tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/fairfax-1898/articlesFairfax – The Conversation2020-09-22T02:42:01Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1465652020-09-22T02:42:01Z2020-09-22T02:42:01ZGoogle News favours mainstream media. Even if it pays for Australian content, will local outlets fall further behind?<p>Google’s role in delivering audiences to news outlets has been under scrutiny of late. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/focus-areas/digital-platforms/draft-news-media-bargaining-code">initiative</a> to redirect advertising revenue from Google and Facebook to news publishers has led to threats of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-facebook-really-pulls-news-from-its-australian-sites-well-have-a-much-less-compelling-product-145380">news boycott</a> by both companies. </p>
<p>Australia’s news media businesses have faced revenue loss and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/jun/09/news-corp-cuts-more-jobs-this-time-at-its-metropolitan-newspapers">job</a> <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-30/job-losses-coronavirus-australia-covid-19/12401232">cuts</a> for some time now, blaming Google and Facebook for poaching advertising revenue. </p>
<p>But rather than share revenue with the publishers whose content they feature, it seems the tech behemoths would rather remove Australian news content from their platforms altogether. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-world-first-australia-plans-to-force-facebook-and-google-to-pay-for-news-but-abc-and-sbs-miss-out-143740">In a world first, Australia plans to force Facebook and Google to pay for news (but ABC and SBS miss out)</a>
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<p>Into this <a href="https://theconversation.com/googles-open-letter-is-trying-to-scare-australians-the-company-simply-doesnt-want-to-pay-for-news-144573">heated debate</a> arrives a new study of Google News search recommendations in the US. The research, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-00954-0">published today in Nature Human Behaviour</a>, examines Google News search results across more than 3,000 US counties – evaluating the balance between local and national news outlets in search results on a wide range of topics. </p>
<p>The findings show Google News generally privileges national news outlets over local ones, especially for topics of national interest. This makes it even more difficult for local outlets to compete with their larger national counterparts – but shifting the balance between the two isn’t easy.</p>
<h2>A handful of winners</h2>
<p>In one sense, the research findings merely show Google News is working as advertised: it points readers interested in major issues to leading national outlets. Larger, better-funded media businesses are likely to have more in-depth coverage than local publishers.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Google News will feature more local content when users search for issues with a local angle. And while the study didn’t cover Australia, it probably works similarly here, too.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the research found the three most prominent national US outlets account for about one-sixth of all search results. This echoes <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563218303650">research published last year</a>, which also documented Google News featuring a very narrow range of leading news outlets. </p>
<p>The authors of that study worried this “highly concentrated” set of results was “empowering a handful of prominent outlets and marginalising others”, rather than offering a comprehensive range of perspectives on the news.</p>
<h2>The ‘filter bubble’ argument</h2>
<p>The two studies mentioned above offer a powerful argument against the persistent (but unsubstantiated) idea that search engines and social media place us in “<a href="http://theconversation.com/the-myth-of-the-echo-chamber-92544">filter bubbles</a>”. </p>
<p>This is the idea that the information we encounter online depends on our personal identities, ideologies and geographical location. If the filter bubbles hypothesis were true, it would indeed threaten to deepen social divides.</p>
<p>But an increasing number of <a href="https://www.blm.de/files/pdf2/bericht-datenspende---wer-sieht-was-auf-google.pdf">timely</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2017.1338145">studies</a> suggest something different: if there is a filter bubble, we’re all in it together. </p>
<p>In other words, when different users search for news on Google, they likely see the same results from the same handful of media outlets – regardless of who and where they are.</p>
<h2>Tweaking the results</h2>
<p>From this perspective, the uniformity and predominantly national focus of Google News results may even be welcome, as it ensures searchers of all backgrounds have access to a shared stock of information. </p>
<p>At the same time, however, Google’s channelling of users towards major national news outlets affects their local competitors’ ability to generate advertising revenue. The rich (in readership) get richer (from advertising), while outlets featured less in search results struggle.</p>
<p>In a market already suffering from substantial pandemic-induced downturns, this undermines smaller outlets’ ability to survive in the long term. “News deserts” (areas without local news outlets) are growing rapidly in the <a href="https://www.usnewsdeserts.com/">US</a> and <a href="https://anmp.piji.com.au/">in Australia</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/local-news-sources-are-closing-across-australia-we-are-tracking-the-devastation-and-some-reasons-for-hope-139756">Local news sources are closing across Australia. We are tracking the devastation (and some reasons for hope)</a>
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<p>Policy makers might be tempted to arrest this decline by forcing Google News to provide more links to local rather than national news outlets. But even if Google agreed to this, it would come at a cost. </p>
<p>Major national outlets are prominent because local outlets simply can’t provide the same comprehensive coverage of non-local issues. Instead, they draw on wire services and syndicated content. </p>
<p>Making Google feature more content from local outlets would direct more revenue towards those news organisations, but could also reduce the quality and diversity of news provided to users. They might end up only seeing local adaptations of content from a small number of wire services.</p>
<p>While this approach might save some local news outlets, it would undermine citizens’ understanding of the world around them.</p>
<h2>The lion and the mouse</h2>
<p>The Australian initiative to make Google (and Facebook) pay for the news they show on their sites could be seen as a more sensible alternative. </p>
<p>Revenue generated from the <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/focus-areas/digital-platforms/draft-news-media-bargaining-code">news media bargaining code</a> could be used to increase the strength and diversity of the domestic news industry, enabling smaller outlets to provide a better range of content for Google News to feature.</p>
<p>But even if Google was willing to share advertising revenue, the devil lies in the detail. If that money was distributed based on current Google News recommendation patterns, major news outlets would receive the lion’s share. Local news organisations would still miss out – along with the ABC and SBS, <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-world-first-australia-plans-to-force-facebook-and-google-to-pay-for-news-but-abc-and-sbs-miss-out-143740">which are not included</a> in the ACCC’s proposal. </p>
<p>So it would be good news for News Corp and Nine Entertainment, but not so much for everyone else.</p>
<p>To rebuild Australia’s local news industry, the industry heavyweights would have to give up some of their own hard-fought share of the money. But you don’t need to consult Google to work out how likely that is.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/platform-regulation-in-australia-is-just-the-start-facebook-and-google-are-fighting-a-global-battle-145748">Platform regulation in Australia is just the start. Facebook and Google are fighting a global battle</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146565/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Axel Bruns receives funding from the Australian Research Council through Discovery projects Journalism beyond the Crisis: Emerging Forms, Practices and Uses and Evaluating the Challenge of 'Fake News' and Other Malinformation, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society. He is a member of the expert research panel of the Public Interest Journalism Initiative (PIJI).</span></em></p>Research shows Google News results often prioritise mainstream media over smaller news businesses. It’s a double-edged sword. While local outlets suffer, it’s actually better for readers.Axel Bruns, Professor, Creative Industries, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1230322019-09-05T12:15:44Z2019-09-05T12:15:44ZGrattan on Friday: When schmoozing the PM gets you a black eye<p>It was all gain for Scott Morrison when he took a bunch of senior colleagues to <a href="https://www.afr.com/rear-window/nine-s-hugh-marks-hosting-scomo-fundraiser-20190902-p52n5g">Nine’s Monday fundraiser</a> which reaped mega dollars – the exact amount is unclear - for the Liberal party. Maximum productivity for minimum effort.</p>
<p>The pain was worn by Nine and its chief executive Hugh Marks, who faced a backlash from staff at the company’s recently acquired former Fairfax newspapers, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Australian Financial Review. The journalists were appalled, as they should have been, to see such compromising behaviour from their management.</p>
<p>As the papers’ house committees pointed out, “Our mastheads have done much to expose the corrupting influence of money on politics. It is vitally important that we remain independent of the political process.”</p>
<p>Questioned later, Morrison avoided being drawn into the row. Asked on 3AW whose idea the function had been he said, “I couldn’t tell you, I was just invited”. Did he see anything wrong with it? “Well it’s not really for me to say. I mean they were happy to host an event and I attended an event.”</p>
<p>The money-raising hosted by Nine had none of the sleaziness and claimed illegality of the $100,000 donation a Chinese property developer allegedly delivered to the NSW ALP in that now-notorious Aldi bag. (Incidentally, the assistant minister for financial services, Jane Hume, produced an Aldi bag at the Nine function to make a joke about Labor’s woes.)</p>
<p>But while the Nine gathering was above board and nobody will end up on any witness stand, it was, according to those trying to explain it away later, a bid to get into the prime minister’s ear. Just as Huang Xiangmo , the Chinese billionaire, was always <a href="https://theconversation.com/nsw-alp-secretary-suspended-after-revelations-about-huang-xiangmo-money-122563">attempting to get into</a> (multiple) Labor ears.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-truth-about-political-donations-there-is-so-much-we-dont-know-91003">The truth about political donations: there is so much we don't know</a>
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<p>James Chessell, executive editor of Nine’s newspapers, said in a note responding to staff anger that Marks had told him hosting the function had been a mistake. “Hugh made the point Nine’s primary motivation was to engage with the government on issues of importance to the newsrooms – such as press freedom and the ACCC’s inquiry into digital platforms – which is a valid argument for management to make. But he agrees it could have been handled better.”</p>
<p>Well indeed it could have. There is something bizarre in arguing that a good way to engage with the government on press freedom is to rake in funds for it.</p>
<p>The Nine journalists and the management are at one in wanting to try to guarantee media freedom after it has come into question with the recent raids on a News Corp journalist and the ABC.</p>
<p>But this should be pressed without opening the organisation to criticism on other fronts, by appearing as if it is kowtowing.</p>
<p>If the company wants to make its case with the PM on its own turf (the function was held at Nine’s Willoughby studios), then invite him to a board room lunch, a common practice. By all means give him a free meal, but don’t generate a wad of money to go with it.</p>
<p>Anyway, one wonders how much Morrison will be influenced on media freedom by such lobbying. He sounded hard line this week in comments about everyone being subject to the law. The impression he gives is that he will only cede what ground he absolutely has to.</p>
<p>It’s also difficult to judge whether Nine’s assertion about wanting to use the occasion for representations on press freedom was in part just “spin”, after it emerged Nine hosted a fundraiser for Malcolm Turnbull too.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/consumer-watchdog-journalism-is-in-crisis-and-only-more-public-funding-can-help-121133">Consumer watchdog: journalism is in crisis and only more public funding can help</a>
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<p>Relations between media companies and powerful political figures are often murky. At least this ill-judged effort was out in the open. The first report of it came from Joe Aston, gossip columnist in the AFR, shortly before the event.</p>
<p>Post the fundraiser debacle, media observers will have an even closer eye on how the journalism works out in the merged Nine organisation (which is chaired by Peter Costello, formerly treasurer in the Howard government).</p>
<p>The Nine takeover of Fairfax brought into the fold newspapers which had behind them decades of tough independent editorial cultures. Chessell in his message to staff made the point that nobody at Nine had attempted to influence editorial coverage since the merger.</p>
<p>But it’s early days and whether the newspapers’ cultures will remain in future years as they are now has to be an open question. Remember it was not all that long ago that the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald had competing federal political coverage. Now it is all one, a major change that would have seemed unlikely a few years before.</p>
<p>More immediately, the current focus on political fund raising is a fresh reminder of how distorting – and at its worst, as in NSW Labor, corrupting – this can be for the democratic system. Combined with the professional lobbying industry, it has made access and influence expensive tradable commodities. Vested interests are literally buying the time of political leaders.</p>
<p>On the other side of the coin, occasionally the threatened withdrawal of funds can be invoked to try to twist arms. The CFMEU Victorian branch has warned it would cut off funds to the ALP if its official, John Setka, is expelled (a threat that fortunately does not appear to faze Anthony Albanese).</p>
<p>Legislating various rules around donations hasn’t deterred wrongdoing. In NSW the laws have been flouted over the years by both sides of politics.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-think-our-politicians-are-corrupt-but-where-is-the-evidence-101822">Australians think our politicians are corrupt, but where is the evidence?</a>
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<p>The most drastic solution is total public funding of election campaigns, which are already partly paid for by the taxpayer.</p>
<p>Moving to full funding should be a last resort, because it raises issues of cost, fairness (how to treat emerging parties), and people’s rights to use their resources to promote their views.</p>
<p>Short of that solution, the shocking story unfolding in NSW emphasises the need for real time disclosure of donations and tighter enforcement of rules.</p>
<p>The lesson of the Nine affair is actually less about donations and more about the importance of those managing a media empire imbibing a central principle of journalism. Its sharp message is that, while it might often seem otherwise, the media must keep a fence between themselves and the politicians.</p>
<p><strong>Postscript:</strong>
Huang, who now lives in Hong Kong, has denied that he made the $100,000 donation. He told the Australian Financial Review: “I am not the source of the alleged donation. I do not know any of the alleged donors of the sum or any of the ‘straw donors’ as referred to in recent reports, nor have I ever had any contact with them”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123032/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan previously worked for The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review. </span></em></p>While the Liberal party reaped mega dollars at Nine’s Monday fundraiser, Nine and its chief executive faced a backlash from staff at the company’s recently acquired former Fairfax newspapers.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1088312018-12-20T18:53:48Z2018-12-20T18:53:48ZHow ‘access journalism’ is threatening investigative journalism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251666/original/file-20181220-45391-1o8o8bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C22%2C2552%2C1613&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The 2015 movie Spotlight portrayed how journalists at the Boston Globe uncovered child sex abuse in the Catholic Church. But not all 'investigative journalism' is as rigorous.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1895587/">IMDB/Open Road Film</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A series of memoirs are appearing for Christmas – by <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/on-air-9780857987808">Mike Carlton</a>, <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/other-books/Kerry-OBrien-A-Memoir-Kerry-OBrien-9781760296438">Kerry O’Brien</a> and the like – as the baby boomer generation of journalists gets some quality time to reflect, laugh, and reveal some new secrets.</p>
<p>As the receiver of a cheapo massive cardboard screed in 1972 for “investigative journalism” from my colleagues in the ABC’s This Day Tonight, my recollection was that “investigative journalism” was a cool, new genre any young journo wanted to be associated with.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/four-journalists-one-newspaper-time-magazines-person-of-the-year-recognises-the-global-assault-on-journalism-108669">Four journalists, one newspaper: Time Magazine's Person of the Year recognises the global assault on journalism</a>
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<p>I accepted the award with honour. It was mainly the result of reporting the <a href="https://www.afr.com/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/sydney-1960s-corruption-the-problem-lay-with-everyone-20170430-gvvk3p">corrupt antics of then NSW Liberal premier</a> Sir Robin Askin.</p>
<p>Amid denials that illegal casinos existed, we found one well-known establishment across the road from the ABC’s radio headquarters in Forbes Street, near Kings Cross, and arrived with cameras at the front door one night to see if we could film inside. The answer was no, but we phoned our TDT presenter, the great Bill Peach, and asked him to ring the police because we had helpfully found one of these establishments for them. At the end of the show we reported the constabulary had not arrived and wished to remain in ignorance.</p>
<p>It was a laugh, but had a point. Not long later, I repeated this method with a mate of mine from Sydney University, conscientious objector Michael Matteson. When federal Liberal Minister Phillip Lynch said he couldn’t find any “draft dodgers” refusing to go to Vietnam, we found the very articulate pacifist in the university canteen where he sat every day. He gave a great interview.</p>
<p>Back then, no-one in our gang of young troublemakers had formulated a methodology for what we were doing on a daily basis. But we instinctively knew it was a different form of the trade from what we had learned from crusty old news heads as cadets. It was:</p>
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<li><p>evidence-based</p></li>
<li><p>“transparent” in inviting the public to see our reasoning</p></li>
<li><p>balanced in giving the “other side” a time and place to respond</p></li>
<li><p>not pursuing a government or opposition agenda.</p></li>
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<p>A decade later, both ABC’s Four Corners and <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/36658832?q&versionId=47540281">Brian Toohey’s National Times</a> would make an art of developing “the document trail” or “the money trail” and letting the public see for itself where these trails led. Many of the stories were about “secrets” that security agencies such as ASIO or the CIA didn’t want revealed (for example, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/revealed-the-room-inside-pine-gap-no-australian-could-enter-bar-one-20180425-p4zbhb.html">Pine Gap</a> and how it operated).</p>
<p>Hundreds of books have since been published on what constitutes “investigative journalism”. I taught at UTS from some of them (and my own experience) a decade ago.</p>
<p>Now comes what I detect to be a new form of journalism. It is often badged as “exclusive investigation”, but in fact has little in common with traditional methodologies. Very often it appears to be a leak <em>from</em> security agencies, not <em>about</em> them. The stories become a convenient form of government propaganda.</p>
<p>The great investigative journalist Seymour Hersh <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/seymour-hershs-memoir-is-full-of-useful-reporting-secrets-629242/">recently called</a> this new form “access journalism”. In this form, journalists report the access, usually an allegation, and do not either prove or disprove the allegation. This form has the following features:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the evidence is based on sources who cannot be named</p></li>
<li><p>there is no evidence base (such as a document or money trail)</p></li>
<li><p>it lacks transparency, in that the evidence cannot be independently verified</p></li>
<li><p>it serves one side’s agenda (usually the government’s)</p></li>
<li><p>it uses words in the text that have little definition (especially “is linked to”</p></li>
<li><p>it can be written and published very quickly.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The form is undoubtedly a response to the need for media to move faster for stories with big impact. But while allegations might suit US law, in Australia, where depth of research can be a useful legal defence, it is also particularly dangerous under our defamation laws.</p>
<p>Compare the traditional form of “investigative journalism”, which bears these traits:</p>
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<li><p>it is based on identifiable sources whose standing and credibility enhance the claims</p></li>
<li><p>it is evidence-based (including documents, finances, and so on) proving a specific thesis or proposition formally stated in the text</p></li>
<li><p>its evidence is available for checking</p></li>
<li><p>it serves no-one’s agenda, in that several sides of the argument are heard, allowing readers/viewers to make up their own minds as to the truth</p></li>
<li><p>it does not use words that unnecessarily pre-judge the final conclusion </p></li>
<li><p>it takes a painstaking amount of time to build the evidence base, allow balance, and get legal advice if needed.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>No media are immune to taking shortcuts in this transition to a digital future. Even the best, including Fairfax (now part of Nine) and the ABC can be seen to be sipping at the “access journalism” spring.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nine-fairfax-merger-rings-warning-bells-for-investigative-journalism-and-australian-democracy-100747">Nine-Fairfax merger rings warning bells for investigative journalism – and Australian democracy</a>
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<p>But an allegation is not necessarily a story, nor is a “link to something” automatically evidence. There needs to be larger conversation about what constitutes proper public evidence, proper reliable sources and transparency in both.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108831/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Manning does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new form of journalism, dubbed “access journalism” is creeping into the media, and its reliance on allegations and lack of evidence poses a serious threat.Peter Manning, Adjunct Professor of Journalism, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1021892018-08-31T04:27:04Z2018-08-31T04:27:04ZMedia Files: What does the Nine Fairfax merger mean for diversity and quality journalism?<p>You don’t need to be a journalist or a news junkie to be affected by the media. Its enormous influence in shaping our culture, politics and society means we all have a stake in how it functions, who it serves and the way it’s changing.</p>
<p>That’s why, today, we’re launching the first episode of Media Files, a new podcast featuring leading journalism researchers and working journalists taking a critical look at where the media is getting it right - and where there might be cause for concern.</p>
<p>Today’s episode is all about the Nine Fairfax merger, the largest media amalgamation in Australia in 30 years. Eric Beecher of Private Media, Stephen Mayne of the Mayne Report and ABC finance presenter Alan Kohler join presenters Andrew Dodd and Andrea Carson to discuss the implications for diversity and quality journalism.</p>
<p>Is this merger a welcome development, potentially boosting the capacity of journalists at outlets like The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and the Financial Review to get on with the job of reporting news and revealing wrongdoing? Or is it a takeover that should ring alarm bells for anyone who cares about investigative journalism?</p>
<p>Media Files is produced by a team of journalists and academics who have spent decades working in and reporting on the media industry. They’re passionate about sharing their understanding of the media landscape, especially how media policy, commercial manoeuvres and digital disruption are affecting the kinds of media and journalism we consume. The media is evolving rapidly, as new platforms and trends come and go. As old media empires collapse, new ones are forming. But the need to protect diversity, public interest journalism and public broadcasting has, arguably, never been greater. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/au/podcasts/mediafiles">Media Files</a> will be out every month, with occasional off-schedule episodes released when we’ve got fresh analysis we can’t wait to share with you. To make sure you don’t miss an episode, find us and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/media-files/id1434250621">subscribe on Apple Podcasts</a>, in <a href="https://play.pocketcasts.com/">Pocket Casts</a> or wherever you find your podcasts. And while you’re there, please rate and review us - it really helps others to find us.</p>
<p><em>Recorded at a public forum at the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Advancing Journalism. Producer: Andy Hazel. Research: Charlotte Grieve and Jo Chandler.</em></p>
<h2>Additional audio</h2>
<p>Theme music by Susie Wilkins.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102189/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Dodd receives funding from The Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Eric Beecher of Private Media, Stephen Mayne of the Mayne Report and ABC finance presenter Alan Kohler join Andrew Dodd and Andrea Carson to discuss what the Nine Fairfax merger means for quality journalism.Andrew Dodd, Director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1005922018-07-30T06:09:33Z2018-07-30T06:09:33ZStarter’s gun goes off on new phase of media concentration as Nine-Fairfax lead the way<p>The <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-26/what-the-fairfax-and-nine-merger-means-for-you/10039236">Nine-Fairfax Media deal</a>, billed as the biggest shakeup in the Australian media landscape for decades, was widely anticipated once the Turnbull government <a href="https://theconversation.com/government-set-to-win-senate-support-for-media-deregulation-84017">repealed the main anti-concentration laws</a> in 2017. It may well result in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-modern-tragedy-nine-fairfax-merger-a-disaster-for-quality-media-100584">loss of a highly respected independent quality media voice</a>. It has certainly fired the starting gun on a new phase of media concentration.</p>
<p>It’s the latest and arguably the most dramatic episode in the media concentration saga in Australia. This is already among the <a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-is-australias-level-of-media-ownership-concentration-one-of-the-highest-in-the-world-68437">most concentrated media markets in the world</a>, behind countries like China and Egypt. These developments signal that media diversity policies need a major overhaul to take account of the impact of the media-tech platform giants on traditional news media businesses.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-australias-media-market-one-of-the-worlds-most-concentrated-68437">Is Australia’s media market one of the world's most concentrated?</a>
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<p>In many ways this by now <a href="https://theconversation.com/nine-and-fairfax-media-streaming-towards-a-full-tango-30862">widely telegraphed process of media convergence</a> has been the strategy of two of Australia’s largest legacy media companies to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-26/fairfax-nine-merger-comes-at-a-cost/10039040">survive a bit longer</a> against the onslaught of the Silicon Valley FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google) behemoths. If approved it will create Australia’s largest media company – and presumably the loudest private media voice with the most political clout in the country.</p>
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<p>Former prime minister <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/jul/26/the-fairfax-takeover-is-exceptionally-bad-news-nine-has-the-journalistic-ethics-of-an-alley-cat">Paul Keating notes</a> that this could have been predicted from the first implementation of cross-media rules back in the late 1980s. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield <a href="https://www.minister.communications.gov.au/minister/mitch-fifield/transcripts/interview-patricia-karvelas-abc-rn-drive">says he’s “ownership agnostic”</a> – if we can just park the fact that it was the government’s horse-trading efforts directed towards crossbench senators that led to precisely this outcome. And the Coalition and its supporters would welcome regulatory <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/ninefairfax-merger-accc-to-examine-impact-on-competition/news-story/e6511274137e317d78da6f90a61b8f18">approval of the deal by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission</a> (ACCC).</p>
<p>Many believe that subsuming Fairfax Media will assist in muzzling the edgier, more critical journalism in the group’s mastheads and generally advance an editorial position that is favourable to the government. After all, former Coalition treasurer Peter Costello chairs the Nine board. In the lead-up to a federal election in 2019, the timing could not be better for the conservatives. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-modern-tragedy-nine-fairfax-merger-a-disaster-for-quality-media-100584">A modern tragedy: Nine-Fairfax merger a disaster for quality media</a>
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<h2>Clock’s ticking for local news</h2>
<p>The deal, if it goes forward, has also fired the starting gun on a process of further dismantling media in the bush. As print media audiences are reaching their expiry dates, we can expect to see the loss of important local newspapers such as the Newcastle Herald and the Launceston Examiner. </p>
<p>Newspapers like these play a key civic journalism role in those communities. They have, for example, pressured governments to set up royal commissions such as the <a href="https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/">inquiry into institutional responses to sexual abuse</a>. </p>
<p>So local, regional and suburban journalism will be among the losers in this convergence of media platforms. Even major metro titles like The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age are under a cloud as Fairfax’s more profitable digital media assets, such as the Domain real estate site and streaming service Stan, have <a href="https://www.afr.com/opinion/columnists/nine-takeover-of-fairfax-is-about-domain-stan-20180726-h136hm">become the focus of the business</a>.</p>
<p>While some sector-specific <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-changes-to-australias-media-ownership-laws-are-being-proposed-55509">ownership and control rules remain in place</a>, these are limited in number and scope. They apply only to legacy media of commercial television, commercial radio and associated (print) newspapers. The rules would not affect the combined reach of <a href="https://www.9news.com.au">Nine News</a> and Fairfax’s <a href="https://www.fairfaxmedia.com.au/">well-recognised online news brand</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/media-reform-deals-will-reduce-diversity-and-amount-to-little-more-than-window-dressing-83957">Media reform deals will reduce diversity and amount to little more than window dressing</a>
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<h2>Who’s left to defend diversity?</h2>
<p>So will the ACCC’s inquiry come up with any public interest regulatory antidotes? Its <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/focus-areas/inquiries/digital-platforms-inquiry">digital platforms inquiry</a> does <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Ministerial%20direction.pdf">extend to investigating certain aspects of pluralism or media diversity</a>. This was one of several outcomes of the legislative and policy changes of 2017, which included the repeal of cross-media ownership laws. </p>
<p>However, such a decision by the ACCC would be surprising. That’s because effective media pluralism policy that is capable of addressing these kind of integrated cross-platform deals requires bipartisan support at the highest political levels. That’s not something that tends to happen much in Australian media policy.</p>
<p>Yet the ACCC review and the possibility of regulatory intervention using competition law is the only alternative policy lever available to regulate the adverse consequences of cross-media concentration. </p>
<p>The ACCC inquiry is focusing mainly on market power in relation to advertising on digital platforms. But it is also examining the role of search engines, aggregators and social media platforms and their implications for the production, delivery and consumption of sustainable quality news online.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/focus-areas/inquiries/digital-platforms-inquiry/issues-paper">issues paper</a> noted that the inquiry would consider “the impact of algorithmic selection on the plurality of news and journalistic content presented to Australian consumers”. Recommendations about the implications of automated news delivery will be critical. </p>
<p>But this new baked-in logic of an automated public sphere is very different to the voice concentration that has arisen out of the calculated deregulation of cross-media laws. As US legal scholar <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3067552">Frank Pasquale argues</a>:</p>
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<p>New methods of monitoring and regulation should be as technologically sophisticated and comprehensive as the automated public sphere they target.</p>
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<p>Although it is still early days, the regulator is unlikely to stand in the way of media businesses whose rhetoric is all about “scale” and “survival”. In other words, media voice concentration is recast as a second-order issue compared to the survival of these traditional Australian media corporations. </p>
<p>Perhaps that survival duration should be measured in election cycles? Even better, why not look at laws and policies to ensure that the instruments of media policymaking maintain media ownership, pluralism and diversity objectives?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100592/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Dwyer receives funding from the Australian Research Council for a project studying media pluralism and online news.</span></em></p>Australian media ownership is already among the most concentrated in the world, but if the competition regulator approves the Nine-Fairfax deal, expect the race for survival to produce more mergers.Tim Dwyer, Associate Professor, Chair, Department of Media and Communications, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1006672018-07-27T06:05:46Z2018-07-27T06:05:46ZAfter the Nine-Fairfax deal, who will shape Melbourne like The Age once did?<p>Stored somewhere behind the imposing glass edifice of The Age Spencer Street headquarters – keeping up appearances even as the newsroom it trumpets is progressively hacked away – is a cardboard box containing hundreds of envelopes addressed by hand to The Age Independence Committee. Tucked in with them are piles of yellowing forms clipped out of newspapers, with signatures, names and addresses – Doveton and South Yarra, Edithvale and Wheelers Hill, Castlemaine and Korumburra.</p>
<p>Cracking open this modest reliquary might provide some insight into the grief – albeit largely from a certain demographic – flowing from yesterday’s announcement of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/search/result?sg=28a33df8-57d0-41b4-9d6a-08a682818681&sp=1&sr=2&url=%2Fa-modern-tragedy-nine-fairfax-merger-a-disaster-for-quality-media-100584">passing of the House of Fairfax</a>.</p>
<p>As a young reporter, I handled a good swag of the letters in this box back in 1991 at my desk in the tiny, smoky office of The Age’s storied Insight investigations unit, which in this period moonlighted as the headquarters of The Age Independence Committee. Then The Age was situated a couple of blocks north of its present building. It occupied a brutalist chocolate-brick box in what the columnist John Lahey described as the Siberian quarter of the city, a neighbourhood of “unloved warehouses and 7am sandwich shops”, whipped by a wicked wind off what would become Docklands.</p>
<p>Under the editorship of the venerated <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/perkin-edwin-graham-11370">Graham Perkin</a> (1966-75), The Age had been famously recognised as one of the world’s dozen great newspapers, acquiring a circulation of over 220,000. The legacy of that had endured the fraught transition of control from Melbourne’s Syme family to the Sydney-based Fairfax stable, and shaped my understanding of journalism. But by the time I gained a long-coveted desk in the ugly building in 1989 I’d missed the best of it, I was assured by old hands and readers.</p>
<p>Any time I introduced myself or sat down to do an interview I braced for the inevitable critique. People professed love for the paper in the way you might love family – with no inhibitions, indeed an enthusiasm, about highlighting flaws and disappointments. The Age had lost some of the panache of the Perkin era and some of the stylish writing nurtured by his successor, Michael Davie, opined media columnist and Melbourne son Sam Lipski in The Bulletin in 1988. That said, under Creighton Burns (my first editor) it had generally become “a steadier and more balanced paper”, he wrote. “Melbourne burghers like that.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-modern-tragedy-nine-fairfax-merger-a-disaster-for-quality-media-100584">A modern tragedy: Nine-Fairfax merger a disaster for quality media</a>
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<h2>A potent force</h2>
<p>It’s difficult to recall, from this distance, what a potent force the paper was in Melbourne and Victoria. When I try to explain this landscape to my journalism students, they retreat behind that blank, politely suffering look you give nostalgic old people. </p>
<p>In 1988, The Age published a special report titled “Who Shapes Melbourne?” It was the product of weeks of reporting by a team of ten journalists who interviewed dozens of the city’s movers and shakers – an enterprise also beyond the comprehension of my students, raised on a diet of impoverished newsroom budgets. As part of the project, 130 of these doyens were asked to rank Melbourne’s most influential individuals and institutions.</p>
<p>Out of a field of 162 men (overwhelmingly) and women, then Premier John Cain emerged as the individual with the most clout. And of 153 nominated institutions, The Age itself romped into first place ahead of the Arts Centre, the National Gallery and the University of Melbourne (tied in second place); the ACTU (third); the ABC and the Victorian Football League (this was pre-AFL) (fourth) and BHP neck-and-neck with the state cabinet/government (fifth). The tabloid Sun came in sixth, The Herald eighth, alongside the Catholic Church and the police. “Whether The Age really is the most influential institution in Melbourne matters less than the perception, among many of its powerful readers, that it is,” observed Lipski.</p>
<p>“The Age’s role is perplexing,” Phillip Adams (now ABC broadcaster, then advertising guru) told another Bulletin reporter, Jan McGuinness, in a 1989 dig into its place in the Melbourne firmament, archly headlined “A pillow of the community” and featuring a photograph of the Syme family mausoleum captioned “a palace under siege”. “The Melbourne Herald hasn’t had a role in my lifetime; the Melbourne Sun does its job, yet has no image,” Adams expanded. “But The Age is tied to Melbourne’s self-esteem. And, as there isn’t much of that left, it’s very important.”</p>
<p>Commentators may have struggled to explain the enduring gravitas of the paper, but enjoyed pricking its pomposity along the way. A special report in The Australian – “Flaws in the Fairfax formula” (April 23 1991) – listed its sins as “self-indulgence, independence, tradition, superiority”. </p>
<p>The article pokes around the cultural ethos of The Age, contrasting it with The Sydney Morning Herald. The Melbourne paper had long cut its cloth in a more “Whiggish” style, it argued, despite serving a more conservative city. It quotes an unnamed senior Fairfax staffer who had worked at both mastheads. “You’ve got to remember that at the Eureka stockade The Age supported the miners while The Sydney Morning Herald supported the police – the Herald has always been the drapers’ paper.”</p>
<p>The same article quotes a young merchant banker, one Malcolm Turnbull, verbatim and at length, arguing “there is a great deal of sanctimoniousness about journalistic independence”, and that newspapers needed to be disciplined in their exercise of independence. “Why is it that Fairfax journalists believe a proprietor can have no hand in the editorial management but a journalist can? As long as the proprietor is acting honestly and responsibly, why can he not?”</p>
<p>When this article ran, John Fairfax Holdings Ltd was in receivership and the odds were high that The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian Financial Review and other mastheads would soon be sold. Circulation and revenue from the classified “rivers of gold” were still bountiful, the technology that would steal them still evolving out of sight. But the fortunes and vulnerabilities of the paper were being pored over thanks to “Young” Warwick Fairfax’s disastrous play to privatise the publicly listed media empire on the eve of the 1987 stockmarket crash.</p>
<h2>Maintain Your Age</h2>
<p>The Age’s <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/ep23age.pdf">Charter of Editorial Independence</a> – the first document of its type in Australia – emerged when British press tycoon Robert Maxwell took a run at the paper in 1988. Age employees banded together to defend the ethos of the masthead, and generous column space was given to reports and opinion pieces explaining to readers the implications of such a sale for editorial integrity and independence. As journalists organised and fortified, mercifully they could not have known this was merely the first skirmish in a 30-year siege to which the Fairfax name suddenly succumbed with a note to the markets just two mornings ago.</p>
<p>“A newspaper cannot function effectively, cannot put the readers first, if the editor and his staff always have their ears cocked to hear what the proprietor wants,” wrote former editor Michael Davie. The newly formed independence committee reached out to readers for support, establishing a fighting fund, which bought a banner advertisement declaring: “The Age must continue to present the news honestly and without fear or favour. It must not become an organ to peddle the views of a person, a political party, or an interest group.”</p>
<p>And here’s where the letters in the cardboard box come in, a small surviving sample of pre-internet clicktivism, requiring scissors, a stamp and a trip to the mailbox. Thousands of coupons poured in over a couple of campaigns, many with encouraging notes and $5 and $10 notes and cheques attached. The operation to save The Age and its editorial culture was coordinated by Insight chief and associate editor David Wilson, the committee’s chargé de mission and hustler, lobbying powerbrokers, opinion-shapers and glitterati for their support. Like so many others in this story, Wilson is deceased, but my recollection from hours listening to him work the phones was that he rarely encountered anything but enthusiasm for the cause, even as he copped no-holds-barred commentary on all that was wrong with the paper. </p>
<p>His greatest coup – assisted by the spirited cadre he led – was getting <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/a-charter-for-all-ages-20120619-20m4e.html">Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser to clench hands</a> under the “Maintain Your Age” banner at a rally in the Treasury Gardens in October 1991.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229554/original/file-20180727-106502-hhpmsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229554/original/file-20180727-106502-hhpmsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229554/original/file-20180727-106502-hhpmsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229554/original/file-20180727-106502-hhpmsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229554/original/file-20180727-106502-hhpmsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229554/original/file-20180727-106502-hhpmsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229554/original/file-20180727-106502-hhpmsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229554/original/file-20180727-106502-hhpmsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Malcolm Fraser joined forces with Gough Whitlam to support Fairfax newspapers’ editorial independence in 1991. The Age associate editor David Wilson is on the left.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">maintainyourage.org</span></span>
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<p>But his fondest recruit was surgeon and POW Sir Edward “Weary” Dunlop, who apparently on initial approach assumed the campaign was concerned with elderly rights, but who nonetheless threw himself wholeheartedly behind The Age because that was a good cause too.</p>
<p>The paper was then facing a takeover by a consortium led by Canadian mogul Conrad Black (later jailed) and Australia’s Kerry Packer. Thousands of readers marched up Collins Street. Whitlam moved a motion calling on the Hawke Labor government to do everything possible to prevent further media concentration and foreign ownership. Fraser seconded it.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/paul-keating-unleashes-vitriolic-attack-on-nines-takeover-of-fairfax-100604">Paul Keating unleashes vitriolic attack on Nine's takeover of Fairfax</a>
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<p>As the columnist Bob Millington had reflected in a piece rifling through the “Maintain Your Age” mailbag, “if politics makes strange bedfellows, defending a newspaper brings an even stranger, yet wonderful, collection of people together”. Over these early years the campaign enlisted support from individuals you could not imagine having any more in common than a football team (it is, after all, Melbourne). BHP chairman Sir James Balderstone, historian Professor Manning Clark, ACTU secretary Bill Kelty, Victorian Farmers Federation chief Heather Mitchell, former Victorian premiers John Cain and Sir Rupert Hamer, philanthropist and prisons campaigner Dame Phyllis Frost, Greens leader Bob Brown and RSL president Bruce Ruxton.</p>
<p>And then there were the coupon signers. Millington unearthed coupons and cheques from descendants of the Syme family and a 12-year-old boy from Brighton. Readers in Albury, Rosanna and Bentleigh declared their decades of subscription, the prize for longevity going to Mrs Florence Williams of St Kilda who “says she reads The Age from cover to cover each day. Mrs Williams will be 99 next Wednesday”. Bless her, and Millo, (both departed), but Mrs Williams represents the extreme end of a once rusted-on and apparently worthless demographic, which the enterprise has long since jettisoned.</p>
<h2>A certain hollowness</h2>
<p>The box of letters sat under my desk when we revived the independence committee a decade ago as we tried to defend the spirit of the charter from the storm of the great disruption. We wearily dusted off and enlisted the old tactics, reaching out to influencers and readers, this time using the infinitely more powerful tools of the same cybersphere that was eating us alive. The response was gratifying, but had a certain hollowness. Was it real, or just an echo?</p>
<p>As efforts crank up to defend Fairfax’s editorial tradition, if not its name, when it is consumed by Nine, I’m all too aware that the institutional journalism that defines my generation and my imagination has all but vanished. When I summon up Fairfax in talking journalism with my students, for me it’s this great warts-and-all beast with a proud history, noble ambition and organic connection to its community; for them it’s a limp tagline in their feed.</p>
<p>Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood yesterday tried to assure journalists that “there will be plenty of Fairfax Media DNA in the merged company and the board”. I hope so, because the remaining journalists and editors continue to produce stories of extraordinary calibre with little time and ever diminishing resources. But I wondered, given the vanishing of the masthead’s resonance in their lives, whether the community Fairfax served has already been lost, and might only be retrieved by extracting DNA from the coupons in the box, like extinct creatures out of amber.</p>
<p>“Where do you get your news?” I asked my students on Monday, as I do at the beginning of every semester. “Twitter” one of them replied. No, actually, you don’t.</p>
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<p><em>Jo Chandler was a journalist at The Age from 1989-2012, and a former chair of the Age Independence Committee.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100667/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Chandler has a shareholding in Fairfax Media.</span></em></p>The Age Charter of Editorial Independence – the first document of its type in Australia – first emerged in 1988. It was defended time and again over the following three decades.Jo Chandler, Lecturer, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1006132018-07-26T12:14:32Z2018-07-26T12:14:32Z#NineFairfax deal end of an era for Australia’s media titans<p>Competition and co-operation. The former may seem an obvious aspect of the Australian media landscape, but it has always gone hand-in-hand with pragmatic co-operation. </p>
<p>Since the 1920s, the Packer and Murdoch media companies have been entwined with the oldest of Australia’s “old media” firms, Fairfax Media, which has its origins in the 1841 endeavours of printer and journalist <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/fairfax-john-3493">John Fairfax</a>.</p>
<p>When a young Frank Packer and his business partner, former Queensland Labor Premier and federal Treasurer <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/theodore-edward-granville-8776">E.G. Theodore</a> , re-launched the Sydney Telegraph as the <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/">Daily Telegraph</a> in 1936, the Dickensian <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/">Sydney Morning Herald</a> responded by hiring new editorial staff, using more pictures, encouraging tighter writing, and improving its coverage of horse racing. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/paul-keating-unleashes-vitriolic-attack-on-nines-takeover-of-fairfax-100604">Paul Keating unleashes vitriolic attack on Nine's takeover of Fairfax</a>
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<p>For decades the two newspapers – The Telegraph a tabloid from 1942, and the Herald with (finally) news on its front page from 1944 – vied for scoops. </p>
<p>But while there was genuine competition for news supremacy, the Telegraph repeatedly tried and failed to break the Fairfax company’s stranglehold on classified advertising, the famous “rivers of gold” that fuelled the Herald until that great disrupter, the internet. </p>
<p>Even if the Fairfaxes, and <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/murdoch-sir-keith-arthur-7693">Sir Keith Murdoch</a> in Melbourne, failed to regard the pugnacious Packer as a gentleman, there was a kind of gentlemanly code of honour, and understanding, between the knights of the Australian media.</p>
<p>When Christmas choristers performed “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” outside his Bellevue Hill mansion, Sir Frank offered them money to go down the road and perform “Hark! The Telegraph Angels Sing” outside Sir Warwick Fairfax’s residence.</p>
<p>Early competition between the three groups focused on daily and Sunday newspapers, and magazines, but their expanding media interests also led to co-operative agreements. </p>
<p>Before the Australian Broadcasting Control Board’s 1958 hearings for applications for television licences in Brisbane and Adelaide, the main Sydney and Melbourne television proprietors – Packer, <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/henderson-rupert-albert-geary-12621">“Rags” Henderson</a> from Fairfax, and <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/williams-sir-john-francis-15864">Sir John Williams</a> from the Herald and Weekly Times – met at Fairfax headquarters to “carve up the empire”. They agreed to combine their interests to ensure an equitable program-sharing arrangement if there should only be one licence awarded in each city.</p>
<p>In 1960 Murdoch’s only son, Rupert, entered Sydney by the back door by buying the suburban newspaper chain Cumberland Newspapers for £1 million. Vowing not to let this invasion go unchallenged, Fairfax and Packer contributed equal capital to form a new joint company, Suburban Publications. </p>
<p>Vigorous, at times farcical, competition between the two companies did not last; as Fairfax historian Gavin Souter noted, “war was being waged in the suburbs, but it was limited war”. </p>
<p>In 1961 Cumberland Newspapers and Suburban Publications concluded a non-compete agreement that would not have been permitted under the Trade Practices Act that became law in 1974.</p>
<p>By the 1960s the press tentacles of Fairfax, Packer and Murdoch had stretched into radio, television and newsprint, if with different emphases. </p>
<p>Fairfax Media was a titan, not just in Sydney, as it launched the <a href="https://www.afr.com/">Australian Financial Review</a> nationally in 1951, purchased the <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/">Canberra Times</a> in 1964, and secured a major interest in <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/">The Age</a> in 1966. It also controlled the powerful Macquarie radio network (headed by <a href="https://www.2gb.com/">2GB</a>) and ATN7 (Sydney’s Channel Seven). Fairfax figures appeared on Channel Seven current affairs programs, while TCN9 and GTV9 in Melbourne were known as the Packer/Telegraph stations.</p>
<p>In 1972 Sir Frank finally acceded to the pressure of his sons, Clyde and Kerry, to sell the Daily and Sunday Telegraphs. Rupert Murdoch’s News Limited now had the “economies of scale” that came with publishing an afternoon newspaper (the Daily Mirror) as well as a morning newspaper. </p>
<p>In 1990, young Warwick Fairfax’s disastrous bid to privatise John Fairfax & Sons resulted in <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/">the Herald</a> and associated interests being lost to the family. </p>
<p>Kerry’s son, James, chose the timing of his family’s exit from the media, selling off Australian Consolidated Press and Channel Nine to private equity between 2006 and 2012.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-modern-tragedy-nine-fairfax-merger-a-disaster-for-quality-media-100584">A modern tragedy: Nine-Fairfax merger a disaster for quality media</a>
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<p>Now, following last year’s <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017A00113">changes to media control and diversity rules</a>, Nine and Fairfax Media have “merged”. It seems more like a takeover, with 51.1% of equity to be held by Nine. The CEO, Hugh Marks and chair of the board, another former Treasurer, in this case Liberal Peter Costello, will come from Nine. The new company will be known as NEC (Nine Entertainment Co.). </p>
<p>If shareholders and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approve the transaction, the Fairfax name will be gone from the Australian media. </p>
<p>Two companies, with very different histories and cultures, will be forced to work together in the never-ending search for efficiencies and revenue in a brutal landscape for newspapers, magazines and television. </p>
<p>Frank and Kerry Packer (whose 1990s attempt to gain control of John Fairfax & Sons was stymied) are no doubt dancing a jig in heaven (or in hell), as the television company they founded is on the cusp of gaining control of the press assets they envied. Rupert Murdoch remains Australia’s last media titan.</p>
<p>On this landmark day for the Australian media, I can report one unqualified piece of good news. </p>
<p>After years of uncertainty and negotiations, the <a href="http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/blogs/fairfax-media-archive-project-where-are-we">Fairfax Media Archive has been acquired</a> and sorted by the State Library of New South Wales. More than 2,100 boxes of priceless material, ranging across the press, radio and television, and the dynasty, companies, outlets and workers, are now accessible to researchers. </p>
<p>While the focus is principally on the period before 1991, the collection will in time presumably document what led to what was quickly dubbed, by social media, the #NineFairfax deal.</p>
<p><em>Bridget Griffen-Foley is a Professor of Media at Macquarie University, and the editor of<a href="https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/7728883"> A Companion to the Australian Media</a>. She is keynote speaker at the <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/symposium-the-fairfax-media-archive-tickets-46270069022">Fairfax Media Archive Symposium</a> at the State Library of New South Wales on 10 August.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100613/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bridget Griffen-Foley receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Two companies with very different histories and cultures will now be forced to work together in search of efficiencies and revenue in a brutal media landscape.Bridget Griffen-Foley, Director of the Centre for Media History, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/814872017-07-26T02:04:25Z2017-07-26T02:04:25ZTurnbull’s Trump parody was only a brief Twitter hit in June<p>Secretly recorded video of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull impersonating Donald Trump was a brief Twitter hit in June. But the month was dominated by Australian federal politics and other domestic issues, as Twitter users largely ignored news from Syria, North Korea and other trouble spots.</p>
<p>Beyond Turnbull’s impersonation, charges against George Pell and the Australian Census were the two major stories highlighted by the Australian Twitter News Index (ATNIX) in June. ATNIX tracks the sharing of articles from Australian news and opinion sites on Twitter.</p>
<p>Nine News broke the story of Malcolm Turnbull’s Trump impersonation and saw the biggest increase in Twitter engagement. <a href="http://www.9news.com.au/national/2017/06/15/14/18/malcolm-turnbull-impersonates-donald-trump-in-leaked-audio">Nine’s post of the leaked video</a> racked up more than 11,000 tweets over June 15 and 16 alone. This was significantly higher than Nine’s long-term average of 1,000 to 1,500 tweets per day, which it quickly returned to. </p>
<p>This suggests that isolated news scoops do not change well-established patterns of audience attention for more than a few days.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179743/original/file-20170726-30134-k0gbk0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179743/original/file-20170726-30134-k0gbk0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179743/original/file-20170726-30134-k0gbk0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179743/original/file-20170726-30134-k0gbk0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179743/original/file-20170726-30134-k0gbk0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179743/original/file-20170726-30134-k0gbk0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179743/original/file-20170726-30134-k0gbk0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179743/original/file-20170726-30134-k0gbk0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australian Twitter News Index, June 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Axel Bruns / QUT Digital Media Research Centre</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179744/original/file-20170726-30149-117xo4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179744/original/file-20170726-30149-117xo4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179744/original/file-20170726-30149-117xo4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179744/original/file-20170726-30149-117xo4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179744/original/file-20170726-30149-117xo4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179744/original/file-20170726-30149-117xo4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179744/original/file-20170726-30149-117xo4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179744/original/file-20170726-30149-117xo4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australian Twitter News Index, June 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Axel Bruns / QUT Digital Media Research Centre</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other widely shared stories during June included ABC News’ exposé on <a href="http://abc.net.au/news/8620128">food made from dog meat being sold to unsuspecting tourists in Bali</a> (3,100 tweets), its reports of <a href="http://abc.net.au/news/8547668">charges laid against Cardinal George Pell</a> over historic sex offences (2,000 tweets), and its inventive <a href="http://abc.net.au/news/8634318">visualisation of the results of the 2016 Australian Census</a> (1,900 tweets).</p>
<p>The <a href="http://smh.com.au/x/-gx0v8y.html">charges against George Pell</a> also received a strong response at the Sydney Morning Herald (3,300 tweets). An <a href="http://smh.com.au/x/-gwhuyx.html">open letter</a> by Martina Navratilova accusing Margaret Court of homophobia also generated considerable interest (1,900 tweets), as did a report on Foreign Minister Julie Bishop’s <a href="http://smh.com.au/x/-gqzauy.html">suspected links with Chinese political donors</a> (1,700 tweets).</p>
<p><a href="http://connexity.com/au/hitwise/">Hitwise</a> data on the total number of visits to leading Australian news and opinion sites reveals a similar picture. Nine News received a brief boost from the leaked video of Malcolm Turnbull’s Trump impersonation. Despite this, ABC News managed to pull ahead of Nine to become the third most visited Australian news sites in the month.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179745/original/file-20170726-20161-1p1pa84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179745/original/file-20170726-20161-1p1pa84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179745/original/file-20170726-20161-1p1pa84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179745/original/file-20170726-20161-1p1pa84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179745/original/file-20170726-20161-1p1pa84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179745/original/file-20170726-20161-1p1pa84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179745/original/file-20170726-20161-1p1pa84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179745/original/file-20170726-20161-1p1pa84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Total visits to selected Australian news and opinion sites, June 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data courtesy of Hitwise, a division of Connexity.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179746/original/file-20170726-2133-1osfgv9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179746/original/file-20170726-2133-1osfgv9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179746/original/file-20170726-2133-1osfgv9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179746/original/file-20170726-2133-1osfgv9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179746/original/file-20170726-2133-1osfgv9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179746/original/file-20170726-2133-1osfgv9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179746/original/file-20170726-2133-1osfgv9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179746/original/file-20170726-2133-1osfgv9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">AHNIX June.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data courtesy of Hitwise, a division of Connexity.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The strong showing for the national broadcaster reflects a long-term trend. In recent years, total site visits to The Age and the Daily Mail have declined slightly, while Nine News has stagnated and ABC News has grown. If the trend continues, ABC News will permanently establish its position as the third most visited Australian news site.</p>
<p>It is remarkable that Australian Twitter was <a href="https://theconversation.com/schapelle-corby-fails-to-draw-a-twitter-audience-78914">once again</a> caught up in domestic issues – in spite of the considerable global instability caused by Brexit, Trump, the concerns over Syria and North Korea, and various other trouble spots. This indicates, at least in part, that we have now incorporated these daily uncertainties into our everyday lives: we no longer feel the need to share news stories about them on a daily basis. </p>
<p>It also means that those of us who continue to monitor these situations closely are more likely to consume and share news from closer to the source: for instance, by sharing news from British or American outlets rather than waiting for Australian media to recapitulate the latest developments.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>ATNIX is based on tracking all tweets which contain links pointing to the URLs of a large selection of leading Australian news and opinion sites (even if those links have been shortened at some point). Datasets for those sites which cover more than just news and opinion (abc.net.au, sbs.com.au, ninemsn.com.au) are filtered to exclude the non-news sections of those sites (e.g. abc.net.au/tv, catchup.ninemsn.com.au).</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81487/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<h4 class="border">Disclosure</h4><p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research is supported by the ARC Future Fellowship project "Understanding Intermedia Information Flows in the Australian Online Public Sphere". Axel Bruns is collaborating with The Conversation in the ARC Linkage project "Amplifying Public Value: Scholarly Contributions' Impact on Public Debate". Data on Australian Internet users’ news browsing patterns are provided courtesy of Hitwise, a division of Connexity (<a href="http://connexity.com/au/hitwise/">http://connexity.com/au/hitwise/</a>).</span></em></p>Australian Twitter users largely ignored news from Syria, North Korea and other trouble spots in June, focussing instead on domestic politics.Axel Bruns, Professor, Creative Industries, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/790012017-06-18T19:54:05Z2017-06-18T19:54:05ZMixed media: how Australia’s newspapers became locked in a war of left versus right<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173923/original/file-20170615-24976-1fbglde.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Australian media's lack of diversity puts significant strain on our democracy.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.allworldnewspapers.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We are living through a period of fragmentation and polarisation in public discourse on a scale mankind has not before experienced. By far the greatest fragmenting and polarising force is social media.</p>
<p>An increasing proportion of the population, especially those under 40, get their news from social media, overwhelmingly from Facebook. The algorithms that tailor what Facebook prioritises for each individual allow users to choose only those topics or opinions that they want to hear. This has led to the formation of echo chambers or information cocoons.</p>
<p>So we have the paradox of the internet: the technology that provides a global village square also provides the means by which people in the square can block their ears and shut their eyes to things they don’t want to hear or see.</p>
<p>This places great strain on democracy. In the words of William Butler Yeats, things fall apart, the centre cannot hold.</p>
<p>In Australia, the effects of this phenomenon are made worse by the increased polarisation of the country’s two main newspaper companies, News Corporation and Fairfax Media.</p>
<p>Australia has very little diversity in its traditional media sector, especially its newspapers. News Corp controls roughly 70% of daily circulation and Fairfax roughly 20%. And for all their cutbacks in journalistic capacity, it is still the newspapers that inject the most new material into the 24/7 news cycle.</p>
<p>So when these two companies become polarised to the extent they have, there is a void at the centre. Notably, this is where The Guardian Australia has positioned itself (in reporting, at least – its opinions still lean to the left).</p>
<p>Sharp differences in political outlook among newspapers are nothing new, of course.</p>
<p>In Melbourne, The Argus was conservative, the paper of the <a href="http://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/archive/discover_collections/history_nation/agriculture/life/squattocracy/index.html">squattocracy</a> and the merchant class. It opposed land reform and favoured free trade, while The Age was progressive, supportive of the miners at Eureka, in favour of land reform and a crusader for protectionist trade policy.</p>
<p>In Sydney, The Sydney Morning Herald was profoundly conservative. The paper was opposed to democracy (which it called mobocracy) and supportive of a property franchise for the New South Wales parliament. By contrast, The Empire, founded and edited by Henry Parkes, was guided by the principle that, in a colonial society, the working classes were the nucleus and makers of a democratic nation.</p>
<p>So there has never been a golden age when newspapers were heroically detached from interests and ideologies.</p>
<p>However, in the post-war period, the ideal of impartiality in news coverage gained a strong hold on the journalistic mind. American newspapers were the exemplars of this ideal. They were heavily influenced by the <a href="https://www.poynter.org/2015/today-in-media-history-in-1947-the-press-reported-on-the-hutchins-commission-report/329913/">1947 report of the US Commission on the Freedom of the Press</a></p>
<p>The commission had been set up to try to rebuild public confidence in the media after a period of corrosive sensationalism and propagandising in the early 20th century. Appointed and paid for by the media itself, it consisted of intelligent and high-minded people from the media, government and academia. Its intellectual leader was a Harvard philosopher, William Ernest Hocking.</p>
<p>The commission’s report laid a solemn duty on the media to render a reliable account of the events of the day: factual, impartial and accurate. Comment was to play no part in news reporting and was to be confined to pages set aside for it.</p>
<p>Generations of journalists in Western democracies – including me – were trained in this ideal.</p>
<p>Over time, however, it reduced news stories to a desiccated collection of unexplained facts, devoid of context and analysis. And, anyway, the idea of a completely impartial and detached reporter came to be seen as fanciful, not to say fraudulent.</p>
<p>Gradually, news stories became more analytical, which introduced an overt element of subjectivity. Comment began to infiltrate news pages, so that now we have reached a point where news reportage, analysis and comment are commonly woven together.</p>
<p>Alongside these developments, ideological fissures were opening up in Australian society. The period of post-war social unity around a white Australia, opposition to communism, and other components of <a href="https://cpd.org.au/2005/06/updating-the-australian-settlement/">the Australian Settlement</a>, such as wage arbitration and industry protection, began to crack.</p>
<p>Newspaper ownership also became more concentrated. In 1983, the Syme family sold The Age to Fairfax. In 1987, changes to media ownership laws introduced by Paul Keating enabled Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp to swallow up the huge but ailing Herald and Weekly Times.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in Britain, Murdoch was getting a taste of what it was like to wield power over governments. Margaret Thatcher in particular was in thrall to him, as scholars such as <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/general-books/current-affairs-politics/Rupert-Murdoch-David-McKnight-9781742373522">David McKnight</a> and <a href="https://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/books/rupert-murdoch_a-reassessment/">Rod Tiffen</a> have shown in their biographies of Murdoch.</p>
<p>His stable of newspapers in Britain included populist tabloids appealing to conservative blue-collar voters and influential broadsheets such as The Times and Sunday Times. These became increasingly conservative under his control, as the distinguished editor of those papers, Harold Evans, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/sep/13/my-paper-chase-harold-evans">pointed out in his memoirs</a>.</p>
<p>It seems Murdoch wanted to replicate this model in Australia. He had already started out with populist tabloids, yet his national broadsheet, The Australian, had begun life in 1964 as a vibrant small-l liberal newspaper.</p>
<p>However, as Murdoch’s vehicle for exerting influence on policymakers, it became increasingly conservative. By 1975 The Australian had become so biased to the right in its political coverage that its own <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-murky-beginnings-fraser-became-a-friend-of-diverse-media-39179">journalists went on strike in protest</a>.</p>
<p>Murdoch makes no bones about his right to control what goes in his papers, and his editorial staff have to accommodate themselves to this – or exercise the privilege of resignation.</p>
<p>At Fairfax, the internal culture has been entirely different. In 1988, journalists at The Age persuaded Fairfax management to sign a <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/fairfax-media-charter-of-editorial-independence-20120619-20l4t.html">charter of editorial independence</a> guaranteeing no improper interference in editorial decision-making. Over the following three or four years, the company’s other titles adopted this charter.</p>
<p>These contrasting cultures are reflected in the editorial values of the companies’ newspapers. As the News Corp papers have become more stridently conservative, the Fairfax journalists seem to have taken it on themselves to provide at least some ideological counterweight.</p>
<p>It can be seen any day in the choice of stories given prominence and in the contrasting angles taken on political stories.</p>
<p>A good example was the treatment given to the controversy last year and early this year over the Australian Human Rights Commission. The Australian was campaigning vigorously to have the commission president, Professor Gillian Triggs, removed. The Fairfax newspapers focused on sustaining her position, particularly in respect of refugees and asylum seekers.</p>
<p>Similarly, with climate change, deniers get a prominence in News Corp papers that they never get in Fairfax.</p>
<p>This polarisation also reflects the deep divisions in the composition of the federal parliament, which in turn reflect deep divisions in the community over issues such as climate change and asylum seekers.</p>
<p>The fragmentation of political discourse brought about by social media only serves to heighten these divisions.</p>
<p>In these circumstances, the body politic would benefit from a renewed commitment by journalists to the qualities that underpinned the ideal of impartiality: accuracy, fairness, open-mindedness and above all balance, which follows the weight of evidence, not the bias of ideology.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79001/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Denis Muller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>News Corp on the right, Fairfax on the left. This division has a long history in Australia, to the detriment of quality journalism and public debate.Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/789142017-06-07T23:32:47Z2017-06-07T23:32:47ZSchapelle Corby fails to draw a Twitter audience<p>Between the bombshell announcement of further deep staff cuts at Fairfax publications, subsequent strike action by its journalists, the handing down of the 2017 federal budget, and the much-publicised return of drug smuggler Schapelle Corby to Australia, the news in May was surprisingly strongly focused on domestic Australian issues.</p>
<p>But not all of these matters were reflected equally strongly in the Australian Twitter News Index (ATNIX) for the month. ATNIX tracks the sharing of articles from Australian news and opinion sites on Twitter.</p>
<p>The major story in the Australian news industry itself during May was <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-03/fairfax-media-cut-further-125-editorial-staff-in-restructure/8492738">the staff strike at Fairfax</a>, triggered by significant job cuts across the editorial offices of the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and other publications. The walkout – which also affected Fairfax’s coverage of the federal budget – clearly received considerable sympathy from Australia’s Twitter users; several well-connected Twitter users in Australia posted calls to boycott Fairfax sites and refrain from sharing their articles during this time.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"860625159790526464"}"></div></p>
<p>As a result, during the period of the strike on 3 to 10 May, sharing rates for articles in the leading Fairfax publications declined precipitously. Both SMH and The Age only return to standard day-to-day sharing levels on Twitter by the middle of the month.</p>
<p>Indeed, the Sydney Morning Herald’s weakness over the course of the strike is so pronounced that it very nearly enables perennially third-placed site news.com.au to catch up. news.com.au’s strong performance is driven in part also by its attention-grabbing coverage of <a href="http://www.news.com.au/news-story/b628f1e1ca3813a29307398dabb4f589">a “mystery monster” washing up on the shore of an Indonesian island</a>, which went viral well beyond the site’s ordinary Australian audience. The article was shared in some 4,600 tweets on 13 May alone, and in almost 5,800 tweets over the course of the entire month.</p>
<p>Another Sydney paper, the Daily Telegraph, doesn’t usually show up on ATNIX, as few Twitter users appear prepared to publicly share the stories they read on its site. However, in May it too records a brief but major spike in sharing, for its coverage of <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/news-story/8a8f82a38746dff4d6204aa750bde3f9">Korean boy band BTS’s arrival in Sydney</a> (4,400 shares on 25 May). This is another example of an Australian news story spreading well beyond the national audience.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172369/original/file-20170606-18469-1swg5yt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172369/original/file-20170606-18469-1swg5yt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172369/original/file-20170606-18469-1swg5yt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172369/original/file-20170606-18469-1swg5yt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172369/original/file-20170606-18469-1swg5yt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172369/original/file-20170606-18469-1swg5yt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172369/original/file-20170606-18469-1swg5yt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172369/original/file-20170606-18469-1swg5yt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australian Twitter News Index, May 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Axel Bruns / QUT Digital Media Research Centre</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meanwhile, the return of drug smuggler Schapelle Corby from Bali on 27 May barely even rates a mention in the Australian Twittersphere. This is even in spite of, or quite possibly because of, the breathless coverage of Corby’s release by the mainstream media. While the leading commercial TV networks even interrupted their scheduled programming to bring us shaky dashcam footage of Corby’s progress from her Balinese residence to the airport, none of the most shared news links on Twitter during this time relate to the story. </p>
<p>ABC News does perform exceptionally well during these final days of the month – but the stories that drive that performance are about <a href="http://abc.net.au/news/8570158">U.S. Senator John McCain’s visit to Australia</a> (2,600 shares), and <a href="http://abc.net.au/news/8567166">a fisherman’s close encounter with a great white shark</a> (1,100 shares). Meanwhile, Nine News and Yahoo! 7 News receive practically no attention from Twitter users for their efforts in covering the Corby saga.</p>
<p>This pattern of disinterest is also reflected in <a href="http://connexity.com/au/hitwise/">Hitwise data</a> on the total number of visits to these Australian news sites. Despite the hype, the last few days of May appear utterly ordinary: Nine News and Yahoo! 7 News, along with most other news sites, fail to see any notable influx of visitors as a result of this latest development in the Corby saga. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172370/original/file-20170606-28191-4ddn41.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172370/original/file-20170606-28191-4ddn41.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172370/original/file-20170606-28191-4ddn41.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172370/original/file-20170606-28191-4ddn41.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172370/original/file-20170606-28191-4ddn41.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172370/original/file-20170606-28191-4ddn41.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172370/original/file-20170606-28191-4ddn41.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172370/original/file-20170606-28191-4ddn41.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Total visits to selected Australian news and opinion sites, May 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data courtesy of Hitwise, a division of Connexity.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meanwhile, in spite of the considerable impact on how much its articles were shared on Twitter, the total number of visits to Fairfax sites during the staff strike appears to decline only slightly against the long-term average. Readers might not have advertised in tweets that they continued to read the SMH and The Age during this time, but continue to read they did, for the most part. The 37.8 million site visits to the SMH in May, for instance, are virtually unchanged from previous months.</p>
<p>It’s notable, though, that on budget Tuesday and the following Wednesday (9 and 10 May), it is ABC News that performs well above average: for the coverage of this major event in the Australian political calendar, readers clearly preferred the national broadcaster this year.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>ATNIX is based on tracking all tweets which contain links pointing to the URLs of a large selection of leading Australian news and opinion sites (even if those links have been shortened at some point). Datasets for those sites which cover more than just news and opinion (abc.net.au, sbs.com.au, ninemsn.com.au) are filtered to exclude the non-news sections of those sites (e.g. abc.net.au/tv, catchup.ninemsn.com.au).</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78914/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<h4 class="border">Disclosure</h4><p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research is supported by the ARC Future Fellowship project "Understanding Intermedia Information Flows in the Australian Online Public Sphere". Axel Bruns is collaborating with The Conversation in the ARC Linkage project "Amplifying Public Value: Scholarly Contributions' Impact on Public Debate".
Data on Australian Internet users’ news browsing patterns are provided courtesy of Hitwise, a division of Connexity (<a href="http://connexity.com/au/hitwise/">http://connexity.com/au/hitwise/</a>).</span></em></p>The Schapelle Corby media circus wasn’t reflected in Twitter stats and calls to boycott Fairfax during the staff strike show limited impact on this social media platform as well.Axel Bruns, Professor, Creative Industries, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/785992017-06-05T20:03:29Z2017-06-05T20:03:29ZTime for a ‘digital’ reality check on Fairfax and The New York Times<p>I think it’s time to take a reality check on the state of news publishers digital transformation. While digital revenue streams may be delivering, there’s still a strong reliance on print for revenue and research shows readers engage more with print. </p>
<p>Media economist <a href="https://www.academia.edu/33222091/Selling_horses_when_consumers_prefer_sports_cars_The_fundamental_product_problem_of_legacy_news_providers_in_the_digital_world">Robert G. Picard.</a> summarises well the key problem with digital transformation. He notes that as news publishers focus on growing digital revenue, they forget their customers and their needs.</p>
<p>He notes that while journalism institutions have embraced the challenge of monetising digital media and increase revenue, this “institutionally focused strategy is designed to serve institutional interests not improve its offerings”. </p>
<p>In fact, newspapers keep offering the wrong things to their audiences. In Picard’s words, they sell readers horses when they actually prefer sports cars.</p>
<p>I think his words also apply accurately to Fairfax Media. Its digital strategy is focused on increasing shareholder revenue, and has very little to do with its journalism or journalistic offerings. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317176678_Does_digital_bring_home_the_bacon">My recent research</a> focused on the digital strategies of Fairfax Media and The New York Times Co. While the two “journalism institutions” pursue different digital strategies, the outcomes for two newsrooms are somewhat different. The New York Times strategy is based on digital-only subscriptions, whereas Fairfax is betting on its digital property listing service (Domain). </p>
<p>The main difference between the two is that while The New York Times continues to invest in its newsrooms and expand internationally (it has journalists filing stories from over 150 countries), Fairfax continues to chop newsroom jobs. It’s currently planning to cut 25% its newsroom staff from its Australian flagship papers to save $A30 million. </p>
<h2>Digital is growing, but so what?</h2>
<p>In 2016 major newspapers in the United States saw strong growth in digital subscriptions: The New York Times recorded a 47% rise and The Wall Street Journal 23% growth, according to the recently published <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/06/01/circulation-and-revenue-fall-for-newspaper-industry/">State of the News Media report by Pew Research Center</a>.</p>
<p>However, the report also notes that “these gains did not translate into circulation growth for the industry overall” and the combined digital and print circulation of newspapers fell 8% – “marking the 28th consecutive year of declines”. Digital advertising revenue also declined, but the proportion of digital advertising revenue of total revenue grew to 29%, because print advertising income continued to decline. </p>
<p>Fairfax, currently in the midst of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/tpg-bid-for-fairfax-what-usually-happens-when-private-equity-meets-media-77313">bidding war among private equity firms</a>, is still driven by digital revenue from Domain. But the management of the company changed its tune in February, in terms of its print strategy.</p>
<p>Fairfax <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/feb/22/fairfax-media-announces-half-year-profit-and-plan-to-keep-printing-newspapers">CEO Greg Hywood</a> explained “while we have considered many options, the model we have developed involves continuing to print our publications daily for some years yet”, adding that “this is the best commercial outcome for shareholders based on current advertising and subscription trends”. </p>
<p>In May, media industry commentator <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/hellman--friedman-makes-rival-bid-for-fairfax-media-20170517-gw7e5r.html">Mark Westfield </a> said that Hellman & Friedman, which is bidding for Fairfax’s media assets, “wouldn’t be interested in buying [Fairfax] unless they saw the assets of The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and Australian Financial Review and Domain as good assets to maintain”. </p>
<p>The sale or closure of newspapers wouldn’t make sense as Fairfax is still print reliant in terms of its revenue, and the same applies to The New York Times. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317176678_Does_digital_bring_home_the_bacon">My research</a> shows in 2016 Fairfax print still delivered 78.6% of revenue, while digital was only 21.4% of its total revenue. Digital advertising made 18.5% of the total revenue, and digital subscriptions 2.86% of total.</p>
<p>I also found in a six-year period from 2011 to 2016, digital revenue of Fairfax grew 69% and at the same time print & other revenue declined 31.5%. </p>
<p>In comparison, in a five-year period from 2012 to 2016 (when figures were available) The New York Times digital revenue grew 32% – more slowly than Fairfax’s, but its print revenue dropped less than Fairfax’s - 11.5%. In 2016, digital made 27.8% of its total revenue and print 72.2%. The New York Times also continues to be print reliant in terms of its revenue. </p>
<p>Recent studies by media scholars <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1461670X.2017.1279028?journalCode=rjos20">Neil Thurman</a> and <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17512786.2016.1208056?journalCode=rjop20">Iris Chyi & Ori Tenenboim </a> suggest that print continues to be strong in terms of readership. A study of 11 British newspapers by Thurman shows that the readers spent more time with print newspapers than with the online edition.</p>
<p>In their study, Chyi and Teneboim found that the “(supposedly dying) print product still reaches far more readers than the (supposedly promising) digital product in these newspapers’ home markets”.</p>
<p>In the light of this, it can be argued that digital transformation is continuing, but being fully reliant on digital readers may be a myth – as <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/digital-sublime">academic Vincent Mosco</a> puts it: “a captivating fiction, a promise unfulfilled and perhaps unfulfillable.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78599/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Merja Myllylahti does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While digital revenue streams may be delivering, there’s still a strong reliance on print for revenue and research shows readers engage more with print.Merja Myllylahti, Project manager and author for Journalism, Media and Democracy (JMAD) Research Center, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/783292017-05-27T01:27:08Z2017-05-27T01:27:08ZThe ABC is not siphoning audiences from Fairfax<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171104/original/file-20170526-23241-hlf2q5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Claims that ABC News siphons readers away from Fairfax publications are unfounded. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Joel Carrett</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood has been busy. His company’s announcement on 3 May 2017 that <a href="https://www.crikey.com.au/2017/05/03/fairfax-to-cut-125-newsroom-jobs/">Fairfax would sack 125 of its newsroom staff</a> led to Sydney Morning Herald and The Age journalists going on strike, at the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-03/fairfax-media-cut-further-125-editorial-staff-in-restructure/8492738">worst possible time in the Australian political calendar</a>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, media reports highlighted <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/09/fairfax-boss-greg-hywood-paid-more-2016">Hywood’s annual pay of over A$7 million</a> – which at <a href="http://www.payscale.com/research/AU/Job=Journalist/Salary">a median reported salary for journalists of just over A$51,000</a> would comfortably pay for the most of the staff laid off in Hywood’s announcement.</p>
<p>This is not to say that Hywood does not deserve a CEO-level salary, of course. But in light of the criticism of the job losses at Fairfax, <a href="https://amp.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/17/fairfax-chief-greg-hywood-refuses-to-discuss-pay-deal-at-senate-hearing">his defence of executive pay levels was tin-eared</a>, to say the least:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We pride ourselves on providing above-market salaries… We need good people to work at this business. You don’t fix the issues confronting the media business by doing the same thing again and again, and expecting a different result.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yet here we are again, with more journalists sacked, and no clear indication of how this is going to make Fairfax’s news outlets more attractive.</p>
<p>Faced with such questioning from the Senate inquiry into public interest journalism, Hywood resorted to a familiar trope for commercial media executives – <a href="https://amp.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/17/fairfax-chief-greg-hywood-refuses-to-discuss-pay-deal-at-senate-hearing">blame market distortion by the public broadcaster</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The ABC is creating additional pressure on commercial media by aggressively competing for the same audience that commercial media rely on by providing online content for free, undermining our ability to create a sustainable model.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, this seems to be fundamentally ignorant of the fact that for years now, the ABC has done what few commercial news outlets have been prepared to do: promote the news stories published by its competitors.</p>
<h2>Promoting the work of others</h2>
<p>The ABC has long partnered with Microsoft’s Bing search engine to include a block of links to related content from elsewhere on the web alongside its own stories. This recognises audiences’ interest in seeing multiple independent angles on the same story. Sadly, commercial outlets like the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) still lack this basic feature and link only to (often virtually identical) stories on their sister sites, such as The Age.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170892/original/file-20170524-13190-12d5kb6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170892/original/file-20170524-13190-12d5kb6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170892/original/file-20170524-13190-12d5kb6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170892/original/file-20170524-13190-12d5kb6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170892/original/file-20170524-13190-12d5kb6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170892/original/file-20170524-13190-12d5kb6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170892/original/file-20170524-13190-12d5kb6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170892/original/file-20170524-13190-12d5kb6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Related links in a recent ABC News article - including to Fairfax property <em>Australian Financial Review</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Screenshot by Axel Bruns</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rather than siphoning eyeballs from its commercial competitors, could ABC News be a driver of traffic to them, then? Traffic data from <a href="http://www.hitwise.com/au">Hitwise</a>, which tracks Australian users’ web browsing patterns, can provide an answer to this question.</p>
<p>First, let us put these sites in perspective. In order to compare like with like, we’ll use the numbers for ABC News here, rather than visits to the main ABC site with its multitude of non-news content.</p>
<p>Hitwise data report that the SMH consistently attracts a much larger volume of visits than ABC News. In March 2017, for instance, its 38.2 million total visits constitute about a quarter more than ABC News’ 29.9 million. The Age receives around 27.5 million total visits over the same period. Neither can compete with undisputed market leader news.com.au, with 72.8 million total visits that month.</p>
<p>Put together, visits to these two Fairfax properties are already more than twice as large as those to ABC News, then – if the ABC is undermining Fairfax’s market position, it’s not making a very good job of it.</p>
<h2>Traffic patterns</h2>
<p>But this is not a zero-sum game, of course. Visitors to ABC News, aided by its helpful links to external content, may well find themselves heading to the Fairfax outlets for more information. Even in the absence of outbound links from Fairfax, the same might be true in reverse, too.</p>
<p>Here, the upstream websites recorded by Hitwise – that is, the sites visited just before coming to the SMH or ABC News – tell an interesting story. The SMH receives the vast plurality of its inbound reader traffic from Google sites: some 38.9% of its traffic enter via Google Australia, Google (international), Google News Australia, or Gmail. Another 7.8% arrive via Facebook or Twitter.</p>
<p>Similar patterns hold for other sites: in March, The Age receives 28.2% of its traffic from Google sites, and 9.2% from Facebook or Twitter. For ABC News, those percentages are 26.9% and 7.9%, respectively. news.com.au gets 32.2% of its traffic from Google sites, and 7.9% from social media.</p>
<p>ABC News’ outbound links are necessarily a much smaller factor than the connections provided by these internet giants, but should not be ignored. In March, 2.1% of the SMH’s traffic began with readers coming in from ABC sites. For The Age, the percentage is even greater: 2.9% of its traffic originated from ABC sites. But the ABC does not play favourites amongst the commercial sites: 2.2% of news.com.au traffic arrived from here.</p>
<p>Such public service is hardly reciprocated, however: only 0.9% of ABC News’ already lower volume of traffic originated from the two Fairfax sites.</p>
<h2>Empty corporate rhetoric</h2>
<p>There are deeper traffic patterns that the Hitwise data cannot reveal. What we see here are only the sites visited immediately before – not pages opened independently in another user session, or arrived at through a more circuitous route. And yes, as quality news publications ABC News and the two Fairfax sites do operate in the same market segment, of course.</p>
<p>But Hywood’s, and other media executives’, statements continue to assume that online audiences make a conscious binary choice between one outlet and another, and that public service media therefore distort the market. This fails to understand <a href="http://www.journalism.org/files/2013/10/facebook_news_10-24-2013.pdf">how serendipitous our news discovery has become</a> in an age of search and social recommendations. It also fails to recognise that serious news followers – the core audience for these sites – will often read multiple stories on the same events, from multiple outlets.</p>
<p>Not least perhaps because they know that understaffed newsrooms now regularly struggle to cover major issues in sufficient detail.</p>
<p>The traffic patterns we have seen here, at any rate, reveal that audiences lost to ABC News should be the least of Greg Hywood’s worries. The major Fairfax sites consistently outperform the ABC in terms of reader traffic, and the public broadcaster is even a net source of visits to the SMH and The Age.</p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="https://amp.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/17/fairfax-chief-greg-hywood-refuses-to-discuss-pay-deal-at-senate-hearing">when Hywood calls for</a> “a level playing field which allows local media to take the necessary steps to compete with Google and Facebook”, he fails to recognise that these platforms are the single greatest source of traffic to Fairfax’s sites.</p>
<p>Fairfax, and other news sites, are not competing with Google and Facebook: for better or worse, they fundamentally rely on them for visibility and visitors. Media businesses that cannot adjust to this fact are doomed to struggle.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Data on Australian Internet users’ news browsing patterns are provided courtesy of <a href="http://www.hitwise.com/au">Hitwise</a>. All Hitwise figures based on data for March 2017.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78329/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<h4 class="border">Disclosure</h4><p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research is supported by the ARC Future Fellowship project "Understanding Intermedia Information Flows in the Australian Online Public Sphere". Axel Bruns is collaborating with The Conversation in the ARC Linkage project "Amplifying Public Value: Scholarly Contributions' Impact on Public Debate".</span></em></p>Explaining Fairfax’s struggles, CEO Greg Hywood blamed the ABC for distorting the market - but the national broadcaster actually drives traffic to its commercial competitors.Axel Bruns, Professor, Creative Industries, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/774672017-05-12T01:39:16Z2017-05-12T01:39:16ZEvery critic counts: why Fairfax must keep its arts journalists<p>Anyone who has crossed a suspension bridge will have contemplated the intricately woven wires that hold it up. Each individual strand is slender, the weight it carries on its own not critical. Yet cut enough of them and the bridge collapses. It is their combined application that makes them effective.</p>
<p>So it is with culture. What bounds its diverse expressions and gives them meaning are the different conversational strands holding it up. There are four main ones: cultural policy, creative arts practice, cultural research, and media arts commentary.</p>
<p>They are interdependent. Journalists talk to artists, and artists read newspapers. Policymakers employ researchers, and researchers follow journalists. Everyone talks to everyone, and over time an understanding evolves that endows books, films, music, computer games and so on with inner life. That turns “culture in Australia”, into “Australian culture”.</p>
<p>It is profoundly consequential when one of these strands looks like breaking, as it does now with the planned staff reduction at Fairfax Media. To save A$30 million, Fairfax intends shedding 125 jobs, which reportedly include <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/08/australian-artists-writers-and-actors-call-on-fairfax-media-not-to-cut-arts-coverage">many dedicated arts writers</a> and two deputy arts editors, and reducing pay for freelance contributors. </p>
<p>In an <a href="https://dailyreview.com.au/theatre-companies-appeal-fairfax-save-arts-coverage/59579/">open letter</a>, Australia’s major theatre companies have called on CEO Greg Hywood to reverse this drastic cut. Many <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/08/australian-artists-writers-and-actors-call-on-fairfax-media-not-to-cut-arts-coverage">others in the cultural sector,</a> including three Booker Prize winning novelists, film critic Margaret Pomeranz and Sydney festival director Wesley Enoch) have protested the planned cuts. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"862056552680767488"}"></div></p>
<p>Fairfax’s plan is a course of action that would affect the stability of the entire cultural enterprise. It is not – and should not be presented as – a dry economic decision driven by changing market realities. It is a choice with serious social implications that should be carefully considered before it is made.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168854/original/file-20170511-21596-ypgf4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168854/original/file-20170511-21596-ypgf4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168854/original/file-20170511-21596-ypgf4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168854/original/file-20170511-21596-ypgf4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168854/original/file-20170511-21596-ypgf4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168854/original/file-20170511-21596-ypgf4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168854/original/file-20170511-21596-ypgf4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thousands gather each year to celebrate Australia’s film sector: Tropfest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Madfish_tropfest_2009.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The media’s coverage of the arts is too important. Since <a href="https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A25471">Harry Kippax</a> wrote his first theatre reviews for Nation under the pseudonym Brek in the 1950s, expanding media commentary has been both a consequence of public attention on Australian culture, and the cause of it.</p>
<p>It framed, and in many ways defined, the Whitlam moment, turning a political watershed into a cultural transformation. Going into the 1980s, this media commentary was the banisher of the cultural cringe, alerting the public to the scope, depth, inventiveness, intelligence, and excellence of creative arts practices in this country.</p>
<p>In the 1990s and 2000s, it was the first to reflect the trends, acknowledge the tensions, and describe the signal events that characterised our national artistic life. It offered opinions that had the inestimable effect of prompting opinions in others. It shaped and led the debate about the culture we collectively share.</p>
<p>In my work as a theatre historian, I have examined thousands of Australian media articles on the arts. The journalist Ben Hecht once described reading newspapers as trying to tell the time by looking at the minute hand of a clock. Thank God for that minute hand because without it, it would be impossible to tell the story of Australian culture in its whacky profusion, imaginative courage and irrepressible energy.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168848/original/file-20170511-21606-zz8hvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168848/original/file-20170511-21606-zz8hvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168848/original/file-20170511-21606-zz8hvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168848/original/file-20170511-21606-zz8hvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168848/original/file-20170511-21606-zz8hvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168848/original/file-20170511-21606-zz8hvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168848/original/file-20170511-21606-zz8hvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Malthouse Theatre in Southbank is one of the major institutions that has protested against arts cuts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Malthouse_Theatre_and_Square.jpg">Donaldytong, Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It would be impossible to follow the thread of critical voices like Kippax, Geoffrey Hutton, Katharine Brisbane, Peter Ward, James Waites, and Alison Croggan. It would be impossible to know where we are now, and where we have been.</p>
<p>As a theatre director, I rely on arts journalism not only to expose my work to the public, but to validate it. I’ve had some full-on barnies with critics, but I would be lost without the professional knowledge they provide. </p>
<p>It’s not about information, it’s about conversation – about what’s valuable and create-able within the cultural space that defines Australia, and from which audiences expect a great deal.</p>
<p>Opening my last show two weeks ago, I sat in the auditorium staring at the head of a journalist I’ve known for as long as I’ve known my wife (nearly 30 years). He’s a fantastic writer: knowledgeable, thoughtful, fluent. I do not always agree with his opinions, but then his job is not to supply opinions with which I agree.</p>
<p>His job is to make judgements about arts and culture. To judge what to cover, and why. To judge what to say, and how. To judge when to judge and when to extend tolerance to something that could turn into something better if allowed to run its course.</p>
<p>It’s the judgement, not just the column inches, that Fairfax Media will be casting aside. It will be a loss that affects everybody involved in the enterprise of Australian culture, from arts ministers to street buskers.</p>
<p>It will be a witless and self-defeating outcome at a time rich in competition for this shameful label.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77467/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Meyrick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fairfax’s plans to reduce arts coverage as part of 125 jobs to go put Australia’s cultural enterprise in jeopardy.Julian Meyrick, Professor of Creative Arts, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/773132017-05-08T06:12:59Z2017-05-08T06:12:59ZTPG bid for Fairfax: what usually happens when private equity meets media?<p>TPG Capital, the US private equity firm leading a consortium bidding for some of the assets of troubled Australian media company Fairfax, has a reasonable track record in media acquisitions. Judging by its past performance, a sale to the group might not be all bad news for Fairfax shareholders and staff.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20170508/pdf/43j2zgsf5mgk1q.pdf">A$2.2 billion bid</a>, lobbed over the weekend, is subject to regulatory review, including from the Foreign Investment Review Board. </p>
<p>The proposal essentially involves splitting Fairfax into two parts. The consortium, which includes the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, would obtain lucrative assets such as real estate section Domain. It would also obtain the core mastheads and digital assets. Existing Fairfax shareholders would retain the New Zealand business, regional newspapers, the stake in Macquarie Media and the 50% share of Stan. These would be housed in a new ASX-listed entity that would also have all of Fairfax’s current debt. </p>
<h2>What might motivate the deal and how might the consortium obtain value?</h2>
<p>The bid comes after a difficult time for Fairfax. The company recently announced it would cut <a href="http://www.theage.com.au//breaking-news-business/fairfax-journos-on-strike-over-job-cuts-20170503-4tmoz.html">125 editorial jobs</a>, which resulted in a week long strike. This was part of an attempt to <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/jobs-cuts-loom-at-fairfax-as-part-of-30m-target/news-story/ddff804ddaac7c8ff94f134713994a0d">cut costs by A$30 million</a>. </p>
<p>Rumours have abounded of a Fairfax plan to <a href="http://www.afr.com/street-talk/fairfax-media-to-unveil-domain-spinoff-plans-sources-20170220-gugo9s">spin off</a> its lucrative Domain subsidiary. Given Fairfax’s recent turmoil, it <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/fairfax-media-releases-detail-of-tpgs-split-proposal-20170507-gvzwv9.html">has been argued</a> the bid is opportunistic and the price, at effectively 95 cents per share, might be too low.</p>
<p>The consortium would look to ways to maximise value from the acquisition. In the portions it would retain, there are two separate entities: Domain, and the other media holdings. Prior deals by TPG, and other private equity firms in the media sector offer some insight into how this might proceed.</p>
<p><strong>The Domain assets</strong> </p>
<p>The consortium could spin off Domain as a separate entity. Deutsche Bank suggests that Domain’s equity value is around <a href="http://www.afr.com/street-talk/private-equity-giant-tpg-seeks-new-deal-with-fairfax-media-20170505-gvzdxv">A$1.7 billion</a>. Given that Domain in the most lucrative asset in the package, it is not clear that the consortium would want to precipitously spin it off. </p>
<p>Assuming the consortium retains Domain, TPG has a reasonable track record in the real estate space. TPG acquired PropertyGuru.com in 2015, which claims to be <a href="http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/about-us">“Asia’s leading online property group”</a>, with 1.3 million property listings. TPG also <a href="https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/rentpath/timeline#/timeline/index">acquired PRIMEDIA (now RentPath) in 2011</a>, which is based in the US. Since then, there have been <a href="https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/rentpath/acquisitions">bolt on acquisitions</a> to increase RentPath’s reach and growth.</p>
<p>In this sector, the consortium could continue Domain’s expansion and revenue growth, especially online. There’s <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smj.2623">evidence to suggest</a> that helping companies to conduct acquisitions is one way private equity funds can contribute to their portfolio companies. It could also arguably link these online real estate holdings to grow Domain’s international reach.</p>
<p><strong>The media assets</strong></p>
<p>The media assets have a less clear value path. One possibility is that the consortium could seek a buyer for these. In Fairfax’s case, this is more viable given <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/media-ownership-reforms-could-open-floodgates-20170506-gvzke7.html">recent relaxations in media concentration laws</a>. In this case, the consortium would retain the Domain assets while selling the news business to another media entity. </p>
<p>If the consortium retains the media assets, private equity has a more mixed record with media companies. </p>
<p>TPG has prior experience <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2007/mar/30/business/fi-univision30">acquiring Univision</a> in 2007 for US$13.7 billion, including debt. Univision was <a href="http://www.afr.com/business/media-and-marketing/what-we-can-learn-from-tpg-capitals-other-media-deals-20170508-gvzzw3">saddled with significant debt</a>, which was subsequently <a href="https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-Downgrades-Univision-CFR-to-B3-Outlook-is-Negative--PR_168921">downgraded</a>. Its <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/10/media/univision-ipo/">aim to list</a> on the market in 2015 was scuttled. </p>
<p>TPG has however shown a tendency to grow its media acquisitions. For example, Univision recently <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a255d698-beb1-11e5-846f-79b0e3d20eaf">acquired a 40% stake</a> in The Onion, and <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/16/univision-is-buying-gawker-media-for-135-million-recode.html">paid US$135 million for Gawker Media</a>. This implies that TPG might not precipitously cut more jobs from Fairfax. </p>
<p>One other bright area for growth is ad tech. Private equity firms have recently <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/why-private-equity-firms-keep-buying-ad-tech-companies-2016-10?r=US&IR=T">increased acquisitions of such companies</a>, albeit with a <a href="http://adage.com/article/agency-news/digital-properties-dominated-mergers-acquisitions/305397/">reduction in money spent on media</a> companies more broadly. The prospect of bolting on ad tech companies to the newspaper business, with its rich database of subscribers, could provide Fairfax with an additional source of revenue.</p>
<p>Private equity-led acquisitions of newspapers do happen. They tend to involve industry consolidation owing to the decline in online advertising revenue. For example, New Media Investment Group <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-media-emerges-as-big-player-for-small-newspapers-1456309801">has been buying</a> newspaper assets in the US, especially relatively small assets. These are partially driven by relatively low valuations. The acquirers appear to be aiming for consolidation and economies of scale. This implies greater shared editorial content and lower costs. New Media has also been focusing on its digital marketing business Propel, which would evidence some synergies with the newspaper business.</p>
<h2>What does the bid mean for shareholders and employees?</h2>
<p>The proposal is still subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. At this stage Fairfax shareholders must evaluate whether they believe the consortium’s offer represents fair value for their shares, or whether it might be better to hold out for a higher premium. </p>
<p>Shareholders appear to have responded positively to the takeover bid. Fairfax shares have increased around 3% on the announcement, on a day when the broader ASX 200 increased around 0.5%. However, UBS <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/fairfax-media-releases-detail-of-tpgs-split-proposal-20170507-gvzwv9.html">has argued</a> the consortium is paying too little, and that Domain is underpriced compared to its main rival, REA Corp.</p>
<p>Employees face an uncertain future under the bid. It is too early to say whether there will be significant job cuts, if any. If the consortium seeks to consolidate media holdings, it could potentially seek cost savings and focus more on shared editorial content. However, there is no indication that the consortium would be worse for jobs than Fairfax’s current cost cutting regime. Further, TPG has a record of growing its investments through bolt on acquisitions, linking into the recent trend for private equity companies to invest in ad tech and digital agencies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77313/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Humphery-Jenner receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>The private equity consortium bidding for Fairfax has experience in media - and it’s not all bad.Mark Humphery-Jenner, Associate Professor of Finance, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/718872017-01-30T19:06:50Z2017-01-30T19:06:50ZAustralia needs more than the New York Times’ view of the world<p>The New York Times’ global push for subscribers, supported by the opening of a small bureau in Australia, is likely to cause a few more worried faces in the already <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-19/newspaper-death-spiral-gathers-pace/7427960">fractured local news market</a>. But more worrying for supporters of democracy in Australia is the pulling power of the US publication (and its innovative agenda) critically underlines the need for Australia to have access to strong local news which can give an Australian “take” on local and world events. </p>
<p>The Australian bureau is just one part of The New York Times’ <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/15/business/media/new-york-times-plans-international-digital-expansion.html">US$50 million, three-year drive</a> to expand globally and to grow its paying subscriber base outside the United States. Employees were told in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/15/business/media/new-york-times-plans-international-digital-expansion.html">memo</a> reported in the Times:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Because our digital report is still designed and produced mainly for a US audience, we have not come close to realizing our potential to attract readers outside our home market… We are confident this will be a down payment on a new era of international growth for our company.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The New York Times already has a sizeable audience in Australia. It ranked as the <a href="http://www.adnews.com.au/new-york-times-set-to-open-sydney-office#dRJdoETjzIUYIMzI.99">17th most-read site in Australia</a> in the December Nielsen ratings with a unique audience of 1.27 million. </p>
<p>Damien Cave, the newly announced Bureau Chief, says the company plans to grow by serving the needs of Australians who are interested in the world, and meeting the needs for readers who are interested in Australia. He has already started to engage readers by launching a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/24/world/australia/australia-newsletter-issue1-the-lucky-country-trump-china.html">newsletter</a> calling for help with an “experiment in journalism and community”.</p>
<p>Significantly, Cave told <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/drive/new_york_times_announces_ausralian_bureau_chief/8208452">ABC Radio National</a> The New York Times is not planning to compete on local coverage, but to do the kind of in-depth reportage of issues that the New York Times does well. The reporters will be focusing on stories around immigration, multiculturalism, climate change and nature, popularism, global trade, arts and culture.</p>
<p>Innovation in storytelling in all its forms is certainly the New York Times’ strength, and the reason why so many Australians will be willing to pay for it. For the past year a team of Times’ journalists has been compiling a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/insider/changing-times-the-newsrooms-strategy-for-the-future.html">2020 Report</a> that discusses the need to further change in the way they produce stories to better meet the changed needs of digital readers. </p>
<p>The Times wants to produce stories that can’t be found elsewhere online for free. Times columnist David Leonhardt used a lengthy <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/insider/changing-times-the-newsrooms-strategy-for-the-future.html">podcast posted on the Times’ site </a> to discuss the need to engage more with readers. He proposes doing this by putting greater emphasis on visual and other non-text based forms of journalism, as well as hiring more reporters of diverse background and better supporting parents to remain in newsroom jobs. </p>
<p>The New York Times will have only a small number of staff in <a href="http://www.adnews.com.au/new-york-times-set-to-open-sydney-office#dRJdoETjzIUYIMzI.99">its Sydney-based bureau</a>. The company already has a strong local correspondent, Michelle Innis, and draws on a pool of talented freelancers. </p>
<p>Apart from Cave, it has now added investigative journalist Jacqueline Williams and has advertised for a multimedia editor, another reporter and editorial assistant. That is not a huge team compared to other new players in the Australian market. The UK-based Guardian, for example, lists over 40 journalists located in capital cities across Australia for its local edition. </p>
<h2>Few pay for news in Australia</h2>
<p>Australia is considered a tough market for newspaper owners who are already fighting a difficult battle to keep paying readers and advertisers. </p>
<p>The latest <a href="http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2016/australia-2016/">Reuters Digital News Report</a> declared that Australian publishers had “struggled to increase the number of digital subscribers beyond loyal users” and that just 10% of Australians paid for news online. More specifically the report points to rising digital subscriptions for The Herald Sun and The Australian, while Fairfax publications the SMH and The Age, faced a small downturn after earlier increases. </p>
<p>Newspaper advertising dollars are also increasingly difficult to find. It’s not just because of competition from new foreign players in the Australian market, such as The Guardian and The Daily Mail. </p>
<p>Search engines like Google and Bing are taking massive amounts of advertising dollars away from the local mastheads. Last year <a href="http://www.pwc.com.au/press-room/2016/media-outlook-jun16.html">PricewaterhouseCoopers</a> predicted the newspaper advertising market in Australia will continue to drop sharply, that by 2020, advertising revenue will have more than halved in a decade.</p>
<h2>Global media super brands</h2>
<p>Although putting Australia more at the centre of The New York Times’ global coverage will yield some interesting perspectives for Australian readers, the long-term impact of the New York Times’ aggressive subscription push may be detrimental to local news outlets. There is, after all, only so much money that people have to buy or subscribe to news outlets.</p>
<p>It’s important to remember that the New York Times, for all its storytelling strengths, is not an Australian voice. It also supports a particular east coast progressive view of the United States and, as the world read with the election of President Donald Trump, it can <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/11/16/media/donald-trump-new-york-times-tweets/">misread the mood of its own country.</a> </p>
<p>It’s almost ironic that the New York Times’ subscription push may well quicken the demise of Fairfax, which has to date in some ways represented the small-l liberal concerns of Australian audiences. </p>
<p>It makes it even more important to support quality private journalism by paying for the service, and to also support the publicly funded – but independent – national broadcasters, the ABC and SBS. The current underfunding of our national broadcasters, and some of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/pacific-nations-lose-shortwave-radio-services-that-evade-dictators-and-warn-of-natural-disasters-70058">operational changes</a> by the new managing director of the ABC Michelle Guthrie, are reducing the capacity of all Australians, to have access to independent news, regardless of where they live, how much they earn, or how they vote. </p>
<p>If the New York Times hastens the demise of Fairfax and other Australian news outlets in its race for global dominance of quality and innovative storytelling, and the Australian government further nobbles the publicly funded broadcaster the ABC, we will be left with fewer news options, and that’s a bad thing for democracy in Australia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71887/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra Wake does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Although few pay for news in Australia, The New York Times’ is pushing into the country’s fracturing newspaper market.Alexandra Wake, Senior lecturer, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/684372016-12-12T04:07:42Z2016-12-12T04:07:42ZIs Australia’s media market one of the world’s most concentrated?<blockquote>
<p>Australia’s level of media ownership concentration is already one of the highest in the world. <strong>– Shadow minister for communications, Michelle Rowland, <a href="http://www.michellerowland.com.au/media_release_media_reform_deserves_better_than_government_s_poor_effort">press release</a>, November 8, 2016.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The government’s <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/MediaReformBill45/Report">Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Media Reform) Bill 2016</a> proposes cutting a rule that stops commercial TV networks from broadcasting to more than 75% of Australians. The House of Representatives passed the bill, which will now go to the Senate.</p>
<p>Labor has said it supports repealing the 75% reach rule but opposes changing the “two-out-of-three rule”, which prevents companies from holding a controlling interest in more than two firms that operate television broadcasting, radio broadcasting or newspaper publishing in the same region.</p>
<p>Labor’s shadow minister for communications, Michelle Rowland, said repealing the two-out-of-three rule would reduce “the diversity of voices across the media landscape”.</p>
<p>She said Australia’s level of media ownership concentration is already one of the highest in the world.</p>
<p>Is that true?</p>
<h2>Checking the source</h2>
