Stefanovic eyes polarising podcast play as TV turns off
Broadcaster Karl Stefanovic may have made his final appearance at Nine and experts say the exit will allow him to cash in on a booming podcast industry fueled by polarisation.
The network reportedly decided to cut ties with the long-running Today show host on Wednesday following the airing of a now-deleted podcast interview with far-right extremist Tommy Robinson, who is accused of fueling violent anti-immigration protests in the United Kingdom.
Catharine Lumby, from the University of Sydney, told AAP the decision to dump Stefanovic was not entirely surprising, as the presenter had moved away from his wisecracking breakfast larrikin persona to embrace a more controversial role as a podcaster.
“We live in a very unbalanced world where polarization is rife, driven by social media and their algorithms, and this includes podcasting more broadly,” Professor Lumby said.
“What’s really trendy right now is a lot of shouting, and you’re seeing it left and right.
“The rise of Pauline Hanson is an indication of this, the polarization of Australian society. It may well be that Karl tuned into that and thought that was a way of being relevant.”
The presenter of the Nine Network’s flagship Today program has yet to make a statement since interviewing controversial anti-Islam figure Tommy Robinson and saying he admired Robinson’s “tenacity” and “courage”.
The almost hour-long episode of Nine’s independent The Karl Stefanovic Show aired on Tuesday evening but was removed the following morning.
However, the episode was recreated on YouTube by Pauline Hanson, whom Robinson praised repeatedly during the interview.
In an episode at the beginning of the podcast, Stefanovic described Robinson as one of Britain’s “most controversial public figures”.
Journalism expert Denby Weller said Stefanovic will likely continue to move to the right, following other broadcasters who use traditional media profiles to build audiences in the field.
“He’s been saying things for years that have a really strong appeal to centrist, right-leaning people, and more recently to far-right-leaning people,” the Swinburne University of Technology researcher told AAP.
“This reflects what we’re seeing in politics right now, where a lot of politicians, particularly far-right-leaning politicians, are also moving away from mainstream media reporting on their work.”
Nine issued its strongest statement on Wednesday about Stefanovic’s contentious foray into podcasting, saying his latest episode was being taken seriously.
“The Karl Stefanovic Show is a completely independent production,” a spokesman for Nine told AAP early on Wednesday.
“Nine has no involvement in guest selection and other editorial processes.
“But Granny is taking this matter seriously.”
According to Dr Weller, Stefanovic’s silence on Thursday was again as expected.
“I’m speculating, but I would guess there’s probably some pressure on Nine to remove the content,” he said.
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