‘Difficult choices’: News Corp slashes staff perks, caps phone plans

Times are lean at News Corp, with this masthead reporting the local arm of the US-headquartered behemoth is looking to slash $20 million in costs over the next two years.

That belt-tightening has meant a crackdown on employee expenses. On Tuesday, News Corp Australia’s Chief Financial Officer Michael Murphy sent around an all-staff email reminding employees of the company’s “refreshed” discretionary expenses policy.

Noting that the organisation had seen a “steady increase in discretionary expenses” since COVID-19, Murphy warned staff that to curb spending, they may have to restrict travel and make “difficult choices”.

For the minions of Holt Street, it’s a brave new world of austerity – phone plans capped at $21.50 a month, fixed class economy and “preferred hotels” only for travel, with all overseas trips signed off by the CFO, while gifts for life events (like retirements, weddings and deaths) can’t be more than $100.

While that all seems relatively reasonable, we somehow doubt any of this penny-pinching extends to executive chairman Lachlan Murdoch’s well-documented penchant for private jet travel.

GOOD SPORTS

The travel crackdown clearly didn’t stop a posse of Fox Sports’ talent descending on Parliament House on Tuesday night. It was a rare downside to the lucrative commentary gigs handed to sports stars after glittering careers, with the channel’s talent forced to endure an evening of speeches from politicians.

By talent, we’re talking the likes of cricket legend Adam Gilchrist, past and present NRL stars including Matty Johns, Damien Cook and Josh Papali’i, plus league boss Andrew Abdo, ostensibly there to ensure the boys were behaving – can’t trust the players in Canberra these days.

From the AFL, came big names like Eddie Betts, Jonathan Brown and Jack Riewoldt, retired netballers Catherine Cox and Bianca Chatfield, along with Fox Sports presenters Sarah Jones, Jess Yates and Isa Guha.

Sports Minister Anika Wells, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, as well as their respective Coalition shadows Anne Ruston and Sarah Henderson all addressed the crowd, each dropping in a few cozy little anecdotes to highlight their love of sport.

And that was before the speeches from Fox Sports’ personalities and administrators. Yawn. We hope the nibbles and drinks were at least worth it.

SLEDGE BACKFIRES

Speaking of Sarah Henderson, the Liberal Senator was in her customary full-frontal attack mode on Tuesday as she took to the socials to lash out at the government’s new online safety initiatives, with the former ABC journalist taking Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to task for his “embarrassing” effort.

“This is embarrassing @albo,” Henderson harrumphed.

“#saferinternetday highlights that your govt has done virtually nothing to invest in online let alone critical issues such as scams and extra funding for @esafety office.”

The trouble was it wasn’t the PM’s twitter handle that Henderson tagged, but an account on the site belonging to Italian smut artist called Albo Draws Lewds, where the senator’s 10,000 plus followers would have found lots of material that’s Not Safe For Work, and couldn’t possibly be reproduced in a column as wholesome and family friendly as CBD.

This should no longer be a trap for young players. The ABC’s Michael Rowland, former independent-MP-turned angry dude Tony Windsor, along with fellow online ragers former Labor senator Doug Cameron and right-wing rent-a-quote Prue MacSween are all among those who have inadvertently invoked the Lombardy Lewdster over the years.

Henderson herself made the mistake once before, in July last year.

It was all enough to prompt a plea from the artist for Australia’s chattering classes to be left alone to go about his – barely – legal business.

Somebody linking to the pornographic account while trying to act as a champion of internet safety is a first, as far as we’re aware, but they say the Coalition needs new ideas, so maybe it’s worth a try.

Looks like great minds think alike.

“I might tag @Albo in my tweets more often if it will help highlight the Albanese government’s failures to invest in the online safety of all Australians,” Henderson told CBD.

BOYS CLUB

It’s been a turbulent year for elite (code for overpriced) Bellevue Hill private school Cranbrook. Fallout over when to enter the 21st century and allow girls, a broken relationship between the headmaster and school council which saw a mass exodus from that body, and the appointment of 13 new councillors this year.

Now, the $40,000 a year school has announced Geoff Lovell, a seasoned company director type and former Oxford University cricketer as its interim council president until the next Annual General Meeting. His resume looks an ideal fit for an aristocratic educational institution lurching out of crisis.

In the past, Lovell served as deputy head and foundation president at the University of Sydney’s St Paul’s College, a place which has tended to make headlines for sexism scandals and baroque hazing rituals and which, like Cranbrook, is also belatedly opening its doors to women, despite a bit of opposition among the more antiquated alumni.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.