MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

ABC admits staff numbers are on the rise

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth, James Madden
The Australian – Page: 3 : 23-Jul-21

The ABC has come under scrutiny after new figures showed that its headcount rose by 2.8 per cent in 2020-21, with the addition of 120 additional employees. This includes 95 temporary positions. ABC MD David Anderson recently told a Senate committee that he did not think the public broadcaster’s headcount had increased in the last financial year. Liberal senator Ben Small says the ABC has been exposed as deceiving the public on resourcing, and notes that it is taking on additional staff at a time when its commercial rivals are cutting jobs.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

TV legend David Leckie dies at 70

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 21-Jul-21

Media identities have praised industry veteran David Leckie, who has passed away after a long illness. Leckie became CEO of the Nine Network in 1994, after holding a number of roles at the media group. He joined the Seven Network in 2003, and it subsequently displaced Nine as Australia’s top rating free-to-air network under his leadership. Seven West Media’s CEO James Warburton has described Leckie as a "true legend of the Australian media industry", while Nine CEO Mike Sneesby says he was a "giant of television".

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

Sky News numbers boom in crisis

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 17 : 19-Jul-21

Sky News Australia CEO Paul Whittaker says many viewers have discovered the pay-TV group’s content during the pandemic and continued to watch it. He notes that a growing number of viewers are accessing Sky News content via digital platforms rather than Foxtel. An online survey undertaken by Hoop Group shows that Sky News videos were viewed 95.6 million times on YouTube in June, a year-on-year increase of 248 per cent, while viewership on Facebook rose by 170 per cent. Sky News now boasts over 1.8 million YouTube subscribers and more than 1.1 million Facebook followers.

CORPORATES
SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, HOOP GROUP, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Nine dumps Hewson in gender shake-up

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 17 : 19-Jul-21

Nine Entertainment aims to have equal representation of men and women among its newspapers’ opinion writers. Former federal Liberal leader John Hewson has been a columnist for "The Sydney Morning Herald" and "The Age" for nearly two decades, but he has been dropped by Nine due to this policy. However, Hewson believes that the real reason for the decision was the fact that he has become too critical of the federal government. Hewson has tweeted that neither the government or the mainstream media believe in a free press. Former Liberal minister Amanda Vanstone was also recently dropped from the roster of columnists at "The Age".

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

ABC lashed over call to fund Milligan case

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 18 : 5-Jul-21

The ABC’s policy on employees’ usage of social media is under renewed scrutiny after the public broadcaster advised that it will pay the legal costs of investigative reporter Louise Milligan in a defamation case. Federal MP Andrew Laming alleges that his personal and professional reputation were "irrevocably" damaged after Milligan posted a series of tweets regarding claims that Laming had taken a photo of a woman while she was bending over. Liberal senator Sarah Henderson has questioned the ABC’s decision to fund Milligan’s legal defence, adding that taxpayers have the right to know whether it would also pay up if damages are awarded against her.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Sims welcomes Facebook deals with two outlets

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 5-Jul-21

Facebook has secured a content deal with online news website Guardian Australia under the federal government’s news media bargaining code. Guardian Australia content will be featured on the Facebook News platform, which has yet to be launched. Country Press Australia has also secured a content deal with the social media giant. Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims says the majority of local media companies have now secured such deals, adding that they would not have been achieved without the media bargaining code.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA, COUNTRY PRESS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

ABC pockets $30m in studio sale

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 2-Jul-21

The ABC has sold its Gordon Street television studios in the Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick for an undisclosed price, which is believed to be about $30m. The public broadcaster had previously sold its Selwyn St properties in Elsternwick, which included studios and warehouse facilities. The ABC relocated its Melbourne headquarters and production facilities to inner-city Southbank after closing its historic Elsternwick studios, which were built when television was introduced in Australia in 1956.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

ABC hits pause on log-in rollout

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 1-Jul-21

The ABC has advised that the introduction of mandatory log-ins for its iview streaming service has been pushed back to the end of 2021. The new system was to have been launched during July and August, but a spokesman says the public broadcaster will give users more time to understand how it will work and the benefits of creating a registered ABC account. Regional Communications Minister Bridget McKenzie has welcomed the decision to delay compulsory log-ins, and says the ABC should implement an ‘opt-in’ model.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

‘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