Today in Media Files, New Zealand’s main business journalism awards have been cancelled after their sponsor vetoed an entry critical of its client, and a defamation case against Rebel Wilson has settled.

Journalism awards cancelled after they bow to sponsor pressure. The EY business journalism awards in New Zealand have been cancelled after EY (formerly Ernst & Young) vetoed an entry that was critical of a company it had been auditor for. The National Business Review‘s Karen Scherer had entered her story about Fuji Xerox’s “inappropriate accounting”, which led to it being investigated by the government’s fraud office. But under the conditions of the competition, EY vetoed the entry without explanation. Most media withdrew when news of the interference broke — all of NBR’s reporters withdrew their entries, as did reporters from Fairfax Media, NZME and Radio New Zealand. EY has still not explained the veto, but last week confirmed the ceremony — scheduled for August 31 — and awards wouldn’t go ahead.

Rebel Wilson pays out defamation suit. Rebel Wilson has reportedly settled a defamation action brought against her after she tweeted a picture of the wrong person. Wilson tweeted a picture of the features editor of Bauer-owned House and Garden magazine, Elizabeth Wilson, calling her “total scum” for tracking down and interviewing Wilson’s grandmother. But the journalist responsible was another Bauer reporter of the same name, who later said she’d contacted the actor’s grandmother for a story, but the conversation had been polite and professional. The mis-identified Elizabeth Wilson sued for defamation, and The Daily Telegraph reports the matter was settled for more than $100,000.

Front page of the day.

Bannon going to war for Trump. Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon, who was caught out last week after giving an interview he apparently thought was off the record, is already back at Breitbart as executive chairman. Bannon was sacked from his White House job over the interview given to a small liberal weekly newspaper in Washington, DC, and within hours had reunited with his former colleagues at Breitbart. Bannon told Bloomberg on Friday he’d be going to war on Trump’s behalf: “I’m leaving the White House and going to war for Trump against his opponents — on Capitol Hill, in the media, and in corporate America,” he said.

Glenn Dyer’s TV Ratings. Nine’s night easily, as The Block scored another season topping set of figures — 1.97 million nationally, it topped the metros with 1.34 million and came second in the regionals with 624,000. Seven’s Sunday Night did well with 1.48 million nationally with a report on the Ibrahim family of Sydney. 

It was the 300th episode of Sunday Night in eight years according to Melissa Doyle, and to celebrate, Seven is dropping it next week (which is not fair after the solid figures for last night) and finally bringing Little Big Shots into the schedule — the same Little Big Shots which, having been heavily promoted, was dropped to avoid being crushed by Nine’s Australian Ninja Warriors. Now it is up against The Block next Sunday at 7pm. Good luck. Seven has another Princess Diana story which hopefully will be the last of this tiresome subject until at least the 25th anniversary of her death.

Midsomer Murders returned with the first of two episodes (the final is next Sunday) — it did OK with 1.01 million national viewers for the ABC. For Seven and Ten, their big name programs — Hell’s Kitchen Australia and Australian Survivor — could not be separated nationally last night with 828,000 viewers. Sums up their night — the sum of those two expensive programs nationally — (1.55 million) was 400,000 behind that of The Block. That says it all! With Barrie Cassidy in Italy for two weeks, Chris Uhlmann filled in admirably on Insiders (540,000 nationally) and gave Senator Arthur Sinodonis an excruciating grilling. Next week the auditioning host is 7.30’s Andrew Probyn, another sharp mind.

In regional markets Seven News was tops with 633,000, followed by The Block with 624,000, then Sunday Night with 537,000, followed by Nine/NBN News 6.30 with 505,000 and Nine/NBN News with 473,000. — Read the rest on the Crikey website