Media cancer reaches NSW North Coast

News Corp has now acquired a 14.99 per cent interest in APN News & Media which owns a number of print and digital newspaper publications on the NSW North Coast and elsewhere in Australia and New Zealand, including some of this region's oldest mastheads such as The Daily Examiner and The Northern Star.

This percentage of ordinary shares not only makes it a substantial shareholder, it is likely to place News Corp (and Murdoch family interests) in the top three* shareholders in this media company.

There is no way of softening this - basically any hope of editorial independence and unbiased reporting continuing into the future has all but disappeared for most of our local media, along with the possibility of retaining any genuine local viewpoint on contentious social, environmental or political issues.

Two years from now what newsagent delivery vans throw onto people's front lawns will more than likely be a poor man's version of that Sydney rag The Daily Telegraph.

News Corp Builds Its Investment in APN News and Media, 18 March 2015

* The Daily Examiner reported on 19 March that News Corp was in fact now APN's largest shareholder.

News Corp masthead accuses rival media outlets of "co-opting readers into group think"

On 3 January 2015 The Australian decided it was time to give its readers the chance to laugh at the editorial staff by accusing others of its own journalistic sins:

This may come as a surprise to @JohnQuiggin but we love a contest of ideas. And we’d love to see the same ethos alive at other media outlets. We’d take great delight if controversial, unorthodox views were to be found on a regular basis on, say, Fairfax websites or the ABC. Sadly, with few exceptions, the editorial policy appears to be more about co-opting readers into groupthink, the enemy of rigorous, informative and productive public debate. Memo to the ABC’s Mark Scott and Greg Hywood at Fairfax Media: Journalism is not sociology.

Rupert Murdoch not squatting as securely on top of the News Corp dung heap?

The number of News Corp shareholders who do not unconditionally ‘love’ Rupert Murdoch appears to be growing if the 14 November 2014 statement to the United States Securities And Exchange Commission is any indication.

An estimated 31.30% of all eligible voters (or around 7 million more voters than last year) didn’t want Rupert Murdoch on the board of the company he inherited from his father, while 31.17% and 33.05% respectively didn’t want his sons Lachlan and James as directors either.

An estimated 46.05% of all eligible voters supported the dismantling of the dual class capital structure which reportedly gives Murdoch interests 39% of the company votes although his family owns about 15% of the equity.

* Broker Non Votes are: shares are held in a brokerage account, your broker is obligated to vote your shares as instructed by you. If you don’t give voting instructions to your broker, your broker’s ability to vote your shares depends on whether the item is “routine” or “non-routine.” The New York Stock Exchange decides whether an item is “routine” or “non-routine.”

Under the New York Stock Exchange rules, brokers may vote on “routine” items in their discretion on behalf of any customers who do not furnish voting instructions within 10 days of the annual meeting. With respect to “non-routine” items that come before the annual meeting for a vote, brokers would not be able to vote at all without first receiving voting instructions from their customers.

A broker “non-vote” occurs when the broker does not vote on a proposal because it is a non-routine item and the broker’s customer has not provided voting instructions. These broker “non-votes” would not be considered in the calculation of the majority of the votes cast and therefore would have no effect on the vote with respect to a non-routine item. [New York Stock Exchange]

** Dual Class Stock is: the issuing of various types of shares by a single company. A dual class stock structure can consist of stocks such as Class A and Class B shares, and where the different classes have distinct voting rights and dividend payments. Two share classes are typically issued: one share class is offered to the general public, and the other is offered to company founders, executives and family. The class offered to the general public has limited voting rights, while the class available to founders and executives has more voting power and often provides a majority control of the company.[Investopedia]

The 73 million reasons why the Abbott Government is intent on crushing public broadcasting in Australia

American media mogul Rupert Murdoch and News Corp made no secret of the fact that they supported the Liberal-National Coalition gaining federal government and backed Tony Abbott's bid for prime ministership in the September 2013 Australian federal election.

This support was enthusiastically and sometimes crudely expressed:

www.reddit.com

In his turn Tony Abbott has kept his close links with News Corp since he became prime minister: for example attempting to change the racial discrimination act after a News Corp journalist was found to have breached this act; briefing Rupert Murdoch personally before informing his cabinet of a major policy initiative; attending The Daily Telegraph post-budget party; and  informing The Daily Telegraph before his parliamentary colleagues of changes to data retention policy.

