Mumbrellacast ABC workers strike, Kyle strikes with a lawsuit, and AI-generated PR strikes the wrong chord
We've crossed the picket line to present this week's episode of the Mumbrellacast.
Around the time of recording this episode, ABC employees were returning to work from their 24-hour strike -- the first in 20 years -- which means the skeleton staffers won't have to dust off those old Seachange episodes just yet. But nothing has been resolved, so it remains to be seen if another strike is on the cards.
We break down what the workers want, why they haven't gotten it -- and why managing director Hugh Marks is acting as if working for Aunty is akin to doing national service, with lines like: "I understand that in the current climate higher pay would help many individuals, but we must also remain focused on the long-term sustainability of the ABC and its relevance to all Australians."
Kyle Sandilands filed suit against ARN last Friday, and we got hold of the "concise statement" lodged in Federal Court on his behalf, which we've published in full on the website, and which we unpack on the podcast. The document also reveals, for the first time, the exact amount that Kyle is earning, and under which financial column each of those "services" falls under. There's a curious "consultancy fee" for ARN's hip hop-based digital station CADA, which caught our collective eye. Our guess is Kyle isn't instructing them on which ASAP Rocky album tracks to playlist.
We also talk press releases, following Medianet's Amrita Sidhu's declaration at CommsCon on Wednesday that 73% of journalists told them they "often or occasionally" receive what they suspect to be AI-generated pitches.
"Make no mistake about it though," she said. "Our thematic analysis shows the majority will lose trust in the pitch ... For them, an AI generated pitch is a lazy pitch. It's a non-researched pitch. It's a potentially false pitch. There goes the trust."
We debate whether journalists can detect an AI-generated pitch, and the rising use of press releases in journalism.
Finally, we hear from Tumbleturn Marketing Advisory’s Jen Davidson, who feels we are ready for what she dubbed "Naked Communications 2.0", referring to the storied agency that pioneered unbundling strategy from execution.
Happy listening!
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