PUBLIC BROADCASTING – AUSTRALIA

Business brains bolster ABC board

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 19 : 17-May-21

Media industry veteran Peter Tonagh is one of three new appointments to the ABC’s board. The former CEO of Foxtel was recommended by the public broadcaster’s independent nominations panel, as was the former MD of the Seven Network’s Perth station, Mario D’Orazio. Communications Minister Paul Fletcher personally chose Fiona Balfour to fill the third vacancy on the ABC’s board; she has extensive experience across a range of business sectors. All three will have five-year terms at the ABC.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

‘Completely excluded’: budget delivers $58.6m to media but ABC misses out

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Original article by Amanda Meade
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 13-May-21

Former ABC bureaucrat Michael Ward has criticised the lack of funding for the public broadcaster in the federal government’s May 2021 Budget. He contends that the ABC is among the few media companies that are excluded from the $58.6m funding package. Amongst other things, SBS will receive a $30m funding boost, some $8m has been allocated to community broadcasting and the privately-owned AAP newswire service will receive $15m. The Australian Communications & Media Authority will receive an additional $4.2m to implement the news media bargaining code.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

ABC regrets unfairness in finance probes

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 19 : 26-Apr-21

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has criticised the ABC over a lack of balance in its business and economic reporting. It has been revealed that Bragg wrote to the public broadcaster in March to complain about its coverage of the federal government’s proposed changes to responsible lending laws. He contends that the article failed to present the government’s reasons for the legislative changes. The ABC has conceded that the article should have been more balanced. It has also recently corrected a series of reports about the alleged rorting of the JobKeeper scheme.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Fletcher rules out sacking Buttrose over ABC investigation

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 14-Dec-20

The ABC continues to attract scrutiny in the wake of a controversial ‘Four Corners’ report on the personal lives of two federal government ministers. However, Communications Minister Paul Fletcher has refuted suggestions that the government could sack ABC chair Ita Buttrose, stating that he has confidence in the way she is handling a "challenging and very important job". Fletcher has also defended his decision to send a letter to the ABC board in late November querying the decision to broadcast the news story in question.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Federal police drop case against ABC journalist

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 7 : 16-Oct-20

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions will not take legal action against ABC journalist Daniel Oakes over a series of reports known as ‘The Afghan Files’. The CDPP has deemed that the public interest does not require a prosecution in the case of Oakes; the Australian Federal Police has subsequently advised that its investigation into allegations that Oakes obtained classified information has been closed. ABC MD David Anderson says the matter should never have gone as far as it did.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

ABC indulged ‘activist agenda’, says V’landys

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Original article by Kieran Gair
The Australian – Page: 7 : 15-Oct-20

Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys has given evidence in his defamation lawsuit against the ABC and one of its journalists. The case centres on a story that appeared on the ‘7.30’ current affairs program in October 2019; it featured an interview with V’landys that was spliced with graphic footage of retired racehorses being killed at a Queensland abattoir. V’landys claimed that the story "pandered to an activist agenda" and alleges that the ABC failed to make it clear that he has no jurisdiction over racehorses in Queensland. V’landys is seeking aggravated damages.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, RACING NSW

ABC, SBS under threat in regional areas

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 18-Sep-20

Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor has become involved in a dispute between the nation’s public broadcasters and Regional Broadcasters Australia. The dispute, over maintenance and repair charges for broadcast equipment, has resulted in more than 400 residents in the New South Wales town of Goulburn not being able to access the ABC or SBS. Taylor, whose electorate of Hume covers Goulburn, says many of these residents are elderly and depend on the ABC and SBS for news and information. He has asked the ABC, SBS and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher to try to find a solution to the dispute.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), REGIONAL BROADCASTERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

ABC joins calls for tech titans to pay for news

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 7 : 9-Jul-20

The ABC’s MD David Anderson has used a National Press Club speech to argue that the public broadcaster should be included in a revenue-sharing agreement with digital companies such as Google and Facebook. He said this revenue could be reinvested in public interest journalism. Anderson also contended that the ABC provides "great value" in return for its annual budget of more than $1bn. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s draft mandatory code for digital companies is expected to be released by the end of July.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Feds eye charges for ABC reporter

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 3 : 3-Jul-20

A spokesman for Attorney-General Christian Porter has declined to comment on the Australian Federal Police’s decision to refer an ABC journalist for possible prosecution. The AFP has forwarded a brief of evidence to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions following a two-year investigation into the ‘Afghan Files’ case. However, the brief only names one of the ABC journalists responsible for the series of reports, Dan Oakes. Porter would have to approve any decision to prosecute Oakes, and he has previously stated that he would be unlikely to authorise the prosecution of journalists for publishing classified information.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

ABC axes flagship roles for digital

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Original article by Steve Jackson
The Australian – Page: 7 : 25-Jun-20

About 70 jobs in the ABC’s news division will be cut under the five-year plan, as the public broadcaster shifts its focus to digital on on-demand content. This will result in a significant reduction in original reporting produced by its current affairs programs. The ABC’s news analysis and investigations teams will also be scaled back, while the position of chief economics correspondent is expected to be axed. ABC News director Gaven Morris has confirmed that fewer new episodes of ‘Australian Story’ and ‘Foreign Correspondent’ will be produced due to the budget cuts.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION