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Opinion | Features
Disclosure in Social Media: How transparent should bloggers be?
In this guest post, blogger and digital creative Laura McWhinnie argues for more disclosure in the bloggersphere.
The bloggersphere has always been a bit like the Wild West. Bloggers could post about products to their heart’s content without having to disclose their relationship with the brand. This meant that consumers had no idea who was behind the marketing messages influencing their purchasing decisions. But in 2009 that all changed
Liars, cheats and thieves
Is our industry full of cheats and liars or do people of honour who stand by their word still exist in business? In an article that first appeared in Encore, Cameron Boon investigates. The recent court case involving Paul Fishlock suing his former employer The Campaign Palace brought into focus more than just the struggle of one man. It highlighted that there are some in adland whose word cannot always be relied upon.
Q&A with Adshel's Rob Atkinson
Online trading is the next big thing says Rob Atkinson in a piece that first appeared in Encore. Who is the most powerful person in Australian media and why?
Harold Mitchell because of his influence and the footprint he has left. He’s built a huge brand in Mitchells, offloaded it into Aegis, Aegis has obviously done extremely well to be then sold on to Dentsu. So if you think about it, he is very much a father figure of the industry.
Making it overseas
Is the best way of being successful in Australia not be here at all? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Lee Zachariah speaks to Aussies making it big abroad.I always wanted to work in New York,” says Julian Cole. “I thought it was the number one place to work in advertising; a lot of the best campaigns were coming out of there. So I moved over and was lucky enough to have a couple of interviews in the first couple of weeks.”
Cole’s story is indicative of the somewhat contentious idea that the best way to be successful in Australia is to not be in Australia any more.
Got a book in you?
From journos to ad execs and PRs, these days everyone seems to have a book in them. But what does it take to get published and will you actually make any money? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Brooke Hemphill finds out.Attention wannabe authors. Forget big fat advance cheques and living off royalties. The reality of having a book published today is another story altogether. There are only two reasons you should even consider sitting down at your computer to bash out a manuscript – passion or profile.
Savage counsel
In an article that first appeared in Encore, Chris Savage tackles your career and agency dilemmas in his weekly advice column.Hi Chris,
My clients seem to be demanding more and more from us. At the same time, it seems many of the younger people in our industry simply don’t have the client servicing skills my generation grew up with. How do we instill in our executives some of the good old-fashioned behaviours that would keep a client happy and loyal?
Fake it til' you make it... as an ad agency receptionist
From dressing the part to playing the gatekeeper, Leo Burnett Sydney’s Susie Henry tells us how to make it as the face of adland in a piece that first appeared in Encore.What does a receptionist in an ad agency actually do?
Well, there’s the frantic every-day, all-day stuff of deliveries, courier bookings, doing expenses for directors – always challenging – plus arranging all the travel. But one of my main jobs is counselling the account service people. I also keep up with all sports information to discuss with our sports-loving clients – because who wants to be bored while they’re waiting? And I know how they like their coffee. You need to know everyone – from accounting to HR. I’m also the go-to for all catering and sending flowers.
Whose views skew the news? Media chiefs ready to vote out Labor, while reporters lean left
Most journalists lean left-of-centre, says Folker Hanusch of the University of the Sunshine Coast, in a post first published on The Conversation.Most Australian journalists describe themselves as left-wing, yet amongst those who wield the real power in the country’s newsrooms, the Coalition holds a winning lead.
But while the media’s political leanings will no doubt be debated in the lead-up to September’s federal election, our study has also found other largely unscrutinised biases remain – particularly whose views disproportionately shape the news.
It's time for a new New Wave in the film world
Government funding bodies are lazy and decadent, says industry veteran Michael Thornhill but in a piece that first appeared in Encore, Ed Gibbs begs to differ.I vividly remember the time I first saw Animal Kingdom, David Michod’s breathtaking labour-of-love feature debut. The press screening was half empty, despite the film winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance just months earlier, in 2010. Yet its superb performances, stylistic flourishes and overall polish left me speechless. Could this really be a feature debut, an Australian one at that, I wondered, almost out loud? It seemed too good to be true.
Going cold turkey on an agency addiction
Life is sweet for freelance writer Max Kitchen, but in a feature that first appeared in Encore, he admits his struggle against returning to the agency fold.I’ve never taken heroin. But I suspect if I had, the temptation to try it again would not be too dissimilar to the lure of returning to agency life.
Can sport save Ten?
First there was the Grand Prix. Next came the reported $500m bid for cricket rights, then Ten secured the 2014 winter Olympics. So, can sport save the ailing network? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Nic Christensen investigates.The television sports rights bidding process is a bit like a game of poker.
Check, fold or bet. Those were the options for the Ten Network last week when it had to finalise its bid for the cricket rights.
Andy Lark: good for the marketing of marketing
I can still remember the first story I wrote about Andy Lark, when it emerged that he was to be the new chief marketing officer of CommBank.
It was immediately clear that Australia was about to meet an interesting marketer, one who blogged and tweeted and thanks to his time at Dell in the US was digitally savvy. Even two years ago, that was a big deal. The fact that he also had a stint in public relations gave him an absolutely intriguing background before he even arrived.
Storming the media barricades - advice for young journalists
This week Mumbrella’s Nic Christensen, who began his career four years ago, gave the keynote address to would-be journalists at the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance’s Student Day. This is an edited version of his speech.Good afternoon, I can remember distinctly the last time I was in this room.
It was 2009 and I was sitting where you are. I’d come to this event, a friend and myself — from memory we sat up the back — and I can remember at the time wondering if I’d ever get a job as a journalist.
It was only four years ago and then as now getting a job was ultra competitive but I’m not sure there was quite as much media ‘doom and gloom’ as there is now…
Paywalls will help fund campaigning journalism
In this guest post, News Limited’s group editorial director Campbell Reid responds to the views of ninemsn’s Hal Crawford that the company’s push into metered paywalls is about data rather than dollars.Hal Crawford is both right and wrong in his article which argued that our digital subscription plans are all about the data.
Fake it 'til you make it... as a features editor
Cosmo’s Kate Leaver tells us how to bluff it in her job in a feature that first appeared in Encore.What do you do, as a features editor?
Really, play with words and ideas all day. At any one time, we’re working across three issues of the mag – getting one on its way to the printers, pooling all the words together for another, and planning the issue after that. It’s busy but it’s a pretty magnificent process.
Alan Jones sponsor boycott ends as advertisers return to 2GB
Several advertisers that pulled sponsorship from the Alan Jones 2GB breakfast show have returned to the program this morning, the station has confirmed.
MRN executive chairman Russell Tate said: “This morning we resumed advertising in the Breakfast Show. We will continue to keep all lines of communication open.”
The return comes after the radio personality made inflammatory comments at a Sydney University political gathering, prompting a mass advertiser walkout and causing the station to make the unprecedented move of suspending all advertising on the show.
Tate added: “Advertising was suspended on the Alan Jones Breakfast Show for over a week. Our main aim was to call “time” on the business disruption and threats being made to our advertisers. As importantly, it gave us the chance to hear the views of those who choose to listen to Alan Jones.”
However, protest group ‘Destroy The Joint’, which put out a call to advertisers to withdraw their backing from the show, today announced on its Facebook page that advertiser Suzuki will not be returning to MRN.
Brand such as Woolworth’s, ING direct and Freedom Furniture are among those that withdrew, costing the station an estimated $2 million per month in loss, the SMH reports.
Comments
16 Oct 12
1:23 pm
There’s corporate responsibility for you. Companies won’t support hatemongering, incitement to violence and blatant misogyny…while it’s in the headlines.
16 Oct 12
1:48 pm
Wow, to “hear the voices of those who choose listen to Alan Jones”!! They’d be a diverse bunch of Mensa graduates. Did they blame it all on Juliar? I should stop now, Alan is so powerful.
16 Oct 12
1:51 pm
A blow for the ‘click and it means something’ brigade, sitting in front of their computers in their undies, slinging off at their favourite targets in the deluded belief they’re actually Making A Difference.
Don’t particularly like Jones, but this story made my day.
Ha!
16 Oct 12
1:53 pm
@Sancho Clearly they do respond to hatemongering- Destroy the Joint bullied them into going back off air.
16 Oct 12
1:55 pm
I don’t really understand what Mr Tate is suggesting. He claims the removal of advertising was to stop threats being made to adverstisers. I think this is a tad ridiculous…Sure there may have been a couple of nutters who made inappropriate comments to advertisers but I suspect the VAST majority were just saying that they thoought it was inappropriate for company X to advertise on the Alan Jones show…Seems to me that the “damage” being done in any business sense was to the the Alan Jones show and 2GB which, given the station was happy to employ someone who would continue to make such appalling comments, seems justifable…i.e. if you are prepared to provide air time to someone who seems focused on creating angst, anxiety and division in our society then do not be surprised when revenue shifts as a function of advertisers deciding not to have their brands associated with people like Alan Jones….
16 Oct 12
2:04 pm
@Sancho, very depressing isn’t it. Just how shallow are these companies when it comes to meaningful social responsibility? “Hey Alan, don’t worry mate, we’ll just return when the furore dies down. No-one will notice!” Anyone have a list of his radio sponsors so I know which products not to buy?
16 Oct 12
2:06 pm
God bless the ad industry. An industry like no other for it’s commitment to the truth, honesty , morals and the essence of fair play. No wonder we are adored.
16 Oct 12
2:06 pm
The vocal minority telling us what we should and shouldn’t do.
16 Oct 12
2:20 pm
To err is human, to forgive divine (or so the saying goes). Never get between commercial interests and the moral high ground. At least now Alan’s 168,000 listeners will have ad breaks, just like everybody else.
16 Oct 12
2:31 pm
What a bunch of self righteous plonkers! Gen ‘ i care about my fellow man’ Y by any chance? Meaningful social responsibility’? I almost fell off my chair laughing. Here’s the deal. People make silly comments all the time. How many of us have said something and then thought ‘ that was wrong I never should have said that’. Alan Jones is not an angel but just to add some balance to this pointless drivel he is also a man who does an enormous amount of charity work to help the poor and dispossessed. That to me is more important than any of the nonsense that he often spouts. As for all the silly comments I’ve been reading if any of you lot do half the good work for the community Jones does then you’ve got the right to slander the man. If not just get on with it.
16 Oct 12
2:32 pm
Give me a list of those advertisers sticking with 2GB and the Jones program and i’ll specifically choose to buy from them. Don’t want to listen to Jones, but also don’t want a bunch of self-righteous bullies telling people what they can and can’t do based on their particular moral compass. Get a life losers.
16 Oct 12
2:34 pm
Have boycotting sponsors and advertisers returned to the 2GB breakfast show? Or, has 2GB lifted suspension of advertising, thus allowing the sponsors and advertisers who weren’t electing to boycott the show to return to air? A rather confusing and sensationalist story I reckon
16 Oct 12
2:43 pm
@Geepers: “The vocal minority telling us what we should and shouldn’t do.”
Kinda like government, religious groups, columnists in newspapers, people with radio programmes…
16 Oct 12
2:45 pm
@ Robbo you say that like its a bad thing.
All those ‘normal’ people having a ‘voice’, ..really .. you’re right it’s outrageous.
YOU MUST HAVE MONEY IN ORDER TO BE HEARD (that better?)
@Geepers thats the kind of throw away line your mate Robbo hates. Looks like you clicked.. but still made no difference.
Most of us simply enjoy the fact that currently, in order to get your voice heard in the media, you no longer need to have a large marketing budget .
Must frighten the bejesus out of the old school.
16 Oct 12
2:47 pm
I could ot bring myself to tune into 2GB today – so can anyone provide a list of advertisers who did feature. I will certainly contact them to suggest they get off Jone’s and Hadley’s slots permanently.
Anyone read Neil Chenoweth’s article in Monday’s Fin Review? In it he refers to Rod Tiffen (consultant on the Finkelstein media review) who states …..’Both (2GB and Fox News) work on polarising the community and reinforcing prejudices’.
Tate has the audacity to attribute 2GB’s success to the station being ‘first choice for informed debate in times of national significance’.
16 Oct 12
2:49 pm
@Geepers – its way more democratic than giving a total bully a radio frequency.
16 Oct 12
3:11 pm
here we go again.
Your hits must be through the roof Tim
16 Oct 12
3:27 pm
I wonder how many keyboard warriors are going to stop shopping at Woolies now? Or refuse to take Premier Cabs.
I guess they’re going to have to ride their moral high-horses back to Making a Difference-land for now.
16 Oct 12
3:36 pm
@jeepers if the majority are morons do we all have to be one?
16 Oct 12
3:55 pm
Leave Alan alone. He is, without a doubt, the funniest breakfast show on Sydney radio. All those fake callers who believe the carbon tax is the greatest threat our nation has ever faced are hilarious. The Alan Jones show is laugh out loud stuff!!
16 Oct 12
4:05 pm
I parked my car this morning and took up two parking spaces. I just do not care, I think that I am far too important.
As for 2GB and advertisers; well 2GB does rely on advertising dollars to make money and they have an audience of people (who mainly sit listening in their underpants waiting for their next welfare cheque) who spend some money on things like Snuggies and other really useful stuff, so I guess that advertisers were going to advertise again were they not?
Right, I am off to drive my car, I wont be indicating much and I will probably cut in front of people and drive very antisocially, because again I just don’t give a fck about you, about society, about anything!
Good day!
16 Oct 12
4:07 pm
@ Linny. I could ot bring myself to tune into 2GB today – so can anyone provide a list of advertisers who did feature
So why should it bother you who advertises on the station if you didn’t listen. By not listening means you don’t know the advertisers and won’t have to action anything…
16 Oct 12
4:23 pm
I don’t really understand why sponsors would get back on board with this guy, especially after he tore the head off that Mercedes manager on-air. Do his 160k daily listeners have that much purchasing power? Is it really worth the trouble?
Still, I could never understand the attraction in the first place – if someone dumps an enormous pile of shit at the end of my street, some people may well stop and look at it, but why would a company want to put their logo on it?
16 Oct 12
5:04 pm
Reality is that a number of those Alan Jones advertisers are again being targeted and being forced to pull their advertising, or at least reconsider their position on the AJ program . Morality aside, this isn’t over for 2GB advertisers whether they like it or not and whether you or I like it or not.
16 Oct 12
5:13 pm
@Linny
‘Tate said 2GB is “first choice for informed debate in times of national significance”!
You serious?! They’re Informed by the right-wing nutbaggery of Singo and his magnate mate. And Tate’s taking a liberty calling it debate. Every tried to ring 2GB with an opposing view? It’s just don’t tolerated, like some sort of middle eastern regime. It goes against the licensing mandate requiring radio stations to attempt balanced coverage on controversial issues. How do they keep their licence? I just don’t get it.
16 Oct 12
5:19 pm
The ads haven’t returned completely. 2GB is blocking out ads on the webstream and replacing them with silence. A pretty good strategy for thwarting the moronic “I don’t listen to him but I hate his opinions and supporters” brigade outside of Sydney.
Hopefully when the left wingers and politically correct have moved on and get all uppity when their beloved ABC screens the next Animals Australia video we can have all the ads back everywhere. Then the bully wimps can do what the rest of us do when we don’t like something – change channels.
16 Oct 12
6:56 pm
Alan Jones ratings in this survey must go up, as they are calculated differently to TV. Therefore he will be able to charge more. I think I know who the ultimate winner is.
16 Oct 12
7:14 pm
Leave Alan Jones alone! He is the best talkback host on radio. At least with him around we know what is going on. Advertisers – shame on you. You are only showing how weak you are by allowing somebody who has nothing better to do, to bully you.
16 Oct 12
9:50 pm
Net nanny 2.0….
While I don’t agree with jones, and never will, when did we all start being so fucking offended?
And what happens when you’re offended? It’s not like you wake up with leprosy in the morning. Indignance is the curse of social media. Be offended, try it. You want to live in a free society, and have rights, but never want to be offended?
You’re a fucking idiot then.
16 Oct 12
11:33 pm
Rushdie. Yes I have tried. No I was bum-rushed. Simply tell the panel operator you AGREE and then go for it if you do get on.
17 Oct 12
4:06 am
I doubt this thing one is going to go away as quickly as Macquarie’s Tate thinks. I still reckon Jones is going to be toast!
BTW: FT’s company profile service (http://markets.ft.com/Research.....?s=MRN:ASX) reports that
Mr. Russell Tate is the Executive Non-Independent Chairman of the Board of Macquarie Radio Network Limited. He has over 25 years experience in the advertising industry. Most recently, he served as Chief Executive Officer of STW Communications Group Limited between 2001 and 2005 and was appointed Executive Chairman of that company in January 2006. Russell remained in that role until June 2008 when he stepped down to Non-executive Deputy Chairman. In addition to that continuing role, Russell is also the Chairman of Pleasure State Pty Limited ….
FYI: Pleasure State is half a notch below Victoria’s Secret in the pervy lingerie trade. Which may or may not be relevant here, but it seems to be a fact, and as Gerard Henderson argued to me recently, that’s enough reason to mention it.
17 Oct 12
8:13 am
Needless to say the ‘Groucho’ that posted at 4:45 16/10/12 is not the real one but the cashew sized dick without the wit to have his own identity.Typical Jones fan I would have thought. How about giving us your views on climate change lifted from a Forsythe novel, insulting the bereved PM, or just being a horrible little twat under your own identity?
17 Oct 12
10:18 am
Well done MRN. Alan will go on, as he has done for decades. He is popular becasue he speaks for the silent majority. Unlike the people who support the hate filled Destroy The Joint page and the other associated bitter campaigns. They will all wallow in their misery and continue to support the left wing socailists views they aspire to. Tall poppy syndrome at work yet again in this otherwise great country of Australia. Go Alan! Go 2GB and the MRN.
17 Oct 12
11:24 am
Yes @Rachel exactly. For some reason Mumbrella seems to be taking a position on this issue rather than reporting, and using this opportunity to confuse (and clearly from the responses they’ve succeeded in confusing their readers). 2GB is choosing to run advertising again on the show, the boycotting advertisers have not chosen to return. Huge difference.
And what’s with all the pro-Jones trolls in here. Is someone doing a bit of organising of their own? Hard to believe the sentiment of Mumbrella readers has done a 180 in the last week.
17 Oct 12
11:35 am
I think ‘cashew-sized dick’ may be my favourite insult ever. Well-played, Original Groucho.
17 Oct 12
1:44 pm
@leon what are you confused about? Most of the sponsors that pulled put have come back, and the station has resumed its advertising. Simple.
17 Oct 12
5:07 pm
Leon,
why do people posting a view other than your own have to be trolls?
and LDO, Mumbrella are posting so much Jones content because they are a media company and want people coming to their site
18 Oct 12
7:26 am
“@leon what are you confused about? Most of the sponsors that pulled put have come back, and the station has resumed its advertising. Simple.”
And incorrect. many of them are different, and Suzuki for example lasted a show before pulling out.
18 Oct 12
9:11 am
@fleshpeddler
Are people who have a shot at people who have a shot at trolls, also trolls?
Just wondering.
18 Oct 12
9:48 am
I’m just shocked people still listen to the radio!
Given you can buy music for $0.99 these days, and there’s heaps of crazy right-wing blogs online (if you’re into that sorta stuff), seems odd anyone would still bother with the radio.
18 Oct 12
10:43 am
Hey Paul, Macquarie’s Tate doesn’t care if this doesn’t go away. I thought all us bright advertisng folks knew the M.O behind this fracas. This is all a stunt cooked up by Singo and Tate to keep listeners bolted on and boost ratings. Take the high moral ground? I used to work with Tate, he’ll tell you himself he’s only interested in making money and as a public company Director is duty bound to do that. Its a stunt.
18 Oct 12
11:02 am
not sure Oscar, although you’d need a pretty strong magnifiying glass to see me doing anything other than asking a question.
you on the other hand bounded right in and tried to turn my question back into trolling.
18 Oct 12
11:08 am
Ok, we’re done with Jones, there’s now another person more deserving of the Gillard basher spotlight. He’s Paul Whittaker, editor of the Daily Telegraph, who chose to publish a picture of the Prime Minister face down on the ground after her fall yesterday. And then took up another page showing the fall in three stages. It’s humiliation, It’s un-Australian, and you seriously have to wonder about the motives of the person who approved it. Political bias is one thing, but this is appalling. Let the boycott on the Telegraph’s advertisers begin. Paul Whittaker has to go.
18 Oct 12
11:34 am
@fleshpeddler
As has been said in the classics ….
There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is …..
not being talked about.
FYI. Not a troll.
18 Oct 12
11:36 am
Peter, you’ll need to boycott Foxtel, Channel 7 and 9 as well then
18 Oct 12
12:44 pm
Given that ACMA has ordered Jones to undergo ‘factual accuracy’ training (I hope Frederick Forysth can be at the training to explain that he writes fiction), maybe Jones should also be made to refer to the Prime Minsiter as Julia-factually-inaccuate-on-this-occasion. At least that would slow the Parrot’s torrent down.
18 Oct 12
12:50 pm
@fleshpeddler
They all showed it in passing, not as the lead story, not in slow mo.
26 Oct 12
5:05 pm
To the numerous people quoting audience figures around 160,000, you need to develop a better understanding of surveys. The 160,000 figure is what is known as the average audience which means the average number listening at any one time. The majority of people who listen to Alan Jones show and any other breakfast radio show do not listen to the whole show and so the number of people listening at any one time does not reflect the total audience. At the last survey, there were 442,000 people listening to Alan Jones in Sydney alone – this number is referred to in the surveys as the cumulative audience.
28 Oct 12
3:26 pm
Fact Checker, while your interpretation of average audience and cumulative audience is correct, your implied inference is not
Using the most recent Sydney survey, Alan Jones’ average session cumulative audience was 442,000 people, while his average session average audience was 151,000 people. In layman terms that means on a typical day 442,000 people listen to part (i.e. at least 15 minutes) of the 3.5 hours he is on air. If you look across the 3.5 hours the average for any minute he is on air is 151,000. (In fact, the ratio implies that the average listener listens for just over a third of the show or just under an hour).
Quoting the cumulative audience (because it is the higher number) is best looked at the ‘peak possible’ audience. The average audience represents the most likely estimate for any given moment during the show. 151,000 is the more representative figure.
31 Oct 12
10:13 am
@ Fast Checker and Survey Understander
Surveys are designed to make radio / tv / print numbers appeal to advertisers. It is all wish wash, fudged, invented and pardon my French; bollocks.
I am not saying that placing advertisements in these mediums cannot be effective, however any of these numbers quoted should be taken with a pinch of salt. (A bit like the tooth fairy, Santa and dare I say it, the bloke who created earth a few thousand years ago in 6, or was it 7 days?
77.7recurring% of stats are made up………………
Right I am off to look at some dinosaur footprints. (No sponsors on these babies.)
31 Oct 12
10:42 am
Calculus, you are right that the surveys are 100% about advertising dollars.
It’s just a pity that you are such a cynic to think that they are fudged, invented and bollocks. Do you really think that advertisers would spend billions of dollars across all the media and not want some degree of confidence in their audience measurement?
Sure they still are just estimates (which is sufficient upon which to trade), but that does not make them wrong. I’m 95% certain they are more reliable than your opinion.