Duane Hatherly

Duane Hatherly is Head of Editorial at Mediaweek, overseeing coverage of the media, marketing and technology sectors with a focus on commercial strategy and audience impact. His reporting joins a long broadcast production career with a detailed interest in how platforms, data and creative decisions translate into power, revenue and reputation for media and brands. On Mediaweek he writes news, opinion and event coverage that moves between boardroom deals, AI and adtech innovation, out-of-home measurement and the changing practice of journalism. He brings the same operational perspective to major rights negotiations, including Foxtel’s multibillion-dollar NRL strategy that challenges free-to-air rivals.

AI hallucinations, ‘reputation breaches’ and the business of adtech

Hatherly spends substantial time on the intersection of AI, advertising technology and brand risk, often using case studies from local and global vendors to examine commercial consequences. In his coverage of Atlas Digital and Ryan McMillan, he highlights “AI reputation breaches” and quantifies how AI hallucinations can cost brands millions in lost sales, framing the issue as both a technical and governance failure.

He follows this with stories on Integral Ad Science’s Total TV tool for connected TV, explaining how buyers need to stop “buying blind” on premium streaming apps to protect media budgets.

His reporting on IAS expanding brand safety tools into TikTok Search Ads extends that theme, showing how measurement and verification move wherever audiences and ad dollars migrate. He also profiles platforms like Flint, a “divergence AI” model built to combat creative sameness, treating AI not only as a risk but as a way to unlock non‑obvious ideas for marketers.

Event coverage such as HubSpot’s Grow conference, where AI agents tackle overnight customer service while “keeping humans in the loop”, demonstrates his interest in practical deployment and operational change rather than abstract hype.

MOVE 2.0, OUTperform and out-of-home measurement

Out-of-home advertising and its measurement infrastructure form another recurring strand in Hatherly’s work. In his reporting on MOVE 2.0, he presents the $20 million audience measurement tool as a way for planners to track mobility across formats and “unshackle” out-of-home from older, static approaches, emphasising its role in serious investment decisions.

Coverage of OMA’s OUTperform 2026 event at W Sydney ties measurement back to strategy, with sessions decoding AI, regulatory hurdles and the future of outdoor media as a modern, data‑rich channel. He writes about the OMA Creative Awards and campaigns such as Howatson+Company’s Grand Prix win for gluing a massive marlin to a billboard, showing how creative executions are judged within a framework of reach, innovation and effectiveness.

His OMA Awards 2026 piece, spotlighting QMS, oOh! and JCDecaux, reads as a snapshot of the competitive landscape in out-of-home, where he balances celebration of winners with the underlying business dynamics of who is gaining share and recognition.

Constructive journalism and news trust data

Hatherly’s journalism tag work links editorial values with commercial outcomes, especially around trust in news.

His coverage of Ulrik Haagerup at the National Press Club interrogates the failure of “if it bleeds, it leads”, exploring constructive journalism as a response to audiences who are actively avoiding the news. He connects that conversation to the business side in stories on ThinkNewsBrands, profiling its new chair Laura Maxwell and arguing that startup agility in local media can drive the commercial power of news. In the News Nation report piece, he uses data showing Australians trust news over social platforms to make the case that publishers still hold an advantage in credibility, which can be monetised if they protect standards and invest in quality reporting.

Across these stories, he treats journalism as an asset with measurable impact, not just an abstract ideal, and shows how audience behaviour and trust metrics shape strategy for news organisations.

Next of the Best, leadership coverage and industry power lists

Leadership and operational excellence inside media and marketing organisations are central to Hatherly’s editorial agenda.

He plays a leading role in Mediaweek’s Next of the Best initiative, profiling operational leaders and encouraging companies to “flex your bench strength” in award entries, which positions back‑office and mid‑level talent as critical to industry performance. His opinion pieces around Next of the Best emphasise finding “your tribe” and identifying a “superpower” within operational roles, indicating a belief that influence is distributed beyond traditional C‑suite or on‑air personalities.

Alongside this, he contributes to Mediaweek’s list of the 100 most powerful people in Australian media, helping to map the hierarchy of decision‑makers across broadcasters, publishers, agencies and platforms. The combination of power lists and awards coverage shows a consistent interest in who actually drives outcomes inside organisations and how recognition structures reinforce that influence.

His leadership-tag work around books like “Rapid Reinvention” focuses on how executives can survive an “AI tsunami”, tying personal leadership narratives to systemic technology shifts.

Broadcast production roots and media business coverage

Hatherly’s editorial voice is grounded in a long production and management career inside major broadcasters. He spent 22 years at Foxtel, starting as a graphics designer before moving through promos, administration and channel management, including a period heading the Lifestyle group, before serving as director of production. His departure was marked as the exit of a key executive noted for loyalty and operational depth, underlining the seniority and scope of his responsibilities.

Beyond Foxtel, his appointment profile at Mediaweek records experience across leading broadcasters such as the ABC and Seven, original programming work for Network 10, and producing and directing high‑profile investigations and feature stories for Seven’s 7NEWS Spotlight.

That background informs his coverage of media businesses and events, whether reporting on News Australia’s Frontiers roadshow that takes marketers out of the office to explore how fandom fuels modern brands, or examining how Nine and Magnite are pushing programmatic boundaries in live streaming through direct publisher partnerships. His work tagged under data‑driven marketing reinforces this focus on how measurement, audience insight and technology underpin the commercial strategies he covers.

Combined with pieces on Foxtel’s $4 billion NRL play, this history gives his business reporting a practical understanding of production realities, revenue models and rights negotiations.