<p>When asked for a source to support her assertion, a spokesman for Michelle Rowland sent The Conversation a detailed response drawing from a wide <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/22/68437-2016-11-22-media-concentration-and-public-concern-in-australia-Research_-_Media_concentration_and_public_concern_in_Australia.pdf?1518059940">range of sources</a>, including the 2012 <a href="http://apo.org.au/resource/report-independent-inquiry-media-and-media-regulation">Finkelstein inquiry</a> into media and media regulation. That inquiry’s report noted that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Australia’s newspaper industry is among the most concentrated in the developed world.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You can read the full response <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/22/68437-2016-11-22-media-concentration-and-public-concern-in-australia-Research_-_Media_concentration_and_public_concern_in_Australia.pdf?1518059940">here.</a></p>
<p>Rowland’s assertion that Australia’s media ownership concentration is among the highest in the world is well supported by a range of credible sources, some of which will be expanded upon below.</p>
<p>As this <a href="http://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/media-interests-snapshot">infographic</a> from the Australian Communications and Media Authority shows, a handful of corporations and interconnected family interests control much of Australia’s media:</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148540/original/image-20161205-25645-14enkqu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148540/original/image-20161205-25645-14enkqu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148540/original/image-20161205-25645-14enkqu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148540/original/image-20161205-25645-14enkqu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148540/original/image-20161205-25645-14enkqu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148540/original/image-20161205-25645-14enkqu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=590&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148540/original/image-20161205-25645-14enkqu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=590&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148540/original/image-20161205-25645-14enkqu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=590&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Media Interests Snapshot, ACMA, current at October 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/media-interests-snapshot">Australian Communications and Media Authority</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Newspapers</h2>
<p>Newspaper ownership in Australia is particularly concentrated. The <a href="http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2016/australia-2016/">Australian section</a> of the University of Oxford’s Reuters Institute <a href="http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/">Digital News Report 2016</a>, which covers 26 countries, said that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Australia has a high concentration of traditional media ownership dominated by News Corporation and Fairfax Media who together own the majority of national and capital city newspapers. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Market research firm IBISWorld noted in June 2016 that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The industry’s four largest players, News Australia, Fairfax Media, Seven West Media and APN News and Media, are estimated to account for over 90% of industry revenue in 2015-16. The Australian media landscape is one of the most concentrated in the world. An extremely small number of firms, most notably News Australia and Fairfax Media, publish content that reaches the large majority of Australians.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>New Zealand researchers <a href="https://www.comcom.govt.nz/dmsdocument/14481">told</a> a New Zealand <a href="http://www.comcom.govt.nz/dmsdocument/14943">commission considering a proposed merger</a> between NZME Limited and Fairfax NZ that only five countries have one owner with more than 50% ownership of the daily newspaper market, and that Australia was one of them:</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148533/original/image-20161205-25645-jbdpxw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148533/original/image-20161205-25645-jbdpxw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148533/original/image-20161205-25645-jbdpxw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148533/original/image-20161205-25645-jbdpxw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148533/original/image-20161205-25645-jbdpxw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148533/original/image-20161205-25645-jbdpxw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148533/original/image-20161205-25645-jbdpxw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148533/original/image-20161205-25645-jbdpxw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.comcom.govt.nz/dmsdocument/14943">Submission by Dr Julienne Molineaux et al. to the NZ Commerce Commission (July 2016). For overseas market shares academics sourced Noam (2016). 'Who Owns the World’s media?: Media Concentration and Ownership around the World'. Oxford: OUP.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The data in this table was drawn from <a href="http://internationalmedia.pbworks.com/w/page/20075656/FrontPage">an international study</a> led by US scholar Eli Noam. This study found that Australian newspaper circulation was the most concentrated of 26 countries surveyed, and among the most concentrated in the democratic world. </p>
<p>In the the 2014 book <a href="http://scholarly.info/book/400/">Companion to the Australian Media</a>, I wrote that News Corp Australia, Fairfax Media and APN News and Media together hold the vast majority of the sector. By contrast, people in the <a href="http://www.stateofthemedia.org/media-ownership/">US can choose from a broader range of media</a> controlled by a bigger pool of firms. The UK market, <a href="http://www.mediareform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Who_owns_the_UK_media-report_plus_appendix1.pdf">criticised by media reform activists</a> for its level of concentration, is also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/21/uk-media-plurality-threatened-by-dominant-group-of-large-firms-report">less concentrated</a> than Australia’s.</p>
<p>It is important to distinguish between media ownership and circulation, a problem former prime minister Kevin Rudd ran into when he incorrectly <a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-does-murdoch-own-70-of-newspapers-in-australia-16812">said</a> in 2013 that Rupert Murdoch owns 70% of the newspapers in Australia. In fact, he was closer to the mark on the circulation of News Corp Australia’s capital city and daily newspaper titles.</p>
<h2>A steady decline in newspaper titles since 1900</h2>
<p>In 1903, there were 21 daily newspapers across Australia’s eight capital cities, and 17 different owners. By the 1950s, there had been a gradual consolidation to <a href="http://scholarly.info/media/">15 daily newspapers and ten owners</a>. </p>
<p>As IBISWorld <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/industry/default.aspx?indid=169">noted</a> in 2016, there are now ten metropolitan or state-wide newspapers are published in Australia. News Australia and Fairfax Media own these newspapers, with the exception of The West Australian, which is owned by Seven West Media.</p>
<p>In 2015, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-19/news-corp-takes-14.99pc-slice-of-apn-news-and-media/6332662">News Corporation took a 14.99% stake in APN News and Media</a> – a nominal .01% below the point that it’s deemed to be a “controlling interest” under Australia’s <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/bsa1992214/sch1.html">media ownership laws</a>. This further increased News Corp’s print media ownership. </p>
<h2>TV and radio</h2>
<p>A June 2016 <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/industry/default.aspx?indid=1816">report on Australian free-to-air TV broadcasting</a> by market research firm IBISWorld said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The industry displays a high market share concentration … Australian media and broadcasting industries are highly concentrated in comparison with the rest of the world. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The report said that the four largest players in the local free-to-air TV industry, Seven West Media, Nine Entertainment, Ten Network Holdings and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, are estimated to account for more than 70% of total revenue (including both advertising and government funding) in 2015-16. The other significant players are SBS and commercial network affiliates Prime Media, WIN Corporation and Southern Cross Media, the report said.</p>
<p>Another IBISWorld report on the Australian radio industry <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/industry/default.aspx?indid=638">said</a> in 2016 that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The radio broadcasting industry is highly concentrated. In 2016-17, the industry’s four largest players – Southern Cross Media, the ABC, APN News and Media and Nova Entertainment - are expected to account for 70.9% of industry revenue. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In 2015, Fairfax bought a <a href="http://www.fairfaxmedia.com.au/Company/corporate-profile">54.5% interest in Macquarie Radio Network</a>.</p>
<h2>Online and pay TV</h2>
<p>Back in 2011, the Centre for Policy Development <a href="https://cpd.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Centre_for_Policy_Development_Issue_Brief.pdf">reported</a> that Australians regularly look at 12 websites that could be classified as “news based”, saying that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… of these 12 websites, eight are owned by News Limited or Fairfax, with the rest owned by the ABC, BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), PBL media and Microsoft.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148765/original/image-20161205-25724-1vbcjs7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148765/original/image-20161205-25724-1vbcjs7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148765/original/image-20161205-25724-1vbcjs7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=194&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148765/original/image-20161205-25724-1vbcjs7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=194&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148765/original/image-20161205-25724-1vbcjs7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=194&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148765/original/image-20161205-25724-1vbcjs7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=244&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148765/original/image-20161205-25724-1vbcjs7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=244&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148765/original/image-20161205-25724-1vbcjs7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=244&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Where did Australians seek their online news in 2011?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://cpd.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Centre_for_Policy_Development_Issue_Brief.pdf">Centre for Policy Development report -- Media Ownership and Regulation in Australia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While those websites remain important, <a href="http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2015/australia-2015/">new sites</a> have entered the market in recent years – and no outlet can safely assume readers will go to their homepage to read the news. Instead, as the <a href="http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2016/how-audiences-discover-news-online-2016/">Digital News Report 2016</a> showed, many Australians are turning to social networks such as Facebook or search engines like Google first to find out the latest news. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148790/original/image-20161206-25727-10vl6da.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148790/original/image-20161206-25727-10vl6da.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148790/original/image-20161206-25727-10vl6da.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148790/original/image-20161206-25727-10vl6da.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148790/original/image-20161206-25727-10vl6da.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148790/original/image-20161206-25727-10vl6da.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148790/original/image-20161206-25727-10vl6da.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148790/original/image-20161206-25727-10vl6da.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How people around the world discover news online is changing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2016/how-audiences-discover-news-online-2016/">Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2016</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>News Corp <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/about/the-company/company-profile.html">owns controlling stakes in Foxtel</a> – which <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/who-owns-the-worlds-media-9780199987238?cc=au&lang=en&#">has a monopoly</a> in the pay TV market – and Sky News, which is <a href="http://www.skynews.com.au/connect/about-sky-news.html">carried by Foxtel</a>. </p>
<h2>Verdict</h2>
<p>Michelle Rowland was correct. A number of reputable sources show that the concentration of media ownership in Australia is one of the highest in the world. <strong>– Tim Dwyer.</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Review</h2>
<p>This FactCheck author has produced an accurate, fair and impartial account of the facts on this matter. It follows that the verdict is correct. This assessment applies both to the absolute degree of media concentration in Australia and to the comparison with the rest of the world. <strong>– Denis Muller.</strong></p>
<hr>
<p><div class="callout"> Have you ever seen a “fact” worth checking? The Conversation’s FactCheck asks academic experts to test claims and see how true they are. We then ask a second academic to review an anonymous copy of the article. You can request a check at checkit@theconversation.edu.au. Please include the statement you would like us to check, the date it was made, and a link if possible.</div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68437/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Dwyer receives funding from the Australian Research Council for a project about sharing news online.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Denis Muller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Was shadow minister for communications Michelle Rowland right when she said Australia’s level of media ownership concentration is one of the highest in the world?Tim Dwyer, Associate Professor, Department of Media and Communications, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/633942016-09-05T20:16:28Z2016-09-05T20:16:28ZCompany results wrap: news publishers are transforming, but into what?<p><em>Companies have finished reporting results for the financial year so it’s time to take stock of how the different business sectors of Australia are fairing. In our <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/company-results-2016-30905">company results wrap series</a> we take a step back from the short-term focus of quarterly profit and loss statements and examine what big picture factors are at play.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://aut.researchgateway.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10292/9894/MyllylahtiM.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y">New research</a> on the business models of Fairfax and APN from 2004 to 2013 confirms the two companies have failed to transform their revenue structures from print to digital. However, Fairfax CEO <a href="http://www.fairfaxmedia.com.au/ArticleDocuments/193/2016-08-10_%20Full%20Year%20Results%20-%20Media%20Release.pdf.aspx?Embed=Y">Greg Hywood</a> argues that the company’s 2016 full year result is “proof that the [digital] transformation of Fairfax Media over recent years has succeeded”. </p>
<p>Recently, American billionaire <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/the-playbook-interview-warren-buffett-226892">Warren Buffet</a> said that for most American newspapers “the transition to the internet so far hasn’t worked in digital. The revenues don’t come in”. He added that “local newspapers continue to decline at a very significant rate”. </p>
<p>Despite the gloomy outlook, News Corporation is expanding its regional newspaper portfolio in Australia. The company is buying APN’s regional papers including 12 daily newspapers and 60 smaller publications. </p>
<p>In New Zealand, Fairfax Media and New Zealand Media Entertainment (NZME) are currently seeking merger approval from Commerce Commission. If the merger is cleared, the new company <a href="http://www.comcom.govt.nz/business-competition/mergers-and-acquisitions/authorisations/merger-authorisation-register/nzme-limited-and-fairfax-new-zealand-limited/">will have 89% market share</a> in New Zealand’s print newspaper market. Fairfax is expected to own 51% of the merged company’s shares (currently, News Corp owns 14.99% of NZME shares).</p>
<p>Why the sudden interest in the sinking ship, print? Is it because the assets are cheap? In 2016 Fairfax made a heavy loss as it wrote down almost a billion dollars of its publishing assets. </p>
<hr>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-202" class="tc-infographic" height="1200" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/202/a113be19f3d1c51ac405eff0ad9377fa7eb72a92/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<hr>
<p>A closer look at News Corp’s and Fairfax’s revenue structures may shed some light on this interest in print. </p>
<p>In 2016, Fairfax’s Metro Media, Australian community media, and New Zealand media contributed 75% <a href="http://www.fairfaxmedia.com.au/ArticleDocuments/193/2016-08-10_%20Full%20Year%20Results%20-%20Media%20Release.pdf.aspx?">of the company’s total revenue</a>. Domain Group delivered 16% of its total revenue.</p>
<p>This simply shows that the company’s revenue, if not profit, is still reliant on the traditional revenue streams. Similarly, in the 2016 financial year, 64% of News Corp’s revenue came from news and information services and 9.9% from digital real estate services.</p>
<h2>Digital revenue covers a fraction of expenses</h2>
<p>Both Fairfax and News Corp argue they are turning into truly digital media companies, and clearly, something is changing. Both companies seem confident that their digital future lies in real estate and listing services. Commenting on the 2016 results, News Corp chief executive <a href="https://newscorpcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/q4-2016-press-release_final_08082016.pdf">Robert Thomson</a> said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Since the advent of the new News three years ago, revenue at Digital Real Estate Services has more than doubled, and it is expected to become the biggest contributor to [earnings] in the future.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Similarly, Fairfax’s chief executive <a href="http://www.fairfaxmedia.com.au/ArticleDocuments/193/2016-08-10_%20Full%20Year%20Results%20-%20Media%20Release.pdf.aspx?">Greg Hywood says</a> digital and non-print earnings now make up more than 40% of Fairfax’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). If this trend continues, he says, next year it will be closer to 60%.</p>
<p>Both companies make a decent profit on their digital real estate services (and the share of profit is growing), but Fairfax’s digital revenue currently covers only 14% of the companies’ total expenses. So the company’s bright digital future clearly requires more cost cutting. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305387958_How_digital_are_the_news_publishers_A_study_of_newspaper_publishers%27_evolving_revenues_and_how_they_may_support_journalism_and_future_newsrooms">Recent research </a>
shows that both Fairfax and News Corp have some work to do before they are “truly digital”, meaning the majority of their revenue comes from digital sources. For example, <a href="https://www.academia.edu/27050041/How_digital_are_they_really_A_study_of_newspaper_publishers_evolving_revenues_and_how_they_may_support_journalism_and_future_newsrooms">in 2015 digital revenue made</a> 62% of media groups Norwegian Schibsted’s and German Axel Springer’s total revenue. For Fairfax, the same number was 16.4% and for News Corp 8%.</p>
<p>According to Fairfax, in 2016 its paid digital subscriptions grew 17% to 209,000. The revenue from these was $38 million, representing two percent of the company’s total revenue. News Corp’s digital subscriptions continue to grow and “account for approximately 45% of the subscriber base”. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.fairfaxmedia.com.au/ArticleDocuments/193/2016-08-10_%20Full%20Year%20Results%20-%20Media%20Release.pdf.aspx?">company states</a> that “digital revenues represented 23% of news and information segment revenue”. Based on this percentage, the digital revenue delivered by its news and information services made 1.2% of the company’s total revenue.</p>
<h2>Convergences across telcos and media</h2>
<p>A short-term outlook for the traditional television broadcasters in Australia and New Zealand is weak. For example, in August <a href="http://www.sevenwestmedia.com.au/docs/default-source/financial-results/presentation-of-results16C200EF9473.pdf?sfvrsn=4">Seven West Media</a> gave a profit warning and is expecting its profit to fall 15-20% in the coming year due to the flat advertising market. Its 2016 pre-tax profit was $207 million of which Channel Seven contributed 82%.</p>
<p>Clearly, digital transformation is proving challenging for television broadcasters as well as newspapers, and more consolidation can be expected across the sector. This will also occur across the media, telecom and internet service providers. In April, it was <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/79326452/APN-and-Nine-mull-A-1-6b-television-radio-and-outdoor-merger">rumoured</a> that APN and Nine Entertainment were considering a mega merger, but this is yet to materialise. </p>
<p>In New Zealand, the pay television provider Sky TV is seeking merger approval with Vodafone NZ. <a href="http://www.comcom.govt.nz/business-competition/mergers-and-acquisitions/clearances/clearances-register/vodafone-europe-b.v.-and-sky-network-television-limited/">Sky TV says</a> the merger is necessary because, “the change in how video content is delivered to consumers is transforming traditional television and content markets”. The company is facing increasing competition from companies such as Netflix, Quickflix and Apple TV. </p>
<p>Interestingly, Fairfax Media is also branching out in New Zealand by launching a new internet service provider – Stuff Fibre. The new service will offer uncapped ultra-fast broadband, unlimited data, and no fixed term contracts. </p>
<p>Fairfax is clearly seeking to expand and to control its online content and video delivery. In New Zealand, the company already has an agreement with Radio New Zealand and TVNZ for content delivery.</p>
<p>Yes, media companies are transforming, and they have to, as the financial results demonstrate. On Friday, APN announced that it is now an “outdoors media and radio” company, as opposed to a news publisher or news corporation. Fairfax and News Corp are starting to look more like digital real estate providers. This strategy makes business sense, but one has to wonder if there is still room for journalism within it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63394/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Merja Myllylahti does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Media companies say their results are an indicator of a transformation taking place from traditional business to newer profitable digital platforms, but it seems the proof is still missing.Merja Myllylahti, Project manager and author for Journalism, Media and Democracy (JMAD) Research Center, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/638782016-08-19T05:14:12Z2016-08-19T05:14:12ZDisrupted businesses are struggling in the valley of death<p>Corporate leaders are facing the same valley of death faced by many startups, judging by the latest round of financial results. These large Australian businesses are operating in markets disrupted by new technology and changing business models. </p>
<p>For entrepreneurs, bridging the gap between negative cash flow of the development of a new product or service and the revenues required to fund the business on an ongoing basis, can be treacherous and few survive. Large corporates are increasingly facing a similar set of challenges. The revenues from their traditional legacy businesses are falling faster than they can grow revenues from new sources. </p>
<p>A clear example of this can be seen in Australian media company Fairfax’s <a href="http://www.fairfaxmedia.com.au/ArticleDocuments/193/FAIRFAX%20Annual%20Report%202016.pdf.aspx?Embed=Y">full-year results</a>. Underneath its AUD$893 million net loss, including an almost $1 billion write-down in its traditional newspaper business, was a $132 million net profit (down 7.6% on the previous year) and a 2% fall in revenue.</p>
<p>Closer inspection, however, reveals that while revenue for its traditional newspaper business continues to decline precipitously, Fairfax’s digital businesses – such as its online real estate arm Domain – are enjoying strong growth. These are expected to account for more than 60% of EBITDA in 2017.</p>
<p>While it’s unfashionable to say this, it looks like Fairfax under Greg Hywood is doing a good job of transitioning the business in exceptionally difficult circumstances. The problem is that it is difficult to imagine this growth in new digital businesses being able to offset the continued stream of red ink coming from the legacy businesses. </p>
<p>Another iconic Australian organisation caught in a deep valley of death is Australia Post. Strong growth in its parcels and delivery business, driven by the rise of e-commerce, and new and innovative service offerings are offsetting but not fully compensating for the continuing year-on-year decline in letter volumes. These are producing massive losses in their traditional postal business. Australia Post CEO Ahmed Fahour’s increasingly <a href="https://auspost.newsroom.com.au/Content/Home/02-Home/Article/Letter-losses-drive-Australia-Post-profit-decline-pointing-to-necessary-reform/-2/-2/4020">doom-laden public statements</a> about the future of the organisation and Australia Post’s recent application to increase the price of a standard stamp from 40c to $1 illustrate the challenges of its transition.</p>
<p>It’s also worth noting that there is a high degree of risk associated with many of these new and emerging aspects of these businesses. Fairfax’s digital results are buoyed by advertising revenue driven by an overheated property market in Australia’s largest cities. If conditions in the market turn, this will have a significant impact on the overall performance of the group.</p>
<p>Similarly, Telstra’s decision to take a $246 million impairment on its $331 million dollar <a href="https://exchange.telstra.com.au/2016/08/11/telstra-2016-financial-results/">investment in Ooyala</a>, a Silicon Valley based startup that focuses on over-the-top broadcasting technology, demonstrates that taking bets on emerging technologies can be risky. </p>
<p>Just as startups often complain about the difficulty of accessing capital to help sustain them through the valley of death, large publicly listed companies find themselves in an unfavourable funding environment. Shareholders, and particularly institutional investors, have little inherent interest in the ongoing success of the companies themselves. </p>
<p>Rather, these investors are interested in short-term returns in terms of share price and dividend yields. Because they can diversify their portfolios themselves, they have little interest in letting companies use retained earnings to reinvent themselves.</p>
<p>This creates a bias towards optimising an existing business model rather than investing in new opportunities and operating models. As a result, corporate managers, even when they identify new opportunities, often face the same types of challenges in funding the operation that early-stage startups do. </p>
<p>Ultimately, if these organisations are to survive the corporate valley of death, the most valuable commodity is likely to be leadership. Just as Mark Zuckerberg was able to secure multiple rounds of venture capital for Facebook based on its potential, Australian corporate leaders need to be able to spell out a compelling vision of the future. If they make this clear, that will make it more likely for shareholders and managers to continue to hold stock and tolerate ongoing write-downs and lower dividend yields. </p>
<p>This is something that Telstra, under David Thodey, excelled at. It is, however, perhaps Fairfax’s biggest challenge. It’s hard to imagine what a compelling profitable vision for a traditional media company might look like (Facebook owns that). </p>
<p>And just as the success of startups is often related to <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/348/6240/1200.3">the quality and diversity of the founders and the senior team</a>, for Australian corporates to survive, they will have to build management teams that excel not just in squeezing as much as they can out of their legacy businesses but that also know how to grow and scale a new business. One approach is to split these roles to ensure there is as much focus on the business of tomorrow as on the business of today. </p>
<p>This is essentially what National Australia Bank (NAB) did with Ubank, with one management team focusing on optimising the current business and another given free rein to build the bank of the future. It appears, though, that in NAB’s case this separation prevented the bank from <a href="http://www.afr.com/brand/chanticleer/nab-copies-westpac-in-a-restructure-all-about-capital-not-service-20160722-gqbats">fully realising the potential benefits</a>. </p>
<p>That was less a failure of strategy than of leadership perhaps, but it illustrates just how important it is for leaders to <a href="http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/CHATMAN/papers/04_HowLeadershipMatters.pdf">create alignment and shared understanding across the organisation</a> when in dangerous times.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63878/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Wailes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Firms that are trying to branch out into new technology, while at the same time retaining traditional business, are facing similar problems to startups.Nick Wailes, Associate Dean Digital and Innovation, UNSW Business School, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/592322016-05-12T00:11:21Z2016-05-12T00:11:21ZFairfax-APN merger more bad news for media diversity<p>In the past five years, APN News and Media and Fairfax Media have laid off masses of editorial workers as a part of their “digital first” strategies. They have integrated their newsrooms, cut down print editions, and diversified their advertising income streams to sponsored content and listing services. Despite such efforts, their digital business models have not quite worked. </p>
<p>In this context it is not surprising that APN News and Media and Fairfax Media are <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com.au/apn-and-fairfax-want-to-create-a-massive-new-zealand-media-business-2016-5">planning to spin-off their New Zealand businesses</a> by merging them. The companies are not alone. The newspaper industry is consolidating and converging outside Australasia. In the United States, Gannett is currently trying to buy Tribune Publishing for US$815 million. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/mar/02/two-of-italys-leading-newspapers-to-merge">In Italy</a>, La Repubblica and La Stampa newspapers are merging to create “a leading European group in the daily and digital information industry”. This, according to the companies, is the most significant merger in Italy’s newspaper industry “since the digital revolution”. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/79848214/Fairfax-Media-APN-confirm-merger-talks-for-Fairfax-NZ-NZME">New Zealand Broadcasting Minister Amy Adams</a> considers the proposed merger between AP and Fairfax as natural evolution, brought upon by convergence in the telecommunication and media sectors. She says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The distinctions between print, radio, television and online news are fading. Generally, digital convergence is giving New Zealanders a greater access to content than ever before.” </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Mergers make business sense</h2>
<p>There is a certain business logic to media mergers and takeovers. They are primarily done to cut cost, boost revenue and to satisfy long suffering shareholders. On Wednesday, Fairfax chief executive officer Greg Hywood said the proposed merger was “an important opportunity for all of our shareholders”. Similarly, APN chief executive officer Ciaran Davis commented that “the merger of NZME and Fairfax’s NZ business provides an exciting opportunity for our shareholders”.</p>
<p>Under the plan, APN would first demerge NZME (New Zealand Media and Entertainment) and then list the company on the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges. After that, Fairfax’s New Zealand businesses would be folded into the new company. NZME’s main media assets include the NZ Herald and Radio Network, which runs multiple commercial radio stations in the country. Fairfax owns newspapers such as The Dominion Post (Wellington) and The Press (Christchurch) as well as the online news outlet Stuff.</p>
<p>Both companies have seen their New Zealand revenues and profit dropping. <a href="http://investorcentre.apn.com.au/phoenix.zhtml?c=144006&p=irol-news&nyo=0">APN’s investor statement</a> notes that the “New Zealand market conditions have been challenging and revenues were down 10%” on the first quarter of 2016. Similarly, in the first six months of 2016, <a href="http://www.fairfaxmedia.com.au/ArticleDocuments/193/2016-02-19_FY16%20Half-Year%20Results%20-%20ASX%20Statement.pdf.aspx?Embed=Y">Fairfax’s revenue</a> in New Zealand declined 9% in local currency terms, and its profit was down 12%. </p>
<p>By merging their New Zealand businesses, APN and Fairfax hope to boost their revenue and profit, but this can only happen by cutting more costs. The companies are bound to achieve some savings by shedding jobs from their combined workforce of 3,000 even when redundancies are not inexpensive. The former NZ Herald editor-in-chief <a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/303589/journalists-fear-for-their-jobs-as-media-merger-looms">Tim Murphy</a> estimates that combining the two businesses might cost 750 jobs.</p>
<h2>Defensive against the global players</h2>
<p>Fairfax’s and APN’s proposed deal is a defensive move as they compete for the local and global advertising dollar. The merger is all about audience reach and advertising money. Larger audience means potentially more clicks and views, and that is what matters to advertisers. Or so they say. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/79848214/fairfax-media-apn-confirm-merger-talks-for-fairfax-nz-nzme">Simon Tong,</a> the Managing Director of Fairfax NZ says that “the depth and breadth of the combined business would be a win for audiences, and also enable us to create innovative solutions for advertisers based on the best of both of us”.</p>
<p>News publishers are increasingly joining forces against search engines such as Google and social media companies such as Facebook to defend their advertising revenues. In New Zealand, Fairfax Media, MediaWorks, NZME and TVNZ have already formed a local advertising exchange service KPEX to defend their advertising share in the local market. </p>
<p>More recently, four large American newspaper groups including Gannet and Tribune Publishing have created a new national advertising network which is focusing on digital platforms. In Europe, The Guardian, CNN International, Financial Times, Reuters and The Economist have formed <a href="http://www.pangaeaalliance.com/">The Pangea Alliance</a>, a joint sales effort, to boost and protect their advertising income. </p>
<h2>What is local, and what is global?</h2>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.aut.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/608366/JMAD-2015-Report.pdf">JMAD New Zealand Media Ownership Report 2015,</a> Fairfax and APN have a duopoly in the New Zealand print newspaper market, and they dominate in online news. Additionally, APN has a duopoly in commercial radio with MediaWorks. As the new company would have a near monopoly in the newspaper market, it is not surprising that the deal requires approval from the Commerce Commission.</p>
<p>APN and Fairfax believe there is nothing anti-competitive in their deal, because they operate in the global media environment, and therefore the merger would not limit readers’ access to news. This is where their logic fails. What about the access to local news?</p>
<p>Taking one media company out of market clearly limits the readers’ choice, and if the merged company puts up paywalls, readers will be left with even more restricted access to local news content. The duopoly structure of the two companies has so far limited the introduction of digital subscriptions to New Zealand readers, but they are more than likely to launch paywalls if the merger gets a clearance. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1605/S00312/a-fairfax-nzme-merger-would-be-bad-news-for-all-of-us.htm">The Coalition for Better Broadcasting,</a> which advocates public interest journalism in New Zealand, has warned the proposed merger “would effectively create a monopoly with too much market power in the newspaper sector”. According to the coalition, the new media company would “have no incentive to maintain competing publications” in the same regions and cities “probably leading to closures of smaller titles and reducing diversity, local representation and consumer choice”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59232/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Merja Myllylahti does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If a New Zealand-focused deal between Fairfax and APN gets approval readers can expect less access to local news content.Merja Myllylahti, Project manager and author for Journalism, Media and Democracy (JMAD) Research Center, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/557622016-03-09T19:00:03Z2016-03-09T19:00:03ZMedia giants need advertising scale in a world drowning in content<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114200/original/image-20160308-15341-1f2wq3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The stream of digital content shows no signs of slowing down.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image sourced from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The divide between editorial and commercial, church and state in publishing traditions, is now a millstone for the industry. </p>
<p>That old-school separation used to mitigate in favour of strong, independent journalism. But these days no publishing business can afford to ignore the realities of commercial content. The blurry line between advertising and editorial has never been more blurry. Commercial partnerships are the name of the media game. </p>
<p>It’s sometimes a challenge for journalists and editors to understand this new reality.</p>
<p>Against that background, what does the advertising outlook promise for 2016? </p>
<p>It’s a sector likely to be closely watched as the major players consider strategic plays brought on by upcoming changes to media legislation?</p>
<h2>Ad sales expectations</h2>
<p>Martin Sorrell, boss of global media group WPP, is gloomy about the year ahead. </p>
<p>In a recent market update <a href="http://www.wpp.com/wpp/investor/financialnews/2016/mar/04/wpp-2015-preliminary-results/">Sorrell warned</a> that clients globally were pulling back on ad spends. He wrote that in 2016 he expects to see:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“tepid GDP growth, low or no inflation and consequent lack of pricing power encourage a focus on cutting costs to reach profit targets, rather than revenue growth.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some of WPP’s agency brands in Australia include GroupM, Mediacom, Mindshare, Y&R Brands, Ogilvy, and Wunderman. It’s a market reach that provides good intelligence.</p>
<p>Sorrell says despite the outlook he expects a boost from the Olympics and a US presidential election (and an Australian federal election) putting marketing investment above the normal advertising share. That will be a helpful bump for Australian media players as positioning begins ahead of expected law changes. But will it be enough?</p>
<h2>Advertising sales teams must band together</h2>
<p>Make no mistake, despite the recent focus on subscription models for new publishing and video streaming services, the main income for media companies is still advertising. So whoever pulls together the best sales plan and a solid national footprint, will be most likely to do well at the forthcoming auctions. </p>
<p>The obvious plays have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/media-regulation">well canvassed</a>: Fairfax Media joining with Nine Entertainment, and/or News Corp Australia and the Ten Network. In addition, companies like Google and Facebook may be in the market for some local content. If one or both of those digital giants made major Australian purchases they could significantly push the local industry further towards programmatic sales and continue the slide in overall ad values.</p>
<p>Outside of those names, it’s hard to see anything but minor localised opportunities. The big combinations are the only ones that could bring a real national focus to the sales efforts and the required audience reach.</p>
<p>But for any mergers to succeed long term the new entities will need to properly invest in journalism and content that can attract substantial audiences. And, yes. We’ve heard that before.</p>
<h2>Content plays</h2>
<p>The problem is, we’re drowning in content. </p>
<p>The proliferation of second-rate content is creating extra downward pressure on an advertising model that relies on some level of scarcity to create demand and yield that can be priced effectively. The more material there is in the market competing for limited direct ad sales and soaking up cheap inventory on ad networks, the harder it is for the good stuff to get made.</p>
<p>In a 2013 essay for The Atlantic, Alexis Madrigal <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/12/2013-the-year-the-stream-crested/282202/">wrote</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The necessity of nowness plus the professionalization of content production for the stream means that there are thousands and thousands of people churning out more crap than can possibly be imagined.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The stream shows no sign of slowing down.</p>
<p>But merger deals that can offer the prospect of new content packages and combinations of material to attract audiences at scale will be attractive to some investors. More than ever, though, the pressure coming from those deals will be on editors and producers to make the packages unique and compelling viewing. Creative minds have to be sharper and faster these days.</p>
<h2>The dilemma</h2>
<p>Because of the volume of free material, the scarcity of money and the pressure to differentiate a product, the border for editors and producers between journalism and advertising is now a regularly negotiated and often contested space. </p>
<p>Editorial values are crucial to getting this right, for the benefit of all. And these days that means letting go of the old assumptions about the divide between editorial and sales; understanding, and being part of the sales team’s efforts.</p>
<p>It will probably also mean negotiating on production quality to service a demand for portable, fast-turnaround material. As all types of media migrate to web delivery, video production costs will continue to decline allowing choices for package quality and pricing. </p>
<p>Media publishers will be able to bundle different types of content and production quality for different types of customers, retail and commercial. </p>
<p>If a cheap, lightweight production team can produce as much, high-value material as a full-service broadcast team the commercial decision is straightforward.</p>
<p>Long-term success for Australian media companies will be built on the ability of their editorial managers and journalists to work closely and productively with their sales and marketing colleagues - building bridges rather than walls.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55762/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hugh Martin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Whoever pulls together the best sales plan and a solid national footprint, will be most likely to do well at the forthcoming auctions.Hugh Martin, Lecturer in Journalism, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/553822016-02-25T23:47:27Z2016-02-25T23:47:27ZEnd of an era in regional publishing as APN puts papers up for sale<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112987/original/image-20160225-15160-9se4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">APN's regional arm includes 12 daily newspapers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Twitter</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week <a href="http://mumbrella.com.au/apn-news-media-australian-regional-media-sell-revenues-348949">APN News & Media announced</a> it planned to sell off its regional newspaper business. </p>
<p>It signals the end of an era. Regional publishing has been at the heart of APN since <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/collapse-the-fall-of-tony-o-reilly-1.2348585">Tony O’Reilly</a> bought the Queensland newspapers from Rupert Murdoch in the late 1980s.</p>
<p>The sale paves the way for Murdoch’s News Corp to buy them back. As well as being a 14.9% shareholder of APN, News Corp already has dailies in <a href="http://www.cairnspost.com.au/">Cairns</a>, <a href="http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/">Townsville</a> and the <a href="http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/">Gold Coast</a> so the additional Queensland papers could complement those. APN also has a <a href="http://mumbrella.com.au/apn-bolsters-its-new-regional-paywalls-offering-readers-access-to-a-slew-of-news-corp-assets-313385">bundling arrangement</a> with News to give paid regional newspaper subscribers access to News Corp titles. Added to that News Corp’s Executive Chairman, Michael Miller, is a former CEO of APN News & Media. It’s clear they would know how to value the business for a purchase.</p>
<p>APN’s newspapers comprise twelve daily papers and more than 30 community papers and specialist publications. They cover an area from <a href="http://www.coffscoastadvocate.com.au/">Coffs Harbour</a> in Northern NSW to <a href="http://www.dailymercury.com.au/">Mackay</a> in North Queensland. </p>
<p>Most of the papers were originally founded as family or local concerns, often with their own printing press. But under the management of APN in recent years a lot of the production was centralised to the offices of the “flagship” <a href="http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/">Sunshine Coast Daily</a>.</p>
<p>That proved to be a hard sell, as editors in North Queensland or New South Wales felt their pages were losing the local touch readers demanded.</p>
<p>For city dwellers it’s difficult to register the sheer size of the geography APN’s regional publishing covers. And from a commercial perspective it seems the logistics and costs of running a collection of small newspapers across such a spread has just become too painful.</p>
<p>The inside joke about APN has always been that it is the biggest media company no one has ever heard of. That might have been true before the company rebranded its outdoor business and highly visible billboards in Melbourne and Sydney suddenly appeared bearing the APN name.</p>
<p>But in regional Queensland and Northern New South Wales it has been well known for years, a vital part of the local economies and a key training ground for young journalists.</p>
<p>Some of the titles are over 150 years old. <a href="http://www.dailyexaminer.com.au/">The Daily Examiner</a> in Grafton and <a href="http://www.qt.com.au/">The Queensland Times</a> in Ipswich were both founded in 1859. Five of the other dailies are more than 140 years old. That represents an enormous amount of history and an incredibly valuable connection to regions such as Rockhampton, Mackay, the Fraser Coast and Lismore.</p>
<p>But the web has well and truly arrived in these places, and despite holding out until 2006, APN did eventually join the digital race. </p>
<p>With such a long print tradition it was inevitable that a digital transition would not be smooth. In addition to the same challenges that metro publishers face in becoming digitally focused, APN also had to deal with a unique set of issues such as local advertiser expectations.</p>
<p>From this week’s news it appears perhaps the corner has been turned. The company reported consistent digital audience growth and, after introducing paywalls, 86% conversion to subscriptions of those who trialled the offer. </p>
<p>But it seems the effort has been too much and it’s time to get out.</p>
<h2>Potential buyers</h2>
<p>So who might the buyers be for a network of newspapers with shrinking print sales and some digital growth, where costs have been stripped to the bone, but where the footprint covers a potent mix of rural, mining and tourism based regional economies?</p>
<p>The two obvious starters are News Corp and Fairfax Media. Either company could roll its digital technology into the APN network and bolster the sales teams for network advertising sales. </p>
<p>Fairfax might be interested, to help support its Domain business. Domain struck a resell deal with APN in 2009 which gave it reach into northern property markets it otherwise couldn’t get to. At a very low price it might be interested. But it’s hard to see Fairfax getting involved in the slog of local publishing in those regions.</p>
<p>A dark horse might be The West Australian. It showed some interest a few years ago because of the Queensland mining jobs boom and the chance of joining east coast mining job ads to its west coast listings. But mining is on the wane and The West’s digital platforms are now all sourced from Yahoo. So a purchase like this is probably unlikely. </p>
<p>That leaves a possible break up and a series of smaller sales to independents and local groups. In the long run that might be best for local markets, but it would be a slow and difficult process for APN unless there was a conglomerate of small groups ready to go and with a network ad sales plan to execute.</p>
<p>So while Fairfax probably has the cleanest balance sheet of the big players, my bet would be on News Corp picking up a bargain by buying back the papers it sold in 1988.</p>
<p>Under that scenario the winners - apart from News - would be readers and their communities. It might seem counter-intuitive that further reduction in the number of news providers through a purchase by News Corp would be a good thing for readers, but in this case the alternative might be that the papers actually cease publishing in any form. News Corp would offer welcome stability, publishing expertise in all formats and a solid commitment to the regions. </p>
