Bauer Media celebrity magazines OK! and NW have welcomed Emma Shepherd as the new entertainment reporter.

She recently finished up a year as TV and showbiz reporter at the Daily Mail Australia. Her last stint with Bauer Media was as deputy photo editor from March 2014 to December 2016.

Follow Shepherd on LinkedIn.

Janna Johnson O‘Toole is calling time on her stint as beauty/fitness director at ELLE and Harper’s Bazaar.

O’Toole announced that she will be finishing up on 26 July 2019 to be back in the US with her family.

She joined the magazine’s New York office in 2009 as a beauty assistant, moving up to associate and senior beauty/fitness editor by 2013. That year, she went down to Sydney to take on the beauty/fitness director role for ELLE Australia and Elle.com.au, and assumed the same duties for Harper’s Bazaar late last year.

As part of the change, Bauer Media has transferred responsibility for processing beauty, wellness and lifestyle queries from O’Toole to beauty writer Kate Lancaster and beauty/features assistant Chris Xi.

PR agency Font has acquired Tasmania regional publications the Sorell Times and the Tasman Gazette from local company Temperate Zone Tasmania.

The agency announced in a Facebook post that Martine Haley will be in charge of the two mastheads. She had previously worked at the Hobart Mercury and Manly Daily. 

The purchase follows Font’s purchase of the Derwent Valley Gazette early this year, with Roger Hanson as editor.

The MEAA’s Tasmania chapter has raised concerns about the papers’ editorial integrity under Font’s stewardship, considering that two of the agency’s partners – Brad Nowland and Brad Stansfield – are former Liberal Party senior advisers and Haley herself ran a dummy Facebook account to troll opposition supporters. 

The agency assured, however, that the Sorell Times and the Tasman Gazette will stay independent.

AAP sportswriter Ben McKay is heading to New Zealand.

He stated in a Tweet that the wire service has assigned him as its official NZ correspondent, to be based in Wellington. He will assume the post next month.

McKay has been with the AAP since 2013, when he came over from The Examiner.

Follow McKay on LinkedIn and on Twitter @BenMackey.

The Hit Network has reformatted Gold Coast station 90.9SEA FM into Hit90.9.

The move is part of Hit’s efforts to put all satellite stations under a unified branding strategy.

To kick off the change, 90.9SEA FM/Hit90.9’s breakfast show will be relaunched on 29 July 2019, with Lise Carlaw and Sarah Wills, AKA Those Two Girls, joining incumbent hosts Dan Anstey and Ben Hannant in the booth.

Hit Network content chief Gemma Fordham explained that Carlaw and Wills’ breakfast gig was a product of their tandem becoming popular among Queenslander listeners. They have run a mid-dawn show for the past two years.

“The moment we put Lise, Sarah, Dan and Ben together we heard their immediate chemistry, quite simply it just popped. The combination of the four delivers a show that is very funny, engaging and has heart,” said Fordham.

Lovatts Media has introduced a new teen mindfulness magazine called KIT.

Written for children between eight to 14 years old, KIT aims to introduce them to newer experiences that can help them later in life. These include skills such as cooking and knitting, and building up physical health and wellness, especially with outdoor activities as well as games. 

KIT is also meant as a companion piece to another Lovatts publication, Teen Breathe, which focuses on calming activities for teens.

“Between the bombardment of materialism and the blurring of lines between virtual and real life, our digitally-inclined youth can find renewed inspiration to create their best lives now while chasing their dreams for the future. KIT presents an entertaining handbook to foster their adventurous spirit while encouraging them to develop their emotional intelligence and resilience,” said KIT editor Carly Sallard.

Karl Stefanovic is hitting the 2GB airwaves today, as a Monday guest on afternoon program The Steve Price Show.

The new assignment is part of Macquarie Radio’s plan to have Price interact with different regular hosts for the weekday airings.

Rita Panahi and Mieke Buchan are regulars, and Erin Molan, Deborah Knight, and Phil Gould are chiming in on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, respectively.

Stefanovic has kept himself out of the limelight since leaving Nine’s The Today Show last December.

Tune in to Stefanovic on Twitter @KarlStefanovic.