Month: February 2024

What’s New February 13, 2024

In January 2012, a message appeared on 4Chan, an old school online messaging board which had become a playground for hackers and conspiracy theorists. It read:“Hello. We are looking for highly intelligent individuals. To find them, we have devised a test.”“Good Luck, 3301”Accompanying the text was the cryptic image pictured – a black-and-white cicada. This message and image was the first step in one of the most complex ongoing puzzles of the internet age – later known as Cicada 3301.Every time one clue was solved, another would surface. They included riddles, coding and QR codes in the outside world. Theorists suggested it might be the work of recruiters for a US intelligence service. The puzzles continued for three years, then stopped. The origins, creators and purpose of Cicada 3301 have remained a mystery. Now, over a decade later, Tommie Trelawny, founder of the investigative YouTube channel ‘Hochelaga’  and journalist & podcast producer Nicky Anderson (both picture above) have paired up for the new podcast The World’s Hardest Puzzle to reopen this cold case. This is the second instalment in podcast company Stak‘s Archive investigative documentary series.The duo spend a year investigating the mystery, speaking with members of the solving community and interviewing Thomas Schoenberger, who claims to be the founder of Cicada 3301. What they find shows both the beauty and sinister side of revealing too much of ourselves online.All seven episodes of Archive : The World’s Hardest Puzzle are available on Monday 19th February on your favourite podcast platform. […]

What’s New February 13, 2024

Nine Radio says it’s off to a flyer in 2024, with live streaming of 2GB, 3AW, 4BC and 6PR up 25% year on year.It says January figures for Nine Radio, verified by Triton, show huge spikes in both session starts and listening hours, compared with the same time last year.Nine Radio says its January highlights include:*The new 3AW lineup has helped boost the station’s live streaming growth 26% YoY, with Mornings with Tom Elliott +30% YoY, Afternoons with Tony Moclair +38% and Drive with Jacqui Felgate +26% YoY*New 2GB Afternoons presenter Michael McLaren also grew live streaming audiences +52%, and Money News with Deb Knight increased 77% YoY.*The key Breakfast and Mornings shifts increased across the network, with 2GB’s Ben Fordham Live +28% YoY, the Ray Hadley Morning Show +31% YoY, and 3AW’s Breakfast with Ross and Russ +21% YoY.Nine Radio Head of Content Greg Byrnes says “This surge in streaming sets up another dominant year of talk radio and reinforces the strategy behind the content and line up changes across the country.”“Last year’s Radio360 data showed Nine’s talk stations absolutely dominate the live audio streaming market and these figures demonstrate that even more Aussies are engaging with our live and local content through a connected device in 2024.” […]

G Flip stamped their name on Nova’s Red Room on Monday February 12 at the Espy Hotel in St Kilda. New breakfast hosts Jase and Lauren took the opportunity to start stamping their own names on Nova 100 too.G Flip and their drumkit took centre stage in their hometown in front of 550 very lucky fans. Performing hits from ARIA Award winning album DRUMMER, G Flip also surprised guests with a cover of Taylor Swift’s ‘Cruel Summer’. Swift kicks off the Australian leg of her Eras tour in Melbourne February 17.Nova’s Melbourne team were present including Ben Harvey, Belle Jackson, Liam Stapleton, Mel Tracina and Jack Charles with new Nova 100 Breakfast show hosts Jase Hawkins and Lauren Phillips making an appearance and stopping for a photo opportunity. I think Jase mustn’t have anticipated it as he appears to still be in his PJs.Ben, Liam and Belle are moving to a newly created Late Drive Show. Mel Tracina will host a local workday show from 9am – 2pm.
Pictured left to right – Nova 100’s Ben, Lauren, Belle, Jase and Liam
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Podcasting February 13, 2024

ARN’s iHeart and Magellan AI have shared the leading 15 brands advertising on Australian podcasts for Q4 2023, with Amazon once again named as the market’s top advertiser.The report also found that the majority of podcast genres continue to see an uplift in investment, with a marked increase into the categories Comedy (129%), Sports (94%) and True Crime (70%) year-on-year.Corey Layton, ARN’s Head of Digital Audio, says “The Australian podcast industry continues to thrive with a broad range of brands opting to connect with listeners in a low clutter, highly engaged environment. After incredible results across 2023, podcasts have yet again proven to be Australia’s fastest growing advertising medium.”The Top Advertisers report uses Artificial Intelligence to analyse thousands of episodes from 400+ of Australia’s most popular podcasts.The Q4 2023 list of top spenders on Australian podcast advertising features brands from a broad range of categories including online retailers, health and food/entertainment, with Amazon, Teladoc Health and McDonald’s the top 3 ad spenders. […]

What’s New February 13, 2024

Radio’s continued global potency in attracting and keeping mass audiences while maintaining trust and entertaining people is being championed today, as part of World Radio Day.Commercial Radio & Audio CEO Ford Ennals says “On World Radio Day, we’d like to thank the thousands of people working in the industry, dedicated to ensure that radio delivers entertainment, trusted news, emergency broadcasts, music and connection to millions of Australians listening across the nation.”“Commercial radio provides 7,000 full time equivalent jobs, across a range of expertise, with over 2,000 employed in regional areas. A career in radio is like no other.”“For 100 years, commercial radio has made an invaluable contribution to Australia’s culture, sense of community and economy, and, as today’s World Radio Day acknowledges, the best is yet to come.”More information on the UNESCO World Radio Day here. […]