MASS MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Coalition launches inquiry into ABC email revelations as chairman Justin Milne survives board talks

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Original article by Jennifer Duke
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 27-Sep-18

There is growing pressure for ABC chairman Justin Milne to resign in the wake of further revelations about the sacking of MD Michelle Guthrie. The federal government will investigate claims that Milne had asked Guthrie to sack the ABC’s chief economics correspondent Emma Alberici following a complaint from former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull about her political coverage. The media has reported that Milne had sent Guthrie an email stating that the government "hated" Alberici and that she must go. Labor has proposed a Senate inquiry into the revelations surrounding Guthrie’s dismissal, and it has accused the Coalition of political interference at the public broadcaster.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Crisis engulfs ABC chairman

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Original article by Darren Davidson, Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 27-Sep-18

ABC employees have held a meeting at the public broadcaster’s headquarters in Sydney, with more than 350 backing a resolution calling for chairman Justin Milne to resign. In addition to seeking the dismissal of Emma Alberici, it has been revealed that Milne had asked MD Michelle Guthrie to sack the ABC’s political editor Andrew Probyn following a meeting with Malcolm Turnbull. Milne has been defended by two fellow NBN board members, Ziggy Switkowski and Kerry Schott, who say there are no grounds for him to be removed from the ABC’s board.

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

Guthrie’s fear of looking like idiot

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Original article by Deborah Cornwall, Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 26-Sep-18

The ABC’s former MD Michelle Guthrie defended her performance in the role at a meeting on 13 September at which she was asked to resign. She told ABC chairman Justin Milne and board member Donny Walford that she had made much progress in a transformation program, including a restructuring that significantly cut the public broadcaster’s management ranks. Guthrie asked to be allowed to remain in the role for at least another year so she could complete the transformation program. She may pursue legal action over her sacking only halfway through her five-year term.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NEW CHAMBERS, JOHNSON WINTER AND SLATTERY, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Michelle Guthrie sacked from ABC managing director role halfway through term

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Original article by
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 25-Sep-18

ABC chairman Justin Milne says the leadership style of MD Michelle Guthrie contributed to the ABC board’s decision to sack her after less than three years in the role. Milne has stressed that the public broadcaster was not subject to any pressure from federal politicians to remove Guthrie, while Liberal Senator Eric Abetz says the ABC’s board should explain the reasons for her dismissal. The ABC will consider both internal and external candidates to replace Guthrie; the director of entertainment and specialist content, David Anderson, will become acting MD until a successor is appointed. Guthrie has indicated that she is considering her legal options.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SKY PLC, STAR TV

Sport can save free-to-air: Netflix founder

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Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 24-Sep-18

Marc Randolph, the co-founder of subscription video-on-demand giant Netflix, says commercial free-to-air TV networks must adapt to changes in how consumers view content. Randolph notes that consumers increasingly prefer to binge-watch content such as drama; he has also stressed the importance of live content such as sports for traditional broadcasters, noting that viewers have not yet embraced such content via Netflix. Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner says that while live content is important for TV broadcasters, general entertainment remains a key element of the Seven Network’s programming.

CORPORATES
NETFLIX INCORPORATED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, OVO MOBILE

4K AFL on Foxtel’s Netflix of sport

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Original article by David Swan
The Australian – Page: 19 : 21-Sep-18

Foxtel has advised that it will broadcast some Australian Football League matches in the 4K ultra-high-definition format during the 2019 season. Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany says one match per round is likely to be initially broadcast in the new format, with additional 4K coverage to be added as more of the high-definition cameras become available in Australia. Delany has also indicated that Foxtel will unveil details of a new sport-focused streaming video service in the next several months.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Stokes rejects ABC: I didn’t plot to oust PM

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Original article by Darren Davidson, Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 20-Sep-18

Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes has refuted suggestions that himself and fellow media magnate Rupert Murdoch had any role in the demise of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. The ABC has claimed in reports on its evening news bulletin and online that in the lead-up to the ousting of Turnbull, Murdoch told Stokes that Turnbull had to go. The reports were filed by the ABC’s national political editor, Andrew Probyn, who has previously worked for Seven West Media. Stokes says Probyn should therefore know that he does not engage in "speculative political gossip".

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, WEST AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS HOLDINGS LIMITED

Cash hit halts ABC’s ideas plan

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 17-Sep-18

The ABC has put the second round of its Grand Ideas Grant scheme on hold until 2019, in order to focus on delivering the first round of projects to be funded via the initiative. The public broadcaster announced the Great Ideas Grant scheme in March 2017, as part of its ABC Content Fund. To date the ABC has launched only four of the nine GIG projects that it announced in mid-2017, although another three are at the pilot stage. Several of the GIG projects have attracted criticism over claims that they provide similar content to that of the ABC’s commercial rivals.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, MAMAMIA.COM.AU PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, JUNKEE MEDIA PTY LTD, KINDERLING, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Nine Network (+ Stan) will close gap on Seven Network

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Sep-18

Research from Roy Morgan shows that almost 11.9 million Australians watch the Nine Network across broadcast and Catch Up platforms in an average week, while nearly 12.5 million watch the Seven Network and almost 11.3 million watch the ABC. Nine Entertainment’s merger with Fairfax Media will bring together two of Australia’s leading media companies, as well as their 50:50 joint venture subscription video-on-demand service Stan (which is watched by over 2 million Australians in an average four weeks). The merger will boost the combined viewership of Nine Entertainment platforms to over 12.2 million, within reach of the Seven Network. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says that although some have expressed concerns about the potential lessening of competition the merger may bring, the proliferation of competing Pay TV and SVOD services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube Premium, Fetch and others, suggests that competition in the viewing space is intensifying rather than reducing.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AMAZON PRIME, YOUTUBE PREMIUM, FETCHTV PTY LTD

Ex-media sales executive behind ad-ban campaign

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 14-Sep-18

Denise Shrivell has confessed to being behind a "influence campaign" to try to persuade advertisers to pull their business from Sky News. Shrivell has worked as a sales executive with both News Corp and Fairfax Media, and she currently runs a small consulting business called MediaScope. She says she has "strong personal views" about some of the content that Sky News airs. Shrivell has also been involved in similar campaigns against the Seven Network and broadcaster Alan Jones, while she has admitted to having contact with US internet activist Sleeping Giants.

CORPORATES
SKY NEWS,{SHARE}NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD,{SHARE}FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ,{SHARE}SLEEPING GIANTS,{SHARE}2GB,{SHARE}MEDIA SCOPE