MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

ABC digital users plummet – but the money keeps coming

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 13 : 10-May-23

The ABC had 17 million weekly active digital users in 2021-22, and the budget papers show that it had a target of 18.3 million active users for 2022-23. However, the public broadcaster is now expected to boast just 13.4 million active digital users in the current financial year. In contrast, SBS is expected to have 13.1 million digital registrations in 2022-23, well ahead of its target of 11.6 million. Meanwhile, the federal government will allocate additional funding in 2023-24 to ensure improved access to broadcasting services for Indigenous people in remote communities.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS)

Seven downgrades its TV ad market forecast

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 3-May-23

Seven West Media CEO James Warburton estimates that the TV advertising market fell by 11 per cent during the March quarter, and he expects a similar decline in the June quarter. Seven West had forecast in February that the advertising sales downturn in the March quarter would be in the "mid to high single-digits". However, Warburton notes that the TV ad market often rebounds quickly after a downturn. Warburton has also advised that Seven West now expects its operating costs for 2022-23 to be within the range of $1.2bn to $1.21bn, compared with previous guidance of $1.22bn to $1.23bn.

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SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Regional journalist jobs go in News Corp restructure

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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

ABC staff cancel strike after winning pay rise, but some rankled by disrespect

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Age – Page: Online : 23-Mar-23

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance’s members at the ABC will not proceed with industrial action on Wednesday after the union reached an in-principle agreement with the public broadcaster for a new workplace deal. Cassie Derrick from the MEAA has praised the direct intervention of ABC MD David Anderson, and she emphasises that the dispute had not just been about pay. ABC employees will receive a pay rise of 11 per cent over three years, and a one-off bonus of $1,500. The ABC has also agreed to undertake an audit of the gender and cultural diversity pay gap, and implement a new framework for career progression. However, members of the Community & Public Sector Union at the ABC still intend to go on strike for two hours.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION

News Corp encourages staff to try AI chatbot

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 8-Mar-23

News Corp Australia chairman Michael Miller has urged the media company’s staff to embrace artificial intelligence technology such as ChatGPT. Miller has told staff via email that AI will "change our industry", and noted that News Corp has already incorporated AI into its work practices. It has also established an AI Working Group to explore "high-value opportunities" for the technology.

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

ABC staff have called off Tuesday’s planned strike to consider a new pay offer

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: Online : 7-Mar-23

ABC employees will not proceed with industrial action on Tuesday after the public broadcaster offered a sweetened pay deal. The ABC has offered a pay rise of 11.5 per cent over three years, backdated to the start of October 2022, and a sign-on bonus of $1,500. ABC employees have been pushing for annual pay rises of six per cent for three years, and negotiations with the broadcaster will continue. The 40-minute strike by ABC journalists had been timed to coincide with the latest interest rate announcement from the Reserve Bank.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Free TV in push for prime spot on screens

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 6-Mar-23

Australia’s commercial free-to-air networks have described prominence on connected TVs as the most important regulatory issue facing the industry. The federal government wants to legislate to ensure that the apps of local networks are pre-installed and prominently displayed on TV sets. However, Free TV Australia believes that the legislation should go further, and mandate that the apps of local broadcasters are displayed first on the home screens of connected TVs. Foxtel has criticised the networks’ push, contending that it constitutes a "free ride on Aussie consumers".

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FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

ABC boss seeks peace deal as strike looms

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Original article by James Madden, Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 19 : 6-Mar-23

ABC MD David Anderson will meet with representatives of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance on Monday, in a bid to avert industrial action over a new pay deal. The MEAA and the public broadcaster’s journalists have rejected an offer of a pay rise of 10.5 per cent over three years and are pushing for an annual increase of six per cent for three years. The proposed 40-minute strike on Tuesday has been timed to coincide with the Reserve Bank’s interest rate announcement. Longer strikes have been flagged in coming weeks if the ABC does not return to the bargaining table.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

An exceptional 12 magazine categories enjoy growth over the last year led by Food & Entertainment, General Interest, Home & Garden, Health & Family, Women’s Fashion and Women’s Lifestyle – all with readership up on 2021

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-Mar-23

The Roy Morgan Australian Readership report for the 12 months to December 2022 shows that 11.3 million Australians aged 14+ (52.8%) read print magazines, up 1.7 per cent on a year ago. This market broadens to 15 million Australians aged 14+ (70.3%) who read magazines in print or online either via the web or an app, a small drop of 3.6 per cent from a year ago. There were increases in print readership for over two-thirds of the 17 magazine categories during 2022, a year during which COVID-19 restrictions eased considerably following the extensive lockdowns of 2021. The most widely read category of Food & Entertainment magazines increased its print readership by 1.6 per cent to 7,233,000 ahead of General Interest magazines with a readership of 4,131,000, up 1.2 per cent. Exactly half of the top 10 most widely read magazines increased their print readership over the last year, as well as 12 out of the top 25. Better Homes & Gardens is still Australia’s most widely read paid magazine with print readership of 1,689,000, up 4.2 per cent on a year ago, ahead of the Australian Women’s Weekly on 1,258,000. These two magazines continue to be the only two paid magazines with a readership of over 1 million. Australia’s two most widely read free magazines are Coles magazine with a print readership of 4,865,000 just ahead of Fresh Ideas (from Woolworths) with a readership of 4,798,000, up 3.3 per cent. These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey of 65,928 Australians aged 14+ in the 12 months to December 2022.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Media bosses unite to push government on press freedom

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Original article by Nick Bonyhady
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 28-Feb-23

Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus met with executives from Australia’s major media groups on Monday to discuss a range of issues, including proposed changes to privacy laws. The executives also pushed the goverment to act on recommendations that resulted from raids on the ABC and the home of then News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst in 2019, with Drefyus saying he had been shocked by the raids at the time. Other issues discussed at the meeting included increased protection for whistleblowers and further changes to defamation laws.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS