№ 1 in Sceptical Climate
Big Australian media reject climate science
Australia has the most concentrated press ownership in the world. What does that mean for significant issues such as climate change?
News LTD
№ 6 in Women in the Media
The Australian and New Matilda's 'Where are the women in the media?'
Today we published Part 4 of our New Matilda 'Where are the women in the media?' series. On Tuesday, we published Part 3 of our investigation which was a gender breakdown of by lines on a particular day. We called it a 'snapshot' and suggested more research is needed.
Judge finds News Ltd's reporter was not part of abuse of process.
Most of the focus on today's Federal Court judgement in the case brought by ex-Federal Parliament Speaker Peter Slipper against his staffer James Ashby will be on the central finding that Ashby's sexual harrassment case against his ex-boss was an abuse of process.
Green Left Weekly interviews me about media job cuts and Gina Rinehart
This week, Green Left Weekly's Jay Fletcher interviewed me about the big job cuts and changes in the Australian corporate media.
Role for government in protecting independent journalism ?
I was asked to submit 400 words to the Sydney Morning Herald as part of regular feature which puts the same question to four people. I was the 'academic",
On ABC24's One plus One talking with Jane Hutcheon about an Australian media inquiry.
This weekend, I was on ABC24's program One on One being interviewed by Jane Hutcheon about why I think an Australian media inquiry is necessary.
Questions for the CEO of News Ltd - they remain unanswered.
As the phone hacking scandal blew up in Australia where News Corporation controls 70% of the metropolitan audience in the most concentrated media in the developed world, News Ltd CEO John Hartigan assured the public that nothing so heinous as phone hacking would ever happen in Australia. There was no evidence to doubt his word, but it seemed to me that each media context was different. News corporation is a integrated global company. Some stories got by phone hacking by News International were certainly published here. There were also other questions to which it would be useful for Australia readers to have answers.
How powerful media players cry 'censorship' to fight off accountability
There is a long tradition of media owners in Australia invoking press freedom to trump calls for frameworks to ensure accountability and ethical behaviour, especially at News Ltd.
Questions for an Australian Media Inquiry
There is debate about whether we should have an Australian inquiry into the media and in particular News Ltd which controls 70% of our print media and chunks of our sport and TV industries. I would have thought with arrests of News executives for criminal and corrupt activities and investigations into whether the company is 'fit and proper' to hold licenses, an inquiry would be on the agenda. Some journalists disagree, fearing that an inquiry could lead to state control. Those of us pushing for an inquiry need to be clear on the issues it should explore and what we hope to get out of it.
No Rules For Murdoch To Break
Why does Australia have such a concentrated media and such a weak system of self-regulation for media owners? To help make sense of all this, I made a brief timeline of media regulation in Australia. You can find it here in New Matilda. Back in the early seventies, Murdoch even opposed the foundation of an Australian Press Council ( APC) funded and controlled by the media organisations. He later joined by then withdrew after a finding of bias against one of his newspapers. News Corporation later rejoinedfter the APC did not pubicly oppose his takeover of the Herald and Weekly Times. This was a crucial step which made him the dominant media boss in Australia. He was assisted by some political mates who were disgruntled with media company Fairfax's investigative journalism.
Media In The Firing Line
What sort of questions should a parliamentary inquiry into media ownership and regulation tackle? Wendy Bacon has a few ideas - and we invite you to add your own.
Why News needs Regulation
Today I published a piece on News Corporation, phone hacking and implications for Australia. I was surprised by how easily commentators and reporters in Australia were prepared to accept that the key issue for us is whether phone hacking actually happened at News Ltd papers in Australia.