Show notes
Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today’s interview features Australia’s most talked about business writer, Joe Aston, whose book on Qantas has dominated the political cycle for the last ten days.Also today, in the Unmade Index, Seven and Nine held their AGMs, taking different approaches to acknowledging their failings.If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* Complimentary tickets to all of Unmade’s events, including HumAIn (2025), REmade (2025), Unlock (2025), and Compass (November);* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media Unmade.‘No amount of PR can fix the operations of a company that is failing’: Joe Aston on how profit-chasing caught up with the Qantas brandToday’s conversation with Joe Aston takes place where brand, business, and lobbying collide.His book The Chairman’s Lounge contains the most detailed examination yet seen of the Qantas-operated network of invitation-only lounges for politicians and the business elite.Across Australia’s capital cities, alongside the well signposted Qantas Club and Qantas Business Lounges, is a third type of lounge, hidden behind mirrored doors, with word ‘Private’ written on them. The Chairman’s Lounge isn’t just a space with an a la carte menu and top shelf wine; being invited to become a member means a range of travel perks. No matter what type of ticket they buy, a Chairman’s Lounge member will likely be upgraded when they fly.At the very least, they’ll be sitting in the front row of economy. Ever noticed those smartly dressed people enjoying the extra leg-room of row 4, being greeted by name by the cabin crew and handed a glass of something nice from the business trolley? Chances are they’re CL members.And for influential politicians travelling internationally, CL status means buying an economy class ticket and sitting in a first class seat.The Chairman’s Lounge has been an incredibly effective lobbying tool, allowing Qantas more access to politicians than any other business in Australia. Says Aston: ”What the Chairman’s Lounge does is make Qantas the most powerful lobbyist in Canberra.”And that’s without taking into account the bosses who bend their company travel policies towards Qantas, even if other alternatives are cheaper. As Aston puts it: “It’s worth every cent. The operating costs aren’t that high compared to what it gets people to do, and that is spend millions and millions more than they otherwise would”.Aston’s book covers the period where underinvestment in operations began to catch up with the Qantas brand. He is critical of the board for failing to hold former CEO Alan Joyce to account as the brand deteriorated. That includes Australia’s most famous adman Todd Sampson. “I do think it is ridiculous that he's still on the Qantas board - he proved to be completely useless when it mattered.Not, by the way, more useless than than anyone else, and not less useless: just as useless.Theres a risk of burying the lede in this interview. His Rear Window column in the Australian Financial Review was often an agenda setter. So what will he do next?Aston hints that he may launch a newsletter of his own: “Doing my own reader-funded content is something I’ve thought about.”He acknowledges that his style of writing on the edge puts him in danger of attracting threatening letters from defamation lawyers. “It’s all a risk calculation,” he says. “It’s how much revenue you can generate and is it enough to just pay for whatever litigation costs come your way. “Index bottoms out as TV networks share a gloomy outlookThe Unmade Index recovered marginally on Thursday after hitting another all-time low the day before.Yesterday saw The Unmade Index lift by 0.15% to land on 424.2 points. The Index, which tracks the value of Australia’s ASX-listed media and marketing sector, began at the start of 2022 on a nominal 1000 points.Both Nine and Seven West Media held their annual general meetings yesterday.Nine’s chair Catherine West used a significant her address to shareholders to acknowledge that the company still needs to do more to address its problematic culture within its newsrooms.SWM’s chair Kerry Stokes dedicated one paragraph of his address to tell his shareholders that his company has now modernised its culture, and four paragraphs to complaining about the ABC’s coverage of the problem.Nine told the market that after an Olympics boost, TV revenues have returned to the 10% rate of decline seen in the previous financial year. It warned “we are seeing no tangible signs of improvement to date”.Seven said its revenues are likely to be down about 6.5% for the half.Nine’s market cap grew slightly yesterday, up by 0.9% to $1.75bn. Seven West Media lost 3%, to land on $239mMeanwhile, Ooh Media recovered by 2.1% and Southern Cross Austereo was up by nearly 1%. ARN Media went in the other direction, losing 4.2%.Time to leave you to your Friday.I’ll be back tomorrow with Best of the Week.Have a great day.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - [email protected] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unmade.substack.com