In this week’s On Background, the ABC takes revenge on its 24-hour rival, a boat full of sporting media luminaries proves an unhealthy place to be, and The Guardian’s internal tensions revealed.
Revenge of the Aunty
Sky News finally filed an application to trademark the words “News 24” and accompanying logo this week ahead of the conservative opinion network’s major rebrand later this year.
But while armchair graphic designers have privately had their say on the Canva-made logo, the ABC, On Background can reveal, is preparing a stronger response: its legal eagles are planning to lodge an actual objection to the trademark application and Sky News’ rebrand.
That’s because, as we explained on Monday, the name is eerily similar to the trademark currently owned by Aunty: ABC News 24, the initial name of its 24-hour news service now known as News Channel.
Intellectual property barrister Jane Rawlings told us the ABC has a case to argue, and our sources at the broadcaster clearly agree.
But it makes you wonder, does what goes around really come around?
When the ABC was preparing for the launch of its 24-hour news channel in 2010, it had come up with a great name for the new network: News24. It would be a free rival to the only other 24-hour news channel in the market: Sky News Australia, which had been operating since 1996.
So did Sky take that lying down? Not likely. It lodged a dispute and demanded that “ABC” be added to its rival’s name. The ABC’s hand was forced. Its updated trademark – ABC News 24 – was accepted in 2010. But despite the channel changing its name to “News Channel” in 2017, the ABC still holds the original “ABC News 24” trademark to this day.
Revenge, it would seem, is a dish best served cold.
The ABC and Sky were both contacted for comment.
Taylor made stand-off
Weeks on, and we’re still learning new details about Lenore Taylor’s sudden exit from Guardian Australia. Now, On Background can report that the resignation followed months of tension between Taylor and her most senior colleague in the country.
Taylor’s resignation on Tuesday afternoon two weeks ago, announced via email when she wasn’t even in the office, caught most staff off guard. But it followed a year when the relationship between Taylor and local managing director Rebecca Costello had deteriorated significantly, four sources with knowledge of the decision not authorised to speak publicly said.
It is not uncommon in media organisations for there to be tension between the editorial and commercial divisions, both of which are trying to advance causes that can sometimes be at odds. But in this case, it appears to have escalated beyond run-of-the-mill professional differences.
There’s certainly plenty in the background to cause tension, not least several missed quarters of sales targets, in spite of record readership figures.
There had been talk of Taylor, who had entered her tenth year as editor, stepping down for some time, though internal sources say the UK head office had begun to think the time was nigh for renewal.
After the relationship between Costello and Taylor went downhill, the editor resigned, catching global editor-in-chief Katharine Viner and international chief executive Anna Bateson, who had a planned trip to Australia the following week, off guard.
The Guardian advertised for the role externally last week. That surprised staff, who were shocked the publication would defy convention and look externally for the editor.
Among the internal contenders, rumoured contender and one of two Australian deputy editors, Patrick Keneally, looks like he may be ruled out. His partner, Bonnie Malkin, the outlet’s international editor, has accepted a posting at The New York Times’ South Korean bureau. Congratulations to Malkin.
The question now is, what kind of operation will the new Guardian Australia editor inherit? It made some of its first redundancies last year as part of a minor restructure. And attention and investment has shifted to its rapidly growing US newsroom.
A bolstered American newsroom has also helped drive the outlet’s local rise in the Ipsos rankings over the past year amid the crazy first year of a second Donald Trump presidency.
In response to a series of question from On Background, a Guardian spokesperson pointed to Taylor’s statement from the day of her resignation where she said building the editorial team had been an “honour, a challenge and a lot of fun”.
“I’ve been musing on this decision for some time. But there’s always been another challenge, another big story or another reason to defer it. There’s always the next thing in a job that is so utterly exhilarating and all-consuming. But it is also utterly exhausting.
“Ten years is a long time to work at this pace. It leaves little time to care for yourself or for those you love. So, for many reasons, I have decided it’s time to pass the baton.”
Buzz off too much for old-timers
It was the sort of night that News Corp journalist Phil “Buzz” Rothfield made a career reporting on – ambulances rushing to Sydney wharf after a rambunctious cruise attended by a who’s who of Sydney’s media and sporting worlds.
But this time, the boozy boat ride on Thursday, February 19 was being held for Rothfield, with the luminaries on board celebrating the retirement of the prominent News Corp rugby league journalist.
Guests included 2GB’s Ben Fordham, who had planned ahead and taken Friday off his breakfast radio show, as well as The Daily Telegraph editor Ben English, former New York Post editor Col Allan, ex-Socceroo Mark Bosnich, St George Illawarra Dragons and Manly Warringah Sea Eagles coaches Shane Flanagan and Anthony Seibold alongside others.
Rothfield, fellow Telegraph reporter Dean Ritchie (who organised the party), English and NRL player manager Steve Gillis gave speeches during the four-hour event, which started at 6pm. It was paid for by former Penrith Panther-turned-property-developer Lew Zivanovic, guests told this masthead.
Alas, for all his generosity, Zivanovic was too ill to attend, and he wasn’t the only guest to come a cropper.
Not one but two ambulances were needed over the course of the stinking hot night. One former league journalist was the first to go down, collapsing on board the boat. He was quickly attended to by Sydney Morning Herald and Age sports supremo Neil Breen.
After the boat for the event, which happened to be owned by Joe Elias, brother of former Balmain player Benny Elias, returned to shore, guests continued drinking at Cargo Bar in Sydney’s Darling Harbour. There, a second man, a rugby league figure, also needed an ambulance.
Both stayed overnight in hospital, but have since recovered.
Rothfield’s retirement came suddenly. He had only launched a new podcast with former Herald chief sports writer Andrew Webster – now with The Australian – and was expected to continue his regular paid appearances on Fox Sports’s NRL360 program.
And while he had retired from his long-running “What’s the Buzz” rugby league gossip column on Sundays, multiple sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Rothfield had an offer on the table for a new weekly column for The Telegraph during the 2026 season.
Seven sins
Is Southern Cross Media having buyer’s regret, having acquired Seven West Media last month? When the pair announced their union in September, it was touted as a move that would unite two legacy media companies to create a $415 million giant.
But after its poor results on Tuesday (preceded by the abrupt punting of CEO Jeff Howard the night before), it was almost back to square one, with a market value of $287 million as of Thursday afternoon. Southern Cross itself was worth just over $200 million when the merger was announced.
This week it became evident that in the new post-Kerry Stokes era, Ryan, his son and CEO of the group’s 20 per cent shareholder, Seven Group, really wants none of the stress of the media company. They’ve rolled over, with a full SCA-led team now in charge. That 20 per cent stake is now worth just over $50 million.
New documents seen by this masthead show Howard led a major round of redundancies in the weeks leading up to the deal’s completion in January, making 125 roles kaput in one go. Around 80 of those were already vacant jobs, this masthead was told.
The details were borne out of a Fair Work case launched by a staffer who claims they were unlawfully dismissed. The case itself went nowhere, but Seven confirmed the redundancies in its submissions to the commission. It argued the axings were necessary to “protect profitability” and “ensure competitiveness”.
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Calum Jaspan is a media writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Melbourne. Reach him securely on Signal @calumjaspan.10Connect via X or email.
