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Antony Catalano, the erstwhile Domain chief executive turned regional media entrepreneur, was for years known among journalists for his willingness to pick up the phone and speak at a caffeinated rate of knots to flog his latest Great Idea.
But that changed last month when, after he was charged with allegedly assaulting his wife, Catalano was uncharacteristically unavailable to comment. The always-reachable Catalano had suddenly brought in the Melbourne crisis publicist, Lahra Carey, to take calls from journalists instead.
The arrangement was not to last. Now it would appear that Catalano has nobody in his corner to pick up his calls after he and Carey parted ways late last month. Catalano didn’t respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
Carey, who had also been taking calls from journalists for Catalano’s wife, Stefanie, has told journalists that she is no longer engaged by anybody in the family, and that since Catalano stepped back from his various executive roles, her counsel is no longer required. Carey declined to comment.
Even by the standards of Carey’s colourful client list – which has included MA Services founder Micky Ahuja, the subject of an investigation by this masthead; and Lark Distilling’s meth-smoking former chief executive Geoff Bainbridge – Catalano would surely have ranked among her toughest clients.
The Australian Community Media operator was reportedly abusing substances when he allegedly threatened to kill his partner and dragged her through their St Kilda apartment, wearing only his underwear. In opposing bail, Senior Constable Kiran Paramaguru told the court that CCTV allegedly showed Catalano brandish an iron above the complainant after approaching her while she lay in bed.
In a statement released after news of the charges broke last month, Catalano said he was “profoundly sorry” and that he had been struggling with “significant mental health and substance abuse issues”. He has spent the weeks since in rehab and, according to the Herald Sun, is expected to check out soon.
Catalano could be back out on the streets in coming weeks before he next fronts court on May 11. We doubt it’ll be long before he’s working the phones, too.
Stephen Mayne tastes Murdoch ‘censorship’ in Broncos board tilt
Rupert Murdoch is a free speech maximalist. It wasn’t that long ago that the billionaire media mogul appeared in a clip saying the media needs to confront “a wave of censorship that seeks to silence conversation” and stifle debate.
But debate involving the control and governance of his companies, which include News Corp and Fox Corp, are (of course!) another matter entirely.
Just ask the high-profile activist shareholder and serial corporate nuisance Stephen Mayne. Last week, Mayne launched his bid to get elected to the board of the News Corp-controlled Brisbane Broncos in part to try to force the media giant to divest from the ASX-listed rugby league club.
Not that the club’s shareholders would’ve had any idea. Beyond his CV, Mayne’s nomination submission was whittled down from about 120 words to a single sentence. It only alluded to concern over the club’s “ownership structure”, with no mention of News Corp’s controlling stake in the club.
As you’ve probably already guessed, the board recommended a vote against electing Mayne to the board.
Mayne’s submission also included concerns about the Broncos’ physical-only annual general meetings (a bugbear of the former newspaper journalist) and a suggestion that the club would be better off if it was returned to a “not for profit member-owned structure” like many other AFL and NRL clubs.
“Independent election commissions run all union elections in Australia, yet somehow public companies are trusted to run their own elections,” Mayne told CBD.
“If cowboy operations like the Murdoch-controlled Brisbane Broncos can’t run a fair election, then it’s time to legislate for the AEC to oversee contested corporate elections in Australia as well.”
Mayne and Murdoch, of course, go way back. In 2002, Mayne nominated himself for the News Corp board ahead of an October annual general meeting where, among other things, his platform was “censored” to the point that not even his age was disclosed to shareholders.
All told, Mayne still got 12.89 per cent of the vote. Who knows how he’ll go in Brisbane next month.
Liberal’s social media pothole stunt hits rough patch
A pothole palaver has erupted after a social media stunt showing Victoria’s Opposition Leader Jess Wilson and Liberal candidate for Nepean Anthony Marsh doing rogue road repairs led to the Department of Transport and Planning investigating their activities.
Wilson has had a good run with her social media of late, gaining traction, scoring clicks, adding new followers and gaining plenty of attention with snappy videos and going in on the Victorian Labor government over the Commonwealth Games debacle and overgrown nature strips.
But the pothole pit crew stunt might have been just a little too cute. That video, which remains on Wilson’s social media platform, might need a bit of fixing of its own seeing as it is now, as revealed by the ABC on Sunday, the subject of a review by the department with the roadworks allegedly undertaken without appropriate permits.
A spokesperson for Wilson told CBD the government should fix the roads rather than fixate on Wilson.
“If Jacinta Allan and her Labor dirt unit spent as much time filling potholes as she did attacking Jess Wilson, Victorians wouldn’t be faced with spending hundreds of dollars on busted tyres due to the condition of our roads,” the spokesperson said.
Early voting for the seat of Nepean, which became vacant after former deputy Liberal leader Sam Groth quit politics in February, opens on Wednesday.
John Buckley is a CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
Fiona Byrne is the CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.From our partners
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