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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 return rates 1.6m for Nine while Everybody Dance Now plummets to 304,000 for Ten
Nine’s heavily promoted Big Brother made a strong debut on Monday night, rating 1.618m.
The show was the centrepiece of the network’s on air promotion during its Olympics coverage.
Nine also launched the latest in its Underbelly franchise, Underbelly: Badness. It rated even better, averaging 1.78m, according to preliminary overnight metro ratings from OzTam.
It left little room for the second night of Ten’s Everybody Dance Now, which struggled with a desperate 304,000 – half of Sunday night’s debut of 598,000 – in 31st position. Masterchef All Stars rated 702,000 in 16th.
Underbelly and Big Brother’s positions of One and Two held across the three key advertising demographics of 16-39, 18-49 and 25-54.
Everybody Dance Now climbed to 18th in 16-39, 24th in 18-49 and 27th in 25-54.
Meanwhile, Seven’s series final of Once Upon A Time rated 799,000 while The Amazing Race Australia rated 787,000.
Nine’s live, morning coverage of the Olympic Closing Ceremony rated 1m viewers while the repeat at 9.30pm rated 864,000.
ABC News was the public broadcaster’s highest rating show with 1.04m and sixth in total viewers while Ten News At Five was the Ten’s highest rating show with 753,000 and 15th overall.
More follows later
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Comments
14 Aug 12
9:03 am
Nice one Nine, looks like your little gamble might pay off after all…
14 Aug 12
9:11 am
#bbau was trending nationally and globally on Twitter for most of the night too.
14 Aug 12
9:13 am
Not sure if BB will go the distance. Ulimate test is what the week looks like as opposed to the launch night…..wonder how this launch compares with previous BB on TEN?
Underbelly was great! Congrats to Nine for that….but count me out of BB.
14 Aug 12
9:14 am
Wow, David Mott, this is your life! Of all the shows to decapitate their new flagship…. “Everybody take cover now!”…
14 Aug 12
9:38 am
Who wants the bet ….Dance will be moved to Eleven by Monday ?
How embarrassing a debut, I don’t think we have seen anything like this before. I hear Ten are spending $20m on this production. It is a disgrace what they are doing to Ten.
14 Aug 12
9:39 am
I watched it and wasn’t blown away, they played it v safe – but it paid off. Will be interesting to see if it can sustain. Personally I much preferred The Shire.
EDN, wow shocked by those numbers…
14 Aug 12
9:58 am
They’re no doubt beginning to sweat over I Will Survive.
14 Aug 12
10:20 am
I think I may scythe myself down. Can’t stand it anymore. Think I’ll give my TV to the homeless, but noone deserves to be subjected to this awful mind numbing absolute dire TV choice predicament. Even the Olympic coverage was awful. Why can’t this country produce proper programming?? Where has it all gone wrong for Australia?? Was it ever good in the first place?
14 Aug 12
10:42 am
Interestingly, my kids ( who are 12, 14 and 15) all loved BB. This is a new generation of BB viewers who were all too young to watch last time it ran. A younger, more hip host would have been better for Dance. Sarah Murdoch is not the right person for this job…but I guess if you are married to the boss….
14 Aug 12
10:43 am
Big Brother looked pretty much the same as how it was on Ten except for a boring host… And some cool shuffling. Not random at all by the way.
14 Aug 12
11:35 am
Big Brother an opening night hit? It will be interesting to see what happens after the halo effect of the Olympics wears off. Sandwiching the premiere between highlights of the last day of competition and the closing ceremony is one thing, what will the ratings be like in a month or so during the AFL finals and when the warmer weather begins and people go out again in the early evening?
14 Aug 12
11:37 am
I watched 15 minutes last night.
It’s BAD.
REALLY BAD.
14 Aug 12
12:27 pm
EDN was awful, even by current reality-tv standards. The first episode looked like they’d accidentally screened a mid-season episode by mistake. The concept was never fully explained, the ‘teams’ were oddly explained using flashbacks of rehearsals that we’d never seen before, and Sarah Murdoch’s cardboard presentation was awful when she awkwardly read word-for-word off the cue card (because we can’t risk her announcing the wrong winner again, can we!), and when she tried to ad-lib, it was so incredibly forced and awkard.
14 Aug 12
12:30 pm
Man ,we need TEN to do something that works. This is getting “seriously” bad. Everyone else is gone over there, get the broom and sort out programming.
14 Aug 12
12:34 pm
BB last night everybody is special so am i because i have the remote and i used it.
14 Aug 12
1:14 pm
Ten is like that horribly out of form footballer … can’t do anything right and even their own crowd/audience boos them. You cringe whenever they get near the ball. They’re trying hard, going to practice etc … but still failing.
I would not want to be a Ten sales rep who has to go back to client after selling big dreams around their morning show, Got to Dance, Masterchef 2012, Masterchef Allstars, I Will Survive, The Project, Late News etc
14 Aug 12
1:22 pm
It’s hard to know which set of management at TEN was worse – the over-ambitious of two or so years ago who decided to spend millions on expanding evrything they clearly couldn’t do well – or the Lachlan-led lot to followed and commissioned what they clearly knew nothing about!
Bring back somebody .. anybody .. who knows what they’re doing Where’s Peter Viner these days?
14 Aug 12
1:43 pm
Harry, Look at the scoreboard, Grant Blackley left with a share price of $1.50, it’s now 45c… The market sure as sh!t gives any toe to toe to Blackley by knock out… D
14 Aug 12
2:03 pm
Go nine, notice that Georgie the seven lover is very quiet these days.
14 Aug 12
2:11 pm
Doesnt Australia realise that Sarah is married to the richest guy in Oz TV. And that everyone should be watching. What is a nice suburban Mum doing with Hip Hoppers on EDN ? WTF ?
14 Aug 12
2:59 pm
@Lucinda … Shouldn’t your kids, aged 12, 14 and 15, be doing homework at that time of night? You let them watch this rubbish? No wonder the youth of this country is going to hell in a hurry … Some of the above was tongue in cheek, but I think there’s actually a grain of truth in there somewhere.
14 Aug 12
3:24 pm
Is Sarah married to Gina?
14 Aug 12
5:24 pm
@David, no knockout,Tens shares were over $4.50 under Blackley then down to around $0.80,and by memory I don’t think he left! But agree with Harry,massive issues ahead.
14 Aug 12
7:00 pm
Harry, I think you will find that Peter Viner retired when CanWest was finally sold-off and wound up.
14 Aug 12
8:40 pm
Nice to be missed cba. I am here- have just not been able to log on at work since some days mumbrella is blocked by the gateway at work!! What can you say about people who bagged Big Brother when Ten pioneered it all those years ago and who now think nothing of it.
Ten has opened a “can of worms’. None of their programming this year has worked. Can of Worms, I will survive, dont tell the bride, the Shire,Everybody dance now. Sarah M is the wrong host, she is a very shy person and cannot adlib. Why have two singers as judges is anyones guess.
CBA- I have criticised Seven as well, I have asked that they bring out their big guns in the lead up to the AFL finals. Xfactor should rate for Seven.
15 Aug 12
11:02 am
@zumabeach – Sigh! Really – what a cliche to attack a parenting style. Who do you think is watching this show but teenagers? Maybe they finished their homework in the afternoon and were ready to watch some tele.
15 Aug 12
12:36 pm
@zumabeach- yes they had finished all their homework! Thanks for your concern!!!
You will be relieved to know they didn’t watch it last night, but apparently there was A LOT of talk about it at school.
15 Aug 12
1:29 pm
Lucinda,what a crying shame that BB is the hottest topic for teenagers these days. As you can see from the second night ratings this show will tank after a few eps.I did not watch it but watched the previous incarnation on Ten.There is nothing worthwhile on tv these days.
Go Sunrise!!!(for cba’s benefit)