Category Archives: News Corporation

Sarah Hanson-Young softens demand for inquiry into Murdoch media

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Amid the threat of big tech, Greens senator says News titles are ‘trusted news providers’ and a royal commission should look at the whole industry

The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has watered down her demand for a royal commission examining the role of the Murdoch media in Australia, now describing it as a “trusted” news provider compared with unregulated social media platforms.

Hanson-Young says she still wants a royal commission but that she is no longer advocating for it to focus specifically on media outlets owned by News Corp.

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Kumanjayi Walker’s family’s complaint about The Australian’s coverage not investigated by media watchdog

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Revelation comes after inquest into 19-year-old’s death shown texts between journalist from newspaper and Zachary Rolfe

The family of Kumanjayi Walker complained to the media standards watchdog in 2022 about The Australian’s coverage of the Warlpiri man’s death, questioning why the journalist responsible had not disclosed her personal relationship with Zachary Rolfe in her articles.

But the Australian Press Council decided not to investigate the 2022 complaint, saying it considered it was “unlikely that a breach of [its] standards of practice has occurred”.

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Final question time of the year – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

MPs don casual wear for late-night sitting

Given the late sitting (the house has been doing “family friendly” hours for most of the year, which has made sittings past 8pm or 8.30pm rare) there were a few more casual looks on the benches than we are used to.

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Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch meets Volodymyr Zelenskiy in signal of support for Ukraine

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Media mogul was accompanied by Fox News’ Benjamin Hall, who was injured while covering the war, and Jerome Starkey from UK tabloid the Sun

The Fox Corp chief executive, Lachlan Murdoch, has met with Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the Ukrainian capital in what Kyiv said was a “very important signal” of support at a time when global media attention has shifted from the war with Russia.

The media mogul, who last week took over as News Corp chairman from his father, Rupert, was accompanied by two reporters from his stable: Benjamin Hall from Fox News and Jerome Starkey from the UK tabloid the Sun.

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News Corp sells stake in gambling startup Betr after initial investment of $70m

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Betr chairman says he is grateful for media company’s ‘initial and ongoing support’ but that it is no longer an investor

News Corp has sold its shares in gambling startup Betr less than a year after its launch and having received a record $210,000 fine from regulators in April.

Betr was established with a reported $70m backing from News Corp, the former BetEasy chief executive Matthew Tripp’s TGW and the Las Vegas firm Tekkorp, with the intention of utilising News Corp’s media assets to promote the company.

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Kemi Badenoch failed to declare meeting with Rupert Murdoch

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Business secretary privately met media mogul in apparent breach of ministerial code of conduct

Kemi Badenoch failed to declare a meeting that she held with Rupert Murdoch days after she was appointed to the cabinet – in a breach of transparency rules.

The business and trade secretary reacted angrily on Monday on social media after it was revealed that she had privately met the media mogul and other executives from his News Corp company in New York in September 2022.

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Lachlan Murdoch ‘doubling down’ on right-wing strategy with Tony Abbott’s nomination to Fox board, say critics

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Endorsement of former Australian prime minister revealed a day after Rupert Murdoch retired as chair of Fox and News Corp

The endorsement of former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott for a position on Fox Corporation’s board by Lachlan Murdoch shows he is “doubling down” on the company’s “right-wing crusading”, critics say.

Murdoch welcomed the nomination in one of his first moves since being announced as sole chair of both Fox and News Corp this week following the retirement of his father, Rupert Murdoch, at the age of 92.

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Coming up for heir: News Corp in uncharted waters with Lachlan Murdoch at the helm

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Murdoch Jr does not have the same love for print as father Rupert but newspapers’ influence remains a drawcard for the new boss

Lachlan Murdoch started his leadership training at News Corp more than three decades ago, but exactly how he will steer the media empire remains largely unknown after the decision by his father to step aside.

There have been times when Rupert Murdoch’s eldest son and nominated successor has forged his own path in business – and the record is patchy.

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What does Lachlan Murdoch’s elevation mean for News Corp in Australia?

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The future of the Australian newspaper, which Rupert Murdoch launched in 1964, is less assured with Lachlan favouring Sky News Australia and Foxtel

With Lachlan Murdoch to become the sole chair of News Corp as well as the chief executive of Fox Corp, the global Murdoch empire will be run at least some of the time from Australia.

Lachlan, 52, moved his family back to Sydney in March 2021 because his Australian-raised wife Sarah prefers the lifestyle and the schooling it can provide for their three children.

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News Corp’s sports betting hub criticised by anti-gambling advocates as ‘new low’

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Experts say CODE Bet, which assesses wagering markets, could be affected if parliamentary inquiry’s calls are heeded

Anti-gambling advocates have criticised News Corp’s dedicated sports betting coverage website as “a new low” given community concerns about wagering, after a parliamentary inquiry called for ads and commentary on odds to be banned.

The company runs a digital hub for gambling coverage that offers detailed reports, videos, podcasts, previews and analysis on the latest markets and “top offers” from Ladbrokes, Bet365, TopSport and Betr. News Corp has a financial stake in Betr.

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Penrith Panthers grand final triumph could damage Betr after it offered gamblers 100-1 odds on win

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News Corp-backed firm offered inducements that attracted record fine and criticism from regulator

The finances of News Corp-backed gambling company Betr’ could take a big hit if the Penrith Panthers win the NRL grand final, due to a generous inducement that attracted a record fine and criticism from a regulator.

When the gambling company launched in late 2022, it offered 100-1 odds on the Penrith Panthers winning a third consecutive grand final with bets capped at $10. A Penrith victory is now short odds and a likely outcome according to most analysts.

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Editorial in the Australian that targeted ABC’s Louise Milligan was inaccurate and unfair, press council finds

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The Murdoch broadsheet breached three standards in the article, which caused unnecessary distress and was not in the public interest, body says

An editorial in the Australian newspaper which targeted the ABC journalist Louise Milligan was inaccurate, unfair, lacked balance, caused unnecessary distress and was not in the public interest, the Australian Press Council has found.

The Murdoch broadsheet breached three of the general principles of the regulator when it accused Milligan, a former employee of the newspaper, of “bad, lazy, deceitful journalism” in the 2021 article Greatest enemy of truth is those who conspire to lie.

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How the Coalition collaborated with ‘friendly media’ to silence robodebt victims

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Alan Tudge’s office planned to use sympathetic outlets such as News Corp to counter reporting on scheme, royal commission report reveals

When Alan Tudge needed to promote what became known as robodebt in December 2016, he found willing media outlets in the Australian newspaper, 2GB and A Current Affair.

“Welfare debt squad hunts for $4bn,” the Australian dutifully reported at the time. The then-human services minister next went on 2GB, where then-host Chris Smith said in the introduction: “Are all those people with their hands in the taxpayer pocket in genuine need?”

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Major newspapers could face a $40m hit if governments follow Victoria in abandoning print advertising

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Data highlights total government spending on print as experts say Daniel Andrews’ move will be watched

Major metropolitan newspapers could lose up to $40m in advertising revenue if state and federal governments follow Victoria’s lead and pull their print advertising.

In 2022 state and federal governments spent about $40m placing government ads in major capital city newspapers, and another $5m on digital advertising on news websites like heraldsun.com.au and theage.com.au, according to media agency data collected by Standard Media Index.

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Bruce Lehrmann drops defamation case and settles with News Corp over Brittany Higgins reports

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The two parties reportedly settled with News Corp saying it had not paid any damages and the articles in dispute would remain online

Bruce Lehrmann has discontinued defamation proceedings against News Corp over its initial reporting of Brittany Higgins’ allegations after he settled with the media company.

News.com.au said in a statement that the settlement involved the payment of a portion of Lehrmann’s legal costs only.

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News Corp denies it played a part in Stan Grant’s decision to leave Q+A amid racist attacks

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Murdoch’s Australian media chief calls on ABC to ‘correct the record’ after accusations that excessive coverage encouraged racist social media trolls

Rupert Murdoch’s top executive in Australia has defended News Corp’s reporting of the ABC’s coronation broadcast and denied it played a part in Stan Grant’s decision to stand down from hosting Q+A after becoming the target of racist attacks.

News Corp Australasia chief executive Michael Miller responded to an interview on Monday in which the ABC news director Justin Stevens accused News Corp of targeting the ABC because the public broadcaster threatened its business model.

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ABC coverage of King Charles III coronation tops Australian ratings despite being attacked by monarchists

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After being accused of being ‘obsequious’ over Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, ABC included discussion of colonialism and monarchy’s relevance

The ABC’s broadcast of King Charles’ coronation was labelled “despicable” by monarchists, but viewers loved it and gave the national broadcaster an easy ratings win over the commercial networks.

The king’s procession averaged 1,182,000 viewers on the ABC, putting it ahead of Seven’s 1,096,000 and Nine’s 738,000, according to OzTAM which now measures viewing through broadcast TV and streaming devices.

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Lachlan Murdoch drops defamation proceedings against independent Australian publisher Crikey

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Move comes days after Fox reached a $US787.5m settlement with the voting equipment company Dominion in a separate defamation lawsuit

Lachlan Murdoch has dropped his defamation proceedings against the independent Australian media company Private Media, the publisher of Crikey.

The Fox Corporation CEO said he was ending the case in light of the settlement in the US of the Dominion lawsuit against Fox News.

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Consumer advocates reject media calls to preserve exemptions to Australian privacy law

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Centre for Responsible Technology ‘supportive’ of proposed reforms, calling them the ‘first significant upgrade of privacy laws in four decades’

Consumer digital rights advocates have rejected media companies’ call to preserve their exemption to privacy law, warning that commercial models should not be put ahead of public interest.

Peter Lewis, the director of the Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology, said it was “disappointing” that the Right to Know coalition “set up with the laudable goal of protecting journalists and whistleblowers is now being deployed to prosecute Big Media’s business interests at the expense of the public they purport to serve”.

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Australian media companies reject proposed privacy law reforms

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Coalition of organisations says changes would have ‘devastating impact on press freedom’ and are not in public interest

Media companies have rejected a proposal to reform Australian privacy law, warning that the changes – including a right to sue outlets for serious invasions of privacy – are not in the public interest and would harm press freedom.

The Right to Know coalition warns the attorney general’s department’s proposal, released in February, would have “a devastating impact on press freedom and journalism in Australia without any clearly defined need or benefit”.

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