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Anderson bows out of Ten amid ViacomCBS revamp

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 12-Mar-20

US media giant ViacomCBS has advised that it will not replace Ten Network CEO Paul Anderson following his sudden resignation. It will instead appoint co-leads for the free-to-air network. A management restructuring will also result in Ten’s chief content officer Beverley McGarvey being promoted to the same role across ViacomCBS’s operations in Australia and New Zealand. Meanwhile, KordaMentha partner Henriette Rothschild has been appointed as ViacomCBS’s interim chief transformation officer.

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TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, VIACOMCBS INCORPORATED

Grocery delivery delay as online orders soar

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 10-Mar-20

Online grocery sales rose 45 per cent year-on-year in the four weeks to 22 February, according to Nielsen Homescan data. The surge in demand has been attributed to the coronavirus crisis, with consumers wanting to secure supplies of products such as toilet paper and paper towels. Coles and Woolworths are struggling to keep up with online demand, and Coles is advising consumers to collect orders rather than have them delivered. It is also giving priority to the elderly, the sick and those with special needs.

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THE NIELSEN COMPANY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

Guardian hypocrisy over AAP shutdown

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, David Swan
The Australian – Page: 3 : 6-Mar-20

Australian Associated Press chairman Campbell Reid has accused UK-based media company The Guardian of hypocrisy. A report in ‘The Guardian’ claimed that AAP is being closed down to harm small media organisations, but Reid notes that The Guardian had slashed its annual payment to the newswire company. Meanwhile, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims says it is examining the impact that AAP’s closure will have on the Australian media landscape; Sims has described AAP’s closure as a "very sad development".

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AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS PTY LTD, THE GUARDIAN AND MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Fears of low-ball offer for TV rights

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Original article by Jamie Pandaram
The Australian – Page: 32 : 6-Mar-20

Rugby Australia will give prospective bidders an additional week to submit offers for its next broadcasting rights deal, after failing to attract any interest. Optus appears set to gain the broadcasting rights after RA’s current broadcast partner Fox Sports declined to sign a non-disclosure agreement. There is speculation that Optus will capitalise on the lack of rival bidders to offer a low price for the rights; RA rejected Fox Sports’ offer of $40m a year in late 2019. Ten Network is tipped to offer about $5m for limited free-to-air coverage of rugby matches.

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SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, RUGBY AUSTRALIA, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

AAP demise a wake-up call over digital giants

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Original article by Jennifer Dudley Nicholson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 5-Mar-20

Australian Associated Press chairman Campbell Reid says the newswire service’s impending closure shows that the impact of digital platforms on traditional media companies has reached a tipping point. He warns that there will be more casualties in the media sector unless digital platforms are forced to pay for news publishers’ content. The Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance has criticised the federal government for failing to act on key recommendations of a landmark inquiry into digital platforms.

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AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS PTY LTD, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

ABC sued for report on horse cruelty

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Original article by Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 3-Mar-20

Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landy is suing the ABC and journalist Caro Meldrum-Hanna for defamation. The legal action relates to a story that aired on ‘7.30’ in October, in which it was alleged that hundreds of former racehorses were sent to abattoirs. V’landy had agreed to appear on the program on behalf of Racing NSW, and stated that no horses in New South Wales were being sent to abattoirs. His lawyers will allege that the ABC acted dishonestly in not telling him that it had undercover footage of animal cruelty that it was going to air on the program, and that V’landy should have been given the chance to explain that Racing NSW had no jurisdiction in Queensland, where most of the horses that were sent to abattoirs came from.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, RACING NSW

Media regime just a way to keep bad laws

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Original article by Richard Ferguson, Leo Shanahan
The Weekend Australian – Page: 7 : 29-Feb-20

The Australian Federal Police and the Department of Home Affairs have used a joint submission to the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security to propose a ‘notice to produce’ regime for journalists. This would require an independent body to assess requests from security agencies for access to documents and communications between journalists and their confidential sources. The proposal has been criticised by News Corp Australia’s executive chairman Michael Miller, while Labor contends that journalists would still be at risk from prosecution and jail.

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AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY JOINT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Rio zeroes in on lithium but copper may be next

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 2-Mar-20

Rio Tinto has not made any major acquisitions under current CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques. However, it has looked at more than 200 opportunities over the last three years, while its low level of debt means it is well-placed to pursue deals. Bold Baatar, the head of Rio Tinto’s energy and minerals division, says lithium has been its focus in terms of potential acquisitions. He adds that Rio Tinto is interested in other metals that are used in vehicle batteries, such as copper and high purity nickel.

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RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Streaming lifts Foxtel’s sports subs to record

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 28-Feb-20

Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany has defended the pay-TV group’s Kayo Sports streaming service, after its subscriber base declined in the December quarter. He argues that four of the five major sports in Australia end their seasons in September, so Kayo can expect to have fewer subscribers in a period when cricket is the only major sport. The media group’s sports subscriber base has risen to a record level when measured across its traditional broadcast, Foxtel Now and Kayo services.

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FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS, FOXTEL NOW

Relief for Lynas as licence renewed amid Malaysian turmoil

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 28-Feb-20

Rare earths producer Lynas Corporation expects to meet the conditions imposed by the Malaysian government in renewing its operating licence for another three years. They include a deadline of mid-2023 to begin extracting low-level radioactive material from rare earths at a cracking and leaching plant in Western Australia, rather than undertaking the initial processing in Malaysia. Lynas must also commence work on developing a permanent disposal facility for radioactive waste in Malaysia within 12 months.

CORPORATES
LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC