NEWSPAPER PUBLISHING – AUSTRALIA

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

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

Big tech urged to promote quality journalism

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Original article by Matthew Denholm
The Australian – Page: Online : 11-Sep-18

Attendees at the "Navigating the News" conference in Hobart heard Facebook and Google being urged to revise their algorithms to give quality journalism better treatment. Nicholas Gray, the CEO of "The Australian" told the conference that commercial news outlets needed to attract subscriptions in order to remain viable, but that Facebook and Google’s algorithms did not favour the quality stories that the outlets generate. Nic Hopkins from Google Australia and New Zealand said it was not its job to "censor" the internet.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Fairfax bets on merger as regionals hit profit

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 19 : 16-Aug-18

Fairfax Media has posted a 2017-18 net loss of $63.8m, compared with a $83.9m profit previously. The latest result was affected by writedowns associated with Fairfax’s regional newspapers and its New Zealand division, while revenue was down 2.8 per cent. Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood says the proposed merger with Nine Entertainment Company will allow the combined group to increase its audience reach and marketing inventory.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, STUFF LIMITED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Formal ACCC probe of Nine deal urged

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-Aug-18

Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance CEO Paul Murphy says the proposed merger between Nine Entertainment Company and Fairfax Media should be subject to a formal review by the competition regulator. He argues that an informal review is insufficient given the impact that the merger would have on the media sector. The MEAA’s media president Marcus Strom in turn says Nine and Fairfax should be required to submit detailed information on the merger’s impact on consumers and employees of the two companies.

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

Four out of five Australians continue to read newspapers

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Aug-18

Roy Morgan has released the latest readership results for Australian newspapers for the 12 months to June 2018. Over 16 million Australians aged 14+ (79.3%) now read or access newspapers in an average 7-day period via print or online, an increase of 3.3 per cent from a year ago. Four of Australia’s top five leading mastheads have grown their cross-platform audiences. "The Sydney Morning Herald" is still Australia’s most widely-read masthead, with a cross-platform audience of 4,279,000, up 1 per cent from a year ago. Meanwhile, "Good Weekend" remains Australia’s most widely-read newspaper inserted magazine, with print readership of 1,139,000 (down 10.3 per cent).

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Murdoch needs to get in quick to secure free-to-air TV stations

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 6-Aug-18

Media experts believe that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation will eventually bid for Seven West Media following the proposed Nine-Fairfax merger and Ten Network’s sale to CBS. However, News Corp would have to satisfy the "minimum voices" rule, which was not affected by cross-media ownership reforms in 2017. It requires major newspapers, TV stations and radio stations in metropolitan areas to be held by five different owners. A Murdoch bid for Seven would breach the "voices test" in Adelaide if a rival media company moved first by acquiring HT&E’s Australian Radio Network.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, CBS CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK PTY LTD, HT&E LIMITED – ASX HT1, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Nine could sell Fairfax’s NZ arm

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 6-Aug-18

Nine Entertainment Company has flagged the possibility of divesting assets such as Fairfax Media’s regional newspapers and its New Zealand business if the proposed $4.06bn merger proceeds. Nine CEO Hugh Marks has held an investor roadshow to pitch the merger deal, which has prompted speculation of further consolidation in the media sector. Seven West Media has advised that it sees no need to pursue mergers and acquisitions in response to the Nine-Fairfax deal.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, PRIVATE MEDIA PARTNERS PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE NEW DAILY, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NBN TELEVISION

Shotgun wedding a threat to independence, say journos

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Original article by Stephen Brook, John Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 6 : 27-Jul-18

Fairfax Media journalists have expressed concern about the long-term impact of the merger with Nine Entertainment Company on the newspaper publisher’s editorial independence. Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood and Nine counterpart Hugh Marks have given assurances that the two companies’ newsrooms will not be merged. The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance has warned that the deal will reduce media diversity and has urged the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to block it.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Fairfax-Nine merger to fight Facebook, Google

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Original article by Jemima Whyte, Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 19 : 27-Jul-18

Chris Stott of Wilson Asset Management estimates that the proposed $4.2bn merger between Nine Entertainment Company and Fairfax Media will generate cost and revenue synergies of at least $100m. The deal is the first since the changes to cross-media ownership laws, and there is speculation that there will be further consolidation in the sector. Nine Entertainment CEO Hugh Marks will head the new company, which will combine print and broadcasting assets, as well as the Stan streaming video service and a 60 per cent stake in the Domain real estate listings business.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TPG CAPITAL LP, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, THORNEY INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, AUSBIL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ISPT PTY LTD