Something quite exciting happened to me a few days ago. I got invited by Meta, overlords of Facebook and Instagram, to monetise my content.
So, I’m now shill for Zuck, plugging my Reels in the hope of making some big money. And, so far, I’m on track to make enough for a beer at the end of the year.
But you can help change all that just by watching my short, silly videos. If you so choose, of course.
As usual, I’m tackling the big issues.
In this one here, I explain how the insertion of the 9News headlines either spoil the cliffhanger on the game show, Tipping Point, or force the newsreaders into telling small untruths.
(I don’t mention it on the video, but this also works if you have a watch and realise how little or much time is left before the News when the Jackpot Temptation offer is made.)
Media madness
It used to be the case that when one media company became “embattled” — as they often describe a person or company in serious legal or financial trouble — executives at the other companies would whip out the popcorn and enjoy the spectacle.
Quite often, they would weigh in from the sidelines with the smugness of an uninvolved party.
There’s still an element of that — you only need to read the Media columns in competing newspapers to see it — but things are changing.
When one media giant faces a defamation or wrongful dismissal battle, the others may take the odd snipe, but it’s usually out of relief that it isn’t them in the courtroom.
None of these businesses have an interest in seeing huge costs awarded against one of their rivals — because next time it could be them. They have a mutual interest in these proceedings not succeeding or, if they do, that the costs awarded from the bench are as low as possible.
There have been some other “learnings” (a term I dislike, but it seems to fit here) for media networks from the recent cases in which Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson are pitted against their former employer, ARN.
The first, and most obvious, one is not to sign up talent on long-term contracts for huge amounts of money.
ARN thought it was being clever in sewing up Sandilands and Henderson for 10 years at an eye-watering rate. As I said on several occasions before it all went pear-shaped, they “bet the farm”.
The thing about running a farm, though, is that you have to plan ahead for droughts, floods, sand price fluctuations driven by demand for your produce. You don’t rip up sugar cane to plant aloe vera, or replace cattle with gnus, until you’re sure that’s what the market wants and that you’re going to make more money than you’ve spent.
[For a far better insight into why paying a big price for radio talent is not a great idea, read Henry Innis’s brilliant column for Mumbrella.]
But it’s not just talent contracts that media networks have to worry about. They also pay extraordinarily large sums for the hit programs they buy from other producers and, especially so, for the rights to popular sports.
I was not surprised to see an article in The Australian on Monday cautioning the Nine network not to bid too much for the rights to continue screening the NRL once its current contract expires at the end of 2027.
Why not? Wouldn’t it be no-brainer to scoop up the popular game at any price? Well, that’s what some people thought about securing the Kyle and Jackie O Show for a decade.
With the media landscape changing so quickly, and traditional media stocks generally in the doldrums, Nine has no way of knowing for sure what it will be able to pay in the future — even for “the greatest game of all”.*
Footnote: And now for something Nine should definitely continue to sign up for. This Saturday, April 18, sees the Nine Telethon Supporting Mater Miracles. I expect it to be tighter and more professional than the telethons I watched as a child (and, therefore, maybe not as hilariously chaotic). In any case, it’s a fantastic cause and you can donate here.
Mister Brisbane is free to read but you if you really like it, you
can buy me a coffee or take out a paid subscription.
Or you can just watch my Reels here.
P.S.
Further to my recent post about commercial products being plugged on the ABC, Hyrox, a global fitness movement, got a seven-plus minute workout on the Breakfast show on 612 Brisbane on Monday morning. According to online sources, Hyrox is a business that gyms pay to be affiliated with. As Aunty perhaps ought to have said, other fitness routines are available.
*The phrase “the greatest game of all” was coined by the late, great Brisbane radio station executive, rugby league caller and latter-day poet George Lovejoy.
Disclaimer: Brett Debritz used to work in radio and newspapers and has a great voice for television. And Reels!
©2026 Brett Debritz. If I’ve inadvertently used copyrighted material, failed to give credit where it’s due, written or said something you disagree with, or otherwise upset or unexpectedly delighted you, please leave a comment, email me or connect with me at @debritz on X and Mastodon, @brettdebritz on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and BlueSky, and @radiobert on YouTube. Links provided as a courtesy; I take no responsibility for their contents or give any warranty of their veracity. Image: Gemini