Nine swings the axe with 85 staff let go

August 21, 2024roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: Online : 21-Aug-24

A spokesman for Nine Entertainment has indicated that 85 employees of its publishing division will leave the media company in coming months after successfully applying for voluntary redundancy packages. They primarily comprise journalists and production staff at Nine’s newspaper mastheads, and include Ben Potter, Aaron Patrick and Michael Pelly from the flagship Australian Financial Review. Nine had previously announced plans to cut 200 positions across its operations, including up to 90 at its publishing arm; CEO Mike Sneesby attributed the move to the difficult advertising market and Meta’s decision to withdraw from revenue-sharing deals with news publishers.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Nine Entertainment CEO returns to office after Olympics trip as five-day strike comes to end

July 31, 2024roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Amanda Meade
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 31-Jul-24

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance has advised that journalists from Nine Entertainment’s publishing division will return to work at 11am on Wednesday. The end of the five-day industrial action by about 500 journalists will coincide with the return of Nine’s CEO Mike Sneesby, after a week in Paris where he entertained corporate clients and attracted scrutiny for participating in the Olympic torch relay amid the turmoil in the company’s newsrooms. Michelle Rae from the MEAA says Nine’s management has committed to resuming negotiations with journalists when they return to work.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE

ABC cops Buttrose blast over news bias

July 30, 2024roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 5 : 30-Jul-24

Media industry veteran Ita Buttrose says the ABC needs to present both sides of an argument, contending that this is "much better" for the viewer or the listener. However, Buttrose adds that some ABC interviewers are reluctant to tell both sides of a story; she also says that if the public broadcaster’s journalists cannot take criticism they should just "give up". Buttrose’s five-year term as the ABC’s chair ended in March. Meanwhile, she says the strike action by Nine Entertainment journalists on the eve of the Paris Olympic Games was an "unwise decision", given that the Olympics is a major investment for the company.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Fair Work Commission finds journalist and presenter Antoinette Lattouf was sacked by ABC

June 4, 2024roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Isobel Roe
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 4-Jun-24

The Fair Work Commission has found that journalist and presenter Antoinette Lattouf was sacked by the ABC, after she was taken off air part way through a radio presenting stint in December. With Lattouf having lodged a claim against the ABC for unfair dismissal, it had argued that her employment was not actually terminated, as she had been paid for all of the five days on which she was scheduled to broadcast. The Commission’s ruling paves the way for Lattouf to pursue an unlawful termination case against the ABC, with that case having been filed in the Federal Court.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Ten baulks at Wilkinson’s $1.8m claim for costs

May 28, 2024roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ellie Dudley
The Australian – Page: 3 : 28-May-24

Presenter Lisa Wilkinson is seeking over $1.8 million from the Ten Network to pay her legal costs in the aftermath of their defamation case against Bruce Lehrmann, with the Federal Court being told by her lawyers on Monday that Ten was showing an "ongoing reluctance" to pay her costs. The dispute between Wilkinson and Ten over her legal costs arose as a result of her deciding to seek separate representation for the defamation case, with Ten arguing that she should pay for all aspects of the case where it was not necessary for her to have separate representation.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

ABC staff pass no-confidence vote in boss as senior journalist lashes leadership

January 23, 2024roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Calum Jaspan, Michael Bachelard
The Age – Page: Online : 23-Jan-24

The ABC board will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday after the public broadcaster’s union members passed a motion of no-confidence in MD David Anderson by 125 to 3 at a meeting on Monday. The meeting was prompted by the public broadcaster’s sacking of journalist Antoinette Lattouf in December, while ABC global affairs editor John Lyons is said to have told the meeting he was embarrassed by it, accusing it of pro-Israel bias and of failing to protect its staff. The meeting outlined five demands it wants Anderson and senior ABC management to address in order to win back the confidence of its staff and the public, including upholding a transparent complaints process and developing clearer and fairer social media policies.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Australian journalist Cheng Lei released from Chinese prison, arrives in Melbourne

October 12, 2023roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Georgia Roberts
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 12-Oct-23

Australian journalist Cheng Lei has returned to Australia more than three years after being arrested in China, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying he had known about her release for some time. Cheng was working at Chinese state-owned media CGTN when she was arrested in August 2020; she was accused of "supplying state secrets overseas", an allegation she denied. Albanese said he had spoken to her on Wednesday, noting she had been happily reunited with her family in Melbourne. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday that Cheng had served a sentence of two years and 11 months, and was released after completing it

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IMPRISONMENT – CHINA,[SPACE]DETENTION OF PERSONS – CHINA]

Regional journalist jobs go in News Corp restructure

April 13, 2023roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 13-Apr-23

News Corp Australia has declined to comment on reports that it may downsize its regional newspaper staff as part of a push to reduce costs. Sources have claimed that more than 100 regional journalist and editors were asked to attend an unscheduled video meeting on Tuesday afternoon which was hosted by national community masthead network editor John McGourty. He is said to have told them that jobs may be cut and some mastheads could be merged, but stressed that these are only proposals at this stage. News Corporation recently revealed plans to cut five per cent of its global workforce.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Swiss cheese shield laws set for review

May 30, 2022roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lydia Lynch
The Australian – Page: 23 : 30-May-22

Queensland recently became the last Australian jurisdiction to pass legislation to protect journalists from naming their confidential sources in court. Adam Portelli of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance says the introduction of uniform ‘shield’ laws is urgently needed, and the MEAA will urge the new federal government to do so. Portelli argues that the "Swiss cheese" nature of Australia’s shield laws deter potential whistleblowers from coming forward. Human Rights Law Centre lawyer Kieran Pender has also called for consistent shield laws nationwide.

CORPORATES
MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, HUMAN RIGHTS LAW CENTRE LIMITED

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