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Opinion | Features
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.
Savage counsel - JFDI
Hi Chris,I run a medium-sized agency that is doing pretty well. As the leader, I am finding my workload just seems to go up and up. I am struggling to stay motivated and particularly to tackle the bigger and tougher challenges I have to face every day. How do I keep up the energy when there just seems so much to do? How do you do it?
Productive, successful executives are those able to consistently tackle difficult and big challenges. It’s a constant struggle for me so I know how you feel. How do the successful leaders do it?
Q&A with Brett Clegg
Brett Clegg, group director – business media, Fairfax Media, in a Q&A that first appeared in Encore, on the journo who refuses to work with him – his wife.Who is the most powerful person in Australian media and why?
Hard to go past Rupert Murdoch. He controls the single largest and most diverse portfolio and is intent on leveraging its scale (and, of course, influence). He’s an innovator and his will to win is obvious to all.
Big Brother ratings continue downwards on Friday
Big Brother continued its daily decline on Friday night – the fourth day running that Nine’s reality show has dropped audience.
It averaged a metro audience of 833,000 according to preliminary overnight metro ratings from OzTam. This was just half of its Monday night launch show.
While the show was expected to see a fall off after its heavily promoted debut on Monday, the constant decline since then raises the stakes for the coming week – when weekday-to-weekday comparisons can be made.
Monday will almost certainly be down on the previous Monday because that was the debut show, but after that the market will begin to get a fuller picture on where Big Brother’s audience is likely to settle.
Big Brother’s first week:
- Monday – 1.618m
- Tuesday – 1.327m
- Wednesday – 1.131m
- Thursday – 973,000
- Friday – 833,000
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Comments
18 Aug 12
3:53 pm
Did others say it was boring & the housemates vacuous?
As there no 24/7 feed, is it hard for viewers to ‘engage’ with the housemates?
Is this the best Nine with all of it’s cross platform resources can do?
Glad I didn’t buy any spots in it.
BTW….are there any sponsors?
Don’t think so! Its a commercial and PR fail
18 Aug 12
4:47 pm
In fairness to Nine – the numbers will always trend down from Sunday to Saturday because total viewing numbers do just that !
The real test is what share of viewing is created each night. I suspect that 833,000 on Friday was as good a share of say 16 -39′s or 25-54′s as 1.131m viewers on Wednesday.
By the way – do not be surprised when Sun is up, Mon is slightly down on that, Tuesday and then Wed fall off slightly as well. That’s the way audiences fall naturally every week.
18 Aug 12
6:55 pm
I’d say this is good news all round. let’s hope it goes the same way as that shit dance show from channel 10
19 Aug 12
8:34 am
As a former media type (radio) and now simple Joe Public viewer, I thought I’d give BB a go, but have found my “switch off” trigger looming large. Not because it’s the same as it’s previous incarnation – the format agreement would DICTATE that pretty much, and I was actually EXPECTING it to be pretty much familiar and ‘the same” – but because the participants (housemates) are so terribly stereotypical and ‘cliche’. All 20-something (or so), single, white, DUMB FUCKS! Where’s the VARIETY we’ve had in previous seasons?? Nine have obviously dictated an ultra-safe BLAND piece of cardboard! At least TEN had SOME housemate blends with a bit of variation. Asian, indigenous, middle-aged, etc. Methinks the benefit of the doubt comments from others here regarding the numbers are being VERY generous indeed. I don’t think the viewing public will be so accommodating!
19 Aug 12
12:11 pm
How long before Nine wheels out the stock-standard Channel Ten excuse for a failed show – “We’re winning the aimed for demographic!”
19 Aug 12
1:08 pm
Big Brother would be 1000x better on a channel like SBS.
19 Aug 12
1:29 pm
Big Brother would be 1000×1000 better if it was on SBS and they mashed it up with “Go Back Where You Came From”
19 Aug 12
2:16 pm
Well ‘TV Advertiser’ is tough but fair. Got to say Nine has delivered below expectations to the audience they are pursuing. I have two teenagers that want to see more and it’s simply not available to them. So they aren’t as engaged as they could be. Big mistake and that may be reflected in BB commercial success or failure.
20 Aug 12
6:31 am
why did they have to bring back this rubbish, no matter how much they try to dress it up and revamp it its still just awful crap to painful to watch. Next they’ll get channel 10′s brunette bimbos sophie and vernesa from the shire and give them their own show
20 Aug 12
6:32 am
All the comments posted are correct. No engagement and from what they advertised it was supposed to be different to Channel TENs production. The only major difference is that TEN actually did Big Brother better.
