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ABC board left out on legal costs

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Original article by James Madden, Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 27-Oct-21

The ABC’s MD David Anderson has told a Senate estimates hearing that he made the decision to pay the legal costs of journalist Louise Milligan in a defamation case, and he did not consult the public broadcaster’s board. Anderson defended his actions by saying he had legal advice to the effect that the ABC could potentially have been held vicariously liable for Milligan’s social media posts regarding Liberal MP Andrew Laming; this could have resulted in legal costs for the ABC of up to $700,000. It is estimated that the ABC has incurred legal costs of about $184,000 arising from the case.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

ABC in cover-up claim over Louise Milligan’s tweets about MP Andrew Laming

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Original article by Janet Fife-Yeomans
The Daily Telegraph – Page: Online : 26-Oct-21

The ABC is under renewed scrutiny over Andrew Laming’s defamation payout after the public broadcaster declined to release 161 documents concerning the case. The documents in question involve internal discussions regarding the tweets of journalist Louise Milligan about the federal Liberal MP. The documents were requested via freedom of information laws, but the ABC released copies of the documents in which most of the text had been blacked out. One Nation MP Mark Latham has urged Communications Minister Paul Fletcher to release all documents relating to the Laming case.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Foxtel expands offer in ViacomCBS deal

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 15 : 22-Oct-21

Pay-TV group Foxtel has secured a new multi-year content deal with US media company ViacomCBS, the parent company of the Ten Network. Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany says the deal to extend its long-standing relationship with ViacomCBS will provide customers with access to a much bigger range of content. The deal includes channels such as Nickelodeon and MTV, and the integration of the Paramount+ and 10 Play apps into Foxtel’s iQ3, iQ4 and iQ5 set-top boxes.

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FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, VIACOMCBS INCORPORATED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

‘ABC’s $150k legal costs move flawed’

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 19-Oct-21

Auditor-General Grant Hehir has found that there is no documented advice within the ABC to support the public broadcaster’s decision to pay the legal costs of journalist Louise Milligan in the Andrew Laming defamation case. The Liberal MP’s lawsuit ended up costing the ABC about $150,000 in total. Meanwhile, John McMillan and Jim Carroll have been appointed to head an independent review of the ABC’s in-house complaints unit, which has come under growing scrutiny in recent times. McMillan is a former federal and New South Wales ombudsman, and Carroll has previously worked for SBS and the Ten Network.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

News Corp’s Andrew Bolt says his company’s climate campaign is rubbish

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Original article by Amanda Meade
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 13-Oct-21

News Corp Australia’s recently launched ‘Mission Zero’ editorial campaign on climate change has been criticised by one of the media group’s highest-profile commentators. Sky News presenter and newspaper columnist Andrew Bolt has decribed the campaign as ‘rubbish’ that asks readers to forget News Corp’s previous stance on reducing carbon emissions. Australian Conservation Foundation CEO Kelly O’Shanassy says Bolt has no credibility regarding climate change; O’Shanassy has welcomed News Corp decision to embrace the need for action on the issue.

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NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FOUNDATION INCORPORATED

Myer has the right stuff to lead revival

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 15 : 6-Oct-21

Myer Holdings’ chair JoAnne Stephenson has urged shareholders to vote against any motion to spill the department store group’s board of directors. There has been speculation that major shareholder Premier Investments will push for board renewal at Myer’s annual general meeting on 4 November. Stephenson was officially appointed as chair on 16 September, having been in the role on a temporary basis since predecessor Garry Hounsell stepped down in 2020. Stephenson says Myer’s board has an appropriate mix of skills, experience, diversity and independence.

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MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV

ABC’s botched doco to cost jobs

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 19 : 4-Oct-21

The ABC recently withdrew a mini-series examining the 1975 disappearance of Sydney activist Juanita Nielsen from its streaming platform, after it was revealed that the mini-series may have aired false claims. It is believed that some people at the ABC may lose their jobs as a result, with the controversy regarding the Juanita Nielsen mini-series coming not long after an independent assessment into an ABC program into the 1979 Sydney Luna Park fire that killed seven people found it was misleading and had incorrectly implied a relationship between former NSW premier Neville Wran and underworld figure Abe Saffron.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Foxtel on track to top 5m subscribers

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 13 & 20 : 1-Oct-21

Pay-TV and streaming group Foxtel currently boasts more than four million customers, and CEO Patrick Delany has told the inaugural strategy day that it aims to lift this to five million within three years. Foxtel will also target annual revenue of $3bn. Delany noted that Foxtel has been transformed from a one-product company several years ago to one with multiple revenue streams as its focus has shifted from traditional linear broadcasting to subscription video-on-demand. Some 53 per cent of Foxtel’s customers now subscribe to one of its streaming services, compared with eight per cent in 2016. Delany also said that the question of an IPO is a matter for Foxtel’s shareholders.

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FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Union blasts ABC on management, underpay

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 1-Oct-21

A review by the ABC has found that current and former staff employed under certain pay categories between 14 July 2014 and 20 July 2021 had been underpaid. The public broadcaster’s announcement that some staff had been underpaid has prompted an attack by the Community & Public Sector Union, which has accused the ABC of having "serious cultural problems", while urging it to rein in the poor management practices that caused the underpayment problems.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION

ABC was duped by Nielsen sting tale

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 28-Sep-21

The ABC has recently withdrawn a mini-series examining the 1975 disappearance of Sydney activist Juanita Nielsen from its streaming platform. It said it had done so because new information had been received that cast doubt on claims made in the program that an undercover ‘sting’ had unearthed her murderer. Author Peter Rees, who has followed the Nielsen case for decades, contends that the ABC had been "duped" by the claims, which he says were "preposterous". Rees says it shows the ABC needs to improve its fact checking.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION