KEY POINTS:
APN News & Media has sold its New Zealand online business directory Finda.co.nz to industry giant Yellow.
The sale includes Finda, Wises Maps, menus.co.nz, UBD and apndata.
A Yellow spokeswoman said Finda.co.nz would continue to operate alongside Yellow Pages directories as a stand-alone businesses.
APN chief executive Brendan
Hopkins said that "whilst committed to growing our online business, we will continue to take advantage of opportunities to realise value for non-core assets as they arise".
APN will retain the Finda name for Australia. The company picked up half of Finda.co.nz in 2006, and the remainder last year. Before that, Finda.co.nz had been launched by Shane Bradley. With Rich Poole, Bradley had also founded Grown Ups, 60 per cent of which was sold to Yellow Pages in July last year,
APN News & Media is 39.1 per cent owned by Independent News & Media which is, in turn, 28 per cent owned by Sir Anthony O'Reilly.
INM recently withdrew from a review to sell its stake in APN, saying global credit problems meant parties could not put together a bid acceptable to APN and INM.
FLIPPER
MediaWorks chief executive Brent Impey would have to excuse office wags after an accident on his speedboat in the Coromandel. Impey - who loves getting out on the water - apparently flipped his boat, which had passengers on it.
Impey lost his wallet and sunnies. But nobody was hurt and Impey's sense of humour survived. "The radio and television businesses are staying afloat," he said in a statement.
MOONLIGHTERS
Media trainer Brian Edwards has raised concerns about broadcasters working on the side as media trainers, saying it has become more common.
That may be right. Susan Wood, a former Close Up presenter turned public relations boss who fills in for Larry Williams on Newstalk ZB, says she'll do media training as part of her side business.
"It has been around for ages," said Wood, who runs the new PR operation for Ponsonby-based media buyer Lassoo. She insists her advice to clients will be to "tell the truth", which I guess is fine so long as you have not done terrible, terrible things.
Edwards - whose company Callingham & Edwards was media trainer to Helen Clark and the Labour Cabinet - said he noticed "an increasing contamination of news by public relations".
In one case a new commercial client had advised he paid a high-profile current affairs broadcaster for media training.
"The client was surprised when he fronted to be interviewed by the person that he was given a tough interview," Edwards said.
The person had come to Callingham & Edwards after being dissatisfied by the training given, Edwards said.
He said the public had the right to know if journalists conducting current affairs interviews had another relationship with the people they were interviewing. In 2005 Edwards criticised former Newstalk ZB presenter Paul Holmes after it emerged he had provided media training to then opposition leader Don Brash.
Morning Report presenter Sean Plunket - who provided media training last year - said he had stopped. A former Campbell Live contractor, Janet Wilson, provided media training to John Key through Deadline, the company she co-owns with Bill Ralston.
TV3 spokesman Roger Beaumont said that a staffer who conducted interviews would be in breach of their employment. Contractors had to advise if there was any conflict of interest.
TVNZ said "employees must avoid any activity, interest or relationship with any person or entity outside or inside TVNZ which could create, or might appear to others to create, a conflict with the interests of TVNZ".
"In appropriate circumstance, TVNZ may consent to a proposed activity even though a conflict of interest may exist, provided there is no legal or unethical conduct involved."
INSIDE STORY
The media training issue has come to a head with top journos fronting the MediaBiz seminar.
The seminar - led by Rob Harley and his TV3 producer wife Alison Harley - has raised eyebrows because of the high-profile media people taking part and extensive advertising hype that promoted it as a way for people to get their views into the media.
At least one participant is said to have raised concerns about the way the seminar was being promoted as giving away journalistic secrets to secure coverage.
The left-wing commentator Gordon Campbell said that top media folk were selling the secrets of the trade to businesspeople. The seminar includes some of the biggest names on TV, including TV3 political editor Duncan Garner and news host Mike McRoberts. But participants do not include John Campbell, as was erroneously reported last week.
ALTERED STATES
Easy Factor - financiers for alternative television channel Alt TV - have been in talks with prospective new owners for the station, whose four co-owners include TV3 Sunrise presenter Oliver Driver.
One name being suggested to take over the company from Oliver, Thane Kirby, Ricky Newby and David Kennedy is Tony Amos, a key player of the cult 1990s music channel MaxTV, that was the training ground for expat Zane Lowe, now evening host on the BBC's Radio One.
Talks have been lingering over several weeks. Keiran Jones, a spokesman for Easy Factor - which stressed it is a third party financial and not an investor - said he had hoped to make a statement this week.
Kirby has insisted that Alt TV is in a good position, but the Sky channel is in a tough spot with the advertising market deteriorating and substantial overheads to be the Sky digital platform.
SMALL WORLD
A little bit of cheek goes a long way to getting a top interview, but Radio Live co-host John Tamihere believes other factors led to his being picked for an interview with US President Barack Obama. JT - who was one of five Kiwis on a Government-sponsored visit to Washington - was flummoxed when he learned he had been picked out from a breakfast function to meet with Obama for a scheduled 15-second face-to-face.
He was last night eating out with former US Attorney General John Ashcroft, said RadioLive boss Mitch Harris. "It is completely unexpected and he is concerned it might all fall over.
"JT thought that since Obama had a background in community work his role in the Waipareira Trust may have led to be his being selected for the sought-after spot."
MEDIA BEAT TELCOS
Media have won a sideline battle against the telecommunications business with new rules that come into force at the end of this month.
Ill feelings run deep over Section 92A of the Copyright Act, which requires internet service providers to police copyright theft on their networks, but telco bosses say it is only a guideline and there will likely be legal clashes.
Telcos this week issued a draft code of practice that attempts to give a guide for internet providers to deal with new obligations. They will have to follow up complaints customers are using their networks to breach copyright and close down internet accounts.
Internet NZ chief executive Keith Davidson summed up the sour taste in the mouth of many in the internet world about acting on copyright holder approaches and policing music and entertainment industry property rights - potentially they will have to take down their customers' websites.
Davidson said that New Zealand business did not yet realise possible problems from new obligations with potentially any business providing staff with internet access liable to accept copyright breach complaints.
The New Zealand arm of the international record business, the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand, is leading the fight in this country, though Hollywood studios and the performers body Apra is also involved.
"There is no doubt that these [entertainment] industries see a huge loss due to illegal downloads," said Davidson.
"But how much of the big fall in their botttom line is due to the fact that the public has moved on from buying music and has a greater choice in entertainment?"
On an international scale they are asking for legislative help to overcome poor handling of their business, he said.
On 30 January this column referred to the debt carried by Fairfax Media and speculated that Fairfax is also facing demands to pay back debts. That statement is incorrect. Fairfax Media is not facing any demands by any of its bankers or creditors for the repayment of any of its current debt. I retract and apologise to Fairfax for any adverse inference arising from the statement.
