NEWSPAPER PUBLISHING – AUSTRALIA

Think global, act local, Miller says

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 16-May-16

News Corp Australia executive chairman Michael Miller says the nation’s major media companies have the capacity to expand internationally. He adds that the best media companies think on a global scale, and notes that 11 of the 25 websites that boasted more than one million Australian visitors in March 2016 were international sites. The newly-launched News Media Index shows that newspaper advertising revenue totalled $A2.4bn in 2015.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, WEST AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER HOLDINGS LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, NEWSMEDIAWORKS, SMI MEDIA INCORPORATED, BUZZFEED PTY LTD, DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA, THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA

Murdoch’s clout the big query

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 36 : 16-May-16

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has traditionally been regarded as having a significant influence on the political landscape in Australia and abroad. However, some experts believe that the power of the Murdoch press to influence election outcomes is waning amid the rise of digital disruptors, and the 2016 federal election may reinforce this perception. Former News Limited CEO Kim Williams argues that all newspapers are losing their power to influence election outcomes.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, BUZZFEED PTY LTD, TWITTER INCORPORATED, LABOUR PARTY (GREAT BRITAIN), CONSERVATIVE PARTY (GREAT BRITAIN), UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, SKY NEWS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Publishers unite to spread the good word

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 11-May-16

A new report shows that the print and digital advertising revenue of Australia’s major news publishers fell by a lower-than-expected 6.7 per cent in 2015, to $A2.4bn. The News Media Index report outlines the advertising revenue of News Corp Australia, Fairfax Media, West Australian News­papers and APN News & Media, which account for around 90 per cent of the sector. Traditional media groups have been able to offset a decline in ad revenue with growth in digital subscriptions.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, WEST AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER HOLDINGS LIMITED, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, SMI MEDIA INCORPORATED, THE NEWSPAPER WORKS LIMITED, NEWSMEDIAWORKS, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD

‘Fairfax news business can survive’

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 11-May-16

Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood has stressed that the group is still primarily a media company rather than a digital real estate business. He is also confident that Fairfax’s news operations would be able to survive without the revenue contribution of the Domain property division. Fairfax’s revenue from its publishing operations has fallen by six per cent so far in the second half of 2015-16, while Domain’s revenue has grown by nine per cent.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, THE NEWSPAPER WORKS LIMITED, NEWSMEDIAWORKS, SMI MEDIA INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD

Fairfax journalists face investigation over strike

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Original article by Nick Toscano
The Age – Page: 24 : 5-May-16

The Fair Work Ombudsman has ordered Fairfax Media to provide it with the personal details of about 600 journalists who staged unprotected industrial action in mid-March 2016. The strike was prompted by Fairfax’s latest proposed round of redundancies. The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance is also subject to the compulsory order, and could a fine of up to $A54,000. Journalists could each be liable for fines of up to $A10,800 for unlawful industrial action.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Stop the presses: News and Fairfax in talks on sharing printing operations

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 25-Apr-16

Traditional rivals Fairfax Media and News Corp Australia are said to have commenced discussions on sharing newspaper printing and distribution facilities. The proposed alliance is expected to include both metropolitan and regional titles, with the latter widely seen to have the most potential to generate cost savings. However, Fairfax has a much earlier deadline for the print editions of its newspapers.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, THE NEWSPAPER WORKS LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Quantity is not quality in media revamp

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Original article by Greg Hywood
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 29-Mar-16

Fairfax Media’s latest round of redundancies will not affect its commitment to quality journalism. Fairfax currently boasts more than 700 journalists across its publications, including 520 at its three flagship newspapers. In contrast, "The Australian Financial Review" boasted just 25 journalists in 1976. Analysis shows that many articles published by Fairfax are read by only a handful of people, so the media group will use its editorial restructure to focus on stories that are of most interest to consumers.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, MELBOURNE PRESS CLUB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION, ESSENDON FOOTBALL CLUB

Hywood has ‘no plan’ says ex-Fairfax exec

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 23 & 25 : 21-Mar-16

A former editor-in-chief of "The Australian Financial Review", Glenn Burge, says Fairfax Media directors have not sufficiently questioned the strategy of CEO Greg Hywood. Burge says Fairfax lacks a plan to maintain its standards of journalism, and he has criticised Hywood for saying the latest round of job losses is necessary for the media group to keep delivering "high quality journalism". He also says Fairfax is too reliant on advice from consultants.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, BAIN AND COMPANY, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, PAGEMASTERS PTY LTD, DOMAIN.COM.AU

News pushes for full reform

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 9-Mar-16

News Corp CFO Bedi Singh has told a conference in the US that the Australian Government must abolish both the "reach rule" and the "two-of-three rule". The Australian Labor Party may oppose the latter, but Singh says abolishing both would provide consumers with greater choice. Singh also says the anti-siphoning list for sports broadcasts should also have been on the Government’s agenda for cross-media ownership reforms.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Kelly urges Nine-Fairfax mega-merger

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 23 : 7-Mar-16

Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood recently ruled out merging with Nine Entertainment Company if cross-media ownership laws are relaxed. However, Nine’s former CFO Simon Kelly believes that the media group should merge with both Fairfax and regional broadcaster Southern Cross Media. He argues that a three-way merger would create a multi-platform company with about 30 per cent of the advertising market and revenue of around $A4bn.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, OAKTREE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, TICKETEK