Fairfax Wins Confidential Source Case

The Victorian Court of Appeal has ruled two Fairfax journalists will not be ordered to reveal their sources. Last year a magistrate summoned The Age journalists Nick McKenzie and Richard Baker to appear in the committal hearing of eight former directors of the Reserve Bank subsidiaries, Securency and Note Printing Australia.

The former executives are accused of bribing foreign officials in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam to gain contracts to print banknotes between 1999 and 2004.

The journalists’ reports on the scandal triggered a police investigation into the allegations. Subpoenas were issued for Mr McKenzie and Mr Baker after a newspaper article in December 2012 reported an allegedly corrupt businessman was prepared to testify against the former directors in exchange for a leniency :: Read the full article »»»»

Hamish McLennan Blames Lara Bingle For Tens Massive Loss

Struggling television network Ten has swung to a $243 million loss on falling revenue and large write-downs. The embattled broadcaster’s first-half loss for the six months to the end of February was well down on a $14.8 million profit in the same period a year earlier. Ten blames $304 million in one-off write-downs, including a $292 million reduction in the value of its television licences, for the bulk of the loss.

However, Ten’s new chief executive officer Hamish McLennan, who has only been in the top job for around three weeks, says poor ratings and a resultant 16 per cent fall in revenue also hurt the company. Mr McLennan singled out some of network’s significant ratings flops last year as a significant cause of the revenue slump, and says he is looking to reach out to an older audience as well as maintaining the network’s traditional youth market.

The network has slashed its television costs by almost 11 per cent over the past 12 months to $247 million, after several rounds of job cuts, with the latest coinciding with the company’s full-year results in October last year. Ten has also reduced its net debt by $262 million in the first-half after raising more money from shareholders and selling its Eye Corp outdoor advertising business, leaving it with net debt of $1.2 million at the end of February :: Read the full article »»»»

World of the News

The global behemoth that is News (Ltd + International) is creeking and groaning under it’s own size as it attempts to reform itself for the digital age, changing the way it does business, answering for the way it’s done business and comes to terms with the trouble it’s had downsizing it’s business.

In the UK, the saga of phone-hacking goes on with Former News International chief Rebekah Brooks has appeared briefly in a London court, accused of conspiring to hack phones. As well as Brooks, former legal manager of Rupert Murdoch’s News International has been arrested in connection with the phone hacking scandal. In Australia the behemoth has not announced that up to 80 more editing and reporting jobs will be cut from News Limited, including dozens across Queensland.

The once golden Nine stable of multimedia products has dipped further into trouble times. Nine Entertainment has announced the sale of ACP Magazines- Australia’s largest stable of print based media –  to German media giant Bauer. The sale is reported to be worth about $500 million and is expected to be finalised in the next one to two months.

Mega wealthy – non-smoking tea toatler – Gina Rinehart puts her 50c $2 worth into the cost of labour debate.

No post would be complete without comment on Julian Assange, his latest antics – stuck within the shrinking walls of the Eucadorian Embassy in London – Mr Assange, or Our Jullian as we like to refer, is prepping himself for a 12 month camp-out as he steadies himself for waht looks like a very long fight. At what point does one need to ask the question; ‘surely he’d be done with the fight if he’d gone to Sweden 3 years ago?’

In proof that there is still some value in old-school communication devices, a Scottish fishing boat’s skipper has found a message in a bottle, 98 years after it was released. The bottle was released by the Glasgow School of Navigation in 1914 as part of an experiment to map the currents in the sea off the Scottish coast :: Read the full article »»»»

Ten Network Sells EYE Corp

Australia’s least favourite television network – Ten Network – has announced the sale of its EYE Corp outdoor advertising business to Champ Private Equity for up to $AU145 million. The sale will proceed via Champ’s outdoor media interest Outdoor Media Operations – OMO – owner of oOh!media.

Ten will receive $120 million cash on completion of the sale, with $AU25 million deferred for three years, the full payment of which will depend on various factors. One of those factors is the price that OMO can get for EYE’s United Kingdom and US businesses, which intends to sell off immediately. Ten may also choose, or be required, to repurchase those businesses if they are not sold within an agreed timeframe.

Ten is also keeping oround $AU16 million worth of “onerous contracts”, but subcontracting the operation of them to OMO. The  Ten statement notes certain of EYE’s Australian contracts will be retained by Ten, but the operation of the relevant assets will be subcontracted to OMO. The net present value of these contracts is estimated at around $AU16 million :: Read the full article »»»»

UPDATED: News Limited Shakes It ALL Up

Australia’s media landscape has been through the ringer over the past few weeks, the ground is changing at a pace not seen since the eighties. The latest shake-up comes from the ever stoic News Limited – the Australian arm of News Corporation – the company has announced a massive restructuring of the way it delivers news.

The announcement on last week, which included job cuts and a reduction in east coast operations from 19 divisions to five, came days after Fairfax Media outlined plans to axe 1,900 staff, move jobs offshore, close two major printing presses and downsize its flagship newspapers to tabloids, as well as it’s ongoing boardroom battles with billionaire Gina Rinehart.

Despite the cuts, News Limited CEO Kim Williams has told staff that the organisation remains committed to print :: Read the full article »»»»

UPDATE! World of the News, Fairfax Media Confirms Jobs Going Offshore

Last month we reported on that shrinking Australian media behemoth that is Fairfax Media, is apparently planning to send jobs offshore by relocating production of its regional newspapers to New Zealand.

The proposed changes will affect 66 Fairfax staffers, Media, Ethics & Arts Alliance – MEAA – said via statement today.

Fairfax said the affected staff would be offered voluntary redundancies or redeployment, however, some staff may also be forced into redundancy.

The affected newspapers include the Illawarra Mercury, Newcastle Herald and seven associated community titles including the Lake Times, Kiama Independent, Newcastle Star, Myall Coast Nota, Port Stephens Examiner and Lakes Mail. Read the full previous post.

UPDATE! FAIRFAX HAS CONFIRMED – JOBS ARE GOING OFFSHORE: Newcastle Herald and Illawarra Mercury workers have failed in their bid to stave off job losses under a plan by Fairfax Media to transfer editorial production to New Zealand.

Fairfax has confirmed a total of 41 production jobs will be axed from newspapers in the Newcastle region, including the Newcastle Herald, and 25 jobs will go from the Illawarra Mercury. It says the changes are part of moves to increase efficiency in its newsrooms.

The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance – MEAA - asked Fairfax to continue doing the work locally through the creation of a virtual sub hub that it claimed would be more cost-efficient :: Read the full article »»»»