<p>There might, however, be some consolidation of titles particularly around the Sunshine Coast, where The Sunshine Coast Daily and the Noosa News compete directly with existing News Corp publications.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55382/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hugh Martin was General Manager of APN Online from 2007-2010.</span></em></p>The sale of APN’s regional newspaper arm could see Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp buy back the papers it sold in the ‘80s.Hugh Martin, Lecturer in Journalism, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/551462016-02-24T03:50:45Z2016-02-24T03:50:45ZDomain versus REA shows it’s time Fairfax went all in on digital<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112670/original/image-20160224-16436-1j2q57k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Domain and REA are going head to head, but what if one reinvented the game?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image sourced from Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Australian media company Fairfax reported its <a href="http://www.fairfaxmedia.com.au/pressroom/au---nz-press-room/au---nz-press-room/investor-briefing-details-for-fairfax-media-fy16-half-year-results-announcement">results</a> late last week, the improved performance of its online real estate business, domain.com, appeared to violate a widely held <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-theres-no-pepsi-in-cyberspace-19902">“law” of the digital economy</a> - that digital creates a winner which takes all markets.</p>
<p>After a number of years trailing behind News Corp Australia owned realestate.com.au (REA), domain.com appears to have narrowed the gap with its major rival and its aggressive strategy of growing its user base is translating into improved revenue. Closer examination however suggests this result might just be a temporary pause in a much more profound transformation taking place for digital in the residential real estate industry. One that is likely to see the emergence of a new set of players.</p>
<h2>Can there only be one?</h2>
<p>It’s become commonplace for observers of the digital economy to claim that digital creates “winner takes all” markets. The classic example is Google’s dominance in the search market. Estimates suggest Google accounts for more than 75% of search, and almost 90% of organic search traffic, with its major rivals, Microsoft’s Bing and Yahoo struggling to get out of single digits. This effectively places Google in a monopoly position and allows it to create enormous revenues through products like paid search and adwords. </p>
<p>Using this example it would be tempting to conclude that REA, having established a healthy lead over domain.com in terms of unique visits and exclusive listings, would pull away from its Fairfax rival and come to dominate the Australian residential real estate market. </p>
<p>Instead, Domain is closing the gap on its rival. In part this reflects domain.com’s aggressive strategy of driving traffic to its site, one that ironically parallels the approach taken by News-owned carsguide.com.au in its battle with caresales.com.au. It also suggests that domain.com’s focus on the user experience is beginning to pay off. </p>
<p>Domain’s inhouse development expertise has given it the ability to more rapidly add new features that enhance the user experience, such as its mapping functionality.*</p>
<p>While there are important lessons here for business about not giving up and continuing to focus on the customer, viewed in longer perspective, it’s hard not to conclude that domain.com’s improved performance might just be a temporary reversal of a much more significant transformation taking place in the domestic real estate market. </p>
<p>There can hardly be a market more ripe for disruption than residential real estate. Australian residential housing stock is worth an estimated A$5 trillion and the market is riddled with the type of information asymmetries and inefficiencies that emerging technologies are ideally suited to address. While REA and domain.com have displaced the listing of properties in newspapers, they have hardly transformed the industry. Rather they seem to offer a digital version of traditional real estate listings with a few additional bells and whistles. Both are underpinned by largely similar revenue models. </p>
<h2>Reinventing the market</h2>
<p>It’s worth remembering that before Google, search was dominated by Yahoo, Alta Vista and Netscape. Google transformed search by developing an algorithm based on relevancy that improved the results users gained from searching the web and by rethinking how it monetised search. Rather than try to keep users on its page and bombarding them with advertising, Google directed users away from its page and towards the pages they were looking for. It’s reasonable to expect that the residential real estate market is likely to undergo a similar transformation over the next few years. </p>
<p>It’s interesting to compare the very traditional approach of realestate.com and domain.com with the radically different business models that are emerging in startups looking to disrupt the residential real estate market. </p>
<p>A good example is openagent.com.au, an Australian-based startup founded by two young women who started their careers in consulting. Recognising the highly localised nature of real estate markets and the importance of agents, openagent.com.au takes advantage of publicly available data sets and user reviews to provide sellers and buyers with reviews and metrics on agents in their local areas. Rather than attempt to charge users for accessing the information, or agents for better listings, openagent’s revenue comes from the referral fees payable by agents who get listings as a result of the reviews on the site. This is a much purer digital play than either REA or domain.com. By providing them access to data in a usable form openagent.com.au seeks to empower buyers and sellers and increase transparency in this very opaque market.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most important lesson Fairfax could draw from the performance of domain.com is not that the winner takes all logic of digital markets is reversible, but that they should have the courage of their convictions and go all in on digital, in the residential real estate market. Rather than just try to close the gap on REA it should be seeking to build a business that will do away with the need for businesses like domain.com at all. It might just find that if the solution it develops is good enough, the law of winner takes all will reassert itself.</p>
<p>*<em>This article was corrected after publication to remove a claim that REA outsources all of its development work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55146/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Wailes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fairfax’s Domain is closing the gap on its rival REA, in a game where there’s usually one winner.Nick Wailes, Associate Dean Digital and Innovation, UNSW Business School, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/550132016-02-19T04:19:05Z2016-02-19T04:19:05ZMore staff cuts likely as Fairfax eyes digital only<p>There seems to be no end to Fairfax’s restructuring saga. On Friday, the company’s management signalled they would continue to cut costs no matter what. <a href="http://www.fairfaxmedia.com.au/ArticleDocuments/193/2016-02-19_FY16%20Half-Year%20Results%20-%20ASX%20Statement.pdf.aspx?Embed=Y">CEO Greg Hywood</a> said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We have made clear many times that we are managing a structural shift in publishing from print to digital. We continue to adapt business model to this reality, which involves an intense focus on cost reduction.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This week Fairfax also said it <a href="http://www.skynews.com.au/business/business/market/2016/02/16/fairfax-media-planning-to-axe-70-nz-jobs.html">would shed 70 jobs</a> in New Zealand as it moves sub-editing work back to Pagemasters. </p>
<p>Figures published in <a href="http://www.fairfaxmedia.com.au/Investors/annual-reports">Fairfax’s 2015 Annual Report</a> show that between 2011 and 2015 the company cut 30% of its full-time employees. Today’s 2016 half-year results show that during the last four years Fairfax has cut its cost base by 34%, clearly on the back of staff reductions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112077/original/image-20160219-1261-131z5k1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112077/original/image-20160219-1261-131z5k1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112077/original/image-20160219-1261-131z5k1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112077/original/image-20160219-1261-131z5k1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112077/original/image-20160219-1261-131z5k1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112077/original/image-20160219-1261-131z5k1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112077/original/image-20160219-1261-131z5k1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Fairfax Annual Report 2015</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>An internal restructure this week saw the departure of The Age’s editor-in-chief, Andrew Holden, and the abolition of AM and PM news directors. <a href="http://www.crikey.com.au/2016/02/18/clickbait-on-the-front-page-fairfax-backs-away-from-print/">Commentators say</a> the new structure will increase clickbait content on the Fairfax papers. Under the new structure, says Crikey media writer Myriam Robin, “editors of the papers will no longer work closely with journalists and commission stories; instead, the print editors will scrape together material already put on Fairfax’s websites to fill their papers”. </p>
<h2>Cost cutting: ‘short-term cost, long-term benefits’</h2>
<p>However, Fairfax is not the only news publisher focusing on cost cutting, or reinventing its newsroom strategies. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/05/business/media/new-york-times-q4-earnings-newsroom-strategy.html?_r=0">The New York Times Company </a> announced earlier in February that despite strong growth in digital revenue in the fourth quarter, it continued to “feel the impact of declines in parts of our print business”. Dean Baquet, the newspaper’s executive, said “the company must continue to carefully manage its costs”, and that “everything we do now has got to include a certain amount of thinking about costs”. He didn’t rule out layoffs.</p>
<p>Similarly, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp is planning to further cut costs in its Australian and British mastheads after poor results in the 2016 second quarter. While commenting on News Corp results, chief executive <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/feb/05/news-corp-announces-cost-cutting-at-australian-and-british-newspapers">Robert Thomson</a> said that “for our Australian mastheads, it was clearly a difficult quarter in advertising and to that extent we’ve clearly embarked on a cost-cutting program”. He added that “cost cutting has a short-term cost and a long-term benefit”.</p>
<h2>Following The Independent’s example?</h2>
<p>We know that in 2013 Fairfax asked Bain & Co to undertake a “detailed analysis” of the benefits of going entirely digital, shrinking its editorial team from 503 to 205. </p>
<p>Now, a similar move actually underway at The Independent in the UK will see the loss of approximately 100 editorial jobs.</p>
<p>Is Fairfax ready for such a move? </p>
<p>Fairfax’s numbers show it still has a long way to go to be truly digital-led.</p>
<p>The company’s digital subscription revenue rose 14.3% on the back of “around 162,000 digital subscribers across the SMH and The Age”. In 2015, the two papers had 158,000 digital subscribers. The real driver in its digital earnings was Domain, which saw digital advertising revenue growth of 37%.</p>
<p>To see if the digital-only model would work, let’s do some simple math.</p>
<p>In the first half of 2016, the combined digital advertising and subscription revenue of Fairfax’s metropolitan media was A$149 million, whereas revenue from its print advertising and circulation was A$252 million - a gap of A$103 million in favour of print. </p>
<p>The digital advertising income of metropolitan media rose A$24.3 million to A$131 million from the same time last year, and the digital subscription revenue A$2.2 million to A$18 million over the same period. </p>
<p>To simplify, in the first half of 2016, the digital revenue of Fairfax’s metropolitan media made 15.5% of the company’s total revenue of A$958 million. In comparison, print papers of metropolitan media made 26.3% of the total revenue.</p>
<p>Clearly Fairfax still needs the print for the revenue, but if it continues its heavy cost cutting, the digital-only model could be closer to reality.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55013/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Merja Myllylahti does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The transition from print to digital will not be painless at Fairfax, or its global peers.Merja Myllylahti, Lecturer, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/285092014-06-26T12:29:30Z2014-06-26T12:29:30ZCall for Commonwealth Bank, ASIC to face Royal Commission<p>A <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/ASIC">senate inquiry</a> has called for the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and Australia’s corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), to be investigated by a Royal Commission.</p>
<p>The recommendation follows evidence of serious misconduct by the bank’s financial arm, Commonwealth Financial Planning Limited (CFPL) and what the Senate Economics References Committee chairman Senator Mark Bishop <a>described in a press release</a> as “appalling” conduct that included forgery.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The conduct of a number of CFPL advisers was unethical, dishonest, well below professional standards and a grievous breach of their duties. </p>
<p>"The way in which vulnerable trusting people were targeted shows that the CFPL planners involved had a callous disregard for their clients’ interests. That a major financial institution could have
tolerated for so long conduct that included apparent criminal activity is not easy to accept.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>ASIC also faces criticism of allowing itself to be “complacent” with the Committee saying its “slow response to the CFPL case and lack of scepticism is hard to explain”.</p>
<p>ASIC has responded with <a href="http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf/byHeadline/14-142MR%20ASIC%20statement%20on%20Senate%20Economics%20Committee%20report?opendocument">this statement.</a></p>
<p>The Commonwealth Bank has <a href="https://www.commbank.com.au/about-us/news/on-the-record/2014/commonwealth-bank-response-to-four-corners-fairfax-investigation.html">previously apologised</a> and has acknowledged the committee’s report <a href="https://www.commbank.com.au/about-us/news/media-releases/2014/cba-acknowledges-senate-committee-report-and-dissenting-report.html">in a statement</a> but refuted Senator Bishop’s statements. Liberal Senator David Bushby has also tabled a dissenting report.</p>
<h2>Kept in the dark</h2>
<p>The Senate Committee inquiry, <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/business/by/Adele-Ferguson">driven by relentless reporting from Fairfax’s Adele Ferguson</a> has handed down 61 recommendations, mostly aimed at enabling ASIC to efficiently carry out its responsibilities. </p>
<p>ASIC’s investigations into the CFPL matter eventually resulted in several advisers being banned, more than 1000 customers receiving compensation and enforceable undertakings entered. </p>
<p>But the considerable delay before ASIC launched its investigation following information from industry whistleblowers, caused considerable criticism of its accountability, relationships with other regulators, complaints management, and whistleblower protection.</p>
<p>The ensuing Senate inquiry has prompted some 474 submissions, including many that were confidential, and five by ASIC itself, five public hearings, and an <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/cba-asic-slammed-over-sketchy-senate-inquiry-submissions-20140528-3942s.html">interim report in May</a>, which flagged issues of CBA’s handling of the CFPL matter.</p>
<p>There was further investigation after evidence of inconsistencies emerged between ASIC and the CBA about the payment of compensation to CFPL clients who had lost money.</p>
<p>The committee sees the CBA as keeping not only its clients and ASIC in the dark, but also the committee itself. It is concerned that there are others caught up in the CFPL affair that have yet to be fairly compensated.</p>
<p>The committee have now concluded that ASIC appeared to place too much trust in the internal mechanisms adopted by the CBA around the the conduct of CFPL financial advisers, particularly around compensating clients of CFPL affected by the misconduct.</p>
<h2>Protecting whistleblowers</h2>
<p>Other recommendations seek to improve protection for whistleblowers in the Corporations Act. While the relevant sections of the Act protect a “discloser” from civil and criminal liability for making the disclosure, they don’t protect that person from the consequences of their own activity. Perhaps this, and the fact that a report can’t be anonymous, are reasons why whistleblowers are few and far between. </p>
<p>Obviously a sluggishly reactive ASIC cannot be seen to instil confidence either. The fact that the whistleblower provisions of the Act do not enable former employees to be defined as “disclosers” also limits its effect.</p>
<h2>Enforceable undertakings</h2>
<p>ASIC’s willingness to enter enforceable undertakings has also been criticised. The committee supports their use but provides guidance, suggesting ASIC be required to include stronger terms, clearer acknowledgement of the misconduct and more vigilantly monitor compliance. In particular, the committee requests the Auditor-General consider conducting a performance audit of ASIC’s use of enforceable undertakings. </p>
<p>The committee specifically calls for the protection of anonymous disclosures, the substitution of the “good faith” requirement with a disclosure requirement, and limited protection for disclosures to the media.</p>
<h2>Reforming the Corporations Act</h2>
<p>Throughout the report the committee has highlighted the need for reform of the Corporations Act. For example, Recommendation 41 recommends civil and criminal penalty reviews, and tougher monetary penalties where warranted. Recommendation 61 suggests improving insolvency mechanisms to encourage and facilitate corporate turnarounds.</p>
<p>The Committee’s recommendations create quite a lot of work for ASIC. This may seem all the more daunting due to the significant reductions in ASIC’s funding resulting from the recent Federal Budget. </p>
<p>One of the most interesting recommendations is to replace ASIC’s current funding arrangements by a user-pays model, together with the removal of ASIC’s registry functions. These industry levies will, according to the committee, create incentives to certain industries to comply, thereby reducing the need for ASIC involvement. The committee also supports self-regulation, with ASIC working with companies to strengthen their internal compliance mechanisms. </p>
<p>It’s not all bad news for ASIC. Despite the criticism, the committee recognises the importance and difficulties of its role. While flaws in ASIC’s performance have been raised, it is clear that the framework of the law within which ASIC works may itself need revision.</p>
<p>ASIC would probably rather it ended here, but it can only now wait to see the outcome and form of the recommendation for an independent inquiry. One thing is for certain though, if you want ASIC’s attention in future, just whistle. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28509/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Quilter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A senate inquiry has called for the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and Australia’s corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), to be investigated by a Royal Commission. The…Michael Quilter, Senior Lecturer, Department of Accounting and Corporate Governance, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/276332014-06-12T20:36:10Z2014-06-12T20:36:10ZUser-generated content: media can learn from the ‘Wild West’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/50804/original/kwnjh27t-1402464285.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In the aftermath of disasters like the Boston marathon bombing, footage from citizen journalists is sometimes the 'only option'.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">marsmettn tallahassee/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>User-generated content has become “a central element of the news gathering process,” says the controller of BBC World (English) Richard Porter, in a recently-released international <a href="http://towcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Tow-Center-Amateur-Footage-A-Global-Study-of-User-Generated-Content-in-TV-and-Online-News-Output.pdf">study</a> by the US-based Tow Centre for Digital Journalism. </p>
<p>The report defines user-generated content (UGC) as “photographs and videos captured by people who are not professional journalists and who are unrelated to news organizations”.</p>
<p>Most of the newsrooms included in this study, located all across the world, use UGC in their output. </p>
<p>Topping the list are Al Jazeera English, CNN and <a href="http://www.euronews.com/the-station/">Euronews</a>, but the BBC is not far behind with “the biggest dedicated UGC unit within the news industry”. News Corporation has gone one better and just before Christmas <a href="http://www.pehub.com/2013/12/news-corp-buys-vc-backed-storyful-for-25-mln/">bought the huge UGC site Storyful</a>.</p>
<p>Conflict (mostly Syria), protests and car crashes led the topics where UGC was most included, and availability was a big reason, with UGC often delivering “the only available pictures”.</p>
<p>This is a double-edged sword - UGC pictures and vision become “more available” precisely when they become “less available” from professional staff who have been laid off, such as the photographic staff <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-fairfax-cuts-photographers-what-price-for-a-news-picture-26442">at Fairfax recently</a>. </p>
<p>If you employ fewer photographers, UGC content steadily becomes the “only available”. The same logic applies to text content.</p>
<p>But one telling phrase authors Claire Wardle, Sam Dubberley and Pete Brown say peppered their interviews with news editors and managers was: “There’s a Wild West attitude about getting stuff off the internet”. </p>
<p>This emerged from their interviews with 64 news managers, editors, and journalists from 38 news organisations, located in 24 countries including the ABC and Sky News in Australia.</p>
<p>The editor-in-chief of Radio Popolare in Italy, Marina Petrillo, has publicly compared UGC to wallets that journalists pick up off the ground: “They take out the contents without even bothering to look for a name inside.”</p>
<p>While “content is located at the scene of a breaking news event” and “newsrooms encourage people to send photos or videos directly” a lot of harvesting from social media goes on. They call it “social newsgathering” and it’s a lot like the social newsgathering reporters used to do in pubs. </p>
<p>The harvest is mostly “free” since apparently requests for payment from “citizens” are rare. </p>
<p>But the researchers found an editor who had drawn a line in his head to deal with the issue of payment to “accidental journalists”: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>You’re not trained, you’re not a journalist, you’re not a freelancer and you’re not someone we want to take responsibility for.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Trouble is, many “user-content generators” are indeed trained, qualified to call themselves journalists and able to describe themselves correctly as “freelancers,” with or without that editor’s grudging permission. </p>
<p>These are the graduates of the university journalism courses which became popular worldwide in the 1970s and continue to attract strong enrolments everywhere. These graduates have been trained in the ways of institutional journalism by skilled practitioners.</p>
<p>They begin producing news and feature products (including photography) as part of their studies and are encouraged to sell their work into the established media market but also feed “street” publications and the community radio and television sector. </p>
<p>This has continued to the point where, <a href="http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/jomec/resources/FoJAbstracts.pdf">in 2007</a>, more paid journalism positions existed in Australia outside major newsrooms than within “Big Media”, without the total number of positions dropping. </p>
<p>I’m compiling the latest figures from 2013 with the help of two student journalists at Swinburne University of Technology – Lucy Gilbert and Lily Jovic (now graduated) – and it looks like there are still more paid jobs now, even after the crushing downsizing in established media in the past few years. </p>
<p>They’re just <a href="http://eventmechanics.net.au/2014/06/journalism-jobs/">spread wider</a> in magazines and websites. Instead of a declining industry, journalism is actually a thriving market but the market is changing and we have to change with it. </p>
<p>If user-generated content is such a big problem, it might also be an enormous opportunity for Big Media journalists to figure out what “those other journalists” are producing. </p>
<p>Publishers such as the BBC with its UGC Hub, and News Corp with Storyful, could start to analyse what’s coming in from citizen journalists as a way of working out what’s happening out there in the Wild West. Let’s hope they’re already doing it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27633/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Cokley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>User-generated content has become “a central element of the news gathering process,” says the controller of BBC World (English) Richard Porter, in a recently-released international study by the US-based…John Cokley, Associate Professor in Journalism, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.