Mumbrellacast: Ads that crossed the line, Christian O’Connell goes national, and does Australia still have a free press?

This week on the Mumbrellacast, the team reflect on the state of Australia’s media industry after it sank to 26th place on the World Press Freedom Index for 2019. Following the raids on the ABC headquarters and News Corp Australia journalist Annika Smethurst and the closure of AAP newswire, is Australia’s reputation as a respected home of democratic journalism at risk?

The week in adland saw industry watchdog Ad Standards ban a couple of ads. Despite its best efforts to redefine the term ‘whipped’, frequent flyer Sportsbet copped a ban for an ad suggesting that Prince Harry was pussy whipped by Meghan Markle. And, an ad for Coles’ Stikeez collectables caught the attention of the community panel over the question of whether it amounted to pester marketing.

And, what is the value of a pre-recorded radio show? Highlights of the Christian O’Connell show will now air nationally on weeknights, and Stevie Jacobs will be hosting breakfast with his links pre-recorded and inserted into the music programming. As budgets have been tightened, is this the future of entertainment on a shoestring?