MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

‘Slightly sanctimonious’: Media baron John B. Fairfax urges publishers to look beyond profits

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 17-Jun-21

Australian businessman John B. Fairfax has criticised media companies that responded to the pandemic-induced downturn in advertising revenue by sacking staff and discontinuing the print editions of some newspapers. He notes that News Corp and Australian Community Media in particular adopted a "pretty harsh attitude", with the closure of many regional newspapers and some printing plants. Fairfax argues that media companies should not focus solely on profits, and they must recognise their responsibility to provide quality journalism to the communities they serve.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA PTY LTD

Guardian expected to ink Facebook deal within days

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 7-Jun-21

Online news publisher Guardian Australia is poised to secure a revenue-sharing deal with Facebook under the news media bargaining code. Industry sources say the deal will be completed within days, and it is believed to involve supplying content for the Facebook News product, which has yet to be launched. Facebook has already secured content deals with a number of Australian media companies, including News Corp, Nine Entertainment and Australian Community Media. Guardian Australia signed a content deal with Google earlier in 2021.

CORPORATES
GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA PTY LTD, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Four Corners morale is at an all-time low

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 19 : 7-Jun-21

The ABC’s decision to delay a ‘Four Corners’ program on the alleged links between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and a supporter of the QAnon movement is said to have caused a rift within the public broadcaster. ABC news director Gavin Morris referred the story to MD David Anderson, who decided that the story was not ready to be broadcast. The decision has angered senior journalist Louise Milligan and the executive producer of ‘Four Corners’, Sally Neighbour. The internal row follows the ABC’s recent legal dispute with former attorney-general Christian Porter.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

ABC says staff free to post opinions

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Original article by James Madden, Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 4 : 27-May-21

The ABC’s MD David Anderson has told a Senate estimates hearing that the public broadcaster’s staff can post their opinions on their personal social media accounts without fear of being disciplined. However, staff must adhere to the ABC’s code of conduct when posting on its official platforms. Anderson has also advised that the ABC is set to secure commercial deals with Google and Facebook under the news media bargaining code. The new revenue stream will be used to boost the ABC’s news coverage in regional and rural areas.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Ten nabs soccer in $200m contract

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 24 : 27-May-21

The Ten Network has secured the broadcasting and streaming rights to A-League and W-League matches for the next five years in a $200m cash and contra deal. One A-League match will be shown live on Ten’s primary channel each week, while one W-League match to be broadcast live on a secondary channel. Every match in both leagues will also be available via Ten’s new Paramount+ subscription video-on-demand service, which will be launched in August. Fox Sports currently holds the broadcasting rights.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, THE A LEAGUE PTY LTD, THE W LEAGUE PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

WIN News axes local bulletins, sacks staff

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 25-May-21

Regional broadcaster WIN Corporation will replace local news bulletins with state-wide bulletins in Victoria and Queensland when its new affiliation agreement with Nine Entertainment begins on 1 July. WIN CEO Andrew Lancaster says the move will result in job losses, although the company aims to redeploy as many affected employees as possible. Nine will close its own regional newsrooms when its five-year affiliation deal with Southern Cross Austereo ends.

CORPORATES
WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SOUTHERN CROSS AUSTEREO PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL

Broadcast spectrum buyback threatens popular TV channels

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Age – Page: Online : 17-May-21

The federal government announced a policy in November that would see spectrum licence fees removed in exchange for the radiofrequency spectrum of television broadcasters being reduced by compressing it. The spectrum made available as a result of this compression would be sold at a higher price to companies such as telcos. Broadcasters are worried that the technology that the government plans to use to compress the spectrum will soon be outdated, and that it will reduce the quality of broadcasting and lead to fewer multi-channels.

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Business brains bolster ABC board

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 19 : 17-May-21

Media industry veteran Peter Tonagh is one of three new appointments to the ABC’s board. The former CEO of Foxtel was recommended by the public broadcaster’s independent nominations panel, as was the former MD of the Seven Network’s Perth station, Mario D’Orazio. Communications Minister Paul Fletcher personally chose Fiona Balfour to fill the third vacancy on the ABC’s board; she has extensive experience across a range of business sectors. All three will have five-year terms at the ABC.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

ABC regrets unfairness in finance probes

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 19 : 26-Apr-21

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has criticised the ABC over a lack of balance in its business and economic reporting. It has been revealed that Bragg wrote to the public broadcaster in March to complain about its coverage of the federal government’s proposed changes to responsible lending laws. He contends that the article failed to present the government’s reasons for the legislative changes. The ABC has conceded that the article should have been more balanced. It has also recently corrected a series of reports about the alleged rorting of the JobKeeper scheme.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Local content propels pay TV

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Original article by Jess Malcolm
The Australian – Page: 19 : 26-Apr-21

Foxtel’s chief commercial and content officer Amanda Laing has downplayed the need for local content rules to apply to streaming services. She says that locally-produced content already accounts for 50-70 per cent of the 10 most popular shows on Foxtel’s streaming platforms. Laing also notes that the Australian offices of overseas-based streaming providers are also actively commission local content. Fetch TV CEO Scott Lorson told the same virtual conference that YouTube is making "huge inroads" into the subscription TV market.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FETCHTV PTY LTD, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED