Media regulation in Australia has always been weak, fragmented and lacking in public visibility. It has also never had a government bold enough to do anything about it.
Communications minister Malcolm Turnbull has floated the idea of reforming media laws, but Australia media terrain has changed.
AAP/Penny Bradfield
Julian Disney, the outgoing chair of the Australian Press Council, made a singularly powerful argument in his valedictory speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday: that freedom of the press is strengthened…
How will new communications minister Malcolm Turnbull and the Coalition approach the vexed issue of media reform?
AAP/Alan Porritt
The media has wasted little time reminding the Coalition government that its rigorous scrutiny of the former Labor government was par for the course. Journalists are snapping at the Coalition’s heels on…
Former News International executive Rebekah Brooks leaves the Old Bailey after appearing on charges of conspiring to bribe public officials. It was revelations about journalistic practises at News that inspired inquiries in Australia and the UK.
EPA/Andy Rain
There are at least two points of convergence in this week’s parliamentary deliberations on media freedom in Australia and the UK. Both are driven by reports – Finkelstein and Leveson respectively – responding…
Stephen Conroy’s media reform package has led to cries of media censorship - but do even conservative spruikers really believe this?
AAP
Since the day in November 2011 that Justice Ray Finkelstein and University of Canberra Professor Matthew Ricketson held court in Melbourne, the mainstream media has been hostile to any suggestion of media…
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy’s media reforms have been called an attack on freedom of speech, but is the criticism deserved?
AAP/Lukas Coch
The ongoing criticism in the major news media of Communication Minister Stephen Conroy’s very soft and watery proposed media reforms is predictable but still breathtaking. Conroy’s proposals go nowhere…
Senator Stephen Conroy did not have a mandate for significant change.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Yesterday, communications minister Senator Stephen Conroy finally presented the government response to the Convergence Review and Finkelstein review. It is hard to know how many drafts of this long-awaited…
Stephen Conroy is still to bring media policy to cabinet.
AAP/Lukas Coch
It might not be a front line issue, but media policy is a significant election year debate. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is still committed to bringing a submission to cabinet in coming weeks…
The real significance of a decision forcing Gina Rinehart to pay the court costs of both her children and media outlets is to demonstrate legal independence and the importance of open justice.
In every parent’s life there comes a time when it’s best to hand over the keys to the kids and treat them as adults. That time comes quicker if they haven’t been wrapped in cotton wool or reminded of inadequacies…
If reports saying Julia Gillard reached a deal on media self-regulation are correct, it’s business as usual for media proprietors.
AAP
It seems that Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the gang of seven media bosses have buried their hatchets, reaching a compromise on media regulation. It’s to be business as usual, behind the starched-up…
Trust in the media is at the heart of issues around Gina Rinehart, Fairfax and editorial independence.
AAP
Amid indications that Fairfax is going into the corporate death spiral – ongoing disinvestment resulting in smaller market share - we’re asking the wrong questions about the future of the Australian media…
Will Google be subject to Australian media regulation?
Stuck in Customs
It’s been a remarkably busy year for Australian media policy. There have been three major reports released that address the future of media policy and regulation in the context of convergent media: the…
Why should freedom of the press trump the right of academics to have their say?
Linda Cronin
There has been much discussion about the role of free speech and a free press since the publication last week of the report from the independent inquiry into the Australian media. The review was conducted…
Murdoch’s “blind eye” on managerial overcommitment – too many media outlets, too little time – is unsurprising. But we need some tough decisions on the balance between media self-regulation and public oversight.
AAP
What are we going to do about media regulation? This week saw release of the 81 page report of the Convergence Review, an Australian Government document that deals with broadcast regulation and offers…
The line between traditional and new media has now blurred into indistinguishability.
flickr/francescominciotti
It should be easy for the Gillard Government to accept the recommendations of the Convergence Review. On the surface it seems all very sensible: a converged Press Council and Australian Communications…
Seven West Media’s decision to withdraw from the Australian Press Council raises questions about the Australian commercial media’s commitment to corporate social responsibility and best practice.
AAP
When the report of the Independent Inquiry into the media and media regulation, aka Finkelstein inquiry, was released some time ago, it was denounced as sinister and – like the Leveson Inquiry in the UK…
A new regulatory body is not what the Australian media or public need.
Instagram/sookhean
The recent Finkelstein inquiry into media regulation in Australia has suggested a new body to govern journalistic standards and handle complaints from the public, the News Media Council. But at a time…
Former Federal court judge Roy Finkelstein (centre) has delivered his media inquiry report.
AAP/Dean Lewins
It was a pleasant surprise that the independent Australian media inquiry, examining print, online and the role of the self-regulatory body, the Australian Press Council, was, for the most part, a satisfying…