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PM tested on secrecy laws

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Olivia Caisley
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 22-Oct-19

The issue of press freedom came under scrutiny in federal parliament on 21 October. Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated that any decision to prosecute a journalist should be based on the rule of law rather than the "whim of politicians". Law Council of Australia president Arthur Moses has responded by calling for Attorney-General Christian Porter to withdraw a recently-issued directive to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions regarding the prosecution of journalists for alleged breaches of four statutes.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

Harris Scarfe tops discount department store customer satisfaction

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Oct-19

New research from Roy Morgan shows that Harris Scarfe has Australia’s most satisfied discount department store customers, with a satisfaction rating of 91% in September, putting it ahead of rivals Kmart and Best & Less (both on 89%). Big W and Costco are in equal fourth on 88%. The biggest improvement over the past year came from Harris Scarfe, which rose 5% points and Best & Less, which is up 3% points. Just outside the top five in September was Target Country, which increased 4% points to 87%, while Big W improved 1% point to 88%. Kmart and Costco are unchanged on a year ago. The latest victory for Harris Scarfe continues a run of monthly wins that puts the retailer in prime position to claim the year’s overall award for the first time since 2015. These are the latest results from Roy Morgan’s Discount Department Stores Satisfaction Report which is based on in-depth personal interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 Australians each year in their own homes, including more than 8,500 who shop at a discount department store in an average four weeks.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, HARRIS SCARFE HOLDINGS LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BEST AND LESS PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, COSTCO WHOLESALE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TARGET COUNTRY

Why bitter magazine rivals Bauer, Pacific are poised to unite

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 21-Oct-19

There is general agreement within the media industry that the proposed sale of Pacific Magazines to Bauer Media Australia is necessary for the two businesses to be sustainable. Both publishers have been hard hit by the decline in advertising revenue and circulation over the last 10 years. Magazines now account for just one per cent of the industry’s advertising revenue, compared with seven per cent in 2009. Meanwhile, Bauer’s revenue fell 13.7 per cent to $224.3m in 2018, while Pacific Magazines’ revenue fell 7.2 per cent to $129.4m in 2018-19. Sources have suggested that a deal could be struck within days.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

ABC savaged by union for underpaying casual employees

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 25 : 21-Oct-19

The Community & Public Sector Union has told its members that the ABC’s management had been made aware on "multiple occasions" that casual staff were being underpaid. The CPSU’s report notes amongst other things that the public broadcaster had breached the Fair Work Act and its own enterprise agreement by underpaying up to 2,500 casual employees. The ABC’s 2019 annual report notes that it has allocated more than $22m to compensating staff who were underpaid.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION

United front in fight for freedom

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 21-Oct-19

The Australian media industry has ramped up its Your Right to Know campaign. Some of the nation’s major newspapers will replace their front pages on 21 October with an advertisement featuring blacked-out content and the question: ‘When the government hides the truth from you, what are they covering up?’. The move is part of the industry’s push to safeguard freedom of the press in the wake of police raids on the home of a News Corp journalist and the ABC’s Sydney offices.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Secrecy law a burden: HRC

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Original article by Nicola Berkovic
The Australian – Page: 5 : 18-Oct-19

Details of submissions to News Corp Australia’s legal challenge to the validity of a police raid on the home of journalist Annika Smethurst have been released. The Australian Human Rights Commission’s submission has broadly supported News Corp’s stance, although it has taken a different legal approach to the issue, arguing that secrecy laws limit the freedom of political expression. Constitutional law expert George Williams, says the two approaches could both support the media group’s view that the raid on Smethurst was unlawful.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

ABC goes begging as it pays execs 70pc more

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 3 : 17-Oct-19

The ABC’s latest annual report shows that its executive management team and board of directors received total remuneration of $6.1m in 2018-19, compared with $3.6m in 2017-18. The public broadcaster added two people to its executive ranks during the latest reporting period. MD David Ander­son was paid $1.14m in 2018-19, while predecessor Michele Guthrie received a $1.35m termination payout. The ABC has reported a 2018-19 net operating surplus of $38.3m.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Southern Cross hit hard by sell-off

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 16-Oct-19

Southern Cross Media Group has advised that EBITDA for the first half of 2019-20 is expected to be within the range of $60m to $68m, compared with $82m for the same period in 2018-19. The group has also reported that revenue for the first quarter was 8.5 per cent lower than previously, due to challenging conditions in the advertising market. CFO Nick McKechnie says the group has no plans for further asset sales after selling its broadcast transmission assets in August.

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, BROADCAST AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Over 1.5 million Australians shop for shoes each month. Customers of The Athlete’s Foot are the most satisfied

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Oct-19

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1.59 million Australians aged 14+ shop at a shoe store in an average four-week period. Meanwhile, The Athlete’s Foot has won the monthly Shoe Store Customer Satisfaction Award for August 2019, with a customer satisfaction rating of 84%. It is followed by Williams on 77% and Spend Less Shoes on 73%. In a concerning trend for the industry, no brand has had an increase in customer satisfaction over the past year, but several have experienced troubling decreases. The final brand among Australia’s top four footwear retailers, Payless Shoes, suffered the most, with a 12% drop. These results are from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, which is derived from in-depth face-to-face interviews with over 50,000 Australians each year in their homes.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, THE ATHLETE’S FOOT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WILLIAMS SHOES, SPENDLESS SHOES PTY LTD, PAYLESS SHOES PTY LTD

Big Digital shift finally under way, says News

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 19 : 9-Oct-19

News Corporation’s CEO Robert Thomson says digital platforms are starting to direct revenue to companies that produce original news content. He expects the flow of revenue to content producers will increase in coming years, which will benefit media companies and their shareholders. News Corp Australia recently struck a deal to be the exclusive local provider of news content for Apple’s News+ subscription service.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, APPLE INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION