Queer Eye

The mainstream media teaches its audiences what “yass” means, NSW pushes for controversial defamation reform, plus other media tidbits from the day.

Queer Eye‘s media blitz. It would’ve been hard to miss that the Fab Five from Netflix’s Queer Eye have been in town, promoting the new season of their show. Local press have been very keen to get on board with the promotions, running stories about the cast’s visit to Yass, NSW this week.

Covering pop culture does bring certain challenges to traditional media outlets, especially for audiences that may not be familiar with the show or cast. For example, Fairfax’s report of the cast’s trip to Yass required an explanation of why they would choose the town: “Yaass is a drawn out version of ‘yes’, used in modern vernacular to describe an amazing, inspiring or incredible thing or event. Like a makeover.” The Australian today simply said it was wordplay on a catchphrase: “Their exaggerated pronunciation of ‘yes’.”

On Sunrise yesterday, Sam Armytage was very cosy with the cast, while her co-host David Koch spent most of the interview a bit confused about what they were talking about (as were, you might guess, some of their viewers).

And over on Studio 10, hosts Sarah Harris and Angela Bishop were delighted to host a 20-minute interview — a feeling not quite reflected in the one audience shot during the segment.

NSW push for defamation reform. The NSW government has recommended changes to national defamation laws, to adapt to an increase in social media cases. Its review recommends introducing a “serious harm” threshold for suing and, The Guardian reports, a national review into whether corporations should be able to sue for defamation. 

New Yorker unionises. Staff at news magazine The New Yorker have unionised, asking their editor to recognise them as such. The US mag had traditionally been anti-union, but joins a growing movement of workplace organising in the US, including the Chicago Tribune earlier this year, which had never before had a union. They’ve joined the News Guild of New York, which also represents workers at The New York Times, Associated Press and the Washington Post.

The revolving door. The ABC’s chief spinner Nick Leys is leaving for a job at the Australian Energy Council. Leys has been at the ABC since 2014, working in corporate affairs. He was previously the media editor at The Australian, following other roles at the paper, and earlier jobs at the Sunday Telegraph, Herald Sun, and the ABC’s Media Watch.

Amazon in huge sports deal. By any measure or adjective it is a big deal — Amazon has bought its first rights to games in the English Premier League, the world’s most popular global competition. This is the first time a major sport’s controllers have deliberately involved a new tech giant in a major part of their business and for UK rights holders Sky (currently controlled by 21st Century Fox) and UK telco BT. Life will never be the same again. 

The move to bring in Amazon, through its Prime streaming service into the UK rights arrangement follows the fall in the value of the next UK EPL rights contract, from £5.1 billion for the current contract, to £4.6 billion for the new one starting in 2019 and running to 2022. The price fell because Sky and BT refused to boost the amounts they were prepared to pay from the current contract, and in fact cut them.

Now the EPL turns its attention to global rights outside the UK and media analysts are watching to see if Amazon pops up in the US (where NBC has the broadcast rights to EPL), Australia (Optus and SBS) and other markets. The global rights are worth another £3 billion to the EPL and for the next contract from 2021, but could be much larger again. — Glenn Dyer

Glenn Dyer’s TV Ratings. Seven’s night in total people, the main channels and the key demos. Ten’s MasterChef did well with 1.14 million nationally and the most watched non-news program.  In the metros the ABC’s 7.30 had one of its worst nights four years — 442,000, putting it behind The 7pm Project with 501,000 and Ten News with 445,000 (for the first time in yonks, if not all time).

In regional areas another winning night for Seven with the 6pm News on top with 591,000, then Seven News/Today Tonight with 490,000, The 5.30pm part of The Chase Australia with 391,000, Home and Away was with 380,000 and the 7pm ABC News was with 342,000. Read the rest at the Crikey website.