Seven fought the law — and Seven won. The Seven Network has been vindicated in its battle against the Australian Federal Police over those raids in February in connection with the claimed exclusive interview deal with Schapelle Corby. This morning the network won legal proceedings against the AFP — and the police aren’t off the hook yet.
In the Federal Court in Sydney this morning, Seven was successful in having the search warrants used for the raids quashed. The network is also looking for its costs to be paid and says it is “considering other options available” to “redress the costs of the AFP’s failed investigation”. It’s understood Seven could sue the AFP for trespass — lawyers are believed to be studying a 2009 decision of the NSW Court of Appeal which forced the Nine Network to pay damages for trespass.
The AFP raided the Sydney offices of Seven on February 18 in relation to rumours that the network had paid millions of dollars for an exclusive interview with Corby. The AFP was looking for evidence of those payments, concerned they might have contravened the Proceeds of Crime Act. But no evidence of a deal with Corby was found. Seven has since decided not to pursue an interview after a poorly rating story went to air at the start of this month. In a statement after the court decision, Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner said he welcomed the Federal Court decision:
“The Court found there were errors contained in the warrants and orders, which referred to Seven personnel and solicitors as ‘suspects’ of an investigation and as being reasonably suspected of having committed criminal offences, could not be brushed aside as trivial or insignificant as the AFP had submitted Mr Worner said instead, the errors were material and serious and affected the decision of the Magistrate to issue the warrants.”
Is this decision (which has been apparent now for two weeks) the reason why Kerry Stokes sat next to Tony Abbott at last night’s Asia Society lunch in Canberra? Stokes is known to have been very upset at the raids and the damage to the reputations of himself and Seven Network and Seven West Media. — Glenn Dyer
Plenty to Crowe about for Seven. Speaking of Seven, is this the TV/film marriage made in heaven? Kerry Stokes’ two key listed companies, Seven West Media and Seven Group Holdings, have revealed today they have invested in Russell Crowe’s new film, The Water Diviner. Crowe is making his directorial debut on the film, as well as starring.
It’s being made by Hopscotch, the Scottish TV and film production company and financed in part by RatPac, the James Packer/Brett Ratner joint venture that already has a number of credits, including Gravity. Tim Worner, CEO of Seven West Media, said in a statement this morning The Water Diviner was “one of the best scripts for an Australian film we have ever read”. The film, which is about an Australian who travels to Turkey after the battle of Gallipoli to find his sons, has been written by Andrew Anastasios and Andrew Knight (responsible for the current series of Rake, and in the past Seachange, Full Frontal, Fast Forward, My Brother Jack, After The Deluge, and the Broken Shore). — Glenn Dyer
Radio ga-ga. Need more Kyle and Jackie O in your life? Why not join their proprietary social network? According to Rod Creevy, the founder of digital agency Moment Media, his company, along with the Australian Radio Network, have “gone above and beyond to create the first dedicated social platform that aggregates and manages all social media feeds and social activity in the once place”. Kyle and Jackie O jointly gushed:
“We knew we wanted something special, but the functionality of this new site, and the fact it’s the first entertainment-based social network of its kind, has surpassed what we’d ever dreamt of.”
According to the press release, the purpose of the new social network is:
- Collating all existing Kyle and Jackie O social media content;
- Posting every article featuring Kyle and Jackie O “as it happens”;
- Allowing us to listen to Jackie’s playlist of the week, and even purchase songs within the platform;
- Allows us to create our own profile page cataloguing our obsession;
- Letting us speak with Kyle and Jackie in “exclusive social forums”; and
- Allowing Kyle and Jackie O’s sponsors and advertisers to advertise across a whole social media environment full of their fans.
When the Crikey bunker heard about this, the first thing we did was set up an account. And truth be told, we were disappointed. The platform is clunky and empty, and we couldn’t figure out how to follow people. Of course the whole thing’s still in beta, but it’s worth fact-checking another of the claims made by the king and queen of FM radio. When it comes to radio people launching social networks, Hamish and Andy actually got there first, announcing “Chumsgroup.com — a certified Facebook killer” in 2012. Unfortunately, Chumsgroup no longer appears to be operational. — Myriam Robin
Knights of the realm. What would Tony Abbott look like actually knighting someone? The graphics department at The Daily Telegraph has let us know …
Video of the day. We love this mash-up of Game of Thrones and House of Cards …
Glenn,
re your story about 7 media investment in Russel Crowe’s film. Could you for once take care of the small details? The production company is Hopscotch- an Australian founded company of many years standing which was more recently acquired by Canadian firm, e-One. Where did you get the Scottish thing?
Seven may have fought the law and Seven may have won but we all still know that an agreement exists between Seven and the Corbys that gives Seven exclusive access to them and their story in exchange for cash. We know this from the media coverage that has occurred since parole was granted. Stokes and Seven’s “upsetness” at the AFP raids is completely confected.