MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

ABC news chief backs staff amid Guthrie-Milne fallout

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, John Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 14-Nov-18

The fallout from a "Four Corners" story on the ABC’s recent leadership crisis is continuing, with Liberal senator Eric Abetz saying it demonstrated that the public broadcaster is in "disarray". Amongst other things, former MD Michelle Guthrie alleged that ex-chairman Justin Milne had touched her inappropriately, while allegations were raised about political interference at the ABC. Meanwhile, director of news Gavin Morris has praised the ABC’s staff, noting their ­integrity and professionalism.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ABC execs paid bonuses to stay

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 12-Nov-18

Sources within the ABC have indicated that its board approved bonuses to retain a number of senior executives after Michelle Guthrie succeeded Mark Scott as MD in 2016. Acting MD David ­Anderson is said to be among the executives who received a retention bonus. Former COO David Pendleton, who resigned in 2017, is also said to have been offered such a bonus. Executive remuneration at the public broadcaster has come under scrutiny after its latest annual report showed that bonus payments exceeded $2m in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Nine-Fairfax deal has investor support

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 12-Nov-18

Fairfax Media’s merger with Nine Entertainment Company will require the support of at least 75 per cent of votes cast at the newspaper publisher’s meeting of shareholders on 19 November. The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors and leading proxy advisors are said to support the merger, although the proposed deal has been criticised by the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance. The merger is also subject to approval by the Federal Court.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SUPERANNUATION TRUSTEES, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, INSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES INCORPORATED, MARTIN CURRIE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

The launch of the new monthly Take 5 magazine has Take 5 readership over 1 million for first time

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Nov-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey shows that the launch of the new monthly "Take 5" magazine early in 2018 has proven a winner. Some 736,000 Australians read the monthly magazine in the four months to September, while readership of the traditional weekly magazine was 520,000. A total of 1,016,000 Australians read either the weekly or monthly magazine in the four months to September. The research also shows that only 242,000 Australians read both magazines, with the majority of readers of the new monthly magazine not being existing readers of the weekly magazine. A positive outcome from the launch of "Take 5 Monthly" is that the new magazine has attracted a far higher male readership; 28.8% of its readership are men, compared to only 19.4% of "Take 5 Weekly" magazine’s readership. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the positive impact that "Take 5 Monthly" has had so far shows that the ability to leverage a well-known title to launch a magazine with similar content and an existing audience can not only appeal to the traditional readers of a magazine but also attract a new readership willing to give an old favourite another look.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

News Corp in talks over content fee deal with Facebook, Google

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 21 : 9-Nov-18

News Corp CEO Robert Thomson says it is holding discussions with Facebook, Google and Amazon over the payment by them of a content carriage fee for distributing its content. Thomson made his remarks as News Corp revealed revenue for its most recent quarter was up 23 per cent. He said the current financial year was off to "an impressive start", and that News Corp was continuing to focus on "digital development". News Corp’s shares rose by 4.2 per cent on 8 November on the back of its latest results announcement.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA

Different audiences: ACCC won’t oppose Nine-Fairfax deal

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 9-Nov-18

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission advised on 8 November that it would not oppose the proposed merger between Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media. Fairfax shareholders will now vote on the transaction on 19 November, while the Federal Court will then need to approve the deal. If both Fairfax shareholders and the Federal Court give the go-ahead for the merger, the combined entity, to be known as Nine, will begin on trading on 10 December. The ACCC cited the fact that Nine and Fairfax had mostly different content that targeted different audiences as the main reason for not opposing their merger.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, ISS PROXY AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION

Fairfax, Nine deal set to get the nod

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 8-Nov-18

Brian Han of Morningstar expects the proposed merger between Nine Entertainment Company and Fairfax Media to receive regulatory approval on 8 November. Han says the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is likely to take into account the impact of digital on traditional media when deciding whether to approve the $4bn deal. Nine Entertainment posted a 2017-18 net profit of $209.7m, while Fairfax made a loss of $63.8m.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, MST MARQUEE, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Bonuses risk igniting ABC powder keg

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Original article by Deborah Cornwall, Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 3 : 7-Nov-18

ABC journalists have raised the prospect of industrial action over severe staff shortages at a time when the public broadcaster’s executives are receiving large bonuses. Members of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance’s ABC house committee have sought meetings with acting chairman David Anderson to express the journalists’ concerns, but he has declined to do so. Liberal senator Eric Abetz is also seeking an explanation for the ABC’s decision to give one executive a bonus of more than $230,000 in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

‘ABC wallowing in money’: Abetz takes swipe at $250,000 bonus

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 7 : 6-Nov-18

Liberal senator Eric Abetz has criticised the ABC’s executive remuneration policy, arguing that the public broadcaster needs to justify its excessively high salaries. Abetz was responding to revelations that one ABC executive was paid more than $692,000 in 2017-18, including a bonus of $232,500. He adds that the ABC and its supporters cannot complain about lack of sufficient funding while paying exorbitant salaries.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, FRIENDS OF THE ABC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Guthrie’s pay up as ABC lost millions

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Original article by Stephen Brook, Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 1-Nov-18

The ABC’s annual report shows that the public broadcaster booked an operating loss of $71.2m in 2017-18, compared with expectations of a $3.09m surplus. The loss has been attributed to factors such as $54.7m in redundancy costs and higher investment in local content. The annual report also shows that former MD Michelle Guthrie was paid $963,991 in 2017-18, an increase of 8.2 per cent. Ex-chairman Justin Milne was paid $187,213 in his first – and only – full year in the role.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION