Amanda Laing being pushed out was only the start of Nine’s week from hell.
Also in this edition of Media McKnight:
- A look behind the scenes of the White House press pack
- Bob Katter reflects on his extreme outburst at reporter Josh Bavis a year on
- How listening habits in cars is changing
- 70 UP a television triumph
You can watch the video edition of MEDIA McKNIGHT in the YouTube player below:
NINE SACKS AMANDA LAING AS TODAY TURNS INTO A SHOPPING CHANNEL
Big changes are happening at Channel Nine, and staff are far from happy about them.
The network has sacked executive Amanda Laing, who was appointed to lead Nine’s new streaming and broadcast division. She was made redundant just 18 months after starting at the network.
Staff are confused by the decision, particularly because Laing was the architect behind the Future News initiative. Personally, I like Amanda. In my conversations with her, she had a passion for the industry and understood that things need to change for long-term growth.
Why was she punted?
Rumours are flying within the corridors of 1D. Was she sacrificed by CEO Matt Stanton to take the pressure off himself? Or was she shaping up as a possible replacement for him, so he got rid of her?
If the second rumour is true, it wouldn’t be crazy to suggest she could return at some point, with the board biding its time. Look at what happened with Angus Ross at Seven. He was sacked, only to return months later. Television is crazy at the moment, and anything can happen.
Either way, Nine continues to look like a boys club with the sacking of a powerful woman. It’s a perception this move won’t help break.
Shop TODAY
Speaking of Future News, we’ve had a taste of where the TODAY show is heading. Host Tom Steinfort has embraced the advertorial-style segments in Shop Today.
Here’s how Friday’s segment started. Tom and Sylvia were joined by host Sarah Stewart, who directed viewers to the TODAY website for exclusive deals and codes, and admitted the show earns a commission if they buy through the site..
It walked like an advertorial, and it quacked like an advertorial.
It was an advertorial.
But if that wasn’t bad enough, Tom decided to go all in by donning an Oodie that was being spruiked.
The crazy thing is the hosts aren’t even getting paid extra to do these ads. I did get the hosts of Studio 10 to do similar things when I ran that show, but that was a morning show, not a breakfast TV show.
This is the commercial reality of Australian television in 2026 though.
For Nine, it’s no longer about ratings. It’s all about revenue. The big question is whether viewers will care, and to be honest, I don’t think they will. In fairness to Tom and Sylvia, they made it an entertaining segment, and I’d rather watch that than a traditional advertorial. It’s about letting viewers know they’re watching an ad, and I think TODAY has made that very clear.
The staff revolt
Behind the scenes, staff are openly revolting against the planned Future News changes. I’ll have more on that in Thursday’s Inside Mail in the Daily Mail. Employment lawyer Michael Byrnes is also joining me on Thursday night on McKnight Tonight to talk about the new contracts staff are being given, or forced to take, and the legalities of them.
Suffice to say, the network is going to have big trouble covering for people calling in sick under its new overtime rules. Some staff are openly saying they will no longer come in on their days off.
The increased workload could soon lead to scenes like a clip doing the rounds from a US local news station. A young reporter, new to the job, is producing, directing and hosting her own bulletin. She fumbles with a mic, asks the control room whether it’s the audio and the Zoom feed, then crosses live to a reporter who has frozen, just as breaking news lands. Her verdict at the end: “That was incredibly stressful.”
Tom and Sylvia, I think you’ve just seen a glimpse of your future.
INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS TENTS
Last week we discussed Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. A judge has now overturned that decision, but Trump is still banning reporters from events, despite them having access again. This dispute is far from over.
One small positive for TV fans is that we’ve been given a look at the areas reporters use for their outside standups. On air, a CNN reporter’s live cross looks like it’s happening in the open. Behind the scenes, pictures from AFP show tents allocated to each news organisation. They keep reporters undercover while the shot looks like they’re standing in the elements. Each structure has only one side open, so the reporter has a clear view of the background behind them.
I love seeing stuff like this. It was the one good thing to come from the media ban.
BOB KATTER HAS NO REGRETS ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THAT BLOW-UP WITH JOSH BAVIS
We’ve just passed the first anniversary of the infamous showdown between Bob Katter and reporter Josh Bavis, when Bavis referred to Katter’s Lebanese heritage and Katter reacted angrily, calling the reporter a racist.
Monday on McKnight Tonight, I asked Katter whether he had any regrets. His answer was emphatic: “not the slightest”. He said he sees it as every Australian’s duty to stand against the forces that divide us, and that he gets angry when people start talking about race in front of him. He grew up in Cloncurry in the 1950s, and he told me you’re programmed by a tough small town.
I put it to him that Bavis may not have realised he was pushing a button. Katter wasn’t having it, saying:
“He didn’t press a button with me. He pressed a button with every single Australian. He looked at me and he did not see an Australian. He had a wasp conviction”
I disagree with Bob Katter on this, but I respect and admire the fact that he’ll have the conversation. While he stands by his actions, I still don’t believe a reporter should be treated that way by anyone, let alone a politician.
RADIO LOSES THE CAR
Radio futurologist James Cridland has released some fascinating research on listening habits in cars. In his latest newsletter, he reveals that radio is no longer the number one choice in the car in America. Edison Research’s Share of Ear study shows young Americans are choosing to listen to their mobile phones instead.
James says he’s not surprised, since he rarely listens to radio in the car himself. His phone connects to the dashboard, so he has podcasts and Spotify.
He calls this “quite the watershed moment”: for younger Americans at least, radio has become less relevant than the audio on their own phones.
It makes sense. Even when I listen to radio, I generally use an app. The only exception is dropping my daughter off, when we listen to Alpha bucks on B105. Otherwise, it’s podcasts and Spotify.
That doesn’t bode well for the radio industry, and it’s why personalities will be so important in getting audiences to tune in. It’s why I believe playing it too safe, as ARN has just done with Dr Chris Brown on KIIS in Sydney, will lead to failure. You might have brand safety, but you won’t have audience engagement.
You can hear more from James at james.cridland.net.
70 UP FINISHES WITH A BANG
I watched 70 UP over the weekend, the final chapter in the groundbreaking 7 UP series.
It started as a one-off special in 1964, and the series has kept filming the same group of children every seven years. It was inspired by the Jesuit motto, “Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man.” The final episode shows some truth to that in some cases, but disproves it with other participants.
The first episode of the two-part special updates us on the lives of the people we’ve followed all these years. The second reflects on the experiment and how it has changed their lives. Even those who have had issues with director Michael Apted, who died after 63 UP, are sad to see this chapter come to a close.
70 UP airs in Australia on October 7 on SBS and SBS On Demand. It’s well worth a look, even if you’ve never watched any of the earlier episodes.
Media McKnight is published on YouTube every Tuesday at 8pm AEST at YouTube.com/@McKnightTonight.
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