MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Anger after News Corp and Google Australia set up journalism academy at university business school

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Original article by Amanda Meade
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 9-Feb-22

News Corporation executive Campbell Reid will be the inaugural head of the Digital News Academy, which is a joint venture between the media giant and Google Australia. Reid says the University of Melbourne’s business school was selected to provide the nine-month course because it is "unashamedly about the business of journalism". However, the decision to offer the course via the business school has been criticised by Andrew Dodd, the director of the university’s Centre for Advancing Journalism. He says it reflects News Corp’s long-standing antagonism for university journalism programs. Dodd adds that he was not aware of the new initiative until he read about it in a press release.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. BUSINESS SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. CENTRE FOR ADVANCING JOURNALISM

Prime Media welcomes Seven, castigates the Nationals

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 25-Nov-21

Prime Media Group’s CEO Ian Audsley says the proposed takeover by Seven West Media is in the best interests of the regional affiliate’s shareholders. He has told Prime’s AGM that digital disruption has had an "irreversible and negative" impact on traditional media businesses in regional Australia. Audsley also warned that Prime’s future would be uncertain if the merger does not proceed. In addition, he has criticised the federal government – and the National Party in particular – over its failure to pursue further media reforms.

CORPORATES
PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Slow-motion tax reform threatens film industry

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 24-Nov-21

Australia’s film and television industry is lobbying the federal government to increase the producer offset rate before parliament rises for the year. The offset was slated to rise from 20 per cent to 30 per cent from 1 July, and the industry has warned that some $400m worth of spending in the sector will be at risk if the legislation is not passed. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has accused the government of attempting to "play political games" with the legislation, and called for it to be put before the Senate immediately.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Senate shoots down Bragg’s ABC complaints inquiry

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Nov-21

A motion to suspend a Senate committee’s inquiry into the complaints handling processes of the ABC and SBS has been passed by one vote in the upper house. Three independent senators backed the motion that had been put forward by Labor and the Greens. The inquiry had been launched by Liberal senator Andrew Bragg, who says the ABC’s own independent inquiry into its complaints system is not as strong as the proposed Senate probe. The inquiry will be put on hold until after the federal election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Australians re-discover love of magazines during 2021 with Food & Entertainment, Home & Garden, General Interest and Mass Women readership up year on year

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Nov-21

The Roy Morgan Australian Readership report for the 12 months to September 2021 shows that over 11.2 million Australians aged 14+ (53%) now read print magazines, an increase of 2.2% from a year ago. This market broadens to 15.2 million Australians aged 14+ (71.8%) who read magazines in print or online either via the web or an app (down 3.3 per cent from a year ago). The overall magazine industry readership figures are up compared to a year ago with the rebound out of the 2020 lockdowns earlier last year providing a boost to key magazine categories. Of the 15 categories measured over the last two years, two-thirds (10 magazine categories) are up and only five are down. The print readership of all four of the most widely-read magazine categories increased significantly from a year ago. Readership of the Food & Entertainment category increased 12.7 per cent to over 7.2 million, General Interest was up 9.1 per cent to over 4.1 million, Home & Garden increased by 12.2 per cent to almost 3.8 million and Mass Women’s was up 4.1 per cent to around 3 million. There were also impressive increases in readership for the magazine categories covering Motoring, TV, Sports, Music & Movies, Fishing and Motorcycles. These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey of 64,972 Australians aged 14+ in the 12 months to September 2021.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Nine boss doesn’t see need to buy WIN TV

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 17-Nov-21

Nine Entertainment Company has ruled out following rival Seven West Media in seeking to acquire its regional television affiliate. Nine CEO Mike Sneesby says the media group is gaining significant benefits from its "very close commercial partnership" with WIN Corporation without the need to buy the regional affiliate. Nine recently revealed plans to integrate the two companies’ sales teams, just months after the new affiliation agreement began in mid-2021. Sneesby has also flagged a push to increase Nine’s digital presence across its business.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC,NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED,WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD,SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM,PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT

News Corp gives $1m to fire-hit communities

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Original article by Rhiannon Down
The Australian – Page: 3 : 17-Nov-21

The Rural & Remote Mental Health charity will receive a $1m donation from News Corp Australia to provide mental health support for people in regional areas that are still recovering from the Black Summer bushfires. News Corp Australia’s community ambassador Penny Fowler notes that while the media company had extensively supported the immediate recovery from the bushfires, the disaster is still having a significant mental health impact on many people in bushfire-affected communities. News Corp has now donated some $4.2m to Black Summer recovery programs.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD,NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS,RURAL AND REMOTE MENTAL HEALTH

Seven West Media won’t commit to dividend timetable

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 10-Nov-21

Seven West Media suspended its dividend payments in 2018, in order to focus on reducing debt. Chairman Kerry Stokes has told the group’s AGM that it will review its dividend policy in 2022, but he declined to make any commitment as to when dividends will resume. Stokes also defended the remuneration package of CEO James Warburton, whose total pay topped $7.6m in 2020-21; Stokes says that Warburton is paid for performance, and his pay reflected the challenges faced by Seven during the last year, including the global pandemic.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Nine Network says Seven top with more over 65s

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 8-Nov-21

The Seven Network has won the 2021 ratings year with a total audience share of 38.3 per cent, ahead of the Nine Network with 37.8 per cent. However, Nine claims to have won the key 25-54 age demographic with less than four weeks until the end of the ratings year. Nine’s head of television Michael Healy contends that the network has recorded significant growth year-on-year across the key demographics, while Seven’s growth of 0.9 share has been primarily in the 65+ age demographic.

CORPORATES
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

ABC dismisses Fox News’ Four Corners complaint

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Age – Page: Online : 8-Nov-21

The ABC’s internal complaints department has found that "Fox and the Big Lie" did not breach the national broadcaster’s code of practice. The two-part Four Corners documentary examined how US cable network Fox News covered the 2020 presidential election. Fox News called for an external inquiry into the Four Corners story shortly after it had been broadcast, and the ABC is said to have provided Fox with a detailed response as to why its complaints had been dismissed. The ABC recently commissioned a review of its procedures for handling complaints, its first such review in 12 years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FOX NEWS