Knives out at Fox Sports as new owners eye $200k pundits. Plus, snarky rumour about Mamamia’s new digs – and team drinks end in disaster at 2Day FM: INSIDE MAIL

Are footy pundits ‘in the zone’ for new overlords?

News Corp announced last December it had sold off Foxtel Group to London-based global sports streamer DAZN as part of an acquisition valued at $3.4billion.

The sale saw DAZN (pronounced ‘da-zone’) take control of the Australian pay-TV company and all its subsidiaries, including Fox Sports, Kayo Sports, BINGE and Hubbl.

With new overlords inevitably comes changes to how things operate, and we expect things will be no different with the Brits running the show. The fact up to 100 staff were laid off four weeks after the takeover speaks for itself.

Initially, there were cold sweats at Sky News HQ when word spread that Foxtel was being flogged to a foreign outfit obsessed with sports, not screeching headlines.

But luckily for the network’s stable of totally reasonable pundits, the conservative-after-dark news network was not included in the sale, meaning those jobs were safe.

The same cannot be said, however, for Fox Sports.

Sports media sources tell us ‘magazine-style’ shows like AFL 360 and NRL 360, which offer analysis, commentary and entertainment in between the big games, may be on borrowed time under the new ownership.

Is there a future for ‘magazine-style’ shows like AFL 360 and NRL 360 now that Foxtel is owned by a foreign streaming giant that seems to be only interested in live sports?

‘DAZN bought Foxtel because they are investing in live sports streaming. [CEO Shay] Segev isn’t interested in old-school footy shows,’ said an insider.

Now, it’s worth mentioning here that earlier this month Foxtel chief Patrick Delany did make a point of saying the magazine shows would ‘evolve’ under DAZN and weren’t on the chopping block.

In fact, he said the new parent company was actively interested in how these shows ‘entertain subscribers during the week and… keep them more engaged’.

However, a cursory glance at DAZN’s enormous offering shows its content strategy is, first and foremost, live sports. Yes, there are some documentaries and athlete-driven features, but it is far less focused on traditional panel shows compared to legacy broadcasters.

How does a regular panel show with rotating pundits – some of whom are said to be paid in the neighbourhood of $200,000 for their part-time roles – fit into ‘da zone’?

Short answer: it doesn’t really.

When we contacted Fox Sports, we were assured magazine programming remains a central part of their business. We’ll hold them to that.

Homelessness crisis at Mamamia

Mamamia’s big move hit a snag when staff had to spend a week working from home while the finishing touches were being added to their swanky new offices. (Pictured: Mia Freedman)

Mamamia’s new home is at the HSBC Centre on George St, in Sydney’s CBD

Few multi-millionaires understand the housing crisis quite like Mia Freedman. 

Yes, she may be the daughter of an extremely wealthy funds manager and alumna of the prestigious all-girls Ascham School, but she was once evicted from her home.

Admittedly, it was a six-bedroom mansion in Bellevue Hill. And she and her husband Jason Lavigne weren’t exactly struggling renters (the owner had let them live there as they negotiated sale of the property before it all fell apart over money) but, still, an eviction is an eviction.

Speaking of homelessness, the underpaid, mostly female staff at Freedman’s media company Mamamia recently found themselves without a roof over their heads.

Mamamia HQ was relocating from its old digs in Woolloomooloo to a new office at the HSBC Centre on George St, in Sydney’s CBD. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a smooth move.

After they vacated the old joint, employees were surprised to learn their new space wouldn’t be ready for another week, forcing them all to work from home in the meantime.

All very chaotic – but welcome relief for some employees who were crestfallen when editorial staff were ordered to return to the office for at least three days per week.

Girlboss HQ

Sorry, Mia, you’re not off the hook yet.

As we were putting the finishing touches to this week’s column, photos and videos from inside Mamamia’s fancy new office emerged on social media.

Our verdict? Pretty good. Subtly feminine without being girly – a throwback to Mia’s golden age as a women’s magazine editor when those mags made money.

A tour of the kitchen area, offices, podcast studios and break room was uploaded by an account associated with the outlet, as well as the carpenter who handled the makeover, which you can see below. 

Photos and videos from inside Mamamia’s fancy new office have emerged on social media

Given the fact Mamamia staff were excitedly tagging a certain furniture and homewares company in their posts on moving-in day, we asked Mamamia if they had reached a contra deal with the brand, or had been offered a discount in exchange for shout-outs.

‘That’s exactly the sort of thing Mia would do,’ was how one ex-staffer put it.

But, alas, we received no reply, meaning the question of how Mamamia managed to upsize and upgrade its digs while pretty much every other media outlet does the opposite will remain a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

Team drinks disaster at 2Day FM 

Taking your team for a night out can be a recipe for disaster in media land.

And the latest casualty of a ‘bonding’ excursion is 2Day FM’s new-ish Sydney breakfast show Jimmy, Nath & Emma.

We hear that co-host Jimmy Smith made the bold claim he had received ‘late-night texts’ from the station’s music director Kiri Martin after the brekky crew had gone out to see Dua Lipa in concert.

Long story short, Martin found out what he’d been saying, denied sending any texts, and allegedly got quite upset about the whole thing. We heard a complaint was made and Smith apologised.

When we contacted 2Day FM for comment, we were told the story was… half true. 

Martin had not sent any texts to Smith after the concert, but Smith had joked that she did; however, we were assured it was all just banter between friends.

It was suggested to us that any robust conversations in the studio that may have been overheard by SCA staff then relayed to Inside Mail had been taken out of context.

Look, the last thing we want to do is mountain out of a molehill. And we certainly wouldn’t want to mischaracterise a joke between friends as an HR issue.

But there were more than a few insiders sliding into our DMs to say it was the talk of the office… so read into that what you will.

Rock bottom – what’s next?

Five years ago, News Corp gossip columnist Annette Sharp posed the question of how much responsibility Channel Nine has for its fallen star Suzi Taylor.

It was a question worth asking given that Taylor, a former contestant from renovation series The Block, had just faced a Brisbane court over a bizarre ‘honey trap’ kidnapping, the details of which had the whole television industry aghast.

Five years after her rise to fame on The Block, it was revealed Suzi Taylor was working as a prostitute. To say her downfall has been cataclysmic would be an understatement

Taylor and her co-accused Ali Ebrahimi were eventually cleared on all charges, including extortion, deprivation of liberty, fraud and assault, and we do not suggest either of them committed a crime.

But the accusations were alarming, to say the least, drawing attention to the fact Taylor, just five years after her sudden rise to fame, was clearly a troubled woman earning a living as a prostitute.

That was 2020. Now it’s 2025 and she continues to face legal troubles.

In March, she pleaded guilty to charges of trespassing, stealing and common assault but escaped jail and only had to pay a fine.

She had forced entry into a home the previous October demanding property from someone who was no longer living there. She pushed a woman then fled on an e-scooter with a shopping bag full of stolen goods.

At the time, she had just been released from prison on an unrelated matter.

She is currently on bail facing drug-trafficking charges, and only recently had another conviction for meth possession added to her rap sheet.

To say her downfall has been cataclysmic would be an understatement.

This week, a single photo underscored just how far she has fallen: a selfie of Taylor seemingly in the throes of ecstasy with three young men – her ‘toyboys’ as she called them – along with a delusional caption about being ‘young, wild and free’.

Bear in mind this is a 53-year-old woman on bail.

Taylor, who is on bail for drug-trafficking charges, posted this photo of herself flanked by a trio of male friends she called ‘toyboys’. It is not suggested the men are involved in anything illegal

It’s no secret Nine indulged Taylor during her chaotic tenure on The Block. She even dated a producer, Tim Wise (right). Ten years later and her life has completely fallen apart

So, should Australia’s largest media company do something to help the woman who was arguably the biggest drawcard of its most-watched reality show a decade ago? A woman who collapsed on set – officially due to ‘exhaustion’ but allegedly due to her wild partying – and who also dated a Nine producer, Tim Wise, for several months?

Some would say yes; some would argue she is no longer the network’s responsibility.

We asked Nine if there had been any intervention by them or Block team, or whether she still falls under the scope of their duty of care for former reality TV participants, but did not receive a response.

The last time Nine addressed these questions was half a decade ago, when a spokesperson was quoted as saying: ‘Suzi was on The Block five years ago and has always indicated it was an experience she enjoyed.

‘We gave her all the support she needed during and after the show.’

Underworld newswire blacklists the Tele

Underworld newswire SCN Worldstar has declared war on magpies from News Corp

It has been a sombre week for hacks at Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.

Mere months after being accused of trying to stage an antisemitism incident at an inner-west cafe with Palestinian sympathies, the tabloid now faces another body blow.

The Instagram account SCN Worldstar, a kind of underworld newswire that shares tips and rumours about the Harbour City’s criminal class, has declared war on Tele journalists for stealing its stories.

The admin – the sort of bloke often vaguely referred to as an ‘identity’ – put out an alert saying he had blocked all News Corp staffers who were following the account, while urging others to report anyone suspected of being a journo under a fake profile.

Amateur hour at Insiders

When insiders become outsiders and get easily verifiable facts wrong, you know something has to change.

That’s what happened on the ABC’s Sunday morning political program, inconveniently titled Insiders, when one of its panellists mistakenly accused Nationals MPs of abandoning their electorates ‘while people are dying’ during the recent floods in New South Wales.

The ABC’s own political reporter, Claudia Long, attempted to name and shame Nationals Alison Penfold and Pat Conaghan for allegedly neglecting their communities in their time of need.

Reflecting on the shenanigans within the fractured Coalition, Long said:

‘I think the important thing is when you’re in opposition it’s also still your job to be a local member and to represent your communities and to be there for them.’

Yes, it is – which is exactly what the Nationals pair were doing when the false slur was being delivered. Photos quickly emerged of Penfold and Conaghan literally knee deep in flood waters lending a hand.

On Sunday’s Insiders, ABC political reporter Claudia Long dropped the sort of clanger one would expect from a rookie journalist. Insiders used to be must-see TV – not so anymore

We aren’t sure if the attack was motivated by the typical anti-conservative bias the public broadcaster is known for, or if it was simply a callow case of not checking the facts before mouthing off.

Either way, it resulted in a rare apology from the ABC, which usually doesn’t back down when its sloppy mistakes get revealed.

Perhaps the show needs a name change? Or better panellists who actually verify the often one-sided barbs they throw at politicians?

Ironically, compared with a lot of what gets aired on the ABC, Insiders is, generally speaking, a lesser of evils. Host David Speers is pretty good at avoiding one-sided insults most of the time.

It’s been tough for Insiders to maintain its strength as a credible source of political commentary now that budget cuts have forced it to draw on more and more junior reporters from within its own ranks as panellists to an extent that it never used to.

Once upon a time, its panels were filled with press gallery veterans who enjoyed a paid-for weekend in Melbourne where the studio used to be located.

Now that it broadcasts out of Canberra, fewer of these credible figures who actually verify their musings bother to give up their Sunday mornings just to hang out in the ABC’s tired capital city bureau.

It’s a shame, because it used to be must-see TV for anyone seeking to get a head start on the week ahead and debrief on the week that was in federal politics.

Pro-Palestine spike a gift to ABC critics

The ABC really needs to google ‘Streisand effect’ after it spiked an interview with a pro-Palestine advocate who used the controversial phrase ‘from the river to the sea’.

Almost nobody would have watched ABC regular Nasser Mashni‘s interview on the 24-hour news channel on Monday around 3:30pm.

But by deleting the clip from the ABC website and removing it from iview, the vision has been widely reported and amplified by politicians and activists.

ABC regular Nasser Mashni used the controversial phrase ‘from the river to the sea’ during an interview on the 24-hour news channel that later vanished from Aunty’s online platforms

While Mashni, the president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, had tried to contextualise the phrase in a more inclusive way, for many Jewish people the slogan is seen as a denial of Israel’s right to exist.

This is presumably why the ABC nixed the interview from its platforms.

But in trying to walk both sides of the fence, Aunty didn’t want to admit it had dumped the interview because of the controversial phrase, instead claiming the comments were ‘not intended to be published as a stand-alone clip’.

So it was just another mistake by the ABC apparently.

‘Former’ is the hardest word to say 

Zoe Daniel prematurely celebrated victory over Tim Wilson with a cringeworthy dance party. Incredibly, she has asked for a recount

While a partial recount is now under way in Goldstein, at the request of Zoe Daniel, Melbourne’s self-described ‘premier business and social club’ has already declared the dancing teal a has-been.

The Kelvin Club is hosting a function next month with Daniel as its lead act. While we have been assured there won’t be any more dancing (thank God!) the invite describes the teal as ‘The Honourable Zoe Daniel, Former Member for Goldstein’.

I believe the invitation will be proven right when it comes to her status as a former MP – the desperate Daniel never should have demeaned herself by demanding a recount – I disagree with the ‘honourable’ part.

Only ministers get that nomenclature, not one-term backbenchers. And is it a term befitting of someone who kicked and screamed as much as Daniel did upon losing her seat? Frankly her behaviour has been Trumpian.

Perhaps she plans on matching Donald Trump‘s exploits after losing the 2020 U.S. election in four years’ time by mounting her own attempt at a comeback?

Watch out, MP-elect Tim Wilson!

Wilson back in the Qantas clubhouse 

Speaking of Mr Wilson, he will also be looking forward to returning to the lofty ranks of the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge, an honour bestowed on all serving federal parliamentarians, unless they are virtue-signallers who turn it down.

The previously former Member for Goldstein had his membership unceremoniously stripped three years ago when he lost his seat to Daniel, which must have been galling given he had been part of the exclusive club going back to his time as the Australian Human Rights Commissioner before embarking on a career in parliament.

We pity the poor Qantas flak who will be tasked with sheepishly knocking on Wilson’s door to hand him his shiny new membership card.

Let’s hope the experience of being kicked out of the lounge doesn’t change his strong advocacy for doing business in this country, including on airline policy matters.

We’re sure it won’t, given that, unlike so many in politics, Wilson is a rare conviction politician, even when holding said convictions can be inconvenient.

And finally…

At the risk of self-promotion, our political scribe Peter van Onselen has a new book coming out soon, diving into the murky world of federal political failures.

The Hollow State won’t be an uplifting read for anyone hoping to be inspired by their political leaders, but it does detail how it has come to be that Australians have been so let down by ‘the absence of purpose within politics’.

It hits bookshelves in the middle of the year.

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