Original article by Zoe Samios
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 21-Dec-20

Few would disagree that 2020 has been the toughest year for the Australian media sector for decades. The year began with the remnants of the summer bushfires, before the sector was hit by the impact of COVID-19. The virus saw media companies lose huge amounts of revenue, while forcing big changes to the way that production houses and newsrooms operated. The year has been one of mergers and restructures, of shutting down newspaper and magazine titles, and of executive and talent changes. Competition increased within the streaming sector, media outlets continued their stoush with Google and Facebook, while relations between ABC chair Ita Buttrose and the federal government became increasingly strained over the course of the year.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, OOH!MEDIA LIMITED – ASX OML, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL