JOURNALISM – AUSTRALIA

Google’s plea for defamation shield

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Original article by Nicola Berkovic
The Australian – Page: 4 : 14-May-19

Changes are needed to Australia’s defamation laws to ensure that there is more protection for public-interest journalism, according to the Centre for Media at the University of Technology, Sydney. It made its call in a submission to the current review into defamation laws, which is being led by New South Wales Attorney-General Mark Speakman. In its submission to the review, Google stated that there need to be more protection for search engines when they are being sued for defamation for enabling access to third-party content.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

How Twitter drip-fed Watergate

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 36 : 3-May-19

The ‘Watergate’ saga that has embroiled Energy Minister Angus Taylor has arguably changed the rules when it comes to news reporting in Australia. The story was sparked by an anonymous Twitter account in early April, which implied that Taylor had benefited from the sale of water rights to the federal government by Eastern Australia Agriculture in 2017. The rights related to two Queensland cotton farms; Taylor had advised Eastern Australia Agriculture on the purchase of these farms a decade earlier. Although journalists have historically relied on anonymous sources, it is extremely rare for them to use sources that they cannot identify.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, EASTERN AUSTRALIA AGRICULTURE PTY LTD, TWITTER INCORPORATED

Revealed: Neilson’s $100 million news agenda tops the bill

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Original article by Lisa Murray
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 3-May-19

The Judith Neilson Journalism Institute has provided funding for a range of initiatives since it was founded, while its longer-term goals include producing podcasts and documentaries in partnership with established media companies. The institute was founded by philanthropist Judith Neilson, who is also its patron. Neilson says she has no input into the day-to-day operations of the institute, whose board includes former ABC chairman Jim Spigelman, Free TV Australia CEO Bridget Fair and Paul Kelly, the editor-at-large of ‘The Australian’.

CORPORATES
JUDITH NEILSON JOURNALISM INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WHITE RABBIT GALLERY LIMITED, WALKLEY FOUNDATION FOR JOURNALISM

Fairfax scion in new media venture

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Original article by Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 20 : 12-Feb-19

John B Fairfax and Cameron O’Reilly are backing a new digital investigative journalism venture. The name of the venture, which will work inside the Crikey website, will be made public before it is formally launched in April. It is intended that the new venture will make its money solely from subscription sales, rather than advertising. Fairfax has been involved in the print media for five decades, while the O’Reilly family controlled Independent News & Media for more than 35 years.

CORPORATES
PRIVATE MEDIA PARTNERS PTY LTD, INDEPENDENT NEWS AND MEDIA PLC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

News boss blames tech giants for erosion of trust in journalism

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Original article by Matthew Denholm
The Australian – Page: 2 : 20-Aug-18

Campbell Reid of News Corp does not believe that consumers’ trust in journalism has declined in recent years. However, he says that technologies companies such as Google and Facebook are solely responsible for any such decline in trust, and they need to take action to address this issue by removing fake news and ensuring that trusted news sources are given prominence on their platforms. Reid will be part of a panel discussion on trust in journalism at a conference in Hobart in September.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Media probe pledge to protect journalism

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 4-Jul-18

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims says Facebook and Google are "clear competitors" to traditional media companies with regard to advertising revenue. He has told a conference in Sydney that the ACCC’s investigation into digital platforms will examine whether their growing share of ad revenue is having an impact on quality journalism in the publishing and broadcasting sector. Digital companies’ collection and use of consumer data will also be scrutinised by the inquiry.

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