Nine seems okay with its network star platforming far-right extremists
The mystery of the disappearing podcast from The Karl Stefanovic Show is an interesting one. Why is the episode gone? Was it pulled from YouTube, Spotify, and other platforms carrying the show due to Karl’s platforming of UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson?
Maybe.
More likely is it was a step too far for Australian broadcaster Nine who are currently paying Karl handsomely to host Today every morning. We know that relationship likely isn’t going to last beyond the year, but even so there’s only so far that Nine are likely to allow their star to travel into far-right dickheadry while still asking mainstream companies to advertise on their TV network.
It’s difficult to see how it is okay that one of the faces of Nine is going out there calling the UK Prime Minister a wanker. And that’s the least of the concerns from the podcast interview.
Maybe Nine pulled the interview. Maybe it was Karl’s team. Maybe it was the other platforms acting independently.
Whatever the case, it is silence from Nine on the matter.
As recounted by The Guardian:
In the near-hour long episode of the podcast, the Karl Stefanovic Show, Robinson repeated his central trope that Muslims in Britain had been “terrorising our country for decades” and were “doing it now in Australia”. Stefanovic did not challenge Robinson’s comments.
I have real problems with a TV broadcaster in Australia keeping Stefanovic on the air while he is out there platforming far-right voices like Tommy Robinson. Every morning Stefanovic is seen on Nine’s airwaves, treated like a reputable broadcaster. One of the Nine family of talent. It creates a permission structure for viewers to listen to ‘good bloke’ Karl on his own YouTube show pushing far-right politics.
If Nine is okay with that, then lets see Nine embrace these sorts of perspectives on its own airwaves and sell that to media buyers. Lets see if Nine is “still the one” for brand safety.
Wait… an actually interesting game from Netflix…?
I’ve been pretty underwhelmed by a lot of the games released by Netflix. Or, at least the ones that I have sampled… I can’t say Netflix’s game selection is something I have given a lot of attention to.
But, my kid has been pretty actively playing the Peppa Pig Netflix game and is pretty keen on the new Netflix Playground app. So, it isn’t like there are no Netflix games being played in my household.
Netflix have a new game set for release on June 30 that sounds pretty cool. It’s a new, stand-alone game (ie not based on existing IP) called Unhinged. It is made to be played in under an hour and features voices from Zoë Kravitz, Sadie Sink, and Troy Baker. .
The innovation with the game is that it uses the players phone as a controller (standard for Netflix games), but that phone is then used to also But it also serve as the lead character’s phone, receiving calls, texts and acting as a flashlight. Just like your phone IRL.
From the NYT:
“The phone is your only lifeline,” the game’s director, Sam Warner, said. “I think that that dependency on the phone becomes pretty evident.” The player’s phone functions as both a flashlight through the dark building and the only connection to Claire, who acts as Ava’s confidant, informant and cheerleader as she tries to escape. “I think that that’s a different relationship than what a lot of games try to do with a controller,” Warner said.
How much players want to use their phone in-game, or answer real-world distractions, is up to them. “I do think of my phone as like a portal to, like, a hell world,” Warner said. “But it does make a great controller.”
News Desk
The latest Harlan Coben Netflix drama, I Will Find You, had the biggest premiere week for any new Netflix series so far this year with 131.7 million hours of watch time globally. Read: THR
Lawyers for Julia Ormond have requested the court issue a bench warrant for the arrest of Michael Ovitz after he walked out of a deposition when refusing to answer questions about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. It is related to her ongoing lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein. Read: THR
Ponies has been cancelled after a single season at Peacock. Maybe stop producing ongoing series with a movie plot stretched out over eight episodes? Read: Variety
A proposed series based on the DeuxMoi novel Anon Pls is no longer in development at HBO Max. Read: Dark Horizons
The writing team at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has paid for Emmys For Your Consideration ads that claim CBS hasn’t paid for an Emmy campaign for them. It has, however, paid for other Emmy campaigns for the show. Read: THR
Dave Letterman’s production company Worldwide Pants has teamed with NBCUniversal and Merzigo to expand distribution of his two late night chat shows across digital networks. Read: Variety
Savannah Guthrie has responded on the US Today Show to news that a letter sent to media claims that her mother died shortly after her kidnapping in February. Read: THR
The Edinburgh TV Festival is making the move to Manchester after a fifty year run. Read: Variety
Trailer Park
DINK debuts on Apple TV July 24.
A washed-up tennis pro must play pickleball in this new comedy movie. Starring Jake Johnson and Mary Steenburgen.
Stuart Fails To Save The Universe debuts on HBO Max July 23.
Comic book store owner Stuart Bloom is tasked with restoring reality after he breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard, accidentally bringing about a multiverse Armageddon.
Batman: Knightfall is coming to home entertainment platforms later this year.
Chainsmoker Cat debuts on Netflix July 2.
Catgirl Yani struggles to pay her rent and keep a job while feeding her smoking habit. As her loved ones' concerns grow, she must rethink her future.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
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