Friday, 23 August - The lovers, the dreamers and me

Good morning, it’s Friday, 23 August. In your Squiz Today…

• ABC boss David Anderson signs off

• The Northern Territory heads to the polls

• And a postcard from the past… 📬

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said artist Sarah Rowan who was part-way through honouring Olympian Saya Sakakibara and her brother Kai in their NSW hometown of Helensburgh with a mural when the BMX star won gold in Paris. Adjustments to big art projects can be a problem, but this update was a joy…

Anderson waves goodbye to Aunty

The Squiz

David Anderson has been the boss of the ABC for the last 6 years, but yesterday he announced that he’s off despite more than 3 years remaining in his term. He’ll stay in the role until early next year while the board searches for a new managing director. In an email to staff, Anderson said despite the public broadcaster’s new Chair Kim Williams making a case for him to stay, he believes “it is the right moment for leadership renewal for the next stage of the ABC's continued evolution”. The organisation’s “evolution” has been getting a lot of attention of late, so some say there’s a bit more at play than their comments suggest…

Tell me more…

At a top level, the ABC (and Anderson, as the boss…) has been under pressure to retain/grow audiences. While it isn't fighting for ad dollars, the ABC’s battle is serving up content to as many Australians as it can, as mandated by its charter. That’s the pressure point as the organisation tries to shift from traditional radio/television broadcasting towards digital content like audio on demand (including something we’re familiar with… podcasts) and digital video. It’s also providing more ‘lifestyle’ content as it cuts some of its more established programs. That’s drawn plenty of criticism from across the political divide - and from Chair Kim Williams. There’s also ongoing external criticism of the way the ABC does news. And internally, Anderson has faced 2 union-led ‘no-confidence’ votes from staff over his leadership of the broadcaster’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.  

But the ABC’s not the only one under pressure…

You’re not wrong. Seven’s been under fire over its dealings with former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann and after allegations of abuse within its news teams came to light, prompting several execs to quit. Nine Entertainment hasn’t got through the year unscathed either, despite its financially lucrative Paris Olympics and Paralympics coverage… It’s slashing jobs in its print newsrooms, with 85 staff taking voluntary redundancies this week, including some of its most senior journalists at the Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald/The Age. It’s also facing allegations of misconduct and poor culture. CEO Mike Sneesby will probably have to answer to all of that when he presents the company results to investors next Wednesday - so stay tuned…

Your fresh market update…

At the Squiz, we’re all about giving you the useful stuff. So, we’ve teamed up with Woolies to share their top weekly fruit and veg picks. Here’s what to grab this week:

🫐 Blueberries - It's the perfect time for these blue beauties - so there’s no better time to pick up a punnet.

🥦 Broccolini - The experts’ tip is to look for bunches that are firm and bright green, and you’ll be set for a hit of veggie goodness.

🧀 Cauliflower - They’re also great quality at the moment. And the weather has resulted in a cracking season. We like ours with cheese…

Squiz the Rest

Bodies recovered from Italian wreck

The bodies of five people, including British tech billionaire Mike Lynch, have been recovered from a luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Italy on Monday. Reports say divers are continuing to search for Lynch’s 18yo daughter Hannah, the only person still missing after the sinking of the Bayesian, which happened during a severe storm in Porticello, Sicily. The remaining bodies are yet to be formally identified but they’re believed to include Morgan Stanley International director Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy. Witnesses claim the 56m superyacht was caught in a freak “black swan” waterspout and sank within minutes. While local police have opened an investigation and are looking at videos and photos of the night, the yacht’s builder says it was designed to be “unsinkable”. Lynch’s friends in the British business and tech world have paid their respects. 

A vote much closer to home

Northern Territorians will head to the polls tomorrow to decide if Labor deserves a third 4-year term, or if the Country Liberal Party (CLP) will get a go. It’s Chief Minister Eva Lawler’s first time leading Labor to an election after she took the reins from Natasha Fyles in December - she quit over a conflict of interest scandal. CLP leader Lia Finocchiaro has already been taking Lawler to task over the main election issue - crime. Many Territorians have faced increasing violence - in Alice Springs that led to a 3-day curfew last month. The CLP says it would strengthen bail laws and lower the age of criminal responsibility to cut crime rates, but Lawler says that’s a “band-aid” that will have “no impact”. The results will trickle in tomorrow, but election expert Antony Green reckons “everything points to there being a swing to the Country Liberals”.

Pumping up a potential Prez

The Democratic National Convention (DNC) will wrap in Chicago today with a final speech from current Vice President/would-be President Kamala Harris when she’ll accept the party’s nomination and reveal her policy agenda. The 4-day event has been a roll-call of famous Democrats like iconic Veep Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Oprah Winfrey. And yesterday, Tim Walz accepted his Veep nomination with a pep-talk using his experience as a football coach - he’s told supporters to campaign hard, saying “there’ll be time to sleep when you’re dead”. But not everyone’s impressed… Reports say his step onto the national stage has opened him up to more scrutiny, including some of the gaffes he’s made in the past… As for today, look out for pop star Pink - she’s set to perform before Harris takes the stage at about 1pm AEST. 

*If you’re keen to know more about Tim Walz, check out this Squiz Shortcut.

Singing for Sphen

Staff and visitors at Sydney’s Sea Life Aquarium are mourning after one-half of its world-famous gay Gentoo penguin couple died earlier this month. Yesterday, the aquarium's manager Richard Dilly confirmed 11yo Sphen has waddled over the rainbow bridge and said they’re still looking into why his health began to deteriorate. Sphen and Magic went viral in 2018 after coupling up and adopting 2 chicks. That led to a lot of media coverage, Mardi Gras floats, features in TV shows and even a shoutout in the NSW school curriculum… Aquarium staff say after Magic was taken to see Sphen’s body, he began singing, starting off the rest of their penguin pals. Dilly says Sphen will be remembered for the “icon he was, the unique bond he shared with Magic and the positive impact he made in the world”.

Some seriously slow snail mail

It might already be known as ‘snail mail’ but after a postcard was delivered to its UK destination 121 years late, the British postal service might need a rebrand to ‘glacial mail’. The Christmas-themed message arrived at what’s now a bank in the Welsh city of Swansea last week after it was originally sent back in 1903. Bank staff are trying to locate the previous owner of the building to reunite her - or let’s be honest, her descendents - with the card. Royal Mail has defended the delayed delivery, claiming it’s more likely the postcard was "put back into" their system, rather than "being lost in the post", but either way says it's "under obligation to deliver it to the correct address." They’re just lucky it wasn’t addressed to Miranda Priestly…

Wanna be in the Saturday Squiz?

Friday Lites - 3 things we liked this week

The Pirate of Prague podcast has been out for a few months, but it’s just come across our radar and it’s a great listen - both for its true international con story and also the sound design which really takes you to some very ritzy locations all around the world.

Taylor Swift’s international Eras tour is continuing, and if you think you already know everything about it, check out this article breaking down how her custom outfits were created by the world’s biggest designers, and why we can expect to see more unique looks as the concerts continue. 

With this weekend set to be a record-breaker across much of the country in terms of winter heat, we’re hankering for a light-but-decadent dish and this Moreton Bay Bug linguine recipe hits the mark. We admit bugs are a bit exxy but you know what they say - make pasta while the sun shines…

Reckon you read the email each day?

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Squiz the Day

Friday
8.30am (AEST) - The 2024 News Corp National Bush Summit kicks off, with PM Anthony Albanese and Coalition Leader Peter Dutton speaking - Townsville, Qld

9.00am (AEST) - A public hearing into Family Violence Orders will be held as part of a parliamentary inquiry - Canberra

9.00am (AEST) - A public hearing into Free Trade Agreements will be held - Canberra

From 12.00pm (AEST) - US Vice President Kamala Harris will accept the DNC’s nomination to run for president and she’ll address the convention - Chicago, US

Company results - Coventry Group, Mayne Pharma Group, Latitude Group, Inghams

International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition 

National Flag Day in Ukraine

Anniversary of:

• the Battle of Stalingrad – 40,000 died in the WWII battle (1942)

• the World Wide Web being opened to the public (1991)

• Hurricane Katrina forming over the Bahamas, later becoming a category 5 hurricane that devastated the New Orleans area (2005)

Saturday
9.00am (ACST) - Voting opens for the Northern Territory election

9.30am (ACST) - Teddy Bear’s picnic for pandas Wang Wang and Fu Ni before they head back to China - Adelaide Zoo, SA

4.00pm (AEST) - Rugby Union: Pacific Nations Cup, Fiji v Samoa - Suva, Fiji and watch on Stan Sport

The Festival of Dangerous Ideas begins in Sydney (on until August 25)

Independence Day in Ukraine

Birthdays for Stephen Fry (1957), Ava DuVernay (1972), Dave Chappelle (1973), John Green (1977), and Rupert Grint (1988)

Anniversary of:

• the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, burying Pompeii and Herculaneum and killing 15,000 (79)

• the invention of the potato chip by chef George Crum in New York, according to popular legend (1853)

• Amelia Earhart becoming the first woman to fly nonstop across the US (1932)

Sunday
11.00pm (AEST) - Motorsport: F1, Dutch Grand Prix - Zandvoort, Netherlands

Start of Speech Pathology Week (on until 31 August) 

30th anniversary of Australian South Sea Islander National Recognition Day

Uruguay’s National Day

Birthdays for Gene Simmons (1949), Alexander Skarsgård (1976), and Blake Lively (1987)

Anniversary of:

• Englishwoman Alicia Thornton becoming the first female jockey (1804)

• the birthday of the best Bond (fight us...) Sean Connery (1930)

• the liberation of Paris by Allied forces after four years of Nazi occupation (1944)