Media turf war
A puzzling spat emerged this week between 2GB host Ben Fordham and The Daily Telegraph concerning the announcement of John Laws‘ death.
The Tele had suggested that Fordham and his celebrity agent brother Nick had tried to keep Golden Tonsils’ passing aged 90 a ‘secret’ so it could be announced on 2GB breakfast to boost ratings.
Fordham called bulls*** – issuing a strongly worded denial on air on Tuesday.
‘The greatest broadcaster in the history of Australian radio dies – a man loved by millions around the country – and you’ve got your knickers in a knot about not being able to announce it fast enough?’ he said.
Fordham, whose late father John was Laws’ manager, said the only ‘delay’ was choosing not to share the news publicly until all of Laws’ family had been notified – ‘otherwise I would have phoned it into 2GB, like I always do,’ he said.
So, why did the Tele stick the knife into Fordham?
Well, rumour has it the Sydney newspaper wanted to have a little jab after Fordham called out a gaffe in the Sunday Telegraph’s pre-Melbourne Cup sweepstakes.
A puzzling spat emerged this week between 2GB host Ben Fordham (right) and The Daily Telegraph concerning the announcement of John Laws’ (left) death
Some readers had complained that about a dozen horses were numbered incorrectly – though Inside Mail understands the misprint only appeared in an early edition and not everywhere – and Fordham saw fit to mention it on air.
When asked about whispers the Laws story was payback for calling out the error, Fordham told Inside Mail: ‘I don’t believe in conspiracy theories unless it’s the one about the fake Moon landing or Earth being flat.
‘By the way, I didn’t call out anyone or anything – I just read out two listener emails on air.’
Sunday Telegraph editor Anna Caldwell and Daily Telegraph editor Ben English were contacted for comment.
Podcast chief exits LiSTNR
It’s a tough time for media at the moment, with the advertising downturn resulting in many talented, dedicated people losing their jobs.
But one redundancy last week surprised us: radio veteran Nic McClure, who ran the podcasting team at LiSTNR, was let go by Southern Cross Austereo.
It was an odd decision. It’s no secret that SCA is facing challenging times, but LiSTNR is undoubtedly a success story – having been built from scratch and brought to profitability in under four years.
Radio veteran Nic McClure (left), who ran the podcasting team at LiSTNR and was executive producer of Jess Rowe’s (right) podcast, was let go by Southern Cross Austereo last week
McClure was there the whole time, overseeing a stable of local podcasts, while also doubling as executive producer of The Jess Rowe Big Talk Show.
So, what gives? SCA’s Head of Entertainment and News Content Sam Kavanagh didn’t reply to our email. McClure wouldn’t comment either when we called her, other than to politely confirm she had left the business.
This week, eyes were on Jess Rowe and whether her podcast interview series will continue without McClure at the helm.
Rowe is no stranger to a brutal exit: ‘boned’ by Nine after a brief stint co-hosting Today with Karl Stefanovic, then leaving Studio Ten ‘to be a more present mum’ – only for former EP Rob McKnight to claim Ten had wanted her out for over a year.
Fortunately for Rowe, we can confirm her job at SCA is safe. Her LiSTNR podcast will continue in 2026 – presumably with a new EP.
Her manager David H Wilson told Inside Mail: ‘Jess and Nic have recently completed the Jess Rowe Big Talk Show production schedule for 2025.
‘The podcast will begin summer hiatus in December and will return in the new year for its fifth year.’
Are Media quashes sale talk – but staff are worried
Are Media management reassured staff this week that rumours the publisher’s suite of magazines are being sold off individually – rather than as a group – are totally false.
The denial follows industry chatter that News Corp was eyeing TV Week and The Australian Women’s Weekly – excluding the rest of Are’s magazine stable.
An Are Media spokesperson said on Tuesday: ‘It’s categorically untrue – we are not selling The Australian Women’s Weekly and/or TV Week.’
News Corp also strongly denied any interest in cherry-picking titles.
Magazine publisher Are Media has rebuffed industry chatter that News Corp is eyeing TV Week and The Australian Women’s Weekly – excluding the rest of Are’s stable of titles
During the company meeting this week, CEO Jane Huxley ‘came across as nervous and joked about how it basically took her three minutes to say there’s nothing to report’, said an insider
Inside Mail was surprised – our Park Street sources rarely miss. Could it be a case of suspicious minds?
After all, it’s no secret Are Media is on the market.
We were first to report in July that private equity firm Mercury Capital was looking to offload the company after five years, with KPMG Corporate Finance engaged to handle the sale.
During a company meeting this week, CEO Jane Huxley spoke briefly about the sale. ‘She obviously knows people are talking,’ says a source.
She said they were committed to taking as long as it takes to find the right buyer and that as soon as there’s anything to report, staff will be the first ones to know.
‘She came across as nervous and joked about how it basically took her three minutes to say there’s nothing to report,’ adds our insider.
It comes after a company survey found most employees were worried about how the sale would impact their jobs.
‘Jane and HR both downplayed people’s concerns and said they had nothing to worry about,’ says our source.
‘The general consensus [among staff] is something’s going on. Jane usually comes across as a strong, confident speaker. At the meeting, she appeared flustered.’
Have you tried porn?
We love an ambitious PR pitch here at Inside Mail – and this absolute gem of an email from young publicist Daisy Sawyer deserves a gold star for chutzpah.
Ms Sawyer’s email trumpeted ‘new data’ showing that ‘some of Australia’s most searched reality stars are missing out on major earnings’.
Why? Because they aren’t doing porn.
‘Thousands of fans are googling their names alongside “OnlyFans” and “nudes”,’ Sawyer goes on to say, ‘despite many not being on the platform’. What a waste.
Love Island beefcake Ryan Reid and MAFS brides Jamie Marinos and Lauren Dunn topped the gooners’ wishlist of celebs who’ve failed to cash in with online smut.
Still, the press release helpfully reminded us of the reality TV desperados who have stripped for digital dollars – including MAFS’s Bronte Schofield and Olivia Frazer – so it’s not all bad news for the nation’s one-handed typists.
The ‘data’ came courtesy of, er, National Accounts – whose spokesman Mike Wilczynski said they ‘work closely with content creators at all stages, including those who monetise content through platforms such as OnlyFans’. Good to know.
PR gurus hose down feud rumours
Speaking of ‘spicy’ creators, we’ve heard whispers of a rift between two of the biggest names in the micro-industry that is OnlyFans publicity.
The two players are Lucy Banks – founder of ‘adult industry-friendly’ PR and talent management agency Million Billion Media – and her one-time protege Emma Gillman.
Quick recap: Banks joined forces with Gillman, a former Mamamia lifestyle writer-turned-publicist, around November 2023.
That partnership lasted for a year before Gillman quit Million Billion Media to launch her own PR firm, Siren Group – which offers similar promotional services and media training for OnlyFans models – in late 2024.
Rumblings of a possible feud began after Gillman brought several Million Billion clients over with her to Siren Group – including adult star Annie Knight, who you might know as ‘Australia’s Most Sexually Active Woman’.
We’ve heard whispers of a rift between two of the biggest names in the micro-industry that is OnlyFans publicity: Lucy Banks of Million Billion Media (left) and her one-time protege Emma Gillman of Siren Group (right)
Former Million Billion publicist Nina Sakuyama-Chandler also followed Gillman out the door to work for her new company.
Their split has become the talk of the naughtier side of Australia’s public relations biz.
Still, ever the polished PR professional, Gillman was quick to hose down any talk of burned bridges, insisting to us there was no ‘rift’ with her former mentor.
‘Lucy and I decided to pursue separate business directions last year,’ she said.
‘Clients and staff made their own decisions about where they wanted to continue working, all handled transparently and in line with our agreement.’
Banks didn’t reply to our email, but a friend of hers told Inside Mail there was no bad blood despite her losing clients and a staff member to Siren Group in the last year.
‘From what I know, Emma just wanted to do her own thing that was strictly PR, so she flew the nest and it was up to the clients if they stayed or went,’ they said.
‘Some left as they dealt mostly with Emma and some stayed.
‘Lucy and Million Billion Media have gradually been broadening their operations from PR into other areas like mentoring, running the Adult Choice Awards and SXhibition.’
So, a happy ending for all involved?
Splashing out on spinners
The Queensland LNP held its state council at Sea World and the agenda read like a culture-war showbag: criminalise flag burning, cap immigration to whatever the housing market can handle – oh, and it wants to sell the ABC and SBS to fund a regional-only broadcaster.
Even delegates in the room balked at the ABC/SBS fire sale, which we thought had some merit (other than it being highly unlikely anyone would want to buy it).
There was even a dolphin show on hand, although we’re assured it wasn’t organised for the conference specifically.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, it was revealed that the LNP state government employs nearly 1,300 comms and marketing hacks, yet still also spent nearly $5 million on external PR consultants in the past year alone.
If you need that many spruikers, perhaps the product isn’t worth selling?
When the spin unit is bigger than parts of the frontline workforce, the public knows exactly who the government is working the hardest to help. Hint: it’s not the voters.
‘Keeping momentum alive’
Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest‘s arrival at COP30 in Brazil is turning heads, not just for climate policy, but for a possible romantic reunion.
Morocco’s Energy Minister, Dr Leila Benali – who was allegedly seen with Forrest in a Paris park last year following his split from wife Nicola – is also attending the summit.
The pair was seen holding hands and looking ‘very affectionate’ in the Marais district, sparking speculation of a budding relationship.
Now, with both representing their nations at COP30, whispers of a rendezvous aboard Fortescue’s ‘Green Pioneer’ ship are swirling.
In the midst of this intrigue, Forrest is leading the largest Australian private sector delegation to the summit.
Andrew Forrest’s arrival at COP30 in Brazil will see him reunite with Moroccan politician Leila Benali, with whom he was allegedly photographed in a Paris park last year after his split from wife Nicola
The pair were allegedly seen holding hands and looking ‘very affectionate’ in the Marais district, sparking speculation of a budding relationship. (Pictured: Morocco’s Energy Minister, Dr Leila Benali)
His official COP crew includes new sustainability chief Bronwyn Grieve, former Coalition staffer Zachary August, and Harriet Glenn.
Whether they arrived via the Green Pioneer or Forrest’s now-scrubbed-from-the-internet private jet remains unclear.
The summit follows a string of setbacks for Forrest’s green ambitions.
His push for a global carbon tax via the International Maritime Organization stalled after backlash from the Trump administration; Fortescue’s emissions are up 12 per cent; and references to hydrogen and ammonia projects have quietly vanished from its website.
Still, Forrest is in Brazil trying to ‘keep momentum alive’ – perhaps in more ways than one.
Zero clue
Sussan Ley is showing the sort of leadership you’d expect from a follower.
At the Liberal party room meeting on Wednesday afternoon, she stayed largely silent so that her colleagues could have their say on what to do about net zero.
Giving every MP and senator a say on the issue one by one would normally be the sort of excruciating experience you’d pay good money to not have to sit through. Thankfully, the Liberal party room is so small after the election thumping earlier this year it didn’t take too long.
We’ll need to wait a few days to see just how bad the fallout from what transpired was, including waiting for shadow cabinet to consider next steps. But the likely outcome is stepping off an electoral cliff, as the once-major party’s polling continues to nosedive towards minor party status.
At the Liberal party room meeting on Wednesday afternoon, Sussan Ley stayed largely silent so that her colleagues could have their say on what to do about net zero
Published opinion polls have the Liberal Party vote only marginally higher than that of One Nation these days, a sad legacy for the right of centre party formed by the great Robert Menzies back in 1944.
Were he still alive and kicking he’d be reaching for the scotch we’re sure. Leadership is supposed to settle an argument, not host it. Ley is curating a museum of hesitations with the way she continues to (mis)manage this issue: every exhibit a poll pointing down, down, down.
If this is strategic minimalism, it’s the sort that minimises the party for a generation. The Liberals aren’t just losing this debate, they’re outsourcing it to time, and time isn’t on their side.
Qatar-astrophic judgement
A curious claim from the Australian Council of Trade Unions has left Inside Mail scratching its head, after the union body held up Qatar as a model of workplace excellence.
Yes, Qatar, the same nation infamous for human rights abuses and a World Cup built on the backs of exploited migrant workers.
ACTU president Michele O’Neil says Australia should ‘meet international benchmarks’ like Qatar’s rule banning outdoor work when the wet bulb temperature hits 32.1°C.
Sounds reasonable, until you remember Amnesty International’s reports that workers in Qatar still face wage theft, job restrictions, and broken grievance systems.
Notably in Australia, most industries here already operate under far tougher conditions.
Queensland’s mining sector, for instance, requires companies to manage heat risk once the wet bulb temperature exceeds 27°C , and bans work altogether in extreme heat, except in emergencies.
Western Australia has similar rules in place.
But sure, let’s take lessons from a country where thousands of migrant workers died building stadiums for the World Cup.
Qatar admits to 400–500 deaths, though independent reports suggest the toll could be as high as 6,500.
A lecture in losing
As Liberal parliamentarians were preparing themselves for the party room meeting to discuss what to do about net zero, Bradfield near-miss Gisele Kapterian emailed them a warning.
Except… those who received the email aren’t actually her colleagues – she lost.
Only in modern Liberal Party politics can you lose by 26 votes and then deliver a victory lecture.
Even more ironic: she only emailed members of the shadow frontbench, perhaps because leader Sussan Ley appointed her to it, before having to rescind the offer after Gisele ended up losing.
You couldn’t make it up!
Kapterian is probably right on the politics: dump net zero and you can’t win Bradfield, a host of other city-based seats, or government. But timing is everything and the email lacked EQ. After all, she lost Bradfield even when the party supported net zero.
Parliamentarians don’t generally love lectures from people not in the room. Shadow ministers bristle at being told what ‘mathematically’ they must do by someone who fell short on the numbers… although those we spoke to did enjoy the irony.
Perhaps the misplaced tone in Gisele’s email was fresh evidence of how she lost a seat never before lost by a party she’s devoted most of her working life to?
RIP Richo
The passing of one-time Labor powerbroker Graham Richardson led to a swathe of tributes, but one in particular caught our attention.
Sky News Australia CEO Paul Whitaker laid it on, hailing Richo as ‘one of the sharpest political minds’ whose almost 15 years on Sky ‘enhanced political discourse’.
Lovely corporate prose from the man touted as a future CEO of News Corp, but let’s keep some perspective. Richo’s real significance rests on his political achievements, not his pay-TV punditry.
He was a factional general, a cabinet minister, a fixer who could move numbers in his sleep. The king-maker who delivered Paul Keating the prime ministership when Bob Hawke was rolled, leading to the 1993 election win as a consequence.
That’s the headline, and it always will be.
If we’re ranking the media chapter of Richo’s life, his time on Channel Nine comes a distant second to his political exploits – because it actually reached mass audiences on election nights and in prime time.
Free-to-air news routinely draws hundreds of thousands of viewers – in Richo’s time, sometimes millions. Sky’s after-dark talk shows don’t. That isn’t a slur, it’s ratings reality.
Sky gave Richo his own soapbox – his self-titled program Richo – but audiences were typically in the tens of thousands. That makes his Sky era a comfortable coda, not the main act: a well-funded retirement bonus that he managed to successfully drag out.
Richo did it with his familiar candour and bite, of course, but it wasn’t history-making television and everyone outside the building knows it.
Crikey left on read
The Australian left was buzzing after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani‘s win, prompting the usual chorus: What does this all mean for Australian politics?
Inside Mail’s verdict? F** all.
And frankly, those who slammed Peter Dutton for ‘Americanising Australian politics’ during the last election might want to take a long, hard look in the mirror.
But Daany Saeed over at Crikey went one better – firing off an email to the Prime Minister’s office for comment.
Plucky Crikey media correspondent Daany Saeed knows how to find a yarn – but fishing for a comment from our PM about NYC’s mayoral race drew scoffs across the political spectrum
Mamdani’s victory was historic, for sure. But what bearing does it have on Australian politics? Absolutely none. (Pictured: Mamdani and his wife Rama Duwaji on election night in Brooklyn)
‘I contacted Prime Minister Albanese’s office in relation to Zohran Mamdani’s victory and whether there were any lessons for Australian politicians. I haven’t heard back.’
Inside Mail assumes that email went straight to the recycle bin, and judging by the reaction, we weren’t alone.
The tweet that set Auspol X ablaze was met with a flood of criticism from both sides, with one person summing up everyone’s thoughts.
‘He has 94 seats, man. He’ll get 3–4 terms. I don’t think he needs your advice,’ one user said.
The post was eventually deleted, but Inside Mail is forever.
