NEWSPAPER PUBLISHING

The Murdochs are stuck in a multibillion-dollar family feud. The empire they’re fighting over is flourishing

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Original article by
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 4-Jun-25

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch will pursue an appeal against a Nevada court’s ruling in late 2024 which blocked his bid to change the terms of a family trust. However, the Murdoch family’s in-fighting over the future control of their media empire appears to have had little impact on News Corp and Fox Corp. Fox’s market capitalisation has risen to around $US24bn ($37bn), despite the growing shift from both cable and broadcast TV to streaming services; the 2019 decision to sell its general entertainment assets and focus on news and sport has paid off. Likewise, News Corp’s share price has risen by nearly 50 per cent in the last two years, although Jason Bazinet of Citigroup contends that this is due largely to assets such as its stake in REA Group rather than its newspaper and book publishing assets.

CORPORATES
FOX CORPORATION, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA

Rupert Murdoch steps down as chairman of Fox Corporation and News Corp

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Original article by Liana Walker
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 22-Sep-23

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch says the time is right for him to take on new roles at News Corp and Fox Corp. The 92-year-old has advised that he will formally step down as chairman of both companies at their AGMs in November. Murdoch will become Chairman Emeritus at both companies, and he emphasises that he will continue to take an active role in the "contest of ideas" at the media groups. His son Lachlan Murdoch will become the sole chairman of News Corp and continue in his role as executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corp. Rupert Murdoch says both himself and the companies he founded are in "robust health". However, he warns that the battle for freedom of speech and freedom of thought has never been more intense.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX CORPORATION

Activist investor aims to scuttle Murdoch’s $39b megamerger

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Original article by Elizabeth Knight
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 23-Nov-22

Irenic Capital owns two per cent of News Corporation’s Class B shares. The activist investor opposes Rupert Murdoch’s proposal to merge News Corp and Fox Corp, warning that reunifying the two companies would be expensive and distracting. He has written to the committee of News Corp directors that is assessing the merger proposal, urging them to recommend not proceeding with the deal. Irenic instead is of the view that News Corp should spin off its real estate assets, which include a 61 per cent stake in realestate.com.au owner REA Group.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX CORPORATION, IRENIC CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, REALESTATE.COM.AU

Big Digital shift finally under way, says News

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 19 : 9-Oct-19

News Corporation’s CEO Robert Thomson says digital platforms are starting to direct revenue to companies that produce original news content. He expects the flow of revenue to content producers will increase in coming years, which will benefit media companies and their shareholders. News Corp Australia recently struck a deal to be the exclusive local provider of news content for Apple’s News+ subscription service.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, APPLE INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Stop the copycats: Murdoch targets tech titans

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Original article by Stephen Drill
The Australian – Page: 17 : 20-Jun-19

News Corporation’s co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch has stressed the importance of investing in journalism for the global media group. He also warned that many news websites merely copy other publishers’ stories rather than producing their own content, and digital search platforms should recognise this and give prominence to companies that invest in journalism. Murdoch also said News Corp will be a growth business after selling the bulk of its entertainment assets to Disney.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SKY NEWS, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, REALESTATE.COM.AU, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, WPP PLC

Lachlan could reunite Murdoch family empire

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 25-Mar-19

Lachlan Murdoch has taken over as CEO of Fox Corporation, while he remains co-chairman of News Corporation. There is speculation that he may seek to re-combine the two Murdoch family businesses, but any action on this front would be unlikely to occur for at least another two years. Like his father Rupert, Lachlan Murdoch is regarded as being passionate about publishing; he began his involvement with News Corp at the age of 16 when he cleaned printing presses in Queensland.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX CORPORATION, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED

Murdoch backed over Facebook fees

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 22 : 29-Jan-18

There is growing support in Australia and abroad for Rupert Murdoch’s proposal for digital companies such as Facebook and Google to pay for the news content that they redistribute. Nine Entertainment Company CEO Hugh Marks says the issue needs to be addressed urgently, adding that there are several other options that are worth considering. Murdoch’s proposal has also received a favourable response from NewsMediaWorks CEO Peter Miller, WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell and North America’s News Media Alliance.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NEWSMEDIAWORKS, WPP PLC, NEWS MEDIA ALLIANCE, FEDERATION OF GERMAN NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

Publishers back Murdoch’s fee model

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 15 & 18 : 24-Jan-18

NewsMediaWorks CEO Peter Miller has welcomed a proposal by Rupert Murdoch for Facebook to pay a "carriage fee" for republishing media content such as newspaper articles. Miller is confident that members of NewsMediaWorks, which include major media companies, will also support the proposal. Murdoch says carriage fees would recognise the value of quality news content to Facebook while having little impact on its profits. Murdoch adds that Facebook and Google must do more to ensure that the selection of news stories that appear on their websites is politically impartial.

CORPORATES
NEWSMEDIAWORKS, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, WEST AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS HOLDINGS LIMITED, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Google, Facebook exert dominance

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 6-Nov-17

Google and Facebook increased their average revenue per user by 10.6 per cent over the June quarter, as the two companies continue their dominance of digital advertising revenue. However, some traditional media publishers were able to lift their revenue per user, including Fairfax Media, "The New York Times", and Dow Jones, which publishes the "Wall Street Journal". News Corp CEO Robert Thomson, which owns Dow Jones, says it is pleasing that Google at least is beginning to show a willingness to support traditional journalism.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY, DOW JONES AND COMPANY, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Ad market is ‘dysfunctional’

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 21 : 8-Dec-16

News Corporation CEO Robert Thomson has told the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference that advertisers and ad agencies should reassess the state of the ad market. He noted that it has become dysfunctional in the wake of recent issues such as the use of inaccurate online ad measurement data and fake news stories being published on websites. Thomson also noted that the circulation revenue of some of its flagship newspapers has risen, despite falling ad revenue.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, UBS AG, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, REALTOR.COM