In the Abbott Government's first budget this 'alliance' with Rupert Murdoch continued – funding cuts and loss of a media platform befell public broadcasting which co-incidentally happens to be a major player on the Australian media scene:

The full extent of the ABC threat to News Corp isn't clear until you closely examine their competing activities.

First there's television, and the years-long saga of the ABC's Asia Pacific service, a national vanity project costing tens of millions a year, which the Howard government begged Jonathan Shier to take on in 2001. After the ABC began producing a reasonable, if low-cost, service, News coveted it for Sky News (of which News Corp has an interest via its holding in one-third owner BSkyB) to improve its international clout at taxpayer expense and tried twice, in 2005 and 2010, to win it, getting knocked back both times, although for very different reasons the second time around.

Then there's ABC News 24, a direct rival to Sky News itself and to News Corp's half-owned Foxtel, which carries Sky News. News 24 reaches about 14% of metropolitan audiences a week, far ahead of Sky News.

And free-to-air: Lachlan Murdoch's Ten Network has been regularly losing its third spot in the evening television ratings to the ABC. The ABC pointed out yesterday that it had lifted its prime-time share to a 14.6 share, up 1 percentage point from 2012 and the best performance of any free-to-air network this year. Ten's share fell and in fact spent all of 2013 behind the ABC, consigning it to fourth in metro markets, while its regional performance was even worse. ABC management has simply outclassed Lachlan's conga line of executives. The former head of ABC TV, Kim Dalton, was behind the suite of programs that enabled the ABC to have programs that viewers wanted to watch when Ten imploded in August of 2012, and continued to slide this year. Lachlan Murdoch has removed two CEOs and is now on his third in three years. Ten's problems are as much his problems as those of the poor decision making by former management.

Lachlan Murdoch also slashed and burnt the previous Ten management's carefully developed news and current affairs presence, at a time when the ABC was strengthening its position as the most trusted source of news for Australians across radio and television, far ahead of commercial broadcasters and newspapers — with News Corp's increasingly biased mastheads bringing up the rear as Australia's least-trusted newspapers.

"Plainly there are good leaks involving government secrets, which embarrass the ALP, and bad leaks, which make life difficult for the Coalition."

The ABC's online iView service is also a threat. It's now the most popular TV replay source online, and it competes directly, and for free, with Foxtel.

ABC Radio also competes directly with Lachlan's DMG radio stations in each state capital; Nova FM only beats the ABC's metropolitan local stations in Brisbane and Perth. And ABC Radio is planning a development that will not be greeted warmly by News or Ten or DMG Australia. Fairfax won't be happy either. In an email to staff two weeks ago, ABC Radio head Kate Dundas revealed that, among a long list of changes and new ideas, were state-based online news editions planned for 2014, a new e-mag for Radio National, a huge revamp of the Triple J Dig multiplatform, and a second online music stream for Classic FM.

Probably the most important will be the first version of the ABC audio player — the audio equivalent of iView. Podcasts for programs such as Conversations (which attracts hundreds of thousands of listeners a month) and RN programs will move to this new player site. ABC Radio Multiplatform also has a lot planned for 2014, with mobile versions of key sites like ABC Rural, Dig Music and ABC Local news sites.

The suspicion arises that Tony Abbott will increase pressure on the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) whilst he has the power to do so. 

Given that on 20 August 2014 Crikey.com.au revealed a further motive for this pressure - the parlous state of News Corp in Australia:

Combined with the sharp earnings drop already reported in 2013-14, and with circulation and advertising revenues continuing to decline, the accounts suggest News Corp's Australian newspapers, including the national, metro and regional publications, will struggle to break even this financial year.

The confidential operating accounts for News Corp Australia have never been seen by investors and provide a detailed picture of a print business in rapid decline, with swingeing cost-cuts, cover price increases, new digital subscriptions and digital advertising failing to make up for the loss of revenues from advertising and circulation……

The accounts were produced last year just as Murdoch spun off his troubled print media assets worldwide from the profitable Fox film and cable television empire in the United States, in the wake of the UK phone-hacking scandal.

News Corp was spun out on June 28, 2013, from the renamed 21st Century Fox, and houses mastheads including The Wall Street Journal and New York Post in the US, the Times and Sun in the UK, News' Australian newspapers, plus book publisher Harper Collins, Foxtel and Fox Sports in Australia, and a 62% stake in ASX-listed REA Group, which operates the successful realestate.com.au website

Listed on the NASDAQ and the ASX, News Corporation, valued at $11 billion, goes to considerable lengths to avoid breaking revenue or earnings down by country or masthead, lumping its worldwide newspaper operations plus other businesses together into the "news and information" segment, which accounts for 71% of the group's total revenue, and only offering finer detail selectively.

Crikey can reveal that, amid a forest of negative brackets, revenue from News Corp's Australian newspapers fell 14% to $1.9 billion in 2012-13, with circulation revenue dropping 5% and advertising revenue falling 18%, while operating income fell 67% to $94 million.

Within the division, The Australian stands out as the worst performer: revenues dropped 20% from $135 million to 108 million in 2012-13, while operating income fell 41% from a loss of $19 million to a loss of $27 million. After depreciation, the masthead's operating loss fell to $30 million.

The profit drop in newspapers was only partly offset by growth in other operations like REA Group and Fox Sports, with total operating income falling 38% to $221 million. After income from investments including Foxtel, the group recorded a total profit before interest or tax of $367 million, down 28%.....

the heavy falls in print have continued if not accelerated through 2013-14. This is confirmed in News Corp's most recent quarterly earnings update and annual report, showing the Australian newspapers are dragging on recovering newspaper operations in the US and UK, as well as divisions reporting profit growth, such as book publishing.

News reported that earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation from Australian newspapers fell by US $67 million in 2013-14, or $73 million — which by Crikey's estimate represents roughly an 80% fall on the previous year, nearly wiping out the division's entire operating income. The division dragged heavily on the news and information segment, which reported a 16% drop in EBITDA in 2013-14.

The operating accounts show Melbourne's Herald Sun was the mainstay of News Corp in Australia, with the weekday paper generating revenues of $250 million in 2012-13, down 13.5% on the year before, and operating income of $35 million, down 41%. Revenue for the Sunday edition fell 17% to $75 million, while operating income fell 31% to $21 million.

Of the major tabloids the weekday edition of News' monopoly masthead in Brisbane, The Courier-Mail, suffered the steepest falls, with revenue dropping 18% to $158 million while operating income fell 68% to just $17 million. The Sunday Mail revenues fell 15% to $71 million and operating income fell 33% to $20 million.

The weekday edition of Sydney's Daily Telegraph was another weak performer, with the lowest profit margins at 5%, with revenue dropping 14% to $160 million while operating income fell 65% to just $8 million. The Sunday Telegraph revenues fell 15% to $94 million and operating income fell 53% to $7 million.

At that level Adelaide's Advertiser's weekday editions alone made a much stronger contribution than the Tele in 2012-13, generating revenues of $138 million (down 15%) and operating income of $22 million (down 47%) — without counting the Sunday Mail.

The financial performance of the newspapers has only worsened. In its latest accounts News Corp revealed that overall revenue from the Australian newspapers had fallen by another 18% or US $359 million in 2013-14, compared with the previous year, made up of US $314 million decline in advertising revenue and a US $45 million decline in circulation revenue. Of that, News said US $199 million — a bit over half — reflected the impact of a weaker Australian dollar versus the greenback, which pointed to an 8% decline in revenue in local currency to below $1.8 billion. [my red bolding]

Crikey.com.au 21 August 2014:

Adding the two divisions, to make the comparison easier, circulation revenue at Fairfax grew 13% to $327 million in 2012-13, and another 1% to $331 million in 2013-14. Ad revenue fell 18% in 2012-13 to $1,022 million, and another 15% to $869 million the year after. Total revenue fell 11% to $1,507 million in 2012-13, and another 12 % to $1,333 million in 2013-14. There was a moderate improvement in profitability, however, with EBITDA rising 3% to $269 million in 2012-13 and 1% to $273 million in 2013-14.

In 2012-13, Fairfax's Metro Media division recorded a 17% increase in circulation revenue to $222 million. Advertising revenue fell 21% to $634 million. Total revenue fell 12% to $996 million. In the Regional Media division, circulation revenue fell 4% to $98 million, ad revenue fell 13% to $388 million, and total revenue fell 10% to $511 million. EBITDA at the Metros fell 26% to $76 million and in Regional it fell 16% to $133 million.

In 2013-14, ignoring the restructure of Regional Media into Australian Community Media, the corresponding figures were as follows: Metro Media circulation revenue grew 9% to $228 million while ad revenue fell 14% to $460 million and total revenue fell 9% to $803 million; Community Media circulation revenue fell 7% to $103 million while ad revenue fell 16% to $409 million and total revenue fell 15% to $530 million. On the EBITDA line, the Metros reported a 41% increase to $121 million while Community Media fell 17% to $152 million.

In terms of percentage growth and/or declines, from year to year, the comparison shows Fairfax outperforming the News Corp papers on most measures, counting both revenues and earnings. [my red bolding]

Financial Review 22 August 2014:

The Blue Book showed the average cost of employees at The Australian’s print operations was $178,256. That included associated costs and actual salary, but that still seemed higher than most of the ABC journalists the paper had slammed as overpaid. By comparison, the average cost of employees for the Daily Telegraph was $141,214. The toilers at the Herald Sun made do with $131,944, $125,135 for The Courier Mail, and $90,990 for smaller titles like The Geelong Advertiser. [my red bolding]

The next time a News Corp journalist tries to point a finger at someone at a rival media outlet, remember these recent examples of that company's own lapses from grace

The Daily Mail 8 August 2014:

First edition blunder: This is the Daily Telegraph's first edition printed on Thursday, August 7, featuring the photoshopped image of Boston bombing victim, James Costello - who became one of the iconic figures of the terrorist attack tragedy - on the right hand side of Page 11. The image shows the stricken body of Mr Costello as he staggered around dazed in shredded clothing with severe burns to his legs and shrapnel wounds. The paper replaced his face with that of Sydney Morning Herald columnist Mike Carlton's, complete with an Arab headdress

Whoops, take two: The Daily Telegraph removed the photograph of Boston bombing victim James Costello from the photoshopped image, replacing his injured torso with that of a man buttoned up in a brown suit, but keeping Mike Carlton's head and the Yasser Arafat style headdress

Adjudication No. 1614: Third Party Matter 130256/The Daily Telegraph (August 2014)
The Press Council has considered whether its Standards of Practice were breached by material published on The Daily Telegraph's website on 3 February 2014 relating to the death of the actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman. The material was headed “Kids grieve for junkie actor dad” and included a photograph of his children and an assertion about what their response would be to the circumstances in which Mr Hoffman died.
The Council has concluded that the combined impact of the references to the children and their alleged feelings, a photograph of them and the use of the term “junkie”, was highly unfair and offensive, especially as the material was published only a few hours after Mr Hoffman’s death.
The Council also concluded that serious breaches of its Standards of Practice occurred in this case even though the offending aspects were removed from the website within an hour. The Council noted it is entirely foreseeable that, as occurred in this instance, material which has been removed from a website may nevertheless be seen widely before its removal, and remain permanently available from other internet sources

Adjudication No. 1598: Cameron Byers and others/The Australian (July 2014)The Press Council has upheld complaints arising from a front page article and an editorial in The Australian on 16 September 2013 and a subsequent item headed “clarification” on 21-22 September. The items related to an impending report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), especially about observed rates of global warming of surface air temperature.
The Council concluded that an erroneous claim in the headline of the article about a revised warming rate was very serious, given the importance of the issue and of the need for accuracy (both of which were emphasised in the editorial that repeated the claim without qualification). It considered that there had been a failure to take appropriately rigorous steps before giving such forceful and prominent credence to the claim. Accordingly, the complaint was upheld on that ground. The Council considered that the gravity of the error, and its repetition without qualification in the editorial, required a correction which was more substantial, and much more prominent, than the very brief “clarification” on page 2. It said the heading should have given a brief indication of the subject matter to help attract the attention of readers of the original article and editorial. Accordingly, the complaint was upheld on those grounds.
The Council welcomed the acknowledgement of error and expressions of regret which the publication eventually made to it. But it said they should have been made very much earlier, and made directly to the publication’s readers in a frank and specific manner. It expressed considerable concern that this approach had not been adopted.

Rupert Murdoch's plan to cripple public broadcasting in Australia is apparently still on track

The Sydney Morning Herald 27 July 2014:

A secret study of ABC operations has identified $60 million worth of potential savings, a finding the Abbott government will use to justify a new round of cuts to the broadcaster's budget.

Fairfax Media can also reveal the government is considering issuing directions to the ABC and SBS on managing their budgets - a move that would have the government exert greater influence over the broadcasters' operations.

The proposal is contained in the Abbott government's efficiency study into the ABC and SBS, which cherish their operational independence from government.

The government cut the ABC's budget by $35.5 million over four years in the May budget - a cut the government described as a ''downpayment'' on the results of the efficiency study.

The efficiency study, led by former Seven West Media chief financial officer Peter Lewis, says the government could encourage belt-tightening at the broadcasters by issuing a regular Ministerial Statement of Expectations to the ABC and SBS boards.

The study acknowledges the idea is ''controversial'' and could spark concerns the government is intervening in the ABC and SBS for political reasons….

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has insisted any future cuts should affect only back-office operations, not programming. ABC and SBS insiders dispute this and argue many of the study's savings proposals - such as moving SBS in with the ABC - are short-sighted and impossible to implement.

Earlier this month the ABC announced it would axe 80 jobs in its international division following the government's termination of funding for its $223 million Australia Network international broadcasting service.

How the Australian Broadcasting Commission competes with the Murdoch media empire according to Crikey on 3 December 2013:

The full extent of the ABC threat to News Corp isn't clear until you closely examine their competing activities.

First there's television, and the years-long saga of the ABC's Asia Pacific service, a national vanity project costing tens of millions a year, which the Howard government begged Jonathan Shier to take on in 2001. After the ABC began producing a reasonable, if low-cost, service, News coveted it for Sky News (of which News Corp has an interest via its holding in one-third owner BSkyB) to improve its international clout at taxpayer expense and tried twice, in 2005 and 2010, to win it, getting knocked back both times, although for very different reasons the second time around.

Then there's ABC News 24, a direct rival to Sky News itself and to News Corp's half-owned Foxtel, which carries Sky News. News 24 reaches about 14% of metropolitan audiences a week, far ahead of Sky News.

And free-to-air: Lachlan Murdoch's Ten Network has been regularly losing its third spot in the evening television ratings to the ABC. The ABC pointed out yesterday that it had lifted its prime-time share to a 14.6 share, up 1 percentage point from 2012 and the best performance of any free-to-air network this year. Ten's share fell and in fact spent all of 2013 behind the ABC, consigning it to fourth in metro markets, while its regional performance was even worse. ABC management has simply outclassed Lachlan's conga line of executives. The former head of ABC TV, Kim Dalton, was behind the suite of programs that enabled the ABC to have programs that viewers wanted to watch when Ten imploded in August of 2012, and continued to slide this year. Lachlan Murdoch has removed two CEOs and is now on his third in three years. Ten's problems are as much his problems as those of the poor decision making by former management.

Lachlan Murdoch also slashed and burnt the previous Ten management's carefully developed news and current affairs presence, at a time when the ABC was strengthening its position as the most trusted source of news for Australians across radio and television, far ahead of commercial broadcasters and newspapers — with News Corp's increasingly biased mastheads bringing up the rear as Australia's least-trusted newspapers.

"Plainly there are good leaks involving government secrets, which embarrass the ALP, and bad leaks, which make life difficult for the Coalition."

The ABC's online iView service is also a threat. It's now the most popular TV replay source online, and it competes directly, and for free, with Foxtel.

ABC Radio also competes directly with Lachlan's DMG radio stations in each state capital; Nova FM only beats the ABC's metropolitan local stations in Brisbane and Perth. And ABC Radio is planning a development that will not be greeted warmly by News or Ten or DMG Australia. Fairfax won't be happy either. In an email to staff two weeks ago, ABC Radio head Kate Dundas revealed that, among a long list of changes and new ideas, were state-based online news editions planned for 2014, a new e-mag for Radio National, a huge revamp of the Triple J Dig multiplatform, and a second online music stream for Classic FM.

Probably the most important will be the first version of the ABC audio player — the audio equivalent of iView. Podcasts for programs such as Conversations (which attracts hundreds of thousands of listeners a month) and RN programs will move to this new player site. ABC Radio Multiplatform also has a lot planned for 2014, with mobile versions of key sites like ABC Rural, Dig Music and ABC Local news sites.

The Sydney Morning Herald 12 June 2014:

Commercial television networks have leapt on the release of a Department of Communications research paper into Australian media ownership to renew calls for a relaxation of laws on media mergers and acquisitions.

The Abbott government is considering scrapping media ownership laws, including the law which prevents owners from controlling a newspaper, television station and radio station in the same market.

MH17: Sky News offends the standards of any decent society

In a case of birds of a feather flock together; Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott insensitively inserted himself into a national and international tragedy for political advantage during the same period Sky News (part-owned by Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox through its 39% shareholding in BSkyB) was forced to apologise for an appalling breach of community standards:

London: British broadcaster Sky News has apologised after one of its presenters searched through luggage at the crash site of downed flight MH17 live on air.

In a news broadcast on Sunday, presenter Colin Brazier was shown rooting through personal belongings in an opened suitcase at the site, picking up a set of keys before saying: "We shouldn't really be doing this."

Who owns what in Australian media - and the main reasons why the Abbott Government wants to cripple public broadcasting

Looking at the media platform breakdown in the Department of Communications Policy Background Paper No 3 Media Control and Ownership it is easy to discern the reasons why the Abbott Government is intent on crippling the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS).

Public broadcasting is too successfully competitive with the large commercial media platforms and its disturbs the increasing homogenous content of their political reporting and editorial stances.

This homogenous tone is something that Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been able to use to his advantage in the past.

A brief outline (quotes from the background paper are in italics):

Network Ten

Removal of the BSA’s foreign ownership restrictions in 2006 allowed Canadian company Canwest to convert its large economic interest in Network Ten to a voting interest of 56.7 per cent, delivering control of the company. However, in September 2009, CanWest sold down all its interests in Network Ten due to financial difficulties. Since 2010, large shareholdings in Ten Network Holdings have been acquired by companies controlled by Mr James Packer and Mr Lachlan Murdoch (8.8 per cent each which was, until 27 March 2014, a joint holding) and Ms Gina Rinehart (an original 6.34 per cent stake that has increased to 9.91 per cent).

Southern Cross Media Group (formerly Macquarie Media Group)

In 2007, the then Macquarie Media Group purchased Southern Cross Media Group for $1.3 billion in partnership with Fairfax Media. This deal required the divestiture of 15 commercial radio assets across nine licence areas that would otherwise breach the ‘5/4 rule’. In March 2008, Macquarie sold 19 regional commercial radio licences to various small regional commercial radio networks. In December 2009, Macquarie was renamed Southern Cross Media Group, and in May 2011, the company acquired the Austereo Group (including 10 metropolitan commercial radio licences and two jointly-owned regional commercial radio licences) for more than $700 million.

Fairfax Media

In May 2007, Fairfax Media completed a merger with Rural Press Limited that involved acquisition of a number of regional commercial radio licences and publications such as The Canberra Times. In November 2007, Fairfax Media acquired seven metropolitan commercial radio licences from Macquarie Media Group as part of the acquisition of Southern Cross Broadcasting (described above). This transaction also required the

divestiture of a commercial radio licence in Ipswich, which was sold to Grant Broadcasters. In October 2011 Fairfax sold its eight regional commercial radio licences to Grant Broadcasters for a reported $15 million.

 Consolidated Media Holdings and PMG / Fox Sports

Consolidated Media Holdings (CMH) was a subscription television investment company formed in late 2007 when Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL) split into two separate businesses – Crown (a gaming company) and CMH (a media company). CMH held a 25 per cent interest in Foxtel and a 50 per cent stake in Premier Media Group (PMG). In 2012, PMG was renamed Fox Sports Pty Ltd. Also in 2012, News Corporation and Seven Group Holdings both submitted bids to acquire CMH. The ACCC opposed Seven’s bid but approved News Corp’s offer, which took effect from 2 November 2012. This transaction delivered News Corp full control of Fox Sports and 50 per cent of Foxtel.

Seven West Media (formerly Seven Media Group)

Following the 2006 media ownership reforms, Seven Media Group was subject to a joint venture agreement resulting in foreign investment company Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts and Co (KKR) acquiring a 47.7 per cent stake and Mr Kerry Stokes acquiring a 47.7 per cent stake through Seven Network Limited, which was subsequently renamed Seven Group Holdings. In early 2011, Seven Media Group was sold to WAN to form a new entity Seven West Media. Seven Group Holdings remains the majority shareholder of Seven West Media, but KKR no longer has a significant stake.

Nine Entertainment Co. / Publishing and Broadcasting Limited

Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL) was formed in 1994 through the merger of the Nine Network Australia and Australian Consolidated Press. Following the 2006 media ownership reforms, PBL Media was formed as a 50/50 joint venture between PBL and private equity company CVC Asia Pacific Limited (CVC). In 2007, PBL spin-off company CMH sold down its shares in PBL until CVC owned over 99 per cent of the entity. PBL Media was renamed Nine Entertainment Co on 2 December 2010. In January 2013, the company’s debts forced a restructuring of its financing arrangements resulting in private investment firms Apollo Global Management and Oaktree Capital Management taking control of the company. On 6 December 2013, Nine Entertainment Co was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Foxtel

On 26 May 2011, Foxtel announced its intention to acquire Austar, and on 11 July 2011 the two companies announced that they had entered into a definitive agreement regarding this transaction. The proposal received ACCC approval (subject to an undertaking) on 10 April 2012, and the take-over was finalised by 25 May 2012. This resulted in Austar being de-listed from the Australian Stock Exchange.

Prime Media Group

Following the 2006 media reforms, Prime Media, which had previously only owned and operated regional commercial television licences, began purchasing commercial radio assets. By 2009, Prime’s radio network included 10 regional commercial radio licences in Queensland. However, on 30 August 2013 Prime sold all of its commercial radio assets to Grant Broadcasters for $24.5 million, representing a large loss on its radio investments.

Nova Entertainment (formerly DMG Radio Australia)

In November 2009, Mr Lachlan Murdoch’s investment company Illyria Pty Ltd purchased 50 per cent of DMG Radio Australia from its owner, British media company Daily Mail and General Trust, for a reported $110 million. Illyria acquired the remaining 50 per cent of DMG Radio in September 2012, and rebranded the company as Nova Entertainment on 26 February 2014.

Australian Radio Network

The Australian Radio Network (ARN) was until recently jointly owned by APN News & Media (APN) and American radio company Clear Channel. On 19 February 2014, APN acquired Clear Channel’s 50 per cent of the company, as well as its 50 per cent stake in New Zealand’s The Radio Company, for $246.5 million.

Commercial companies controlling the maximum number of media platforms allowable under Australian legislation

The role of public broadcasting

An examination of the media diversity landscape needs to consider the role of the national broadcasters, the ABC and SBS. These organisations make a significant contribution to media diversity through their provision of television, radio and online services. This is particularly so for the ABC, the reach and depth of whose media outlets compare favorably to its commercial counterparts in most areas of Australia.

* In 2013 the ABC’s primary digital television channel (ABC1) held an average nightly metropolitan prime-time audience of 477,000 per night, which was notably higher than Network Ten’s average audience of 421,000 and placed it third on this measure behind the Seven Network (815,000) and Nine Network (738,000).

* The ABC has also increased its television news service through the introduction of ABC News 24 – a stand-alone, 24-hour news channel delivered on the broadcaster’s digital platform.

* The ABC Local Radio network is also widely consumed in metropolitan markets with 2013 surveys showing that its average daily audience consistently places it in the top three stations in the Sydney market and the top two stations in the Melbourne market.

* Most of the ABC’s broadcast news services are available online, either as streamed content or as catch-up programming, while the ABC News websites held a top 10 position alongside other domestic and international news websites in 2012 and 2013.18

The television, radio and online services provided by the national broadcasters, particularly the ABC, are also prominent in regional and remote Australia, providing audiences with an additional source of news and information in areas where there are frequently few local commercial media outlets. Community broadcasting services, predominantly radio, also add to the diversity of

services available to Australians, although their contribution to diversity of opinion and analysis (i.e. a news focus) is more limited given they tend to be ‘ultra-local’ (produced

by and relevant to particular local communities) or ‘niche’ (providing services of interest to local language or cultural groups within a particular local area).

Reach of media platforms

Looking at the platforms themselves, the print sector has historically exhibited relatively high levels of concentration, dominated by News Corp Australia, Fairfax and APN. In this

regard, it is notable that News Corp Australia and Fairfax titles are, on average, read each week by around 60 per cent and 36 per cent respectively of the newspaper reading public in Australia.

Commercial television and commercial radio, in terms of ownership at least, are more moderately concentrated, with six dominant commercial television networks and major commercial radio networks. However, affiliation agreements, programming syndication and joint venture operations tend to result in fairly homogenous content (i.e. channels and stations) being available to consumers in any given market. This in many respects distorts the picture of media influence across licence areas. For example, the leading opinion or ‘talkback’ radio programs emanate from Sydney with audience

numbers being captured in Sydney licence area ratings data. However, a program may be syndicated and broadcast in other substantial markets, typically regional NSW and Queensland, which significantly increases the reach of the program and therefore its total audience numbers.

There is also a relatively high degree of concentration in the non-regulated media platforms. Subscription television is dominated by Foxtel, with few alternatives beyond a handful of localised subscription television platforms and some IPTV offerings. While there are few regulatory barriers to entry in terms of online media, it is notable that the majority of the online news outlets and portals that are popular with Australians are either directly or jointly owned by traditional media platforms, a point noted in the

following section.

Overlaying the commercial media are the ABC and SBS that, to differing degrees, make a significant contribution to the provision of news and information in both metropolitan and regional areas.

Brief background of one American media mogul operating in Australia

“Scotland Yard detectives plan to interview media mogul Rupert Murdoch about a phone-hacking scandal that led to one of his former top honchos being convicted Tuesday on criminal charges.

Detectives have informed the 83-year-old Murdoch he’ll be grilled “under caution” — a warning given to suspects, according to The Guardian.

The interview is expected to take place in Britain in the near future and could include questions for Murdoch’s son, James, who was executive chairman of News International, the British newspaper reported.

Tuesday’s conviction of Andy Coulson — the disgraced ex-editor of News of the World and one-time flack for Prime Minister David Cameron — could leave Murdoch’s company vulnerable to corporate charges.

Murdoch could wind up being prosecuted under section 79 of Britain’s Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which holds company directors liable if evidence shows they consented or connived with the wrongdoings of employees.

At least 11 more trials are slated involving 20 other former journalists for News of the World and The Sun, British tabloids owned by Murdoch’s company.

Murdoch also faces a number of civil suits filed by victims whose phones were hacked. His company has already agreed to pay damages to 718 victims.”

[New York Daily News, 24 June 2014]

Murdoch's minions have been drinking the Kool-Aid again

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 Basically the Australian Bureau of Statistics defines the labour force as every person 15 years of age and older who is capable of work.

Those usually excluded are persons in this age group who are voluntarily keeping house (unpaid), have permanently retired, are members of contemplative religious orders or are in gaols, hospitals, boarding schools etc.

In January 2014 the size of the labour force was calculated at 12.18 million, with total employed persons being 11.45 million and total unemployed persons being 728,600 (seasonally adjusted). [6202.0 - Labour Force, Australia, Jan 2014]

This brought the unemployment rate for January in at 6 per cent.

Sounds simple doesn’t it?

Yet The Australian ran this opening sentence in an article titled Remove hurdles to employment on 14 February 2014; Australia's unemployment rate is now just shy of 51 per cent. That is not a misprint. Then went on to state; In a country of 23.38 million people only 7.95 million have a full-time job, with another 3.51 million in part-time jobs

The newspaper appears to have reached this conclusion by calculating its 11.46 million employed persons as a percentage of its total Australian population (mewling infants, primary school children, retirees, the frail aged in nursing homes etc., all merrily included) and then subtracting this from 100 to reach 51 per cent unemployment across the nation.

I’m still wondering what on earth the editor was drinking thinking when he decided to let such drivel go forward for publication.

One thing is certain – his journalist must have been quaffing Kool-Aid** by the bucket full.

* Kool-Aid image from Google Images

** Drinking the Kool-Aid