20 Aug 12
11:47 am
No (moderated by Mumbrella), no older people , no up late, no friday night games, no sexy scenes, no filthy talk, no pool fun, no drinking, no smoking, no farting, no no no no……,.Mate I was the biggeesstt fan of this show in the past, its like a 100 day obsession. Now, I flick between this and master chef!
Change this format quickly or cut it off early and free us of the pain!
20 Aug 12
4:10 pm
Theyve stuffed it up back in the day with Grettle and Mike things were good. Sonya is the most hopeless host Ive seen and almost makes me flick over when shes on. The house mates arnt diverse at all theres no Black people no Asian people pretty much they banged some country bumkins in there one thats overweight and one thats a nerd..Who produces this the KKK ?? and to top it off they even put a UK person in the house.
They cut Friday night Games also which is Family safe and was the only bit of BB Id never miss. 9 also has like 4 channels to put uplate stuff on so its not like theyll get people winging as much about raunchy stuff ( pewwk look at the house mate selection haha)…They missed out on a good chance to follow on the success of the voice and slam dunk the other channels this year….
21 Aug 12
2:27 pm
I would give this 3 more weeks before its moved to Gem
22 Aug 12
7:10 am
I understand that the show is aimed at 16 – 24 yo, but that doesn’t mean everyone in the place has to be that. I tried to watch it, really, but it was like watching a group of opinionated horrible teenagers outside a mall, texting each other. Truly inane and vacuous. It seems in the process of trying to get “average” housemates, they’ve got
shallow ones instead. No different types at all. Nothing that reflects our actual lives. Not even an older person or a chinese person, or a muslim, just nothing.
God how appalling it is. And I think you could have tried to get at least ONE person who was good looking. Not even any eye candy. Maybe you could dress them in beige to enliven them a bit.
22 Aug 12
10:53 pm
Theres an old saying >>
you should never re boil your cabbages!
Let alone rotten ones !
Like a lot of things ! >>
it’s had it’s day >>and that was like about 4 years ago .
Don’t spoil gem with this crap…Please?!
23 Aug 12
11:18 am
Well looks like u bunch of whiny whingers can eat ya. Own words!! BB on its with an adverage of 1.2 million audience! Can’t b half bad! N seriously ppl watching this wanna see Aussie BB not Chinas or Israel BB!!0.o …. Soo quite watching n whining already!:)
26 Aug 12
10:09 pm
Sorry, is this show still going? Yawn!
27 Aug 12
2:49 am
Biggest load of crap after The Shire on TV I know there are a LOT of people out there sharing a single braincell with there neighbour but please can we have some real entertainment for a change instead of this mind numbing crap for the dumb underclass surely we can produce something to bring their level of intelligence up a little yes ? god knows they all need it in Queensland where the show hails from !.
27 Aug 12
6:21 am
“It’s time to go…..Sonia” Ratings down? Change the boring host with no spark – seriously. Bring back Gretel.
27 Aug 12
7:18 pm
This show is so pathetic. All us whites are in it and you know how they all behave too. Soo boring.
30 Aug 12
5:35 pm
It’s hard to understand why this sort of crap is constantly regurgitated and fed up to us. Doesn’t anyone have an original idea any more, it just seems that the commercial channels look for food for the brain dead.
1 Sep 12
2:48 pm
I only watched a couple episodes and got quickly bored… because the housemates seem bored… doesn’t make for entertaining viewing.
If they really wanted to bring BB to a new level they should not only have Live Cams, but they should have a media wall where viewers can post comments directly into the house… in real-time.
It would be fun to be able to see your comment posted in real-time on live TV, and see the HM’s reactions!
People want interactivity these days.
1 Sep 12
5:07 pm
Ever since uncut was cut, it was never the same again. The concept of the previous Big Brother and it’s inclusion of the uncut version is for the viewers to know as much about the housemates. Now you just see kids horse playing. That’s it! They took reality out of being a reality show. Channel 10 should not have listened to the politicians who preached morality but never practiced them anyway.
5 Sep 12
9:26 pm
I can’t comment because I’m actually slightly educated and have enough sense to not watch it
11 Sep 12
10:13 am
I have a degree and my wife a doctorate from Monash University and we watch it, I don’t see the point of you bothering to make that comment Andrew.
11 Sep 12
7:51 pm
I think its great viewing. Although some diversity in housemates would have been good. More attractive people and constant access to alcohol is also neccessary for the success of the program.
15 Sep 12
9:11 am
After Jersy Shore with the “no holds barred” approach to this type of show, Big Brother pales into insignificance. Let’s face it, for 2012, it’s pretty dull.