Unmade: media and marketing analysis

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today we’ve an episode of our series focusing on industry startups, The Unmakers. We talk to the latest entrant into the increasingly competitive marketing mix modelling sector, Jordan Taylor-Bartels, the co-founder of Prophet. In today’s episode of The Unmakers, we talk to Jordan Taylor-Bartels about Prophet, the analytics platform he’s been quietly building for the last three years, before finally publicly launching it in March. There were several industry investors attached to the launch, including Australian Community Media proprietor Antony Catalano, and ex-Dentsu (now Bastion) executive Cheuk Chiang. To add to the spice, Chiang was an early investor in media mix modelling platform Mutinex, although he parted ways early in the project. Although recently an owner of indie media agency Magic, much of Taylor-Bartels career has been spent outside of media, including at a couple of Elon Musk companies in the US. At the start of his career, Taylor-Bartels studied media and journalism at RMIT and created his own culture magazine, Helmet. In today’s conversation, Taylor-Bartels explains his approach to simplifying the variabilities of marketing, talks through the launch team and plots a path for where Prophet grows from here. Today’s podcast was edited by Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, editing and production. We’ll be back with more tomorrow. Have a great day. Toodlepip… Tim Burrowes Publisher - Unmade tim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to Start the Week, our audio-led Monday scene-setter for the week ahead. Today: Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson smash onto the Melbourne airwaves, and go full bore from the first talk break; Cosmo magazine is coming back; and the coming war between Australia and the digital giants Have you considered becoming a paying member of Unmade to get the full picture? Only our paying members receive our members-only Tuesday analysis; get access to our archive where all our content is paywalled after two months; get their own copy of Media Unmade; and receive discounts on all our events. Become a member today! Melbourne makes up its mind about the K+J Show Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson exploded onto the Melbourne airwaves this morning with a family-unfriendly half hour opening talk break that kept the bleeper operator busy (we include a small excerpt in today’s podcast). Introducing the team behind the Sydney-based Kyle & Jackie O Show to the Kiis Melbourne audience, Sandilands and Henderson ranged through topics including sex acts, sexual preferences and sexually transmitted diseases. There were also moments of dead air where local feeds failed to fill the ad break, for the digital audio stream at least, as ARN grappled with the technicalities of a live national show with local inserts. And ARN pulled a switcheroo on Fox FM, upgrading the prize in their secret sound contest to $200,000 Also today, we examine Australian’s increasingly fractious relationship with the digital behemoths including Google, TikTok, Facebook and Twitter. And Cosmo is returning. Further reading: * New York Times: Congress Passed a Bill That Could Ban TikTok. Now Comes the Hard Part * Capital Brief: Leadership vacuum at TikTok Australia as US ban looms * Australian Financial Review: Small player Twitter * Australian Financial Review: Facebook shifts more than $1.1b offshore as local profits rise 36pc * Australian Financial Review: Google hides its total revenue from Australia in new accounts Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes and Abe Udy Time to leave you to start your week. Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production. Toodlepip… Tim Burrowes tim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead. Today: TikTok piles the pressure on the television industry as US legislators put the squeeze on the short form video platform; the TV revenue slump still hasn’t hit bottom; how consumers are making brand compromises in the cost of living crunch. Today: * The US House of Representatives voted over the weekend to force the Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok or be banned. That means the law could be on Joe Biden’s desk for signing within days if the Senate votes on it this week. If ByteDance refuses to sell, will Australia ban TikTok too?; * Seven had one of the worst weeks in the company’s history. Analysts describe it as a “one trick pony”, and that TV trick is no longer working; * Hard-up consumers are disguising their Aldi tomato sauce in big brand bottles; * The ABC has upped its marketing spend, but is $6m a quarter enough? Further reading: * The Guardian: US House passes bill that could lead to total TikTok ban * Australian Financial Review: TV networks have lost 83pc of young viewers to TikTok, YouTube * Unmade: If a TV network puts a roof over a rapist’s head, employs a war criminal and pays a creep it might just have a culture problem * The Australian: Bleak outlook for Seven West Media shares, says analyst * The Australian: Seven launch internal investigation over incorrectly naming the wrong Bondi killer on Weekend Sunrise * Unmade: Born to be mild: New Seven boss’s first staff memo * The Australian: Consumer brand loyalty declines in hard times, research finds * The Australian: ABC’s spending on advertising, marketing and promotions has soared, new data shows Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes and Abe Udy Time to leave you to start your week. Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production. Toodlepip… Tim Burrowes tim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today we talk to Anthony DeCeglie, the editor-in-chief of Seven West Media’s Perth-based news masthead operations including The West Australian, Perth Now and the group’s newest text-led news brand - The Nightly. ‘There’s nothing more impactful than a front page’: Anthony DeCeglie on why The Nightly is edition-led Today’s conversation features two players from Australia’s news landscape. At the end of February, the country got a new national news brand - The Nightly, published from the same stable as The West Australian. Although a digital-only product which covers breaking news, The Nightly is centred around an evening edition, complete with impactful front page, and the ability for advertisers to buy full page ads inside. The man who has led the project is Anthony DeCeglie, who also heads up The West Australian. In today’s conversation, he explains the rationale behind the launch, rebuts the theory that the main reason was to deliver greater influence, and reveals that the advertising-supported project has been profitable from the start. Also participating the conversation with Unmade’s Tim Burrowes is Vanessa Lyons, CEO of industry body ThinkNewsBrands. According to Lyons, The Nightly taps into a readership trend of a spike in evening reading. She also points to a wider trend in all the major state-based news mastheads of significant readership from other parts of the country. According to the Roy Morgan Readership data, West Australia’s news mastheads have more readership in the east than the west, with 2.2m readers to 1.6m. “There is a significant amount of out-of-state readership”, says Lyons. “They have the highest out of state readership over any state or territory which is pretty significant. If you’ve got a strong eastern seaboard following, it makes sense.” The conversation also checks in on the progress of Streamer, the community sport video streaming platform launched out of The West Australian last year. And DeCeglie pushes back on reporting in rival title The Australian Financial Review suggesting the launch of The Nightly has sparked internal tensions within Seven West Media. Production on today’s podcast was by the ever-helpful Abe’s Audio. The ringing phone in one of the questions was entirely my fault. Time to leave you to your Thursday. We’ll be back tomorrow with a focus on the retail media landscape. Toodlepip… Tim Burrowes Publisher - Unmade tim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead. Today: How Nine’s radio and TV operations shone in the aftermath of Saturday’s Bondi Junction attack, while the ABC failed to launch and Seven named the wrong man. 2GB steps up as other broadcasters fail Saturday afternoon saw many broadcasters caught flatfooted as news began to break of the murderous attack at Bondi Junction. With weekend production levels and staff on holiday because of the school break, many were slow to react. The ABC’s TV news channel stuck with its rebroadcast of Planet America, while its radio arm continued to air a food documentary. ABC Sydney remained with a sports call. By contrast, 2GB’s Continuous Call Team, led by Mark Levy, switched to rolling coverage from their commentary box in Parramatta after breakfast host Ben Fordham called in to break the news. Meanwhile, the social platform formerly known as Twitter was an utter cesspool. In today’s podcast: * How 2GB dominated on Sydney’s biggest news day of the year; * Why was the ABC so slow to go live on radio or TV?; * How did Seven name the wrong man?; * Countdown to 10.15am as the Bruce Lehrmann verdict arrives; * Fastfood ads the next target Further reading (and listening): * 2GB: The Continuous Call Team – Full Show Saturday April 13th 2024 * The Australian: Channel 7 presenter Matt Shirvington names innocent man Benjamin Cohen as Bondi Junction killer * The Guardian: False claims started spreading about the Bondi Junction stabbing attack as soon as it happened * Twitter: LittleMykonos - “Where was Westfield securirty?” * Sydney Morning Herald: ‘Books will be written’: Judgment day in Lehrmann defamation case * Australian Financial Review: Media fury as Albanese government flirts with $400m fast food ad ban Don’t forget your HumAIn earlybird deadline Last week we revealed the program for HumAIn, our conference focusing on how AI will change marketing and media. That’s all the information you need to decide whether to join us on May 28. The 20% earlybird discount expires tomorrow, so today’s the day to make up your mind. Today’s episode of Start the Week features Tim Burrowes and Abe Udy Time to leave you to start your week. Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production. Toodlepip… Tim Burrowes tim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today we discuss how psychologist Daniel Kahneman changed marketing thinking with his work on behavioural economics. And further down in this post, after hitting an all time low on Tuesday the Unmade Index continues to sink. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes: * Member-only pricing for our HumAIn (May 28) and REmade (October 1) conferences; * A complimentary invitation to Unmade’s Compass event (November); * Member-only content and our paywalled archives; * Your own copy of Media Unmade Daniel Kahneman and the rethinking (fast and slow) of advertising strategy Today’s conversation features Australia’s most visible consumer psychologist Adam Ferrier, discussing the huge contribution Daniel Kahneman - who died at the end of March - made to the field of behavioural economics. Kahneman’s most famous publication, Thinking, Fast and Slow, found a place on the bookshelf of every agency strategist. It was only published in 2011 but his ideas on the field of behavioural economics - the concept that humans act in predictably irrational ways - had already begin to influence those in the persuasion business. Among Kahneman’s most important contributions was popularising the concept of System 1 and System 2 types of thinking, whether consumers are behaving automatically or consciously. During the conversation, Ferrier describes how the impact of Thinking, Fast and Slow helped turn his agency Naked Communications into one of Australia’s most talked about by leaning into the concepts. Ferrier is now co-founder of communications agency Thinkerbell and co-presents the Black T-Shirts creativity podcast. Later in the year Ferrier will be reviving the MSIX - Marketing Science Ideas Exchange - conference, which he curates alongside Mumbrella. The interview also offers a primer on some of the key concepts of behavioural economics, explaining ideas like anchoring, framing, the endowment effect, loss aversion, sunk cost fallacy and heuristics. Unmade Index sinks lower After hitting an all time low on Tuesday, the Unmade Index lost another 0.48% yesterday, taking it down to 558.9 points. Among the larger media and marketing stocks, IVE Group had the worst of it, losing 3.29% while Ooh Media lost 2.58%. Meanwhile Seven West Media came off its recent low, gaining 2.7% We’ll be back with more tomorrow. If you missed yesterday’s announcement, we’ve just finalised the program for HumAIn, Unmade’s conference on the impact of AI on media and marketing. It takes place on May 28. If you’re into loss aversion, you should know that tickets to HumAIn get more expensive in five days’ time. You need to act now to lock in a 20% saving. And once you listen to the podcast, you’ll know why we’re doing that. Toodlepip… Tim Burrowes Publisher - Unmade tim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead. Today: Warburton set to depart Seven West Media next Thursday; a failing grade for the pitch process; and how the AI giants are stealing content. Warburton brings forward exit as Lehrmann headlines swirl; problematic pitches; and AI corner cutting Today: * James Warburton now set to leave Seven next week; * An new study suggests agencies are unhappy with the state of pitching * AI creators cutting corners on gobbling up training data Further reading: Unmade: The last days of James Warburton Australian Financial Review: Up in the air: Seven’s new boss braces for impact Australian Financial Review: Seven’s cost cuts claim the US ‘job’ of former Sunrise boss Trinity P3: State of The Pitch New York Times: How Tech Giants Cut Corners to Harvest Data for A.I. Campaign: Will AI power a reboot of full-service agencies? Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes, Abe Udy and Cat McGinn Time to leave you to start your week. Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production. Toodlepip… Tim Burrowes tim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Today’s conversation offers a depressing picture of how little progress the communications industry has made compared to other industries in making adland a safe environment for women. The discussion, convened by Unmade’s Cat McGinn, features Jasmin Bedir, Darren Woolley and Liam Walsh. A key question: are the industry’s male executives putting career expediency ahead of doing the right thing when they see a problem? Bedir is CEO of creative agency Innocean and founder of campaign group Fck the Cupcakes. Woolley is founder of marketing consultancy Trinity P3. In 2022, he began to invite the bosses of agencies participating in marketing pitches run by his company to sign a statutory declaration on their “status and processes regarding workplace bullying, harassment and assault”. It also asks agencies to confirm they do not used non-disclosure agreements to stop women from talking about their bad experiences. While most independent agencies choose to sign, “virtually all” holding companies have found reasons to avoid doing so, Woolley says. Walsh has worked in a number of big roles across adland including running Facebook ANZ and Amobee, and national sales director of Fairfax Digital. According to Bedir: “I see a lot of agencies literally pretending that they are so super diverse and or they're so in favor of gender equality and then I look at the gender pay gap. “Agencies are so good at this ornamental window dressing. They're all talking the talk.” She adds: “I see little pockets of progress. But I think for a very long time this industry has been really good at virtue signalling and pretending that our houses are in order. Winning diversity awards and all these things that look on a surface level all good. But I think they're all artificially created and it's not really what's underneath.” One of Woolley’s concerns is that when holding companies refuse to sign statutory declarations - instead sending through documents about their policies - he cannot be certain what he is recommending to his clients when he assists them with a pitch. “It means that every every week, every month that we're running another pitch, We're potentially recommending an agency where employees will be harassed, bullied or even assaulted. And how do I feel about that? I don't have any legal responsibility but I certainly feel a deep moral responsibility and ethical responsibility for doing that.” On the topic of virtue signalling, Walsh warns that the private conversations of some male executives in the industry are far less progressive than what they say in public fora. He says: “I hear conversations where men still talk about women and how they look.” Woolley warns: “I have to tell you it is fear that stops particularly men standing up even when they know something is going to be good for everyone and particularly the women they that they work with and and colleagues. But they don't want to rock the boat.” On the topic of why the trade press does not speak out more, Walsh reveals: “I've heard too many conversations where the person who pays for the ad has said we'll stop running ads with that trade publication for what they said.” Editing of today’s audio content was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production. Message us: letters@unmade.media We’ll be back with more tomorrow. Toodlepip… Tim Burrowes Publisher - Unmade tim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today’s conversation features the boss of Paramount’s Network Ten, Beverley McGarvey, in one of the first interviews since her promotion, alongside the global head of the Paramount+ Marco Nobili. Of all the media brands in Australia, the future of Paramount and its free to air network Ten, is the hardest to predict, with both global and local forces at play. Globally, the ownership of Paramount is developing into a tug-of-war between private equity house Apollo and content giant Skydance. Apollo appears to be interested in just the company’s US studio assets, while Skydance is talking to controlling shareholder Shari Redstone about a deal which would likely see it take control of the whole company. A merger with Warner Bros Discovery has also been floated, although that looks a less likely option. The ramifications of all that for Network Ten would inevitably follow later. Key to the future of Paramount, which also owns US TV network CBS, is its loss-making but still growing streaming service Paramount+, which has now reached 67m subscribers globally. No local figures have been released for the service but according to Kantar panel research, Paramount+ had a 10% share of new subscribers locally in the last quarter. Key to the market valuation of Paramount, which is close to a historic low, is persuading investors that the company can take Paramount+ into profitability. One of the global execs charged with that is Marco Nobili, Paramount+’s International general manager. Nobili was in Australia this week for the announcement of an Australian advertising tier for Paramount+, priced at $6.99 and kicking off in June. Meanwhile, Paramount’s local boss Beverley McGarvey - recently promoted to the lengthy title of President Network Ten, Head of Streaming & Regional Lead - has multiple challenges. Ten continues to struggle in the ratings without the rights to any top tier sports. It’s commercial linear audience share in the first quarter was only about 20%. But that’s only part of the picture. Alongside the subscription offering of Paramount+, McGarvey is also in charge of ad-supported streaming via 10 Play and FAST (free ad supported television) channels offering Pluto TV. And all that while keeping staff focused as speculation only gets louder about the global future of Paramount. In today’s conversation with Unmade’s Tim Burrowes, Nobili and McGarvey discuss the challenges of leading a team during that sort of noise. According to McGarvey, a veteran of Network 10’s 2017 fall into administration which saw what is now Paramount end up as the owner, it’s business as usual: “If you work in a media company and you're not used to constant speculation, it would be unusual. “There's a long period of consolidation, of change, of addition and things happening, and most people now are really good at understanding that creating a great service, a great product and being a really strong business no matter what happens in the end, is the best outcome. I think people honestly are used to working in that environment these days. If you look at any trade publication on any day of the week, there's speculation about somebody.” During the conversation, topics include the content pipeline after the Hollywood writers’ strike; Top Gear Australia, the next round of sports rights; the unusual structure which sees chief sales officer Rod Prosser reporting into the UK, and the impact on the free to air sector of feuding between networks. Editing of today’s audio contentwas courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production. Message us: letters@unmade.media Tim Burrowes Publisher - Unmade This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead. Today: New AI developments in agencies, search and film production; an odd job ad from Accenture; and we reach the pointy end of the smart TV apps debate If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes: * Member-only pricing for our HumAIn (May 28) and REmade (October 1) conferences; * A complimentary invitation to Unmade’s Compass event (November); * Member-only content and our paywalled archives; * Your own copy of Media Unmade Today: Hey agencies, AI is drinking your milkshake * Artificial intelligence may eat agencies’ lunch, Google warns them over dinner; * Generative AI targets film production; * Legislators make their minds up about smart TV navigation; * TV network tensions; * Accenture’s bizarre “feminine touch” job ad Further reading: Australian Financial Review: Google’s secret meeting warns of AI threat to ad jobs Capital Brief: Netflix shoots its shot in smart TV clash with free-to-air networks Unmade: TV’s former united front is, indeed, all over the shop Unmade: Dr Spin: Accenture really, really craves the feminine touch Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes, Abe Udy and Cat McGinn Time to leave you to start your week. Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production. Toodlepip… Tim Burrowes tim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today’s edition features Sam Buchanan, boss of Independent Media Agencies Australia, the fastest growing of the new generation of industry associations. Also today, Seven West Media takes a 5% hit on its already challenged share price. Producing independent analysis of the media and marketing industry that goes beyond press releases takes time and resources. If you like what we do, you can support us by becoming a paying member. Upgrade today ‘We haven’t been allowed into the nightclub, let alone the dance floor’: How IMAA is speaking up for indie agencies At a time when the global holding companies have been going backwards, the independent media agency sector has been growing its share of advertising spend. One factor in the rising profile of the indie sector is new industry body Independent Media Agencies Australia, helmed by Sam Buchanan. In today’s conversation with Unmade’s Tim Burrowes, Buchanan discusses fighting to get a voice for indies in pitches and with governments, building a community, getting better deals for his members and the role of the industry in diversity and sustainability. He also talks about the lessons learned from the association’s original launch which saw it face a backlash after kicking off with an all male leadership. Less than five years old, the IMAA is in robust health thanks to the dual revenue streams of payments by media owners keen to get closer to agencies and membership fees. The IMAA’s published accounts show income of $933,000 for the last financial year and a surplus of $152,000. The discussion also covers where Buchanan plans to take the IMAA next, including an eye to overseas. Seven slumps on Unmade Index The Unmade Index rose slightly yesterday despite a dismal day for Seven West Media. Shares in SWM lost another 5%, as the TV-led company saw its market capitalisation fall to the lowest level in three-and-a-half years. After dropping below a market capitalisation of $300m earlier this week, SWM’s valuation sagged to $285m on Wednesday. Having fallen behind IVE Group last month to become the ASX’s sixth largest stock, the resurgence of Southern Cross Austereo and ARN Media means Seven is teetering on becoming merely Australia’s eighth largest listed media company. ARN and SCA both also fell slightly, by 1.81% and 0.51%, yesterday. However, the index - which tracks Australia’s listed media and marketing stocks - was buoyed by improvements for Nine and Ooh Media. The index closed on 571.3 points, up by 0.31% Time to leave you to your Thursday. We’ll be back with more tomorrow. Editing of today’s audio contentwas courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production. Message us: letters@unmade.media Tim Burrowes Publisher - Unmade This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead. Today: The ACCC sets put how it plans to examine the search ecosystem; and the vote against the chair of Southern Cross Austereo approaches 40% Today: Search in the spotlight; SCA agitators close on 40% for anti-chair vote In today’s conversation: * The ACCC begins its inquiry into the search market; * Google starts ‘nuking’ AI-created content from search results; * When the main Meta news deals end; * The push against Southern Cross Austereo’s chair intensifies Further reading: ACCC: ACCC to examine internet search Search Engine Journal: Google’s March 2024 Core Update Impact: Hundreds Of Websites Deindexed Unmade: ARN closes in on SCA Australian Financial Review: More Southern Cross shareholders back removing chair Rob Murray Australian Financial Review: Media Observed - Meta maelstrom Unmade: Tanking the ratings as Melbourne waits for K+J LinkedIn: Byron Cooke - My Kiis 1011 era will come to a close Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes and Abe Udy Time to leave you to start your week. Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production. Message us: letters@unmade.media Toodlepip… Tim Burrowes tim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today’s edition features The Saturday Paper’s editor-in-chief Erik Jensen, the only person in Australia at the helm of a national newspaper they founded. Also in today’s post, the Unmade Index rally continues for a strong second day. Have you considered becoming a paying member of Unmade to get the full picture? Only our paying members receive our members-only Tuesday analysis; get access to our archive where all our content is paywalled after two months; get their own copy of Media Unmade; and receive discounts on all our events. Upgrade today A newsroom unlike any other: How Erik Jensen created a unique news culture at The Saturday Paper Back in 2014, the then communications minister Malcolm Turnbull cracked a joke at the launch of The Saturday Paper. He told proprietor Morry Schwartz: “You are not some demented plutocrat pouring more and more money into a loss making venture that is just going to peddle your opinions.” Although Turnbull later denied it, the unnamed subject of the gag was widely assumed to be News Corp proprietor Rupert Murdoch whose newspaper The Australian was at the time loss-making. Ten years on, The Saturday Paper has indeed run at a profit for every year of its existence, and been a rare print success story, albeit one underpinned by digital publishing. According to founding editor Erik Jensen, now editor-in-chief across the Schwartz Media group of The Saturday Paper, The Monthly and the 7AM Podcast, Schwartz has indeed been a proprietor who has respected his editorial independence. In a podcast conversation with Unmade’s Tim Burrowes, Jensen, who worked at the Sydney Morning Herald early in his career, discusses how Schwartz backed his idea for a newspaper that rejected newsroom orthodoxies. Jensen says he has tried to avoid being a stereotypical editor. He describes a newsroom that most journalists would not recognise. “I’ve never yelled in a newsroom. I’ve never done anything that I saw happen in other newsrooms when I was working for bigger newspapers. I’ve never done that with my own staff because I’ve tried to do the opposite. “It’s actually a very quiet and polite staff working on the paper. They work silently and diligently. It’s so unlike other newsroom I’ve been in. Our subs bench is almost entirely staffed by women. There’s a very gentle culture about how we treat the work we’re doing.” Not that Jensen allows himself a stress-free working life. He discusses how his perfectionism got the better of him for his first few editions. “For the first probably 20 editions I still believed there was a perfect newspaper that could be made. “I went quite mad trying to make that newspaper. I was working on the paper obsessively. I was rewriting every story. I was convinced that if I pushed hard enough, I could make something perfect. “There was substantial liberation in realising that actually the news is imperfect, that the idea of a perfect newspaper is illusory, and maybe that's good, maybe that keeps us making newspapers, but I actually think when you can accept that a newspaper is always going to be flawed because the news itself is flawed, then you get a lot closer to doing interesting things with it.” During the conversation, Jensen also tackle how The 7am Podcast and The Monthly fit into the picture and how new CEO Ben Shepherd has arrived with “a transformative plan” for the business. Unmade Index up as attempt to unseat SCA chair lands The Unmade Index saw a second strong day in a row on Wednesday, rising by another 1.67% to 579.1 points. At the top end of town, Nine was the best performer, rising by 3.35%. Seven West Media also came off its low point, gaining 2.5%. Yesterday morning’s news that Spheria Asset Management has formalised its attempt to unseat Southern Cross Austereo chair Rob Murray didn’t cause a ripple to the share price, which stayed flat. Spheria, which owns 9.9% of the company, wants the SCA board to move faster...

Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead. Today: OpenAI’s Sam Altman predicts 95% reduction in agency jobs; Melbourne radio gets ready for a huge week; and Nine talks to Antony Catalano about buying back his papers. Producing independent analysis of the media and marketing industry that goes beyond press releases takes time and resources. If you like what we do, you can support us by becoming a paying member. Become a member today! Perthbound Unmade publisher Tim Burrowes will be in Perth next week - from Monday March 18 to Wednesday March 20. He’d love to catch up with anyone in the industry who wants to do so. Please email tim@unmade.media ‘Images, videos, campaign ideas? No problem’ Today: * Melbourne radio’s big week; * Southern Cross Austereo rejects ARN Media’s first offer; * Antony Catalano buys into SCA… and tries to sell papers to Nine; * Open AI’s Sam Altman says AI will do 95% of marketing jobs; * Elon Musk sues openAI Further reading: * Unmade: K&J prepare to descend upon Melbourne from the heavens * Australian Financial Review: Antony Catalano wants to sell three of his biggest newspapers * Mumbrella (from 2014): Radio’s revolution: Why today is the day that everything changes * The Marketing Institute: Sam Altman Says AI Will Handle “95%” of Marketing Work Done by Agencies and Creatives * OpenAI blog: OpenAI and Elon Musk Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes, Abe Udy and Cat McGinn Time to leave you to start your week. Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production. Toodlepip… Tim Burrowes tim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today’s edition features the story of how Claire Kimball and Kate Watson grew The Squiz from a daily newsletter to a multi faceted brand via podcasting, with events now on the horizon. ‘We thought there would be an acquirer by now’: How The Squiz made an early pivot towards daily podcasts This month The Squiz reaches its seven years in the market. Starting life as a daily, agenda-free catchup of the key developments, with a female skew, The Squiz surfed what was a US-led trend. Later The Squiz expanded to a daily podcast - they believe it was Australia’s first - and then extended to Squiz Kids. More recently they launched new podcast Squiz News Club. In an honest conversation, founders Claire Kimball and Kate Watson share their challenges and frustrations, including the difficulties of getting in front of media agencies, how they’d expected the business to go faster, how ‘curation’ is their favourite word, and why they’re planning to soon move into live events. They also discuss their unconventional publishing backgrounds, with neither of them having been a journalist before starting The Squiz. Kimball had been head of communications at Woolworths and was a press secretary to former PM Tony Abbott. Watson had done sales roles for Bauer Media and Sky News Australia. Time to leave you to your Thursday. We’ll be back with more tomorrow. Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production. Message us: letters@unmade.media Tim Burrowes Publisher - Unmade This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead. Metacrisis Today: * Facebook pulls of of the news ecosystem, setting up a confrontation for parent company Meta * Looking ahead to this week’s Future of TV Advertising conference as the industry’s measurement divisions widen Further reading: * Unmade: The wheels fall off for news * Australian Financial Review: Onerous demands and threats: Inside Facebook’s secret media deals * Australian Financial Review: Michael Miller - The time has come for parliament to fire its cannon – at Meta * Brisbane Times: Albanese government furious over Meta’s plan to pull out of Facebook news deal * Capital Brief: Meta shuts the door on Australian news publishers, putting deals worth $70m at risk * The Australian: Meta’s dumping of content deals with publishers will cost jobs, says Country Press Australia * Future of TV Advertising Sydney: Agenda Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes and Abe Udy Time to leave you to start your week. Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production. Message us: letters@unmade.media Toodlepip… Tim Burrowes tim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today’s edition features an in depth interview with Patrick Delany, the mastermind of Foxtel Group’s pivot away from broadcast TV, towards streaming, and now aggregation. ‘If we started a business like Kayo inside Foxtel it would get killed’: Patrick Delany sets out Hubbl’s stall Last week, Foxtel Group reached another inflection point. After winning the subscription TV wars, the company had lost its way when the streamers arrived. It began to bleed subscribers, and its first, timid, entry into streaming via Presto, a joint venture with Seven, failed fast. Patrick Delany returned to the business as CEO six years ago and led the sort of strategic shift rarely seen in incumbents, opting to disrupt the company’s own lucrative, but fading, business model by pushing hard into streaming. Sports platform Kayo and entertainment service Binge quickly followed. Last week the company pivoted again, putting aggregation at the centre of its universe, with the launch of Hubbl. The move puzzled many commentators, trying to figure out why Foxtel Group is putting so much weight behind what appears to be a low margin hardware play. Today’s interview goes some way towards answering that. The answer is that Foxtel sees its future at the heart of aggregation. The puck and built-in Hubbl Glass TV devices offer consumers the promise of making their multiple subscriptions easier to navigate. Consumers who led Foxtel manage their subs will make savings. In some ways, that marks a return to Foxtel’s roots. The company began life as an aggregator of other companies’ channels, but over time came to own more and more of them itself. During the wide ranging conversation, Delany explains the moment Foxtel recognised it had to change after buying expensive cricket rights and broadcasting in 4K format didn’t alter the company’s downwards trajectory in the face of the rise of Netflix. Instead Foxtel Group moved into a clear eyed differentiation strategy - hanging on to existing, lucrative Foxtel subscribers for as long as possible, while creating a whole new product at a cheaper price point and a differentiated brand for younger consumers. “The first thing we did was, can we get some life back into Foxtel? Can we make it grow? Can we do that through 4K and cricket? We went and spent a lot of money on doing that. We did big campaigns and we couldn't get a pulse back. “So we flipped into the main strategy which was maintain Foxtel as long as we can, run it for cash, stop doing above the line promotions that annoy subscribers, try and hang on to the subscribers as long as we can so be content with older richer Australian insider Foxtel.” Alongside the strategic shift, came one of the lessons learned from the Presto debacle. Because Presto sat inside the main Foxtel business, it wasn’t allowed to compete, and was a much weaker product as a result. “We started talking about the new world but it was pretty clear that if we started a business like Kayo inside Foxtel it would get killed and we'd done that previously - we started Presto, did it on a terrible platform but the culture would be to protect Foxtel.” Instead came the Streamotion business, which is where Kayo, Binge and news aggregator Flash are housed in a seperate building down the road from the main Foxtel office. Subscribers to the new streaming service don’t even see the name Foxtel on their bills. In another sign of how central Hubbl is to the new approach, the Streamotion brand is becoming Hubbl. The word Foxtel was not uttered from the stage during the glitzy launch event on Sydney Harbour last week. The conversation with Delany also covers communications legislation, ever escalating sports right costs, Foxtel’s relationship with the free to air TV industry, the shock 2015 NRL rights blindside, the question of future plans for an IPO, and whether Delany might one day follow in the footsteps of one of his predecessors Kim Williams and lead News...

Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes: * Member-only pricing for our HumAIn (May 28) and REmade (October 1) conferences; * A complimentary invitation to Unmade’s Compass event; * Member-only content and our paywalled archives; * Your own copy of Media Unmade Upgrade today From Bard to worse during media’s cold snap Today: * Is media’s deep freeze finally hitting bottom? * Countdown to the end of the Meta money * Digital growth plateaus * What to look out for in the Southern Cross Austereo financial update * Google’s image generator Gemini’s rogue woke embarrassment Further reading: * Brisbane Times: Former digital darling Vice Media to slash jobs, shutter website * Unmade: ‘Very close to the bottom’: As bad as it gets (or as good as it gets?) for Nine and ARN Media * Australian Financial Review: Australian media’s $70m lifeline ends in months. Meta isn’t picking up * Brisbane Times: $1b for journalism at risk in new warning over Google, Facebook * The Australian: Online advertising market spend was $14.7bn in 2023, slowest annual growth since 2020 * Sweathead: How brands are using AI * The Verge: How AI copyright lawsuits could make the whole industry go extinct * Unmade: Why Australia's marketers need to worry about the lack of local artificial intelligence laws Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes, Abe Udy and Cat McGinn Time to leave you to start your week. Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production. Message us: letters@unmade.media Toodlepip… Tim Burrowes tim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today’s edition features highlights from last week’s gathering of the audio industry’s commercial players for the Heard conference in Sydney. Marketing mastery and audio nirvana Last week saw Australia’s audio trade body, Commercial Radio & Audio invite agency executives to its Heard event. Across the day, panels explored the emotional and rational sides of radio advertising, and put the case that radio deserves a reassessment of its place in the media mix. Today’s podcast features two of the panels, both moderated by Unmade’s Tim Burrowes. The first featured a conversation on understanding radio’s role within the media marketing mix. Paul Sinkinson, managing director of Analytic Partners, whose speciality is the ROI of marketing, shared details of a study the industry is conducting on whether marketers can find a price edge by investing more in brand building rather than performance activity. He was joined by marketer Nathan James, from drinks owner William Grant & Sons, who shared the results of a brand building radio experiment featuring Hendricks gin. Lauren Joyce, chief strategy & connections officer at Australian Radio Network rounded off the panel. The second panel focused on the trading relationship between the audio companies and media agencies, and how it needs to evolve to achieve audio nirvana. It featured Venessa Hunt, Director of Commercial Strategy & Growth, at ARN; Olly Newton, Executive Head, LiSTNR, Commercial, SCA; Nicole Bence, Chief Commercial Officer at Nova and Ash Earnshaw, Director of Sales, Total Audio at Nine. * Tim Burrowes’ travel to Sydney and accommodation was funded by CRA Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production. Message us: letters@unmade.media Tim Burrowes Publisher - Unmade This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe

Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes: * Member-only pricing for our HumAIn (May 28) and REmade (October 1) conferences; * A complimentary invitation to Unmade’s Compass event; * Member-only content and our paywalled archives; * Your own copy of Media Unmade Upgrade today Countdown to Hubbl Today: * Hubbl reveals app partners ahead of this week’s launch; * Earnings season: Looking ahead to Ooh Media, Nine and ARN Media, and back on Seven West Media’s dud numbers; * Paramount axes boss Jarrod Villani Further reading: * Unmade: No victory lap for Warburton as Seven delivers its worst first half ever * Brisbane Times: Top local Paramount executive departs as cuts filter through media industry Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes and Abe Udy Time to leave you to start your week. Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production. Message us: letters@unmade.media Toodlepip… Tim Burrowes tim@unmade.media This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe