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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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?”
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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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Continue reading...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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Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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”.
Continue reading...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”.
Continue reading...List of ‘friendly’ journalists and other media personalities Lehrmann was ‘outraged’ at also among evidence submitted to the court
The former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann told the tobacco giant he lobbied for that the public revelation of rape allegations against him had “not hindered the relations within my political network” and said he was still able to influence federal policy to “further the business financially”, documents show.
New documents filed in Lehrmann’s defamation case against News Corp, Network Ten, Lisa Wilkinson and Samantha Maiden reveal Lehrmann’s correspondence with British American Tobacco Australia, his then employer, in the days and months after Brittany Higgins’ allegations were first made public in February 2021.
Continue reading...Lehrmann is suing Network Ten and News Corp, and reporters Lisa Wilkinson and Samantha Maiden, for defamation outside the usual 12-month time limit
Bruce Lehrmann will argue he was delayed in launching defamation proceedings against Network Ten and News Corp because of his mental health, the high-profile criminal case against him and due to prior legal advice, a court has heard.
Lehrmann is suing the two media outlets and reporters Lisa Wilkinson and Samantha Maiden in the federal court, alleging he was defamed in stories reporting Brittany Higgins’ allegations of rape in February 2021.
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Continue reading...Regulator finds firm did not inquire as to source of Gavin Fineff’s funds and instead ‘provided attractive bonuses’
The sports wagering company Ladbrokes has been fined nearly $80,000 for serious breaches of its licence and failing to limit damage caused by Gavin Fineff, a financial adviser who stole millions of dollars from his clients to service his gambling addiction.
Fineff has pleaded guilty to multiple fraud-related offences in the New South Wales district court and is awaiting sentencing. He lost more than $8m to sports gambling, with much of that money belonging to friends and clients, some of them elderly and vulnerable.
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Continue reading...Reduced ad spends due to rising inflation and higher interest rates have battered Rupert Murdoch’s media conglomerate
Media conglomerate News Corp said on Thursday that it would cut 1,250 jobs after it missed estimates for second-quarter earnings due to weakness in its news and digital real estate businesses.
Rising inflation and higher interest rates are forcing companies to curb their ad and marketing spend, denting one of the major sources of revenue for companies such as News Corp, which has major publishing platforms including the Wall Street Journal and New York Post in the US, The Sun and The Times in the UK, and The Australian.
Continue reading...Text from Ralph Norman to Mark Meadows, Donald Trump’s final chief of staff, urged president to declare martial law
A Republican who urged the Trump White House to declare martial law to stop Joe Biden taking office has only one regret: that he misspelled “martial”.
The text from Ralph Norman of South Carolina to Mark Meadows, Donald Trump’s final chief of staff, was given to the January 6 committee by Meadows and revealed by Talking Points Memo.
Continue reading...British editor of the UK Sunday Times, which is also owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, will take the position in early 2023
Emma Tucker, the British editor of the UK Sunday Times, was named on Monday as the new editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal, and will become the first woman to lead the 133-year-old business title.
The move, announced by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, will happen in February next year when Tucker, who will also run Dow Jones Newswires, will succeed Matt Murray, who will depart after a four year tenure.
Continue reading...Company says ‘the welfare of our staff is our absolute priority’ and it will ‘take these allegations very seriously’
Sky News host Chris Smith has been suspended after accusations that he behaved inappropriately toward colleagues after the broadcaster’s Christmas party over the weekend.
Smith was with other Sky News Australia employees at The Establishment in Sydney. He reportedly joined colleagues at The Ivy Sunroom at midday on Saturday for the formal event before going on to The Establishment. After concerns about his behaviour were raised with senior executives, he was stood down immediately.
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