about this idea that he shouldn’t be negative towards her because she’s given an exclusive to the paper? Umm, that’s not the job of a journalist. Considering Brisbane is a one-paper town where else were you going to take it?
Using the paper to promote your book isn’t exactly some big exclusive – it’s PR for you!
And – get this – the journo who did the interview with Bailey for that ‘exclusive’ also has a book coming out and when they asked to appear on Bailey’s radio show to promote it she firmly said no.
Now, while Gambaro defended his position, Bailey kept pushing under the belief she should not face criticism.
“Why include it? Why would you finish an article that should be really positive? That’s a choice. You chose to put that as the last sentence. You didn’t have to. It didn’t add to the article. It didn’t add to the ratings. What it did was take a personal swipe at me for no reason”.
“I just wanna call it out because that’s what bullying is, my friend. When you’re mean for the sake of being mean”.
I don’t think Robin’s the victim here. I think she’s the bully. More on that in a moment.
Why should Gambaro’s report be a positive story? He’s a journalist, reporting the news.
Personally, I think that the courier mail poll results are worth including to show that while there is a certain sentiment towards Robin, the ratings have shown something different.
Bailey received the apology she demanded from Gambaro, which she ‘graciously’ accepted.
The story was initially picked up by Mister Brisbane and KIIS even posted the ambush up on social media under the title ‘Robin Boldly Confronts Journo After ‘Unnecessary’ Personal Jab’.
But here’s the most shocking thing of all – the editors at The Courier Mail decided to remove the ‘offending’ line from the online version of the story.
A disappointing decision that the paper also allowed itself to be bullied.
The audio has been shared around Brisbane media circles with many holding the opinion Bailey was actually the bully in this situation – the exact same claim she made about Gambaro.
In fact, some within ARN reached out to Gambaro to make sure he was okay, as did many media people.
How is what Bailey and her team did here any different to the Royal nurse prank call that went terribly wrong in 2012?
At least the hosts of that show didn’t set out to publicly embarrass someone.
But Robin Bailey did. She chose to get someone on her show under false pretences to ambush them.
She used her celebrity power to bully a young journo – just for including a line about a poll.
Bailey has a history of using her powerful position behind the microphone to put people in their place, especially men.
Back in January, she chastised her newly installed boss, Michael Stephenson, for sacking her and the team, only to reinstate them two weeks later.
Stevo turned up to the outside broadcast to confront the music and Baily didn’t hold back.
Now, on this occasion, hats off to Bailey for holding her boss to account. Presumably, he knew he would be heading into a hostile situation.
But it’s a very different thing to ambush a young journo on the entertainment beat who simply included a bit of fluff about a poll the paper ran.
When you hold power to account, you are a hero; when you punch down from a position of power, you’re a bully.
Don’t be a bully, Robin. Be a hero.
THE REAL WINNER OF THE K&J SAGA
As Kyle and Jackie O head to court, there’s one person who’s laughing all the way to the bank – and no, I’m not talking about the lawyers.
Mediaweek reports former CEO Ciaran Davis – the man who did the 200 million dollar deal with Kyle and Jackie O – was paid over 2.1 million dollars after stepping down.
That was up from 1.6 million the year before.
It’s fair to say things have gone to shit since then.
The K&J experiment was struggling in Melbourne, and revenues were suffering due to the ongoing campaign by the Mad F**ing Witches, even before Davies left.
And speaking of the Mad F**ing witches, they’ve been taking a LOT of credit for the downfall of Kyle and jackie O – and it seems they might be right.
According to Callum Jaspan at Nine Newspapers, ARN’s new CEO, Michael Stephenson met the duo’s fiercest critics just weeks before their contracts were torn up.
And, as pointed out on MediaSpy, the group posted this message shortly after Kyle and Jackie O were sacked.
“WE F*CKING DID IT!
WE CAN’T BELIEVE IT!”
“Rest assured, witches, the mainstream media won’t credit us with this win, but WE know the truth. And we have reason to believe our involvement in this demise is even greater than we can currently say … but we hope to be soon able to do so”.
That would seem to make this case even messier – and I’m sure it will form part of the upcoming trial, with Kyle’s hearing set for June.
FROM KIIS TO TAALKBACK?
And speaking of ARN… what does the future hold for the company that’s seen a massive decline in it’s share price?
Well, judging by reporting this week in the Diary section of the Oz, I’d suggest a swing towards talkback radio could be on the cards.
Steve Jackson reports Karl Stefanovic has signed a memorandum of understanding to join ARN at the end of the year when his contract with Nine expires.
Jackson also reports former radio titan Ray Hadley has been invited for a coffee and a chat about his future.
As have other names, including Ben Fordham and Samantha Armytage.
And it makes sense when you ask yourself, “What is the future of FM?”
I can get music anywhere, so what makes radio stand out? Why do I want to listen?
It’s not rocket science to suggest it’s personality-driven – but now listeners seem to want more talk and less music.
Unless FM hosts start to have some real depth and connection, they might find audiences continue to leave.
Ben Fordham connects with people. Ray Hadley, Karl Stefanovic, Samantha Armitage – these aren’t light, breezy FM hosts, they’re talkback hosts.
So maybe ARN is thinking it’s time for a shift to talk, and I think that would be a very smart move.
TV’S BIG GAMBLING LOSS
Television lobby group – Free TV – has raised concerns over the Federal Government’s sweeping reforms to grambling advertising.
The industry body said new caps on wagering ads could hit the revenue that funds news, sport and local content, urging the Government to follow through with promised support.
The Prime Minister announced big changes to the way gambling could be advertised during a speech at the National Press Club last week, saying:
“Between 6:00 AM and 8:30 PM, we will cap the number of TV ads for betting agencies at a maximum of three per hour. We will ban all gambling ads on radio during school pickup and drop off. We will ban cross promotion content that mixes commentary with odds”.
Some reports suggest the changes could hurt the NRL, with the crackdown on gambling advertising threatening to torpedo the NRL’s aspirations of securing a record TV rights deal.
The Australian suggests the expected drop in betting companies’ promotional revenue is likely to soften media companies’ offers for the sport’s next broadcast contract.
And they’re right. Seven and Nine would have factored in the betting revenue to help them cover their bids for the NRL and, later, the AFL.
Without that revenue, the NRL’s hopes of a record-breaking deal might just end up being a pipe dream.
IS MUSHER THE NEW FERGO?
I think Michael Usher must believe in ‘The Secret’ – because he seems to be slowly manifesting his desire to take over Channel 7’s 6pm News.
This week we found out Mark Ferguson and Angela Cox have been reduced to just four nights per week – Sunday to Thursday – with Michael Usher and Angie Asimus upping their duties to 3 nights per week.
Now, what makes this so fascinating is the reporting.
There’s no doubt this story has been given to the Tele, but it’s the spin that really has me questioning the motives.
The article talks about the fact there’s been a modest lift since usher and Asimus took over the Thursday night slot.
That’s not the kind of data a PR department would usually hand out as isn’t good news for Mark Ferguson and Angela Cox.
Although I notice the focus is on Fergo and not Cox – almost like someone was trying to protect her.
Hmmm.
So, is it the network trying to discredit their star anchors… or did the drop come from someone who has something to gain?
State-based figures aren’t publicly available under the new Total TV ratings… so someone on the inside had to have given them to Briana Domjen.
Considering Seven didn’t seem to want to make a big song and dance about the change, let’s just say I have my suspicions on who leaked this story.
ITA’S SAY ON THE ABC
McKnight Tonight celebrated it’s one hundredth episode last week, and to celebrate, I asked my dear friend Ita Buttrose to come on and talk about the future of the media.
It was a fascinating conversation with someone who has been across all aspects of the media.
While I had her, I asked the former chair what she thinks about the ABC at the moment, starting with the recent strike action.
“Well, I think people go on strike when they’re unsure, and because it’s an uncertain world, and probably because there are a lot of changes happening at the ABC,
“And creative people can get very tense when things are, are changing, and I think they’re just not sure of the direction of the ABC and whether their jobs are going to be safe”.
I also asked about how those inside the ABC deal with criticism about the broadcaster.
“Well, when you’ve been in this business for as long as I have, you get used to that. But I think the troops, if I can call them that, the troops get a bit sensitive. And you just have to learn to live with the criticism”.
It really is a fascinating interview, and if you’d like to see more, take a look in the player below.
SH*T I JUST DON’T CARE ABOUT
Melbourne AFL legend Garry Lyon has apologised to Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek for calling her the minister for “bullshit” during a commercial break that was accidentally posted online.
Lyon, alongside Fox Footy AFL 360 co-host Gerard Whateley, was chatting with former Sydney coach John Longmire during an ad break.
The entire episode was posted to a third-party website, unfortunately for them, which also included the studio feed during the commercial break.
You can see the clip in the video player above.
Cue the outrage, but it was an offhanded, funny remark.
It’s been blown up, and I really couldn’t give a shit.
But thanks to the headlines, Managing Director of Fox Sports, Steve Crawley, issued an official apology saying:
“The comment does not reflect our values and standards and was disrespectful to the Minister and the hard work that all politicians do in representing our community”.
Lyons is also quoted in the statement saying:
“I apologise personally to Minister Plibersek. While the comment was meant in jest, it was clearly disrespectful, and I’m sorry for the embarrassment it has caused”.
I get why they have to capitulate, even though they shouldn’t have. Foxtel wants to stay on the right side of the Government and this was an unnecessary own goal.
Media McKnight streams every Tuesday night at the (earlier) time of 8pm. The article is published every Wednesday morning on the TV Blackbox website.
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