TELEVISION BROADCASTING OF NEWS – AUSTRALIA

ABC fields on protest coverage

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Original article by James Dowling
The Australian – Page: 2 : 1-Oct-24

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has lodged a complaint against the ABC over its coverage of Lebanon and Gaza solidarity protests in Sydney and Melbourne on Sunday. Its complaint related to multiple live crosses from the Sydney protest and an evening package covering the Melbourne rally, with the package of the Melbourne rally criticised for not telling viewers that Hezbollah is a registered terrorist organisation, or for mentioning the display of Hezbollah flags at the rally. In its response to criticism of the package covering the Melbourne rally, the ABC noted it was the third of three stories on the events in Lebanon commissioned for 7pm news bulletins, and that the earlier stories had provided full context on the conflict.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN JEWRY

‘Grey-BC’: most viewers of 7pm news are over 55

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Original article by Mark Di Stefano
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 17-Jul-23

The ABC’s internal data shows that audiences for its news and current affairs programs are heavily skewed toward older people. More than 80 per cent of people who watch its evening news bulletin are aged 55+, and two-thirds are over the age of 65; in contrast, less than eight per cent of viewers are below the age of 40. Likewise, 75 per cent of the average audience for Q&A is aged 55+ and 70 per cent of Insiders’ viewers are over the age of 55. A spokesman for the ABC contends that the audience shift to older viewers for TV news content is an industry-wide trend; he adds that the ABC’s digital news service is popular among younger audiences.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Australian TV news presenters still mostly white, report shows, sparking row over balance

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Original article by Mostafa Rachwani
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 23-Nov-22

A new report highlights the lack of diversity among Australian television news and current affairs presenters. The report from Media Diversity Australia shows that 78 per cent of TV journalists have an Anglo-Celtic background, up from 75.8 per cent in 2020; meanwhile, people from a non-European background account for just 6.1 per cent of appearances on news and current affairs programs, despite comprising 24.7 per cent of the nation’s population. The report is based on a sample of free-to-air news and current affairs programs over a two-week period in June. The ABC’s Gavin Fang says the sample size was not large enough, while restricting it to one media format is also a shortcoming.

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MEDIA DIVERSITY AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

ABC criticised for massive coverage of Queen’s death

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Original article by George Hyde
The New Daily – Page: Online : 16-Sep-22

The ABC has defended its broadcast and online coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s death, amid claims that it has been excessive. Former ABC broadcaster Quentin Dempster says that while there is strong residual regard for the Queen as Australia’s head of state, her death is not the top story at the moment; he argues that climate change is the biggest story, followed by the war in Ukraine and the potential threat of nuclear war. The ABC will have 29 employees in Britain for its coverage of the Queen’s funeral, although this includes two Europe-based correspondents who are also reporting on other stories.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Sky News Australia denies broadcasting Covid misinformation, saying YouTube is totalitarian

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Original article by Amanda Meade
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 7-Sep-21

Sky News Australia CEO Paul Whittaker says he does not accept the suggestion that it "directly or indirectly" promoted misinformation about COVID-19. Whittaker was appearing before the Senate’s media diversity inquiry, and was responding to a question by Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. Commenting on the decision by YouTube to remove 23 Sky News videos on the grounds that they breached its medical misinformation policies, Whittaker accused YouTube of being "totalitarian".

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SKY NEWS, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED

Lachlan Murdoch asked to appear at parliamentary inquiry into YouTube’s suspension of Sky News Australia

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Original article by Amanda Meade
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 2-Sep-21

A Senate committee has invited News Corporation’s co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch to appear before an inquiry into media diversity. The inquiry has been reconvened in the wake of a recent move by YouTube to temporarily suspend Sky News Australia content from its platform for allegedly breaching its Covid misinformation policy. Sky News CEO Paul Whittaker and presenters Alan Jones, Rita Panahi and Rowan Dean have also been asked to front the inquiry. YouTube executive Leslie Miller will also appear before the inquiry.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SKY NEWS, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED

Sky News numbers boom in crisis

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 17 : 19-Jul-21

Sky News Australia CEO Paul Whittaker says many viewers have discovered the pay-TV group’s content during the pandemic and continued to watch it. He notes that a growing number of viewers are accessing Sky News content via digital platforms rather than Foxtel. An online survey undertaken by Hoop Group shows that Sky News videos were viewed 95.6 million times on YouTube in June, a year-on-year increase of 248 per cent, while viewership on Facebook rose by 170 per cent. Sky News now boasts over 1.8 million YouTube subscribers and more than 1.1 million Facebook followers.

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SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, HOOP GROUP, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

WIN News axes local bulletins, sacks staff

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 25-May-21

Regional broadcaster WIN Corporation will replace local news bulletins with state-wide bulletins in Victoria and Queensland when its new affiliation agreement with Nine Entertainment begins on 1 July. WIN CEO Andrew Lancaster says the move will result in job losses, although the company aims to redeploy as many affected employees as possible. Nine will close its own regional newsrooms when its five-year affiliation deal with Southern Cross Austereo ends.

CORPORATES
WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SOUTHERN CROSS AUSTEREO PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL

Are the Murdochs preparing to unleash Fox News on Australia?

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 12-Apr-21

Revelations that Fox Media LLC has sought to register the Fox News International trademark in Australia has prompted speculation that the Murdoch family will add content from US cable channel Fox News to its local streaming services. The Fox News International streaming app is now available in 30 countries, following its launch in Mexico in August. Fox News is currently broadcast on Foxtel, but making it available via streaming would increase its local reach. News Corp is said to be planning to launch a news-focused streaming service called NewsFlash later in 2021.

CORPORATES
FOX CORPORATION, FOX MEDIA LLC, FOX NEWS INTERNATIONAL, FOX NEWS CHANNEL, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

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.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION