NEWSPAPER PUBLISHING – AUSTRALIA

News Corp and Fairfax need to take notice of Robert Gottliebsen

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Original article by Michele Levine, Gary Morgan, Julian McCrann, Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Aug-17

Last week the Roy Morgan State of the Nation Media Report showed clearly that although traditional media face considerable challenges, their core product is not broken. In an age of "Fake News" a clear opportunity is available for established media players to exploit the huge "trust" advantages they hold over social media. Many newspaper and magazine publishers have large audiences still engaged with their publications. Advertisers will use "print" as it is a "trusted" media – the print media needs to aggressively "challenge" advertisers using solely digital platforms such as Google and Facebook with now almost 50% of the advertising dollar.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

We’re reluctant to pay for online news

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 14-Aug-17

A survey of 2,000 Australians by Deloitte has found that 90 per cent of respondents are not willing to pay for news due to the wealth of content that is available online for free. However, the sixth annual Media Consumer Survey also found that the issue of "fake news" is a concern for 65 per cent of respondents. Meanwhile, the survey shows that the proportion of respondents who cite social media as a primary news source has fallen from 18 per cent to 14 per cent, while 53 per cent of respondents rated television advertising as having either a high or medium influence on their purchasing decisions.

CORPORATES
DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ

It’s Official: Sydney Morning Herald is still Australia’s most widely read masthead and Australians continue to embrace the shift to digital news

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Aug-17

Roy Morgan Research has released the latest Readership report for Australian Newspapers for the 12 months to June 2017. Some 12,913,000 Australians aged 14+ (64.8 per cent) now read or access newspapers in an average 7-day period either in print, or online via website or app. This is virtually unchanged from a year ago. While cross-platform audiences are steady, the latest results show that growing numbers of Australians are choosing to consume their news via digital platforms rather than through the traditional print format. Over the past 12 months nine of Australia’s leading mastheads have increased their digital readership, while only three have increased their print readership. "The Sydney Morning Herald" is the most widely-read masthead, with cross-platform readership of 4,235,000, up 3.8 per cent from a year ago; the increase was driven by an increase in digital readership that more than offset the loss of print readers.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

News engages giants on subscriptions play

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Original article by Darren Davidson, Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 21 : 26-Jul-17

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller has told the Melbourne Press Club that News Corp is holding talks regarding a subscription-based model for access to its content on Facebook and Google. Miller added that media companies must accept some responsibility for loss of revenue due to their policy of making online content available for free. He also stressed News Corp’s commitment to quality local journalism.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, SKY NEWS, AUSTRALIAN NEWS CHANNEL PTY LTD, MELBOURNE PRESS CLUB

Fairfax steps up Domain hard sell

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Original article by Scott Murdoch
The Australian – Page: 24 : 10-Jul-17

Domain is losing market share to REA Group in some markets, which may make it harder for Fairfax Media directors to convince shareholders to back a proposed demerger of the property listings business. Demergers also have a chequered history in Australia. Analysis by Credit Suisse in 2015 shows that spin-offs generally perform well in their first six months as a separately-listed company, while there is typically no significant benefit for shareholders of the parent company during this period.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, TRADE ME GROUP LIMITED – ASX TME, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, NZME LIMITED – ASX NZM, AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK PTY LTD, ADSHEL PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC, PAPERLINX LIMITED – ASX PPX, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, CSR LIMITED – ASX CSR, RINKER GROUP LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGR, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, TPG CAPITAL LP, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD

Fairfax dives as suitors vanish

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 4-Jul-17

Fairfax Media has advised that its 2016-17 EBITDA will be within the range of $A262m to $A266m, compared with $A283.3m previously. Group revenue will be six per cent lower, although the Domain property listings business has posted revenue growth of 10 per cent. Fairfax shares fell sharply on 3 July after the media group ended talks with private equity suitors TPG Capital and Hellman & Friedman. Fairfax will now proceed with the demerger of Domain before the end of 2017, although it will retain a majority stake.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, TPG CAPITAL LP, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, ONTARIO TEACHERS’ PENSION PLAN, CCZ STATTON EQUITIES PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Private equity walks away from Fairfax

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Original article by Max Mason, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 3-Jul-17

TPG Capital will not proceed with a $A2.7bn bid for Fairfax Media after undertaking due diligence. Rival private equity suitor Hellman & Friedman had not submitted a binding bid by the deadline of 30 June, and Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood has indicated that the media group will now press ahead with its proposal to spin off the Domain property listings business. Thorney Investment Group chairman Alex Waislitz supports the demerger plan, and he has previously forecast that Domain’s EBITDA could rise from around $A115m at present to at least $A200m in the future.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TPG CAPITAL LP, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, DOMAIN.COM.AU, THORNEY INVESTMENT GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Fairfax digs in over Singleton bid

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 19 : 20-Jun-17

Fairfax Media will not allow businessmen John Singleton and Mark Carnegie to undertake due diligence on Macquarie Media, in which it holds a 54.5 per cent stake. Singleton and Carnegie, who collectively own more than 40 per cent of Macquarie, recently advised Fairfax that they are keen to acquire the radio stations group. Fairfax suitors TPG Capital and Hellman & Friedman are primarily interested in the target’s Domain property listings business.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, TPG CAPITAL LP, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, DOMAIN.COM.AU, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Formal bids for Fairfax due in next fortnight with Domain the target

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 19-Jun-17

Hellman & Friedman and TPG Capital may seek more time to undertake due diligence on Fairfax Media, although they may submit formal bids by the end of June. Fairfax has also advised that businessmen John Singleton and Mark Carnegie have expressed interest in acquiring its controlling stake in radio stations owner Macquarie Media. They had previously made an approach to buy Fairfax’s radio assets in 2012.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, TPG CAPITAL LP, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, 2GB, 3AW SOUTHERN CROSS RADIO PTY LTD, DOMAIN.COM.AU, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, GILBERT AND TOBIN LAWYERS, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

GetUp! to pay for journalist’s tax expose

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 9-Jun-17

It has been revealed that activist group GetUp is helping to finance an investigation by journalist Michael West into alleged tax avoidance by large multinationals. GetUp’s deputy chair Carla McGrath was recently appointed to the Australia Press Council’s board, a decision that has caused some controversy and prompted News Corp’s newspapers to boycott any Council hearings in which she participates. Concerns have been raised that McGrath may be involved in hearing complaints against companies that West is investigating.

CORPORATES
GETUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ESSENTIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS PTY LTD, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY