Can someone ‘please explain’ One Nation’s messaging muddle?

In this week’s On Background, One Nation’s messaging leaves the party in a spin, Hughsey gets drinks with conservative power brokers, Nine celebrates broadcasting with AI and has anyone seen Karl?

Messaging madness: One Nation’s moment of truth

Revelations of Victorian One Nation leader Warren Pickering’s history with amphetamines, drink-driving and sexual deviance will do little to move the dial with tribalism in both Australian politics and media. But in the immediate aftermath, the spin was in overdrive.

Die-hard One Nation supporters and cheerleading sections of Australian media claimed his eventual admission only strengthened their resolve the party are the only truth tellers.

But only a few weeks earlier, Pickering’s lawyers threatened to sue if the allegations were published, then claiming on the record those allegations were false. Party leader Pauline Hanson was even sent out to back up that claim publicly on Monday, only to have egg on her face 24 hours later.

It was quite the U-turn, with Pickering facing up to News24 and Paul Murray’s Man Cave on Tuesday night, calling it disappointing that “reputable media sources didn’t look at this story and think maybe that’s not for public viewing”, adding that the story was designed to “gaslight, effectively”. Does he know what gaslighting is? Maybe he was gaslighting us all when he denied the story!

Earlier on, Chris Kenny suggested to fellow News Corp colleague Tim Blair that the “liberal left” shouldn’t be attacking a politician over details of their private life.

The elephant in the room was that the bombshell allegations were broken by the fellow News Corp masthead that Kenny even works for himself as an associate editor. That fact was omitted, of course.

But the saga speaks to a deeper disorganisation of One Nation’s current media strategy, and the fact Hanson just can’t seem to get her team’s messaging in order.

James Ashby’s One Nation

Ahead of Pickering’s press conference, the ABC and The Guardian were once again thrown out by party enforcer and public office aspirant James Ashby. There have been murmurs of a One Nation boycott from sections of the media, On Background hears. Though we’re yet to see any follow through.

Ashby, Hanson’s right-hand man, was elevated to the role of national party director in August. This came with an expected step back from the front line in favour of a more behind-the-scenes role.

He is effectively the organisational power behind One Nation, credited with “professionalising” the party, which includes implementing new processes to vet potential candidates for past social media posts or criminal records, for example. Hmm.

Hanson also credited him for One Nation’s “fire the liar” campaign against the prime minister which raised millions in donations. This week, a headline in The Australian dubbed their Victorian leader the “liar for hire”.

So while it remains highly unorthodox for an unelected official to be the one fronting a handicapped press pack, there was little surprise when Ashby chaperoned Pickering to his press conference, even addressing the crowd himself first.

The next day on Nine’s Today, Ashby defended his exclusion of the ABC, likening its relationship with the public broadcaster to that of a “domestic violence relationship”.

Confused messaging is quickly becoming a hallmark of One Nation’s media strategy as scrutiny heightens on the polls-topping party.

New Farrer MP David Farley has taken a step back from media engagements since his migration comments on the ABC’s Insiders got him in trouble. Seat-filling senators Sean Bell and Tyron Whitten have also taken a back seat.

Hanson then declared her feud with Andrew Hastie a “storm in a teacup” after comments on her Please Explain series calling him a traitor for giving evidence against Ben Roberts-Smith were simply part of a “satirical cartoon”. But then again, members of her party called for the ABC to be defunded after a satirical film joked about turning party donor Gina Rinehart’s guts into a “sausage roll”. So which is it?

All of this leaves a vacuum for the party’s wildcard, Barnaby Joyce, who moves as he pleases. He is effectively the designated hitter, Press Gallery sources say, for serious interviews and continues to appear on the public broadcaster at will, regardless of the party’s wider ban. He will appear on the ABC’s National Forum on Monday for a panel on migration.

But on Monday, even he couldn’t get his head around his shiny new, complicated super policy.

“I’m not Jesus Christ,” Joyce said when pressed on the figures by Sarah Ferguson. We know, Barnaby.

Kruel fate

So it turns out becoming Australia’s “Joe Bogan” was a little harder than initially thought for breakfast TV veteran Karl Stefanovic, whose show has stopped uploading new content, and its Facebook page even disappeared this week.

Behind the scenes, questions are already swirling over whether the show will return at all.

Karlos launched the show in January with former magazine editor and digital marketing guru Keshnee Kemp coming on as his producer and business partner. Speculation is now growing that the pair have had a falling out. Neither answered repeated attempts to be reached this week.

This masthead confirmed country apparel brand Ringers Western was no longer advertising with Karl this week, after he announced an “exclusive partnership” with the brand during an interview with its sibling founders in July, including CEO James Salerno Jr.

The Salernos form part of an alleged cult based in the Kimberly region of Western Australia. Salerno Jr is known as “Hawkeye”, while his father James Salerno Snr, who is a Vietnam War veteran that goes by “Taipan”, was the cult’s leader.

In 2019, a South Australian judge found Taipan guilty of grooming and sexually abusing a child over a two-and-a-half-year period. The verdict was overturned on appeal and retrial was ordered. He was found guilty by a jury two years later, but the verdict was once again overturned on appeal. Set for a second retrial, the victim eventually withdrew the claim, telling The Advertiser she could not mentally stand to go through the courts a third time. Salerno maintained his innocence throughout the process and denies the group was a cult.

Stefanovic asked the Salerno kids about building a brand despite dad’s media attention, successfully skating around the content of what it was he “copped a lot of shit” over. Stefanovic later said people could “check out for themselves what it was about if they want to”. Typically hard hitting stuff.

Members of the group own several businesses, including Salerno Law, which rebranded to Rubicon Law following Salerno Snr’s time in the courts.

During the two-month exclusive partnership, Karl was regularly seen sporting Ringers hats and horse riding shirts, doing his best outback cosplay. The other unknown is whether speculated funding from billionaire Gina Rinehart has dried up.

Whatever happens from here, betting the house (and his renovation) on the YouTube audience doesn’t appear to be paying off.

Spotted!

Speaking of Rinehart, her PR expert and media whisperer James Radford was spotted last week out for drinks in St Kilda with none other than News24’s Rita Panahi. This connection is hardly secret, considering team Rinehart helped pay for and arrange Panahi’s lavish 50th birthday party celebrations in MAGA-land earlier this year.

But another in attendance was none other than Liberal Party campaigner and comedian, Dave Hughes. Hughes’ shift toward right-leaning politics has been well-documented this year.

Asked about his newfound friends, Hughsey said: “I’m not taking one cent from anyone for anything I am saying. I don’t need any money. It’s not about money.” On Background didn’t mention money, but that is what the man said!

s(A)pph(I)re jubilee

After a busy week fighting against damaging tech companies’ algorithms and bashing our national broadcaster, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be heading up the road from Kirribilli House on Friday night for a function in North Sydney, celebrating 70 years of Channel Nine.

On Background’s bosses will be hosting Albo, his best mate and NSW Premier Chris Minns, Opposition Leader (and former Nine anchor) Kellie Sloane and other dignitaries. Business figures including Qantas chair John Mullen and Virgin CEO Dave Emerson will be joined by Tennis Australia, Rugby Australia and Netball Australia bosses Andrew Abdo, Phil Waugh and Liz Ellis. A smattering of current and former on air talent will be there, including Daryl Somers. There was no room for Stefanovic, apparently.

Instead of promoting the milestone with a sizzle reel of content from their 70 years of actual broadcasting, Nine aired a promotion during ad breaks this week, bizarrely created with Artificial Intelligence. The creation was shown during The Block on Sunday, reimagining Nine’s first-ever broadcast in 1956, capped off with former executive Bruce Gyngell’s “Good evening, and welcome to television” moment.

On Background is told the recreation was made with the permission of his son and former Nine boss David Gyngell.

Call me old-fashioned, but some original footage might have been a better creative choice.

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