In our must-read Mail+ column, Steve Jackson and Peter van Onselen reveal what’s REALLY going on in the worlds of media and politics each week.
‘Everyone is freaking out’: Farmer in crisis
The new season of Channel Seven‘s Farmer Wants A Wife hasn’t even hit our screens yet and the behind-the-scenes producers and crew already fear it will be the last.
Inside Mail hears a scandal is brewing that could spell the end of the long-running dating show. There’s only so much we can reveal for legal reasons (for now, at least) but it all centres around one of the rural Romeos, Jack Rowlandson, who was allegedly caught with a woman who wasn’t one of the contestants on his farm.
Now, look, the heart wants what the heart wants.
But Jack’s alleged indiscretion risks tarnishing the reputation of a show that Seven bigwigs love to tell advertisers is a wholesome and ‘brand-safe’ alternative to Nine’s Married At First Sight, where partner-swapping and ‘secret girlfriends’ are par for the course.
So seriously is Seven taking this matter, that Eureka Productions, which makes FWAW, has spent the past few weeks furiously scrubbing shots of Farmer Jack from the upcoming season.
We hear producers have also been diligently re-filming scenes that previously featured Rowlandson in a bid to plaster over the gaps caused by the unanticipated drama.
Farmer Wants A Wife is cutting scenes involving Jack Rowlandson from the upcoming season after a controversy that insiders fear could spell disaster for Seven’s long-running dating show
But it’s proving quite the costly exercise in terms of both time and location fees. Too costly, in fact, to reshoot all the key sequences. So that’s going to make for an interesting final edit.
Awkwardly, the 26-year-old bull rider has already been included in the program’s extensive pre-season promotion, with FWAW insiders telling us the producers had expected him to be the show’s ‘poster boy’ and stand-out star next year.
A former soldier, Rowlandson hails from the tiny town of Oberon, about two-and-a-half hours’ drive west from Sydney on the far side of the Blue Mountains.
He had been pitched to fans as a rugged cowboy with a heart of gold who cherishes loyalty, honesty and spontaneous adventures.
Perhaps just a little too spontaneous?
Although Seven has so far managed to keep a lid on the brouhaha, Inside Mail has been hearing a lot of whispers from contestants that all is not well on the farm.
When we caught up with ‘Farmer Jack’ this week, he was none too keen to discuss his romantic dalliances.
‘I’m probably not allowed to talk to you about all that,’ he told us.
Why not? Was he aware he was being pre-emptively cut from the contest?
Natalie Gruzlewski will front the upcoming season of Farmer Wants a Wife alone
Former co-host Samantha Armytage has defected to rival Nine
‘I haven’t heard from them [Eureka Productions] at all, so… look, I’m going to have to go.’
Funny that. We reached out to Eureka Productions to ask why they also felt Rowlandson had to go… and we’re still waiting to hear back.
The controversy couldn’t come at a worse time for Seven and FWAW, with former co-host Samantha Armytage defecting to Nine and rival dating show The Golden Bachelor, leaving veteran presenter Natalie Gruzlewski to front series solo this time around.
It has also wreaked havoc among the show’s cast and crew, with one staffer telling us the producers were being ‘secretive’ about the real reasons why Rowlandson had been cut, and that there were concerns about the viability of the season without him.
‘Jack was supposed to be the golden boy for the season… it’s not just a matter of punting him and pretending he was never there, it’s not that simple,’ one insider told us.
‘Everyone on the show is freaking out. If we can’t fix this, it could be the end of Farmer forever.’
A little bit melodramatic? Perhaps, but then it is reality TV.
Alan Jones goes the way of Dorian Gray’s portrait
In the time before TikTok and Instagram, Sydneysiders could keep tabs on the rise and fall of the nation’s key political, business and media influencers by tracking the larger-than-life portraits adorning the walls of famed power-lunch restaurant Machiavelli in the heart of the city’s CBD.
Unsurprisingly for the past few years, veteran broadcaster Alan Jones‘ beaming smile took pride of place at the centre of the Italian trattoria’s main feature wall.
Sartorially resplendent in a natty aqua blazer, Jones was nestled between portraits of Rupert Murdoch together with sons Lachlan and James, and a picture of late Nine owner Kerry Packer reclining on a chesterfield sofa to his left, and Seven West Media proprietor Kerry Stokes, his son Ryan, and late former Nine and Seven chief David Leckie to his right.
Salubrious company, indeed.
An accompanying guide to the restaurant’s portraits (for the culturally unenlightened) described Jones as a ‘media identity and power wielder [who]… shows ‘one man can turn the tide.’ Also a big supporter of Machiavelli, the restaurant’ (boom-tish).
That was until last month, when Jones’ portrait quietly vanished after the one-time titan of talkback radio was charged with a litany of sex offences relating to multiple young men – allegations the embattled broadcaster has furiously denied.
Alan Jones’ portrait once took pride of place on the wall of Sydney power-lunch restaurant Machiavelli but disappeared after he was charged with a litany of sex offences
The restaurant’s helpful guide to the mover-and-shaker portraits adorning its walls
Former Sunrise co-host David Koch
The famed 16th century Florentine statesman, political philosopher and archetypal schemer for which the restaurant is named, Niccolo Machiavelli, once noted ‘of mankind, we may say, in general, they are fickle, hypocritical and greedy of gain’.
Well said, Nic. But we’re not so sure if this is simply a matter of being fickle.
We reckon the owners of Machiavelli realise diners don’t want a life-size photo of an accused sex offender staring down at them while they try to enjoy a plate of pasta and a glass of sangiovese.
Instead, Jones’ picture has been replaced by a portrait of far less controversial former Sunrise co-host David Koch.
Saluti.
Russian to leave, Mr Cossack?
Haunting footage emerged this week of Australian teacher Oscar Jenkins being slapped about by Russian captors after being caught fighting for Ukraine.
The once-promising Melbourne cricketer-turned-foreign-mercenary appeared gaunt, mud-spattered and mildly terrified as questions were fired at him in Russian.
There are grave fears for his safety, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelling the 32-year-old’s capture ‘concerning’.
But one individual on Aussie soil who is celebrating Jenkins’ seizure is Simeon Boikov, who has spent the past two years holed up in Sydney’s Russian Consulate.
The self-styled ‘Aussie Cossack’ fled there in December 2022 after NSW Police issued a warrant for his arrest after he allegedly assaulted a 76-year-old pensioner at a pro-Ukraine rally at Sydney’s Town Hall.
Nine months later, he was granted Russian citizenship in a decree signed by Vladimir Putin but still remains trapped in the consulate like some sort of Julian Assange-wannabe, fearing he will be arrested by police the moment he emerges.
Simeon Boikov, above with his wife Ekaterina Olshannikova, known as Mrs Cossack, has been holed up in the Russian Consulate in Sydney for the past two years
The reason the moustachioed 34-year-old has been distastefully chirruping with delight about Jenkins’ capture is because he believes it finally offers him a chance to escape to his beloved Motherland.
‘The only way Oscar Jenkins is going to avoid 35 years in a Gulag is if the Australian Government agrees to a prisoner-exchange deal and – guess what – I’m volunteering my candidacy,’ Boikov boasted this week.
‘Literally, it’s been two years and finally… I think, I hope, I’m going to make it to Russia. Let’s do a deal, Albanese. Let’s get your Oscar Jenkins back.’
In an intriguing side-show, Inside Mail has learned that Boikov’s hosts in the Russian consulate are understood to have grown increasingly confused by the ongoing presence of their house guest.
Melbourne school teacher Oscar Jenkins was caught by Russian soldiers while fighting alongside Ukraine’s foreign legion
One of our colleagues, Max Aitchison, was enjoying a quiet pint in the Lord Dudley Hotel in Woollahra recently when a delegation of Russophiles took over the pub.
It transpired they had been attending a function up the road at the Russian Consulate for the Federation’s ultra-nationalistic ‘Unity Day’.
One particularly well-refreshed gentleman was happy to wax lyrical about how Putin was not as quite so bad as all those pesky fans of democracy in the West would have you believe.
But his favourite topic of conversation was the ‘Aussie Cossack’ and his lengthy stay in the consulate.
‘The funny thing is that he’s spent almost two years inside, whereas if he had just fronted court he’d have had his freedom by now,’ the man let slip in between shots of vodka.
Two years is certainly one heck of a sleepover.
We asked the Russian Consulate whether Boikov’s welcome was starting to wear thin after bunking down in their backroom for so long – and if they were also quietly hoping for a prisoner exchange – but received nyet response.
Ben Cousins’ star power at Seven’s Christmas bash
It’s that time of the year when we all hastily jot down our New Year’s resolutions and stick them on the fridge before promptly forgetting all about them.
Still, some punters fare better than others.
Take troubled bad boy of Aussie Rules Ben Cousins, who has done a remarkable job of straightening himself out after serving lengthy stints in both rehab and behind bars following his well-documented descent into drug addiction.
The one-time cautionary tale has been on a clean-living kick since being given a second (or is that seventh?) chance and joining Seven’s Perth newsroom as the city’s sports anchor 18 months ago.
Ben Cousins poses up with colleagues at the joint West Australian newspaper and Channel Seven Christmas party last Thursday
Inside Mail is reliably informed Cousins has more than impressed Seven’s bosses with his work ethic and commitment since signing on with the network.
His spirited performance on Dancing with the Stars this year even managed to snare him a top-eight finish alongside professional foxtrotter Siobhan Power.
Proving the lustre has well and truly returned to his once-tarnished star power, we hear Cousins was one of the most popular personalities to turn up to the joint West Australian newspaper and Channel Seven Christmas bash in Perth last Thursday.
Held in the car park of the media company’s Osborne Park bunker, staffers went as far as queuing for selfies with the walking redemption story throughout the night.
Good on you, Ben. Keep up the great work.
Albo intervenes to stop cabinet minister’s retirement
Which federal cabinet minister was planning to announce their retirement before next year’s election but was talked out of doing so by none other than the PM himself?
We hear Albo got in their ear, convincing them to stay and only leave after the election if they felt the same way in six months’ time.
Why? Because he was worried that in the wake of Bill Shorten‘s exit, it wouldn’t send the right message to voters.
That seems a little paranoid.
The departing Paul Fletcher and the outgoing Simon Birmingham
Peter Dutton just lost two of his most senior shadow ministers to political retirement: senate leader Simon Birmingham and manager of opposition business in the House of Representatives Paul Fletcher.
More internal probes at The Daily Telegraph’s HQ
Well, well, well. Here we go again.
Another week, another hapless internal investigation at The Daily Telegraph’s Holt St headquarters.
And we’re not even involved in this one!
Rupert Murdoch and his fifth wife Elena Zhukova
This time, the blame game centres around how half of last Friday’s Telegraph ended up getting reprinted in last Saturday’s Telegraph.
We know what you’re all thinking: they’re not even trying to fill the thing these days!
Alas, it sounds like a genuine stuff-up.
But unfortunately, it all went down while company patriarch Rupert Murdoch and fifth wife Elena Zhukova were in town and the snafu – and unenviable timing – has been the talk of Holt St all week.
How embarrassing.
We know how much the Tele’s super-sleuth editors love finding other people to point fingers at, so we’re sure someone is already in the frame to take the fall.
But the real question is… how many of the eds were actually logged in and checking the pages on the company’s publishing system, Méthode, before they hit the presses?
Oooooooh, dear. The answer may surprise you. It certainly surprised us.
Is Sky News Australia ‘in the zone’ for new owners?
Elsewhere at News Corp, it seems Christmas came early with this week’s announcement the media giant is selling its interest in Foxtel to DAZN as part of a deal valued at $3.4billion overall.
The agreement will see the global sports streamer take control of the Australian pay-TV company and its ‘key brands’, including Kayo, Binge and Hubbl, in the new year.
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a broadcaster named DAZN (pronounced ‘Da Zone’ is in ‘in da zone’) it’s Foxtel’s multimillion-dollar sports rights deals with the AFL, NRL and Cricket Australia that really piqued the streamer’s interest.
Still, DAZN chief executive Shay Segev was quick to reassure the international outfit was ‘committed to supporting and investing in Foxtel’s television and streaming services across both sports and entertainment’.
Hmmm… sports and entertainment, you say, Segev?
We couldn’t help but notice you didn’t mention news and weather – in particular Sky News Australia, the conservative political channel that remains wholly owned by News Corp but airs on Foxtel.
And it seems we’re not the only ones who picked up on the omission.
We’re told Sky News Australia isn’t going anywhere… but that hasn’t stopped some network insiders at the star-studded political channel fearing for their jobs
‘Everyone at Sky News has been living in fear of this,’ one well-placed network insider told us.
‘We all know that DAZN don’t care about news channels or weather channels – they only care about sport and betting – so where does that leave us?’
Fret not. Inside Mail is reliably informed Sky News Australia’s short-term future is secure given its ‘long-term carriage deal’ with Foxtel.
Hang on… how ‘long term’ is long term, we hear you ask? Well, that was our next question, too.
We’re told an agreement is in place for the next ’18 months to two years’ and that negotiations are soon to commence regarding an extension.
So if you’re one of the channel’s three viewers, rest assured, Sky News is not going anywhere… at least for now.
The Project’s head-scratching swipe at 60 Minutes
Remember the last time you were having a good, old chuckle at all the witty one-liners on 60 Minutes?
No, us neither. After all, some of the show’s droning intros these days aren’t just vanilla, they’re practically unflavoured.
Still, the irrepressible young team over at The Project on Ten want you to know that Sixty’s polished presenters only seem so rip-snortingly funny because Nine’s news and current affairs staple uses a laugh track.
Wait? What’s that now? Start dropping some breadcrumbs, ladies and gentlemen, because we could get a little lost on this one.
60 Minutes’ wise-cracking presenting line-up Liz Hayes, Dimity Clancey, Tara Brown, Amelia Adams and that other guy
According to The Project’s online plea for viewers to join their studio audience, the show promises would-be spectators the amazing opportunity to ‘see what happens in the ad breaks’, eat free lollies, and ‘have your applause beamed around Australia’.
Our applause? Heard on TV? Where do we sign up?!
The Project’s Sarah Harris and Waleed Aly
And as if that’s not enough, The Project’s producers want to reassure prospective audience members that their hosts (you know, Sarah Harris et al) are genuinely funny… unlike their rivals.
‘Remember,’ they humble brag in the advert, ‘The Project is currently the only news program in the world with a live audience (all the other news shows use canned laughter – even 60 Minutes).’
Canned laughter? 60 Minutes?
We’re not sure what show those crazy kids at The Project have been laughing along to but we’re certain it’s not Sixty.
Well, fairly certain.
Border Force prison plan sure to go up in smoke
Talk about theatre if the absurd – even though cigarettes have been banned in state prisons for years now, Border Force Australia in its infinite wisdom has set up a scheme within federally controlled detention centres which reward good behaviour with access to smokes.
We’re not joking – it’s a point scheme whereby the better behaved you are, the better the brand of cigarettes you get.
Not that Border Force was prepared to comment on the unusual departure from the norm in other prisons.
And the best part? The scheme is designed to improve ‘quality of life’.
We wonder if that means they take those graphic images off the smokes before they get distributed.
Sam Mac’s doppelgänger sparks conspiracy theory
There is nothing wrong with your iPhone. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. You are not seeing double.
Although you could be forgiven for thinking so given the remarkable resemblance between Sunrise weatherman Sam Mac and Nine director of morning television and renowned Dirty Rotten Scoundrels aficionado Steve ‘Ruprecht’ Burling.
Doppelgängers Steven Burling and Sam Mac … or is it the other way around?
Seriously… has anyone ever seen them together in the same room?
The rival breakfast television types are even said to share an uncannily similar sense of humour and a handy knack for reading storm fronts.
After all, we hear Burling has had to deal with more than a few internal staff tempests ever since Cyclone Samantha Armytage burst onto the set of his breakfast television show Today last week.
Apparently, all his on-air presenters are nervously trying to read which way the wind is blowing ahead of any changes to the program’s line-up next year.
ABC staffers outsource their own ideas
Kim Williams has been busily bringing about vast social and political change at the ABC’s media empire since assuming power in March.
Aunty’s Chairman Kim Williams
Although Chairman Kim has been careful to point out it’s up to the taxpayer-funded broadcaster’s executives to actively plot the ABC’s path forward, we hear a number of execs are eager to align their personal vision with that of the Dear Leader…
Only problem is, not everyone is entirely sure what that is…
Their concerns have only been heightened by this month’s announcement one-time Channel Nine boss and fellow revolutionary Hugh Marks will be Williams’ faithful lieutenant after being appointed as the ABC’s new managing director.
New ABC managing director Hugh Marks
Now Inside Mail is hearing some of the broadcaster’s more enterprising commissioning editors have implemented a clever strategy to avoid getting dragged off to a re-education camp.
Apparently they’ve been taking their ideas out to market… and commissioning freelancer producers to pitch those exact same thought-bubbles straight back to them as though they are completely foreign concepts. Genius!
If the commissioning editors’ benevolent overlords like the freelancers’ totally unique and unguided ideas, then it’s a win for the proletariat.
And if they don’t?
Well, it’s not their head on the chopping block… don’t these freelancers realise there’s a cultural revolution under way?
And the Dummy of the Week goes to…
Dummy of the Week John Pesutto
Last week, we settled on Victorian state Liberal leader John Pesutto as our dummy of the week after he lost his defamation matter with former Liberal MP Moira Deeming.
Well, we can’t go past him again this week.
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for Pesutto, he used his casting vote against Deeming’s attempt to rejoin the party last Friday, sparking a leadership crisis that will inevitably see him lose his job soon enough.
As it should, frankly. Talk about a conflict of interest!
In an attempt to repair the damage done, he’s called for a new vote to allow Deeming to rejoin, but it’s too little, too late.
Got a tip for Inside Mail? Contact us at Steven.Jackson@mailonline.com or Peter.vanOnselen@mailonline.com