MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Nine’s cyber hack still far from over

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 6-Apr-21

Nine Entertainment Company has informed staff that its technology teams have made "remarkable progress" in restoring its key operational systems in the wake of a major cyber attack. However, the media giant has advised that it will be some time before all systems are fully restored, and many employees have been asked to keep working from home. Cybersecurity experts have estimated that the attack could potentially cost Nine more than $1m. It disrupted Nine’s broadcast operations in Sydney, as well as the print editions of its newspapers.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Regional papers concern

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

Country Press Australia is holding talks with both Facebook and Google regarding the news media bargaining code. CPA represents the publishers of 160 regional newspapers nationwide; its negotiations have come at a time when there is growing concern that the Facebook News product will have limited relevance to regional newspapers as it is focused primarily on national news. Australian Community Media is also in talks with Facebook, while it secured a deal with Google in late 2020.

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COUNTRY PRESS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA PTY LTD

Cyber attack disables Nine HQ

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 29-Mar-21

Nine Entertainment Company has become the target of a cyber attack that prevented it from broadcasting live programs such as ‘Weekend Today’ on 28 March. Nine was also forced to broadcast a national news bulletin from Melbourne into the Sydney and Canberra markets. All of Nine’s broadcast and newspaper staff have been told to work from home and avoid accessing the media group’s corporate network until further notice. A number of Australian businesses have recently been subjected to ransomware attacks, but Nine says it has not received a ransom demand.

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NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Watchdog’s secret check on Nine

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Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: 19 : 8-Mar-21

It has revealed that the Australian Securities & Investments Commission wrote to Nine Entertainment in early August about possible insider trading by one of its staff. The period in question that ASIC was interested in was from January to 10 July, with correspondence between Nine and ASIC on the matter continuing until 21 August, just days before Nine issued its financial results on 27 August. It is believed the matter is no longer a subject of inquiry, with both Nine and ASIC declining to comment on the issue.

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Competition policy sealed tech giants deal

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 19 : 1-Mar-21

The federal government’s news media bargaining code has already prompted Google to secure commercial deals with some media companies. Facebook in turn has signed a letter of intent with Seven West Media and is negotiating with other news publishers. Communications Minister Paul Fletcher says there has been "significant overseas interest" in the approach the government took in treating the code as an issue of competition policy rather than copyright law. He adds that the code provided the leverage needed to ensure a level playing field between traditional media and digital platforms.

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GOOGLE INCORPORATED, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Poison pill holds up Facebook deals

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 1-Mar-21

Facebook launched its ‘Facebook News’ product in the US in 2020, but Australia was not included in the launch because of the ongoing discussions about the federal government’s proposed media bargaining code. That code has now passed into law, while Facebook is expected to launch Facebook News in Australia once it has concluded deals with local news publishers. However, such deals are stalling over Facebook’s so-called ‘poison pen’ clause. There are suggestions that publishers could use the code to enter into an arbitration process with Facebook, should it decide to initiate the poison pill.

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FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Big Tech to pay annual charge

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 4 : 17-Feb-21

The federal government has agreed to make a number of ‘technical’ changes to its media bargaining code. Amongst other things, digital platforms such as Google and Facebook will now pay news publishers an annual lump sum, rather than per click or snippet, while the requirements for them to give notice of changes to their algorithms will be simplified. Meanwhile, JPMorgan estimates that Seven West Media could gain up to $69.2m a year from its newly-struck content deal with Google. Other news publishers are also believed to be in talks with Google.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Google threat lifts support for new code

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Original article by John Davidson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 9-Feb-21

Consumer research company Pureprofile asked over 1,000 Australians their views on the federal government’s proposed media bargaining code and the operation of online platforms. The code would force Facebook and Google into binding arbitration if they cannot come to an agreement with media companies over payment for the use of their news content. On the question of whether Google’s threat to shut down its search engine in Australia if the code goes ahead made them more or less likely to support the code, 34 per cent of respondents stated it would make them more likely. Pureprofile CEO Martin Filz claims that Google has "underestimated the backlash against Big Tech".

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FACEBOOK INCORPORATED,GOOGLE INCORPORATED,PUREPROFILE LIMITED – ASX PPL

Nine to pay costs in Aston ruling

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Original article by Cameron England
The Australian – Page: 3 : 9-Feb-21

The Federal Court has awarded indemnity costs to Elaine Stead in her defamation case against newspaper columnist Joe Aston. The indemnity costs will be backdated to 22 April, when Nine Entertainment Company rejected Stead’s offer to settle the case for $190,000. Stead was recently awarded ordinary and aggravated damages totalling $280,000 over several articles that were published in the ‘Australian Financial Review’. Nine could potentially face a total bill of more than $2.5m arising from the defamation case.

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NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC,FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Rod Sims’ big tech fixation blinds him to Murdoch’s monopoly

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Original article by Kevin Rudd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 8-Feb-21

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation controls 70 per cent of print readership in Australia, and his power is arguably set to increase under the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s proposed news media bargaining code. ACCC chairman Rod Sims has become so fixated about new digital technology monopolies that he seems to have forgotten about Murdoch’s existing one. The code will see Google and Facebook compelled to pay for Fox News-style clickbait, while it is high time there was a royal commission to look at both existing and new media monopolies.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, FOX NEWS, SKY NEWS