The boys are back in town! Following our item last week about a handful of Rupert Murdoch's Aussie newspaper editors being summoned to Los Angeles to throw themselves prostrate at the feet of the boss man and account for themselves, we're pleased to report they're all back in town: relatively unscathed (if you don't count psychological scars, of course).
Uncharacteristically for the wily ol' media mogul, no one appears to have lost their job in the process. At least not yet. Not even the write down of Australian newspapers to the tune of $US310 million in parent company News Corp's full-year results last week appears to have prompted Rupert to wield the axe.
But given these days the only constant is impermanence in the media landscape – we're going to call it a watching brief.
Word is the travelling party, which included Adelaide Advertiser's Sam Weir, the Herald Sun's Damon Johnston, the Daily Telegraph's Chris "Start Spreadin' The News" Dore and not one, but two editors out of Queensland, The Courier-Mail's Lachlan Heywood and (wild card entrant and only Sunday editor in the mix) The Sunday Mail's Peter Gleeson, were treated to some good old-fashioned News Corp hospitality (with a slap up meal or three in salubrious LA surrounds) as well as being mercilessly grilled by the red-pen wielding boss man.
Notable for her presence among the Aussie posse was News Corp (international's) recently appointed CFO Susan Panuccio – who had flown across from her new base in New York and whom insiders say has been taken comprehensively into the Murdoch fold since moving from Australia and is especially close to Lachlan Murdoch. Prepare for the era of Panuccio, is the word out of the trenches.
Also along for the ride was local CEO Michael Miller – who promptly returned home to face down the prospect of finding another $40 million-odd in savings in the local operation.
He may find his job finding savings is made somewhat easier by the high-level of disaffection that is said to be being felt by his chief marketing officer Tony Phillips.
Poached from Woolies and a former CMO at Coles, Phillips is said to be frustrated by interference from above in all things marketing (Miller is a former CMO himself). His bold plan to launch a marketing blitz using the Beatles tune, A Day In The Life (with its opening line: "I read the news today, oh boy" ... see what he was going to do there?) was reportedly overruled, to his great annoyance.
Something – or someone – is going to have to give. We hear Panuccio has a view...
