Latest news with #SamTaunton
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The Project makes huge backflip as lone ranger takes up the mantle of continuing axed show
The Project aired its final show on June 27, but within days, an anonymous social media manager had taken up the mantle of continuing its legacy. In early June, Network 10 announced that the popular news panel show would come to an end after 16 years on the air and 4,500 episodes. But it was an anonymous Ten employee who had the last laugh. 'The bosses really should have changed the password from Password1,' the first taunting post from The Project's new keeper read. In the caption, the admin who calls themselves 'the social media hero', teased their TV bosses: 'Look who's in charge now.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The official Project Instagram account has 401,000 followers, a larger audience than either The Project, or its replacement 10 News+, draws. 10 News+ launched with a whimper last week - with just a measly 291,000 Australians tuning in for the much-hyped news program on its first night and the ratings sliding from there. As the new series limped through its first week on-air, The Project's new overlord posted an update: 'Still cancelled. Still curious.' 'I have nobody to share the silly news I see from around the world with,' the mysterious admin penned. 'That, and the other things we should be discussing… Shall I just post the things that interest/make me laugh anyway?' Former The Project host Sam Taunton was quick to respond: 'Do you know if I left my wallet in the office????' 'I stole the money but yes,' The Project TV replied. 'I will DM you my CV,' Taunton added in a joking reference to his axing. The Project fans have flocked to the axed TV show's Instagram account in support of the rogue Ten employee who is now managing the account The response online has been immense. People love an anonymous Gossip Girl in real life, as much as they do in fiction. As with (formerly anonymous) Instagram accounts 'Miss Double Bay' and 'Pink Patti Cakes', the anonymous The Project has reeled in quite the audience. 'I just assumed the news stopped when we did,' Rove McManus commented. Even The Feed SBS' social media manager joined in on the fun: 'Hi from the other youth news show that got cancelled in the 2010s. We should get a beer.' The Bachelor star Matty 'J' Johnson said he 'feels like I'm speaking to the ghost of a deceased relative.' In the past week, The Project TV's Instagram has covered such news as a Sydney woman being knocked down by a cardboard box in the 'bomb' cyclone, Kanye West's Australian visa cancellation, and the 'hero' Aussie who spent $6500 fuelling his Guzman Y Gomez addiction. However, the flurry of posts has certainly confused some viewers, who assumed the activity signalled hope for The Project on TV. 'So...I posted a few things. People noticed. Slightly more than I expected,' the social media 'hero' posted in another update over the weekend. 'Turns out, there's a lot of news. Whether it's serious stuff, the weird stuff, the did that actually happen?! stuff. I reckon we have enough to fill a few posts a you seem to like it? 'So here's the deal: I post news. You read it, laugh, comment, and maybe have a little existential crisis (optional), and we keep building a space that feels smart, sharp, and not sad all the time. 'Sounds good? Want more? Say the word. And if you don't...I'll keep pretending you my mental health.' 'Want to come along for the ride & be silly while being smart?,' the admin asked in the caption. 'Let me know, ideally before bedtime.' 'In!' former host Rachel Corbett commented, alongside hundreds of others. While there is already talk that 10News+ might not make it to 2026, Ten appears to have struck the right chord by rebranding The Project as a social-first platform, similar to The Daily Aus.
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The surprising show that was going to replace The Project before executives panicked and pushed out 10 News+ - and why the 'rushed' current affairs show is tipped to not last long
The Project replacement 10 News+ launched to a whimper last Monday, with a measly 291,000 Australians tuning in for the much-hyped news program. Network 10 announced The Project had been officially axed after 16 years last month, and, in a surprising one-eighty, replaced the peppy infotainment series with a traditional hard news bulletin. The Project launched in 2009 as an experimental attempt to recapture a national audience who were turning off 'serious' news en masse in favour of social media. Many were quick to question why Network Ten believed a serious news bulletin would retain and expand The Project's audience. Daily Mail Australia can exclusively reveal that behind closed doors, executives were wringing their hands over the same question. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Network 10 announced The Project had been officially axed after 16 years last month, and in a surprising one-eighty, replaced the peppy infotainment series with a traditional hard news bulletin. Pictured L - R: Sam Taunton, Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris, and Georgie Tunny Top Ten executives were reportedly torn over which direction to take the primetime 6-7pm time slot, with some pushing for a stripped, five-nights-a-week version of The Cheap Seats instead. Those in favour of expanding the popular comedy panel show argued it would inject some much-needed humour and levity into the Ten line-up. But in the end, they went the other way, opting for a serious, newsier feel with 10 News+. However, the decision hasn't landed well with viewers or the crew. On Tuesday, 10 News+ shed another 10,000 viewers despite a massive available audience as a 'bomb cyclone' descended on the East Coast. The network swiftly rehired The Project's Georgie Tunny on Thursday to join new anchors Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace. 'I've always been a fan of news delivered differently and am excited to be staying with the 10 family. Can't wait to see where this new chapter leads!' Georgie said. 'They "screwed up" in a covert style and that probably wasn't the right foundation for what was needed to triumph in that time slot,' a Network Ten insider tells Daily Mail Australia. 'Everyone felt rushed,' the insider spills. Top Ten executives were reportedly torn over which direction to take the prime time 6-7pm time slot, with some pushing for a stripped, five-nights-a-week version of The Cheap Seats instead. Pictured: Cheap Seats co-host Melanie Bracewell 'It was clear the format wasn't ready but they needed something fast to replace and justify the budget cuts.' In June, The Project attracted between 238,000 and 357,000 viewers nationally. The news show, which has been in a ratings free-fall since Carrie Bickmore left her seat as host at the end of 2022, still drew a larger audience than 10 News+ in its launch week. This is in stark contrast to The Project's competitors – Seven and Nine News – which routinely attracted more than 2 million viewers to their 6pm bulletins. While 10 News+ is expected to limp through to the end of 2025, many believe it won't return in 2026. 'There's already talk that they'll pull the plug once the ratings come in,' our insider adds. One certainty is The Project isn't coming back. With high-priced contracts for hosts Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris and Hamish Macdonal d axed and no plans to resurrect more familiar faces, Network Ten is said to be scrambling for younger, fresher talent. 'It was clear the format wasn't ready but they needed something fast to replace and justify the budget cuts.' 'They should've stayed in their lane and gone lighter,' our source says. 'That's what Ten does best and that's what viewers actually want.' A second Ten insider didn't mince words when Inside Mail asked about the performance so far. 'Disaster. An EP who has never produced anything before. Hosts who have never hosted anything before,' they said. 'I watched it last night – it's genuinely terrible. Day one – stillborn. Day two – buried. Martin's masterpiece.' The 'Martin' mentioned at the end is Martin White, vice president of broadcast news at Paramount. The executive producer who copped a spray is Daniel Sutton, a veteran journalist, sure, but a first-time EP. When contacted for comment, a Ten spokesperson went to bat for Sutton, telling us: 'Daniel Sutton is a seasoned journalist and producer with 25 years' experience. Network 10 is proud to invest in its staff and promote talented executives.' They added of 10 News+ more generally: 'Ten is taking a long-term, multi-platform view of audience development. 'Building a loyal news audience takes time, and we are prepared for gradual growth as audiences discover and connect with our unique approach to news delivery across many platforms. 'Ten is fully committed to 10 News+. This is a marathon, not a sprint. We are investing in building a sustainable, quality multi-platform news service that will grow and evolve with our audience's needs over time.'
Courier-Mail
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Courier-Mail
The Project's Instagram page goes rogue amid axing
Don't miss out on the headlines from TV. Followed categories will be added to My News. If you think the NSW Police Force's social media pages wins the internet for witty, sarcastic and hilarious posts, feast your eyes on The Project's Instagram account. The program may have been axed by Network Ten last Friday, but its official Instagram is still up and running – and whoever the clever cookie is behind the page has gone rogue. 'The bosses really should have changed the password from Password1,' read a post shared on the account. In the accompanying caption, the poster taunted: 'Well, well, well, look who is in charge now … It's me! The social media hero (that's what I call myself). So, one question: what should I do with these accounts?' The Project's social media page is still alive and well despite the show's axing last Friday. As of Thursday, the 'social media hero' has shared six entertaining posts that have left fans and even former Project personalities in fits of laughter. 'I am SO HERE FOR THIS!!' former co-host Lisa Wilkinson wrote in the comments section of one post. The show's panel consisting of (from left to right) Sam Taunton, Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris and Georgie Tunny was axed last month. 'I just assumed the news stopped when we did,' commented delighted former guest star Rove McManus, who co-owns the production company Roving Enterprises which produced The Project. Meanwhile, former panellists Gorgi Coghlan and Georgia Love left popcorn and laughing emojis of some posts. The social media page has gone rogue, sharing some hilarious posts. The rogue employee is also keeping up with the times, sharing a video of a woman being knocked off her feet during the 'bomb cyclone' that roared through the NSW coast this week. 'I have nobody to share the silly news I see from around the world with. Shall I just post the things that interest/make me laugh anyway?' read another post, before the anonymous poster shared a video of a woman being knocked off her feet by strong winds. 'We have been off air for less than a week, and a woman has been knocked over by a fridge box?' they wrote in the caption. 'You just can't make this stuff up.' The Project said it's final goodbye on Friday after 16 years on air. The show was replaced by 10 News+, which debuted on Monday this week but failed to impress viewers. 10 News+ had received an intense marketing blitz over the last few weeks as Network 10 made its bid to win over new viewers with their promise of putting 'the truth first'. Sadly for the network, that promise wasn't enough to win views, with a mere 291,000 tuning in on Monday evening. For perspective, 7News attracted 1.5 million viewers, with 9News close behind with 1.45 million. Notably, the final episode of The Project scored almost 500,000 viewers on Friday evening. 'You replaced the project with a Temu ACA not seeing @theprojecttv is incredibly depressing. 10news+ sucks!' remarked one viewer. But another viewer welcomed the change, writing: 'Loving 10 news +, strong launch story … 10 news should be very proud.' Originally published as The Project's Instagram page goes rogue following show's axing: 'Should have changed the password'
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The Project's Kate Langbroek takes a thinly veiled swipe at Channel Ten as she praises host Sarah Harris - after 10 News+ tanks in the ratings
The Project star Kate Langbroek and Sarah Harris are still not over Channel Ten 's shock decision to axe the long-running news program. Langbroek, 59, took to Instagram to make a brutal swipe at the network alongside a selfie with Harris while inside the show's studio. 'She made it look so easy it was easy to take her for granted,' Kate captioned the story. Kate shared the same image a second time, alongside the text: 'Tuesday's now Bluesday. Tuesday is not the same without The Project and my girl.' In the snap, Kate pouted while posing alongside Sarah with her arm around her shoulder. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Sarah, alongside The Project hosts Waleed Aly and Hamish Macdonald, are set to exit the network, while comedian Sam Taunton will continue his guest appearances on other Ten shows. The Project was pulled from the schedule after 16 years and more than 4,500 episodes. The show also received mixed reviews from other viewers, with many sharing their thoughts on X. Several compared 10 News+ to A Current Affair, with one posting: 'This is like ACA. Going to people's houses to talk and them avoiding the cameras.' 'You replaced The Project with a Temu ACA not seeing @theprojecttv is incredibly depressing. 10news+ sucks!' complained another viewer. Someone else said: 'This is proper @Channel7 style commercial JUNK. It's like watching a cross between Fox News and Anchorman. Why the silly "news" voices!?' One more person tuning in at home asked: 'Anyone else bored so far?' while someone else said, 'please no more long investigation reports it's 6pm'. The Project was officially axed after 16 years last week, and aired its final episode on June 27. Pictured L to R: Sam Taunton, Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris, and Georgie Tunny 'Oh dear. I thought I would give 10 News Plus a go.I feel like we have regressed 20 years! An inauthentic painfully choreographed attempt at current affairs!' one said. 'Dribble. Won't last the year' a viewer said with another adding, 'Felt like it was a Comedy Company parody from the 80s. The fist pump at the end? Yikes.' Not everyone was so negative with one fan writing: 'Loving @10NewsPlus - strong launch story. Is this the new Schapelle Corby story we all need to know about. 10 news should be very proud.' The show's hosts, recently poached Seven journalists Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace, opened the episode by telling the audience what they can expect from the hard-hitting program. 'Firstly, we're not here to tell you what to think, to scare or depress you,' Hitchcock said. 'We will give you facts, information you can trust – the truth,' Brace added. Of course, we are a daily news program, so you won't miss the stories that matter,' Hitchcock went on. 'But we are also digging deeper with investigations and original reporting you won't see anywhere else,' Brace said. The first episode included an investigation on drug-smuggling Melbourne mum Debbie Voulgaris and a sit-down chat with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Sydney Morning Herald
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘It's looking pretty grim': What's the future of TV news in Australia?
It's been a bad few weeks for TV news and current affairs in Australia, with the cancellation of once-dominant shows such as Q+A and The Project. And if you consider the axing of other series such as The Drum, as well as several youth-focused ventures such as Tonightly and The Feed, there's a strong argument to be had that it's been a bad few years. In one of The Project 's final episodes last week, comedian Sam Taunton donned a black suit and top hat: 'I'm wearing it from the time when free-to-air was at its peak: 1912, I believe,' he joked. But how grim is the outlook really? I spoke to five people aged 40 and under, who work inside and outside traditional news media, to find out. Loading What's your impression of the Australian TV news landscape right now? Jan Fran, journalist and presenter who is launching independent company Ette Media: TV news and current affairs just can't seem to hold audiences in the way it used to. It's fragmenting. The fact is that a significant proportion of Australians just don't do appointment television, and the majority are getting their news from social media all day, every day. So why would they sit down and watch the news for an hour on television? It doesn't really make sense any more to the way that we live. That said, there are still quite a few people who watch the TV news bulletins. But I'd be interested in knowing the demographics of that audience. Leo Puglisi, teenage journalist and founder of 6 News, which operates on YouTube: There are plenty of news shows like A Current Affair that clearly have a very loyal audience. People laugh about it, but they do a good job keeping that. It's more my grandparents' demographic, though. It's a real shame to lose so many non-traditional news programs, especially when they're not being replaced with other news content. It really reflects that anything different is going online at this point. The audiences for these shows are just not on TV. Konrad Benjamin, AKA Punter's Politics, a high school teacher turned content creator and politics podcaster: It's looking pretty grim. As younger people have stopped watching broadcast TV, it looks like they gave up on trying to cater for us. The modern-day version of The Chaser's War on Everything is now just on TikTok. Loading Brooke Boney, Today 's former news and entertainment reporter: There are a lot of incredible people who work very hard on these shows to bring us the very best, and it's sad to see those jobs go. I also think TV news is so under-resourced, so it makes it really hard for the people who remain to do the best job they can. People are having to do more than they ever had with less than they ever had. Chris Kohler, 9News finance editor, presenter and popular social media creator: It still feels like the powerhouse of TV, for me, is well-researched news and current affairs. I mean, The Project is gone, but Channel 10 is bringing in something new with a slightly different flavour to it. There's been a lot of change lately, but TV has always been in an atmosphere of constant change. I think the quality of the output is still incredibly high. The most recent research from the Australian Communications and Media Authority suggests only about a quarter of younger Australians (18-34) are watching news on free-to-air. Why do you think that is? Can anything be done to turn it around? Brooke Boney: I'm not surprised by that statistic at all. We've all got news in the palm of our hand whenever we want it. But I think it's a bit of a copout for us to say it's just about that. Young people can open TikTok or Instagram or YouTube and hear from people who they think sound more like them and look more like them. I would hope that people continue to watch news, but can we reverse these trends? Who knows? In moments of crisis, I only want to watch live news. You can't get that immediacy – and accuracy – from Reels or TikTok. Konrad Benjamin: I think there's still a good 20 years until the TV generation disappear. But that just leaves an ever-shrinking piece of the pie. Legacy media needs to go back to the drawing board about what is it they do. They've got the biggest competitive advantage against someone like me: they have money and full teams of people. They can produce the same kinds of content that I can with better journalism and better graphics. Leo Puglisi: Young people are going to continue moving online. In my age group, 17-18, it's all Instagram and TikTok (but mostly still from reputable sources). I don't think when these people turn 25, they'll become free-to-air watchers, so TV outlets will have to move with them and adapt. Some outlets are putting segments online, and they're doing well. 7News Spotlight does very good numbers on YouTube. Even things like Sky News – their online numbers are insane. A lot of those viewers aren't Australians, but it would still bring in revenue through YouTube. That's the model a lot of other outlets might start looking to. At this point, you've got to put digital first. You can't wait until six o'clock. Jan Fran: Honestly, I'd like to see a news and current affairs show that exists outside the scaffolding of the mainstream media. In the US, there are some that are fairly massive on YouTube, and they're sustainable, and they're scalable, and they're consistent because they can pull an audience. That hasn't been tried and tested in the same to the same degree in Australia. I'd like to see something like that, or maybe, have someone explore the idea of what a news and current affairs show – be it nightly or weekly – looks like on a streaming service. Chris Kohler: It's like that Mark Twain quote, 'the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated'. I started in newspapers 15 years ago, and people were saying then this is all going down the gurgler, no one will be picking up the newspaper in two or three years. But I think it's not really a zero-sum game any more: there's an insatiable appetite for content, whether it's on the phone, the TV or picking up a newspaper. Loading I mean, Channel Nine* will tell you that its total TV audience for the 6pm bulletin is up 11.5 per cent year-on-year [data supplied by the network showed similar rises in viewers aged 16-39, but it's worth noting that demographic represents just 10.8 per cent of the total audience]. Who knows what it'll all look like five, 10 or 20 years? Right now, I think there's still optimism. What kind of news is the most engaging for young Australians today? What should we be making more of? Jan Fran: People connect with other people on the internet much more than what they do on television. There's a certain style of presentation on television that, in my view, is quite antiquated: you know, the 'news voice', the way that they dress, the 'reporter hands'. I don't find that particularly engaging any more. Chris Kohler: The first threshold to walk through is, 'Is this authentic?' I always think journalists are at their best when they're being an individual as well as a carrier of news. We still need to have a line drawn between opinion, analysis and news, but it doesn't mean you can't do multiple things in multiple different settings. I was trying stuff on social media for a really long time, and about two years ago I just decided that I could be a bit sillier about it. I printed out a piece of paper that said, 'Philip Lowe', sticky taped it to my chest, wrote 'interest rates' on the blinds and lifted the blind while dancing to Pump Up the Jam. To my genuine surprise, it got a lot more views than anything I'd done in the past. Konrad Benjamin: I'm drawn to stories that give context. I never liked the whole 30-second news approach of 'here's what happened'. Like, 'the US bombed Iran'. OK. But tell me why it's important: why is the US involved, how did they get into it? New formats – YouTube and online media – have come and plugged that gap and legacy media companies have to reformat what they're doing. The ABC has pivoted a bit: Matt Bevan does If You're Listening, a YouTube channel and podcast. That's the change we're looking for: 10-15 minute context-driven work. The format is YouTube first. According to the ACMA research, almost half of those between 18-24 say social media is now their main source of news. What are the pros and cons of that shift? Konrad Benjamin: Diluting the power of corporations like major news networks over the Australian narrative is a good thing. But I think there's very low levels of media literacy across the board from most regular people. People are looking for authenticity, and I think their shorthand for authenticity is someone who speaks and talks like them. The problem with that is that there's a bunch of people who know nothing speaking very confidently about something on YouTube. I never really wanted to be in that space, but I can, at the very least, point out my sources and what I think is good verified journalism. With the rise of AI, the new conversation in media is all about trust. People will be looking for markers of trust. That's the future currency, and that's an advantage legacy media have over people like me. Leo Puglisi: A big con is the rise of AI. It's getting ridiculous trying to figure out what's real and what's not. And because of that, there's a rising level of distrust. The other thing is short-form content, as entertaining as it can be, risks not being able to tell the full story. Brooke Boney: The pros are that they're getting news at all. Any way we can get people engaged in the stories that affect them is important and worthwhile. Obviously, the cons are that there's less journalistic rigour. People can consume a lot of information that hasn't been fact-checked. It's a huge concern. Jan Fran: While I'm happy to see spaces exist outside the mainstream media, sometimes I do worry about how you do journalism natively on social media. It takes time and money and expertise, and these things are not particularly rewarded on social media. So what you have is a morphing of journalism into commentary, and they're two very, very different things. Loading If good public interest investigative news and current affairs disappears from TV, is there scaffolding enough outside the mainstream media to still preserve it? I think that remains to be seen. If we accept that news consumption is shifting to social media, how can Australian TV networks ensure they stay relevant to a new generation? Brooke Boney: I think we've always had an issue with the diversity of not only newsrooms, but presenters as well. I saw a post on Instagram the other day from journalist Mawunyo Gbogbo criticising the lack of diversity in Ten's new show and the broader news landscape – I reflect the sentiment and lament that we're still asking for representation. If you're a young person from Western Sydney or the northern suburbs of Melbourne or even in the country, are you really going to want to turn on the TV and see that? Would you watch a Reel from someone who can't relate to you or have the same experiences or even understand what you need to hear? I don't know. We've still got a lot of work to do when it comes to reflecting audiences back to them. Jan Fran: The simple answer would be, well, news and television networks should start switching to digital. And yeah, certainly that is a strategy. But then you don't own the platforms that you publish on, and you're beholden to their rules and regulations and their whims and their algorithms. It's a huge risk, and I can understand a lot of TV networks not wanting to do that. But I think you have no choice but to meet people where they are. Chris Kohler: If I had the answer to this question, I'd be neck deep in trying to do it. But I think it's exciting there's a lot of thought going into what the next wave looks like.
