Journalism
New 7NEWS boss appointed after Anthony De Ceglie quits
Seven West Media has appointed Ray Kuka, the long-serving 7NEWS Perth News Director and current Deputy Director of News, to replace Seven’s Director of News and Current Affairs and Editor-in-Chief, Anthony De Ceglie after just a year in the role.
De Ceglie, formerly Editor-in-Chief of The West Australian and the launch editor of PDF newspaper The Nightly, will return to Perth from Sydney where he will take up the role of inaugural chief executive of NRL’s Perth Bears.
With more than two decades working for Seven, Kuka has been instrumental in maintaining the station’s dominance in the local Perth news market, and more recently working with other News Directors across the organisation.
Jacob Greber tipped to take over Laura Tingle’s 7.30 seat
All signs are pointing to Jacob Greber as the likely successor to Laura Tingle on 7.30, with the ABC’s Canberra bureau quietly backing the former AFR journo for one of the broadcaster’s most high-profile gigs.
As Calum Jaspan reports in The Sydney Morning Herald, Greber only joined the ABC last year, but his current role as chief digital political correspondent has made him a standout in the press gallery.
While the internal shortlist features familiar heavy-hitters, bureau chief David Lipson, Melissa Clarke, and Insiders host David Speers, Greber’s name keeps floating to the top.
Geraldine Doogue to headline 2025 Andrew Olle Media Lecture
Broadcast icon Geraldine Doogue has been named this year’s Andrew Olle Media Lecturer, bringing her signature blend of curiosity and insight to the ABC’s flagship journalism address.
With five decades across print, radio and TV, Doogue is a fitting choice to honour Olle’s legacy of smart, broad-minded reporting.
As David Knox writes in TV Tonight, the annual lecture, which raises funds for Brain Cancer Australia, returns to Sydney’s W Hotel on Friday 25 July.
Legal
Roberts-Smith appeal decision lands today after dramatic last-minute twist
Ben Roberts-Smith will find out today whether the Federal Court believes he was defamed, or whether the original ruling, which labelled him a war criminal, still stands.
As Stephen Rice reports in The Australian, the high-stakes decision follows his appeal to overturn last year’s bombshell judgment in favour of Nine newspapers.
The verdict, to be handed down at Justices Perram, Kennett and Katzmann, comes after a tense delay triggered by a late twist.
Trump Tariffs
Trump pressures Apple to shift focus from India back to US manufacturing
Donald Trump’s trade tirades are back, this time aimed squarely at Apple.
As Jordan Fabian and Sankalp Phartiyal write in The Australian Financial Review, speaking from Qatar, the former US President claimed he gave CEO Tim Cook a serve for ramping up iPhone production in India instead of the States.
“I don’t want you building in India,” he reportedly told Cook.
Election 2025
Albo’s biggest interview of the election wasn’t on TV … it was at the pub
Forget 7.30 or Insiders, the most-watched sit-down with Anthony Albanese during the election wasn’t hosted by a journo in a suit, but by Ozzy Man Reviews at the pub.
Yep, according to Crikey’s Cam Wilson, the PM’s longest chat came courtesy of the YouTuber best known for swearing through animal videos and yelling about Game of Thrones in full bogan mode.
The 48-minute interview dropped in early April and proved a sleeper hit in what many dubbed the “influencer election”.
Campaigns
Mars and Amazon AI promo sends brand awareness into sugar high
Mars teamed up with Amazon on a cheeky AI-powered campaign that handed out free Mars bars and scored big with Aussie consumers.
As Danielle Long writes in The Australian, the “for you who did that thing you did” promo invited people to celebrate life’s little wins, like finally cleaning out the junk drawer or answering a call from an unknown number.
Over eight weeks, more than 60,000 entries rolled in.
Business
Damien Gance offloads another $380m in Sigma shares, cashes in on Chemist Warehouse float
Damien Gance is continuing to cash out big on the Chemist Warehouse listing, selling another $380 million worth of shares in Sigma Healthcare last week.
As Michael Smith reports in The Australian Financial Review, the sale brings his total offload to $800 million since February, just after the pharmacy empire’s $34 billion backdoor ASX debut.
Gance, a Sigma director and son of Chemist Warehouse co-founder Sam Gance, sold 126.5 million shares at $3.02 apiece in his latest move.
Entertainment
How Jonathan LaPaglia squeezed Strife into his Survivor sandwich
You’d think after hosting back-to-back seasons of Australian Survivor, Jonathan LaPaglia might’ve earned a breather, or at least a beachside cocktail.
But as James Wigney writes in The Daily Telegraph, instead of kicking back in Samoa, he jumped on a plane to Sydney for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it acting detour.
LaPaglia flew home between Brains v Brawn II and the upcoming Australia v the World to film a handful of scenes for season two of Strife on Binge.
Tony Armstrong says early mornings “were killing me” after News Breakfast exit
Tony Armstrong has opened up about his decision to step away from ABC’s News Breakfast, revealing on the Inherited podcast that the relentless hours took a serious toll.
“It was killing me,” he said of the early mornings, which eventually pushed him to breaking point.
As Christine Estera writes for news.com.au, Armstrong admitted he knew halfway through last year that his time on the show was up, but it wasn’t until his body shut down that the decision really landed.
Radio
Lachy Mansell jumps from Kyle and Jackie O to motorsport leadership role
When Kyle and Jackie O hit Melbourne’s KIIS 101.1, Lachy Mansell was right there, part producer, part on-air personality, helping the show land in a new city.
Now, as Radio Today reports, after a year in the mix, Lachy’s stepping away from radio to take the wheel as Head of Motorsport at One Raceway.
Film
Aussie horror flick faces us copyright lawsuit over ‘blatant rip-off’ claims
The cast and crew behind the Australian horror movie Together are caught up in a legal nightmare stateside.
Michael Shanks, alongside Alison Brie and Dave Franco (who also star), plus their agency WME and distributor Neon, have been hit with a copyright suit accusing them of lifting the concept from a 2023 indie film.
As Nell Geraets reports in The Sydney Morning Herald, the claim comes from Patrick Henry Phelan, who directed Better Half, a satirical romcom that he says Together shamelessly copied.