Category Archives: Australian media

Alan Jones charged with 24 indecent assault and sexual touching offences against eight victims

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Former Sydney radio host – who has previously denied all allegations against him – charged over incidents that allegedly occurred between 2001 and 2019

The former Sydney radio host Alan Jones has been charged over alleged historic indecent assault and sexual touching offences spanning two decades.

Jones was arrested by New South Wales police after a “long, thorough, protracted” investigation at about 7.45am on Monday morning at a unit in Sydney’s Circular Quay.

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Fears for local news diversity if rightwing startup buys Southern Cross regional TV network

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Fringe news streaming channel ADH TV, which launched with Alan Jones at the helm, confirms offer for 93 regional free-to-air stations

Diversity of local news may be at risk if a rightwing startup, ADH TV, is given the green light to purchase Southern Cross Austereo’s regional television network, an expert has warned.

Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) has confirmed it has received an offer from the fringe streaming news channel to buy its 93 regional free-to-air TV stations. The digital broadcaster, which is chaired by the former ABC chair Maurice Newman, was launched in December 2021 with the former 2GB broadcaster Alan Jones at the helm.

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2GB’s Ben Fordham pulls out of Liberal event, saying he didn’t realise it was fundraiser for party

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Nine radio star says he speaks to political organisations, Scouts, charities and preschools but draws the line at political promotion

Nine’s 2GB radio host Ben Fordham has pulled out of a Liberal party fundraiser in Kirribilli, saying he did not realise the event was raising money for the political party when he accepted the invitation to speak.

“Kirribilli Branch is honoured to be joined by Ben Fordham, Sydney’s No.1 radio presenter,” the invitation said. “Ben will provide a review of the major stories he has uncovered and covered this year and the very important election year on the horizon.”

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Media hysteria around Sofronoff report fuelled ‘mob mentality’, Bruce Lehrmann prosecutor Drumgold says

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Exclusive: Former ACT director of public prosecutions plans to return to NSW bar after painful experience of losing his ‘dream job’

The ACT’s former director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold believes “something went terribly wrong” with the Sofronoff report on Bruce Lehrmann’s prosecution, which resulted in Drumgold losing his “dream job”, a court battle over its findings and a subsequent integrity commission investigation.

Drumgold says media “hysteria” into the report’s findings fuelled a mob mentality against him, in what he described as a “terribly painful process”.

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ABC to review editorial policies after investigation finds gunshots ‘inadvertently’ added to Afghanistan footage

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Director of news Justin Stevens apologises for ‘editing errors’ in the video clips

The ABC will review its editorial policies after an independent review found five additional sounds of gunshots were “inadvertently but inaccurately” introduced into footage showing a commando firing from a helicopter.

But the review by the former ABC editorial executive Alan Sunderland said there was no evidence that anyone at Australia’s national broadcaster “deliberately doctored, falsified, manipulated or distorted information, material or evidence in order to mislead audiences”.

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Respawned: Queensland magazine the Cane Toad Times takes aim at a post-truth world

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It emerged from the slime of the sunshine state during Bjelke-Petersen’s oppressive regime. Now it’s back – but can it survive more sensitive times?

A man whose pseudonym is Johnny La Rue is holding a yellowed magazine with two toad-headed lovers embracing on the front. He reads aloud a headline that would likely trigger a firestorm on social media were it written today.

“Who wrote that?!” he exclaims.

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Australia news live: PwC reveals it sacked eight staff over data breaches; Perth man dies after being taken to police watch house

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Court to rule in Pauline Hanson-Mehreen Faruqi case

A federal court judge is ready to rule on whether Pauline Hanson made a racial slur when she told Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi to go back to Pakistan.

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ABC chair says pressing ‘digital titans’ for revenue is a ‘mainstream democratic imperative’

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Kim Williams says funding local news and public interest journalism is crucial in a world where ‘the distortion of culture poses such a grave threat to democracy’

The tech giants must be pursued for a cut of their substantial revenue to fund journalism in order to fight disinformation and “navigate the dangerous world”, ABC chair Kim Williams has said.

Last week a parliamentary committee recommended the government impose a tech tax on companies like Meta and Google as well as establish a fund to help traditional news media organisations.

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Labor concerned Meta may ‘sidestep obligations to pay for news’ as media bargaining code fight reignites

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Social media company tells parliamentary committee Facebook and Instagram bring value to news outlets

Social media company Meta has accused a federal parliamentary committee of ignoring “the realities of how our platforms work” and the value Facebook and Instagram bring to news outlets, as a fight reignites over the news media bargaining code and funding of media publishers.

The Albanese government has also given its strongest indication yet it will look to reshape the code or replace the framework entirely, voicing concern that Meta is trying to simply “sidestep obligations to pay for news”.

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Crikey sacks columnist Guy Rundle for text to ABC that claimed ‘every grope is now sexual assault’

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Exclusive: CEO Will Hayward calls comments ‘appalling’ and that he would ‘no longer be publishing his work’

Crikey’s correspondent-at-large Guy Rundle has been sacked after he sent a text to ABC Radio saying sexual assault complaints have gone up because “every grope is now a sexual assault”.

Guardian Australia understands the ABC told the publisher of Crikey, Private Media, that the message was one of dozens of “inflammatory” texts sent by the writer on a variety of topics in recent months to the RN Breakfast show, hosted by Patricia Karvelas. The sexual assault text is the first one Karvelas has read out on air along with his name.

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Nine apologises unreservedly after bombshell report reveals systemic bullying and harassment

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Nine board commits to implementing all recommendations for a ‘reset of culture’

Nine Entertainment has a systemic issue with the abuse of power and authority, bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment across the company, an independent report has found.

“Driving these behaviours is a lack of leadership accountability; power imbalances; gender inequality and a lack of diversity; and significant distrust in leaders at all levels of the business,” the company said in a statement after receiving the report on Thursday.

The Nine board has apologised to affected staff and pledged to implement all 22 recommendations in the report for a “reset of culture at Nine”.

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ABC Radio’s Sydney Drive host Richard Glover to retire after 26 years with station

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Announcement is second major move this week by a presenter at the broadcaster, with Patricia Karvelas to leave Radio National Breakfast

ABC Radio’s Sydney Drive host, Richard Glover, will retire next month after a record 26 years behind the local radio microphone.

The announcement, made on his program on Friday afternoon, is the second major move this week by a presenter at ABC Radio. Patricia Karvelas is leaving Radio National Breakfast after three years.

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Assange says he is free because he ‘pled guilty to journalism’ – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

National weather forecasts

Sticking with the weather, here’s a look at the forecasts across Australia’s capital cities today:

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ABC rejects Russian claim two journalists involved in ‘illegal’ border crossing

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Australian broadcaster’s Europe correspondent Kathryn Diss and camera operator Fletcher Yeung accused of ‘illegally’ crossing into Russia from Ukraine on 31 August

The ABC has rejected Russian claims two of its journalists acted illegally after they entered the Ukraine-occupied Kursk region.

Europe correspondent Kathryn Diss and camera operator Fletcher Yeung are accused of “illegally” crossing into Russia from Ukraine on 31 August.

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Walkley-award winning journalist to investigate potential issues in ABC’s Line of Fire reports

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Alan Sunderland to undertake independent review of online article and 7.30 story about an Australian military operation in Afghanistan

The ABC has appointed veteran journalist and media executive Alan Sunderland to undertake an independent review of the broadcaster’s Line of Fire reports about an Australian military operation in Afghanistan.

The Line of Fire reports concern an online article and 7.30 story by one of the ABC’s most experienced journalists, Mark Willacy from the ABC’s Investigations unit.

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Fatima Payman singles out Rupert Murdoch as she decries mainstream media’s treatment of Muslim women

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Independent senator accuses mogul of causing ‘division, marginalisation and fearmongering’, and says the media too often reduces her to a stereotype

The independent senator Fatima Payman has accused mainstream media of reducing Muslim women to “stereotypes” and singled out Rupert Murdoch, alleging moguls like him cause “division” and “fearmongering”.

“Like many of you, I’ve faced challenges in navigating mainstream media as a Muslim woman in politics,” she said in a keynote speech on Sunday at the 10th anniversary of independent Muslim media outlet Amust in the south-west Sydney seat of Blaxland.

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Julia Gillard urges Labor to retain 50% female quota, warning women still at risk of being dragged back

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Australia’s only female prime minister marks 30th anniversary of ALP’s affirmative action rule by advocating for its adoption across federal parliament

Julia Gillard is urging the Labor party never to remove its 50% female quota for parliamentary candidates despite surpassing it federally, warning there are forces – especially in the “toxic sewer” of social media – which can still drag women back.

In an interview to mark this month’s 30th anniversary of Labor’s controversial affirmative action rule, Australia’s first and, so far, only female prime minister reflected on the hope she expressed the day she left office in 2013, that it would be easier for the next woman who runs the country.

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Former Channel Seven reporter Robert Ovadia drops legal case against network

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Sacked journalist steps away from high-profile legal proceedings for ‘personal reasons’, lawyer tells media

The Seven Network has confirmed its former reporter Robert Ovadia has dropped an unfair dismissal case, only days after it claimed in court that more than 13 women had come forward with complaints about his conduct.

Ovadia had dismissed the claims, saying Seven’s “propaganda unit” was seeking to destroy his reputation, but walked away from the case on Friday afternoon without receiving any payment from the network, it said.

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Bridget Archer and Fatima Payman sign letter pushing for total ban on gambling ads as independent MPs urge free vote

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More than 20 parliamentarians – including Jacqui Lambie and Lidia Thorpe – sign letter calling for blanket ban

Some 21 parliamentarians including Liberal MP Bridget Archer and former Labor senator Fatima Payman have joined a push for the government to ban all gambling ads, as independent MPs push for a free vote on a total ban.

The first letter is signed by a group of Greens, the teal MPs and other lower house independents, senators Jacqui Lambie, David Pocock and Lidia Thorpe. It calls for a “blanket ban on advertisements for online gambling”.

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Zionist Federation leader says Australia-based NYT journalist should be sacked over doxed list

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It was an ‘egregious breach of trust’ that Natasha Frost shared logs of Jewish WhatsApp chat with 600 members, Jeremy Leibler says

The Zionist Federation of Australia president, Jeremy Leibler, says the New York Times should sack a Melbourne-based reporter who downloaded and shared from a private WhatsApp group of Jewish creatives.

The subsequent leaking of the WhatsApp group chat, including members’ contact details, photographs and social media accounts, led to death threats, forced one family into hiding and had a profound effect on the 600-odd members, the partner in law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler alleged.

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