Media roundup: ABC Head of Music exits, Nine reporter defects to Seven, Hutch unfazed by snub, Cloudflare blocks AI scrapers, Aussies no 1 in streaming docos, and the future of news
It’s 2 July 2025 and this is all of the major media news reporting that will impact local media professionals. Be informed ahead of the lunchroom chat.
Emily Copeland will exit as the ABC’s head of music – Copeland took the lead on ABC’s multi-channel music strategy in early 2024, working across triple j, Double J, triple j Unearthed, ABC Country, ABC Classic and ABC Jazz.
According to Lars Brindle at The Music Network, ABC Director Audio wrote an email to staff on Friday where he lauded the outgoing executive’s tireless contributions, and her efforts in shaping the landscape of Australian music.
SEN boss says he’s not fazed by Australian cricketer stance to boycott interviews with the broadcaster. Khawaja reportedly opted not to speak with the radio team ahead over the network’s sacking of veteran cricket journalist .
In a report by the Herald Sun’s , Hutchison said: “That’s his prerogative. That’s his right. I’ve got a lot of respect for Usman.
“And if he doesn’t want to talk to us, he doesn’t have to. It doesn’t mean a thing really in terms of our ability to broadcast the cricket. So if he didn’t want to talk to us, I don’t know why.”
in the Sydney Morning Herald spoke to five digital-native news reporters about how they see the current news industry, where they are seeing things done, and where improvement is needed. Commenting in the article are , Australia’s most dedicated news man , and .
There’s lots of smart comments from the group, but Mediaweek found itself nodding the most with Konrad Benjamin’s comment: “I’m drawn to stories that give context. I never liked the whole 30-second news approach of “here’s what happened”. Like, “the US bombed Iran”. OK. But tell me why it’s important: why is the US involved, how did they get into it? New formats – YouTube and online media – have come and plugged that gap and legacy media companies have to reformat what they’re doing. The ABC has pivoted a bit: Matt Bevan does If You’re Listening, a YouTube channel and podcast. That’s the change we’re looking for: 10-15 minute context-driven work. The format is YouTube first.”
Australian audiences watched more Documentary content on global streaming services than subscribers in any other country, during the first quarter of 2025.
at TV Tonight reports that research by British-based Digital i. found 75% of Australian subscribers to Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video and Max watched at least 20 minutes of a documentary or docu-series between January and March 2025.
Nine reporter poached by Seven
at the Herald Sun (making her second Media Roundup appearance of the day… if you score three, the Mediaweek editor is obliged to take the reporter out for an ice-cream sundae, FYI) reports that Nine reporter and former US correspondent will move to Seven’s Melbourne newsroom as one of six new appointments.
Epstein writes that Seven’s director of news sent an email to staff on Monday morning trumpeting the acquisitions, with the promise of more appointments to come.
Internet security giant Cloudflare has introduced a new setting so websites can block — by default — online bots that scrape their data, requiring the website owner to grant access for a bot to collect the content. The size of Cloudflare means this has significant implications for publishers and the race to build A.I.
Natallie Rocha at The New York Times reports that Cloudflare says its network of servers handles about 20 percent of internet traffic.
