MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Guthrie turns to Fair Work with complaint against ABC

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Original article by Max Mason, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 19-Oct-18

The Fair Work Commission has received an adverse action claim against the ABC from Michelle Guthrie following her dismissal as MD in late September. Should the case proceed to the Federal Court, Guthrie could potentially seek unlimited compensation for lost remuneration, given that she was sacked only halfway through her five-year contract. Guthrie could also seek compensation for hurt and suffering. Her annual salary of around $900,000 at the ABC is above the threshold for an unfair dismissal claim.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, JOHNSON WINTER AND SLATTERY

I’m ready to lead ABC full-time, says fill-in boss

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 2 : 18-Oct-18

David Anderson has expressed interest in becoming the ABC’s MD if he is offered the role. Anderson has been acting MD following the dismissal of Michelle Guthrie in late September. He says that maintaining the public broadcaster’s independence would one of his top priorities in the role. Meanwhile, ABC veteran Michael Mason has resigned as director of regional and local content; he has stressed that his departure is unrelated to the ABC’s recent leadership turmoil.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Guthrie, Milne in sights of senators

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 3 : 17-Oct-18

The Senate will hold an inquiry into the recent leadership turmoil at the ABC, which led to the dismissal of MD Michelle Guthrie and the resignation of chairman Justin Milne. The terms of reference for the inquiry include investigating allegations of political interference at the ABC. The Greens will push for Guthrie, Milne and Communications Minister Mitch Fifield to appear before the inquiry, which is slated to report its findings in late March.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Hywood in the frame for ABC chairman role

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 16-Oct-18

Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood has declined to comment on speculation that he could be a contender to succeed former ABC chairman Justin Milne. Hywood will step down in late 2018 if Fairfax’s proposed merger with Nine Entertainment Company proceeds. The field of potential candidates to replace Milne is said to include lawyer Danny Gilbert, former Telstra CEO David Thodey and current governor-general Sir Peter Cosgrove.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, GILBERT AND TOBIN LAWYERS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, WPP AUNZ LIMITED – WPP, OGILVY AUSTRALIA, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

Fairfax’s Falloon keeps faith in Nine deal

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 16-Oct-18

Shares in Nine Entertainment Company fell 12.4 per cent to $1.84 on 12 October. Citigroup analysts say this has eliminated the merger premium for Fairfax shareholders, and they have questioned whether the deal will proceed under the agreed terms. However, Fairfax chairman Nick Falloon says the merger is still "compelling", while Fraser McLeish of MST Marquee believes that the merger is in the best interests of Fairfax shareholders.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MST MARQUEE, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE

Nine, Fairfax cuts won’t hit newsrooms

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 15-Oct-18

Grant Samuel & Associates has deemed Fairfax Media’s proposed merger with Nine Entertainment Company to be in the best interests of the newspaper publisher’s shareholders. The scheme booklet for the merger indicates that the deal is expected to generate cost synergies of about $50m a year, primarily by combining the sales teams and back-office functions, and by using shared technology platforms. The scheme booklet has emphasised that there are no plans to combine the Fairfax and Nine newsrooms or retrench journalists. However, it concedes that job losses in other areas are likely.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, GRANT SAMUEL AND ASSOCIATES PTY LTD, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA

TV main source of news – and most trusted

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Oct-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that over 13 million Australians (65.6%) now say TV is a main source of news. This includes over 12.6 million (62.3%) who specifically nominate free-to-air TV. The internet is used as a main source of news by 11.7 million Australians (57.8%); social media is the leading source of online news, used by 7.5 million (36.7%). Printed newspapers are used by 6.3 million (31.1%) while 5.5 million (27.3%) mainly get their news via newspaper or other news websites or apps. Radio is nominated by 9.2 million Australians (45.5%) as a main news source. Meanwhile, TV is regarded as the most trusted source of news by nearly 7.5 million Australians (36.7%), followed by radio (15.9%), news and newspaper websites/apps (12.3%) and print newspapers (11.2%). Only 4.3% consider social media to be their most trusted source of news. This is in line with Roy Morgan’s research of "Trust" and "Distrust", which showed that social media is the least trusted media.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Glencore: AFR must remove articles

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Original article by Neil Chenoweth
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 11-Oct-18

Lawyers acting on behalf of Glencore have asked Fairfax Media to remove documents from its website which are claimed to be subject to legal privilege. The documents in question are associated with an article published by the "Australian Financial Review" with regard to Glencore’s restructuring of its Australian division in 2014, which is under scrutiny by the Australian Taxation Office. Fairfax has rejected suggestions that it has infringed on the miner’s legal rights.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, GLENCORE PLC, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION

It’s cricket, but not as we know it

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 19 : 10-Oct-18

Foxtel will broadcast 97 days of cricket during the 2018-19 summer, including exclusive coverage of some matches. The Fox Cricket channel was officially launched on 9 October, and to date Foxtel has secured eight premium sponsors for its cricket coverage. CEO Patrick Delany says live coverage will be advertisement-free, and ads will only be shown during lunch and tea breaks. Foxtel currently has about 5.4 million subscribers, while data from Roy Morgan shows that about 10 million Australians now have access to a Netflix subscription.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX CRICKET CHANNEL, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Ten lines up rebrand ahead of upfronts

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 8-Oct-18

The Ten Network is expected to release details of its strategy under new owner CBS Corporation at its annual "upfronts" on 31 October. Ten is preparing an overhaul of its branding, which is said to include minor changes to its logo and a repositioning of its digital channels with a view to targeting specific audiences. The network will also launch its Ten All Access subscription video-on-demand service later in 2018, while Ten is also establishing an in-house advertising sales team.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, CBS CORPORATION, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS