Kyile Sandilands brain surgery update and the $180 million question

Three per cent of Australians will suffer a brain aneurysm in their lifetime, but only 1 per cent of these ruptures can be fatal.

So, although Sandilands’ diagnosis was initially worrying for him and his team, we were told there was no need for any surgery for now. Sandilands’ manager Bruno Bouchet He said he would make a comment but it was not received before publication.

We wish Kyle good health and get well soon.

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The other pressing issue for the radio duo is the $180 million remaining on their contract and whether parent company ARN is still committed to airing the show nationally.

There are signs of its unpredictable nature Kyle and Jackie O’s Show It prompted a rethink of ARN’s next big cheese, Michael StephensonNine’s former head of sales spent years selling the company’s brand-safe shows: Block and the Australian Open for advertisers, as well as some of the riskier assets We Married at First Sight And Alan Joneswhile still at 2GB.

Last week, “Stepho” brought the glitz and glamor of television to the radio company and held its first “advance” event, a content showcase, with the goal of capturing as many advertising dollars as possible for the coming year. While Kyle and Jackie O dominated the show, they were sparingly featured with Gold’s. Christian O’Connell a much safer option for brands and audiences.

Rarely does a week go by without controversy, and this week was the planned boycott of Brisbane’s premier Comic-Con event Supanova over a scheduled appearance from Sandilands. After Supanova apologized to fans last week, Sandilands happily thanked her “overweight, ugly and unstable” haters on Wednesday for giving her a reason not to attend, and then launched into a game of football. Gay?

During the segment, the hosts were asked to decide whether things like holding a mug with both hands, using the indicator while driving, or going on a mental health day were “gay.” (Sandilands voted “gay” for the latter, for the record.)

Taking Kyle and Jackie O’s Show National meant ARN had to pay the duo more and lay off staff elsewhere, but as the table below shows, this proved to be a difficult task for sales teams as advertising revenues fell in the first nine months of the year. (For those unfamiliar with Melbourne records… it went bad)

Last week the ARN announced that instead of deploying Sandilands and Henderson to Brisbane in 2026 as widely expected, Craig “Lowie” Lowa man nicknamed “the poor man’s Kyle (Sandilands)” in local rags Courier Post, He was replacing the dismissed trio robin & Mode with Corey Oates.

Why would ARN bring in Lafufu Kyle when they are paying the real Lafubu Kyle, who has already been cashed in, to do a national show? There is an industrial theory like this: Lowie This is a short-term solution; He was brought in to take the expected 3-4 per cent share hit in Brisbane after dropping the breakfast trio, giving Kyle and Jackie a lower floor to recover from when they arrive in 12 months.

This theory may be a little unfair; Low has many years in radio. But in Adelaide, ARN’s Mix are rebranding as KIIS in 2026 and they’ve recruited former Nova trio I’m Liam & belle hosting breakfast. This is not a short-term move.

Forget the biggest stars on radio, Kyle and Jackie O “Australia’s biggest stars are full stop,” Stephenson said, touting a greater presence on social media and everywhere other than local radio.

It’s a convenient side step to justify the price tag. But pausing the national rollout may be a smart move from fresh eyes.

McKenna’s question

A week later, speculation still continues Siobhan McKenna20-year relationship ends with departure from News Corp Lachlan Murdoch and his private investment company Illyria.

Sources with information about the head of the family Rupert Murdoch‘s opinion says there is an ongoing feud over an embarrassing family feud playing out in Reno, Nevada (via pages ). New York Times). This was McKenna’s idea, but it was avoidable and caused unnecessary concern.

Perhaps that’s why Murdoch’s best friend (and News Corp global CEO) Robert Thomson suddenly broke the news in an internal email last Thursday, catching News Corp and Nova staff caught locally.

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But relations with Lachlan remain good and there are suggestions that he may eventually seek McKenna as the next REA Group chairman. Hamish McLennan He is now in his 13th year of running the digital real estate listing firm.

REA has some challenges on the horizon; a renewed Domain Name now owned by US firm CoStar and an ACCC investigation into price gouging. McKenna’s connections in the capital could come in handy, but the idea has been privately dismissed with sources close to McKenna insisting it is a complete split and he simply wants to move on to different things after two decades working for Lachlan.

Meanwhile, Lachlan won’t immediately replace McKenna as Nova chairman with company boss Peter Charlton Reporting directly to the big man while in the country for two weeks of each month.

Breit’s beginning

Nick Papps, messenger of the sun‘s weekend editor was the captain’s surprise choice when he was appointed editor-in-chief California PostNews Corp New York Post passes a list of other internal editors to the gig.

The paper will be published in early 2026 in hopes of bringing a conservative voice to the state’s upcoming gubernatorial race and more generally in the left-wing hometown of Trump’s chief troll. Gavin Newsom. Papps is under the auspices of Australian giant News Corp Peter BlundenHe announced his first hire this week, the day Americans went to the polls in “off-year elections” that delivered sweeping victories for Democrats. to mailfor Newsom in his hometown of New York and California.

Joel PollackThe 48-year-old South African-American Harvard graduate joins the paper as opinion editor, fresh off 15 years at Breitbart News, the far-right news organization famous for its penchant for climate change denial and conspiracy theory, among other things. He comes with some serious skills and is excellent at giving his opinions on X.

A self-described “pro-Israel writer,” Pollack spent his time at Breitbart as senior editor-in-chief, in-house counsel (what?), and radio show host. Breitbart News Sunday. He wrote his first op-ed this week, cataloging Newsom’s failures and explaining why the governor’s voter redistricting plan underscores that need. MailHis arrival in Golden State. Expect more of the same.

Slow and more stable

We spent a lot of time reporting Guardian AustraliaThis was because there was a lot to write about as high-profile staff left and workplace disputes were managed by HR managers.

Senior Karen Middleton He went on leave as political editor in December and never returned. Paul Karp He left in January.

Now the British broadcaster’s Australian outpost has finally promoted the federal correspondent, stepping into her senior roles. Dan Jervis-Bardy to its chief political correspondent. He filled the void he left Tom McIlroy When he was promoted to political editor in September.

The process of replacing the political editor and chief political correspondent took nearly a year to resolve and ended with two internal promotions. Luckily, there isn’t much going on politically in 2025… so election, anyone?