Australian Community Media’s mastheads include The Canberra Times, The Newcastle Herald, The Border Mail (in Albury), The Illawarra Mercury (in Wollongong), The Ballarat Courier, The Examiner (in Launceston) and the Bendigo Advertiser.
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The sale of Australian Community Media may signal better fortunes for regional publishing. But there are ongoing concerns about the viability of the local news business model.
A merger between Nine and Fairfax was announced in July this year.
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What does the Nine Fairfax merger mean for diversity and quality journalism?
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.
The essence of local newspapers is that they are a mirror of the small communities that produce them.
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Even in the age of digital disruption and big-name mergers, there are signs that local newspapers remain viable and strong.
The Sydney Morning Herald’s Kate McClymont is one of Australia’s leading investigative journalists. Under the Fairfax-Nine merger, how well will work like hers be supported?
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Fairfax Media has a long and highly successful history in investigative journalism, which may be at risk if the company merges with the Nine Network.
Only the competition regulator stands in the way of further media concentration in Australia, but few expect the first of probably a number of mergers to be blocked.
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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.