Mediaweek's James Manning and Andrew Mercado are joined by FremantleMedia Australia director of drama Jo Porter for a special Picnic At Hanging Rock podcast. Jo covers everything from the initial pitch to the estate of author Joan Lindsay and the Foxtel, through to the casting and production. We ask lots of questions about Natalie Dormer and Samara Weaving and how the producers managed to secure two of the hottest stars to spend four months filming in Australia.

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Topics under discussion range from dramas like The Handmaid's Tale, Instinct and Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance (!) to reality series recently launched like House Rules and MasterChef. Andrew has an update on cast development at Home and Away and Neighbours while James has a problem with the robot cull on Westworld.

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Treat this special edition of the Mediaweek podcast like a digital publishing masterclass. During a 30-minute discussion with The Healthy Mummy founder and CEO Rhian Allen, Mediaweek hears about how she sold her house to launch her digital business which after eight years is now turning over $20m+ annually. The Healthy Mummy has just launched in the UK, Allen has a new book out this week and she recently sold a 50% stake in the business to private equity. Allen explains her road to success and what her investors like about her business.

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This week Andrew Mercado and James Manning talk about the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony and look at some of the drama offerings across the next couple of weeks.

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Returning to her homeland for a short visit, Jackie Lee-Joe talks to Mediaweek’s James Manning about how the soon-to-be-rebranded BBC Worldwide is adapting to the changing landscape, using it as an opportunity to build its brands, audiences, commercial returns and reputation. Our interview covers the BBC’s natural history brand BBC Earth (the home of Blue Planet) and how partnerships with Snap, Facebook messenger, Google Earth, Ten Cent and others have been important. Jackie also talks about her career in Australia before heading to the UK.

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An interesting discussion about how the news brand commercialises its product outside of the UK. Topics touched on include the multiplatfom BBC news offering and how big global events from the Trump election to the forthcoming royal wedding attract audiences and commercial partners. Is TV news one of the linear TV products not feeling the winds of change and how has “fake news” affected the BBC News brands?

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At the launch of the Nova 106.9 series of on-location broadcasts of the Ash, Kip and Luttsy with Susie O'Neill breakfast show, Mediaweek had the chance to speak in-depth with O'Neill. 

This new interview makes a nice companion piece to the recent In Her Own Words series Mediaweek partnered with Nova Entertainment for where spoke to inspirational women in radio. Mediaweek has been lucky to have done several podcasts with Ash, Kip and Luttsy at different times, so it was great to get time with the former swimming champ and one of the important pillars in the success the Brisbane breakfast show has enjoyed in recent years.

Although Nova was #1 in the first survey of 2018, it has been challenged in breakfast by Hit 105, something which O'Neill mention in our podcast. O'Neill talks frankly to Mediaweek about the decision not to jump straight into a media career after she stopped swimming. She also details how Nova Entertainment and her breakfast colleagues look after their star recruit and she remembers, with a fair amount of anger still, what she said on the record about former garden guru Don Burke's appalling and insulting behaviour toward her.

The interview gives listeners an insight into just what makes O'Neill so compelling on the radio.

Listen here also to the eight-part In Her Own Words podcast series. https://mediaweek.com.au/nova-podcast-in-her-own-words-womens-day/ 

Read here about Nova Brisbane's broadcast plans during the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. https://mediaweek.com.au/nova-106-9-commonwealth-games-partnership-launch/ 

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- New Aussie dramas Safe Harbour and Harrow

- Plus new international drama Innocent, Howards End and the mockumentary UnREAL – just one of three reasons why you need a Stan subscription over Easter. The others are the return of Billions and the new US musical drama Rise.

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- Logies controversies as TV Weeks changes voting rules

- The Karl and Pete phone call – was it real?

- ABC to get second rights to Foxtel programs - Grand Designs and Wentworth.

- Nine v Seven v TEN - viewing highlights from first quarter and why Nine has done so well.

- Should I’m A Celebrity return for another year?

- New ABC comedies Squinters and Sando.

- Rove’s new series Show Me The Movie! and should Rove Live be revived?

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Nova Entertainment has created a special podcast series featuring interviews with eight inspirational women in diverse media roles.
In Her Own Words was launched on Thursday 8 March to celebrate International Women's Day.
The series looks at resilience, career highs and lows, balance and how these women juggle the demands of life and people around them.
The conversational interviews were conducted for Nova by James Manning, editor of Mediaweek, and are introduced by Ash Gardner, Nova news journalist.

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