MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Chilling effect on the news

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 36 & 37 : 22-Oct-19

The Right to Know coalition is seeking to combat what it contends is the increased suppression of press freedom in Australia. Members of the group include Seven West Media, News Corp Australia, Nine Entertainment, the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance and the ABC. The group believes that there are six key areas where reform is needed, including protections for whistleblowers, changes to the definition of what information should be regarded as secret and changes to defamation laws.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

PM tested on secrecy laws

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Olivia Caisley
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 22-Oct-19

The issue of press freedom came under scrutiny in federal parliament on 21 October. Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated that any decision to prosecute a journalist should be based on the rule of law rather than the "whim of politicians". Law Council of Australia president Arthur Moses has responded by calling for Attorney-General Christian Porter to withdraw a recently-issued directive to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions regarding the prosecution of journalists for alleged breaches of four statutes.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

Why bitter magazine rivals Bauer, Pacific are poised to unite

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 21-Oct-19

There is general agreement within the media industry that the proposed sale of Pacific Magazines to Bauer Media Australia is necessary for the two businesses to be sustainable. Both publishers have been hard hit by the decline in advertising revenue and circulation over the last 10 years. Magazines now account for just one per cent of the industry’s advertising revenue, compared with seven per cent in 2009. Meanwhile, Bauer’s revenue fell 13.7 per cent to $224.3m in 2018, while Pacific Magazines’ revenue fell 7.2 per cent to $129.4m in 2018-19. Sources have suggested that a deal could be struck within days.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

ABC savaged by union for underpaying casual employees

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 25 : 21-Oct-19

The Community & Public Sector Union has told its members that the ABC’s management had been made aware on "multiple occasions" that casual staff were being underpaid. The CPSU’s report notes amongst other things that the public broadcaster had breached the Fair Work Act and its own enterprise agreement by underpaying up to 2,500 casual employees. The ABC’s 2019 annual report notes that it has allocated more than $22m to compensating staff who were underpaid.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION

United front in fight for freedom

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 21-Oct-19

The Australian media industry has ramped up its Your Right to Know campaign. Some of the nation’s major newspapers will replace their front pages on 21 October with an advertisement featuring blacked-out content and the question: ‘When the government hides the truth from you, what are they covering up?’. The move is part of the industry’s push to safeguard freedom of the press in the wake of police raids on the home of a News Corp journalist and the ABC’s Sydney offices.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Secrecy law a burden: HRC

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Original article by Nicola Berkovic
The Australian – Page: 5 : 18-Oct-19

Details of submissions to News Corp Australia’s legal challenge to the validity of a police raid on the home of journalist Annika Smethurst have been released. The Australian Human Rights Commission’s submission has broadly supported News Corp’s stance, although it has taken a different legal approach to the issue, arguing that secrecy laws limit the freedom of political expression. Constitutional law expert George Williams, says the two approaches could both support the media group’s view that the raid on Smethurst was unlawful.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

ABC goes begging as it pays execs 70pc more

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 3 : 17-Oct-19

The ABC’s latest annual report shows that its executive management team and board of directors received total remuneration of $6.1m in 2018-19, compared with $3.6m in 2017-18. The public broadcaster added two people to its executive ranks during the latest reporting period. MD David Ander­son was paid $1.14m in 2018-19, while predecessor Michele Guthrie received a $1.35m termination payout. The ABC has reported a 2018-19 net operating surplus of $38.3m.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Nine fights tech giants with new ad model

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 17-Oct-19

Nine Entertainment Company has used its annual ‘upfronts’ to reveal that it will adopt a cost per completed view model for advertising across its digital platforms. Clients will be charged only if a video ad is viewed in full. The move is aimed at technology giants Facebook and Google, which have attracted scrutiny over their own advertising policies. Nine has also advised that it has amalgamated the data that has been gathered across its digital platforms.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED

Southern Cross hit hard by sell-off

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 16-Oct-19

Southern Cross Media Group has advised that EBITDA for the first half of 2019-20 is expected to be within the range of $60m to $68m, compared with $82m for the same period in 2018-19. The group has also reported that revenue for the first quarter was 8.5 per cent lower than previously, due to challenging conditions in the advertising market. CFO Nick McKechnie says the group has no plans for further asset sales after selling its broadcast transmission assets in August.

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, BROADCAST AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Big stream of notes is music to the ears

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Original article by Andrew McMillen
The Australian – Page: 4 : 11-Oct-19

APRA-AMCOS has reported record of revenue of $471.8m for 2018-19. The music rights management agency has advised that digital revenue – which includes both streaming audio and video services – rose 30 per cent in 2018-19, to $175.4m. APRA-AMCOS’s annual report also notes that there has been 4,265 per cent growth in audio streaming revenue since 2012-13, while live music revenue has risen from $16.6m in 2009-10 to $30m in 2018-19.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALASIAN PERFORMING RIGHT ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALASIAN MECHANICAL COPYRIGHT OWNERS SOCIETY LIMITED, SPOTIFY LIMITED, APPLE MUSIC, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, INSTAGRAM LLC, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD