Category Archives: Media

Trump wants ‘fair treatment’ in fight over Labor’s levy on tech giants to pay for news, US trade group warns

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National Foreign Trade Council ‘disappointed’ at move to expand News Bargaining Incentive but Australian experts say government is not going far enough

A major US trade body has rubbished the Albanese government’s plan to make more big tech platforms pay for Australian journalism, issuing a veiled warning about how Donald Trump may respond to the “deteriorating trend”.

The National Foreign Trade Council said it was “disappointed” at the Australian government’s move to expand its News Bargaining Incentive (NBI) to take in Microsoft’s LinkedIn, amid trade tensions between Washington and Canberra including newly increased tariffs on Australian goods.

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Alan Jones argues ‘rivalry’ and ‘treachery’ but after decades wielding the sword of public opinion, he’s the one on trial

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His legal strategy was apparent from the very first. Jones will, it was explicitly stated, seek to undermine the ‘credibility and reliability’ of his accusers

Alan Jones has enjoyed decades as the centre of attention, as the wielder of power.

The booming voice, the vast radio audience, the bully pulpit of an eponymous TV show, the great and the good on speed-dial, a staffer in the prime ministerial office dubbed the “minister for Alan Jones”: these were not ancillaries peripheral to the Jones empire, they were central to it.

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Teenager didn’t tell anyone Alan Jones allegedly kissed and touched him as he feared losing financial help, trial hears

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Former 2UE and 2GB radio broadcaster is facing 22 charges. Jones, 85, has pleaded not guilty

A former schoolboy athlete has told the Alan Jones trial he didn’t tell anyone the broadcaster was allegedly kissing him and touching his genitalia when he was a teenager because he was “fearful” of losing Jones’s financial support.

The man, known as complainant J, alleged that after he drove Jones to a function in Canberra and they were alone in the hotel room, Jones kissed him in a “smothering” way. After the drive back to Sydney, Jones allegedly said to him: “You’ve been a really good boy. I’m going to give you some more money.” His regular weekly stipend increased by $100, the court heard. J also said Jones told him he didn’t have to tell anyone he was giving him money as it was “a gift”.

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US reporter fighting back after border patrol seized his cell phones

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Max Blumenthal says he was singled out at airport after Trump ally Laura Loomer targeted him in online posts

When reporter Max Blumenthal went to a cafe in Tehran one night a few weeks ago to upload videos from his reporting on the funeral of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, he began seeing social media posts from Trump ally Laura Loomer targeting him, including one that suggested he should be “taken off the plane by US Marshalls when he lands back in the US … [and] detained”.

“I began to prepare myself for being harassed on my return,” Blumenthal said.

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AI labels to be compulsory on authentic-looking content under EU rules

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Companies must ensure people know when they are interacting with artificially generated images, audio and text designed to look real

From apparently conspiring to steal elections to abusing staff or performing embarrassing dance moves, the last few years have seen plenty of fake content made about politicians intended to malign its targets and mislead the public.

Now EU rules aim to stem the flood of this deceptive content: starting from Sunday, artificially generated images, audio and text designed to look authentic must be labelled.

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Anthony Fauci’s diaries take aim at News Corp journalist Sharri Markson’s ‘nonsense’ Covid-19 investigation

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US former top health official, who was subpoenaed to appear at a Senate hearing into Covid-19, says Markson’s reporting about virus’s origin ‘does not make any sense’

Dr Anthony Fauci, the US’s chief medical adviser at the start of the pandemic, has described a book by News Corp investigative journalist Sharri Markson backing the “lab leak” theory of Covid-19’s origins as a “bunch of nonsense” in his newly released diaries.

This week, Fauci, 85, was subpoenaed by the Republican senator Rand Paul to appear at a Senate hearing into Covid-19 and his handling of the pandemic.

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Four women accuse Jared Leto of criminal sexual conduct when they were teenagers

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BBC documentary reports incidents alleged to have taken place when actor and musician was in 30s and 40s

The actor and singer Jared Leto has been accused in a BBC documentary of criminal sexual conduct by four women, with the alleged offences taking place when the women were teenagers.

The incidents reported by the BBC are alleged to have taken place between 2002 and 2016, when the actor was in his 30s and 40s. He is now 54.

Support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

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Canadian government urged to block Thomson Reuters data deal with US ICE

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US agency is to pay Canadian media company US$125m for use of investigative database to detect ‘immigration fraud’

A Canadian federal opposition party leader has called on Mark Carney’s government to block the latest data-sharing deal between US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Canadian media company Thomson Reuters.

Avi Lewis, the federal leader of the New Democratic party (NDP), demanded on Tuesday that Ottawa address the contract and further restrict Canadian corporations from doing business with ICE, after Canada’s National Observer news website reported on the deal.

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Trump to speak at White House press dinner rescheduled after shooting

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Journalists urge attenders to confront president over media attacks, while Melanie Trump and JD Vance to be absent

Donald Trump will address a rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association (WCHA) dinner on Friday three months after the original event was abruptly halted after an armed assailant tried to storm it, with the alleged aim of assassinating him.

The rearranged dinner has been condemned as “hypocritical” by retired journalists and press freedom groups, who are urging the association to use it to confront Trump over his administration’s intensified attacks on the media.

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Paramount’s £80bn takeover of Warner Brothers a step closer after EU approval

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European Commission says Paramount Skydance’s decision to end Universal venture addresses merger concerns

Paramount Skydance’s £80bn takeover of Warner Brothers took a step closer to being realised after it won conditional approval from the European Union.

The European Commission said Paramount’s offer to ⁠end a film ⁠distribution ​joint venture with Universal Pictures addressed its concerns over the potential merger. As part of its commitments in the EU, Paramount has 13 months from the date of closing the deal to pull out from the venture.

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‘What has the BBC ever done for me?’ Romesh Ranganathan reboots corporation’s 1985 licence fee plea

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As with the John Cleese original, comedian is supported by famous faces from Claudia Winkleman to David Jason

John Cleese’s 1985 advert for the BBC in which he asks a pub full of stars “What has the BBC ever given us?” is one of the most famous examples of the corporation making the case to the public for the value of paying the licence fee.

In the advert, Cleese is complaining to the bartender that he has just bought his TV licence. “Fifty-eight quid for the privilege of sitting in your own home, watching your own television set. It’s diabolical. I mean, what’s the BBC ever given us for 58 quid?” he says, before being put right by a string of punters, ranging from David Attenborough and John Humphrys to Terry Wogan and David Jason.

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‘Brazen corruption’: critics denounce Trump Media plan to sell priority access to Truth Social posts

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Move would allow Wall Street trading firms and other institutions to potentially profit from seeing president’s posts first

Donald Trump’s media company is planning to charge for special high-speed access to Truth Social posts, including possibly his own, affecting national security and financial markets.

The move announced on Thursday would allow Wall Street trading firms and other institutions to get news first from top Truth Social contributors so they could profit off subsequent moves in stocks, bonds and interest rates.

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Singapore court orders Bloomberg to pay ministers $356,000 in defamation case

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Bloomberg’s editor-in-chief, John Micklethwait, stands by reporting, saying ministers who sued ‘imposed an extremely strained meaning on what was a solid ​story’

Bloomberg News and one of its reporters have been ordered to pay S$460,000 (US$355,734) in damages after an article it published was found to have defamed two Singapore government ministers, the city-state’s high court said in a judgment released on Tuesday.

Bloomberg and the reporter, Low De Wei, are liable to jointly pay S$230,000 to each minister, comprising S$170,000 in general damages and S$60,000 in aggravated damages, ⁠the judgment said.

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Trump administration subpoenas New York Times journalists over new Air Force One reporting

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Outlet said journalists subpoenaed to testify before grand jury after story detailed security concerns with Qatar-gifted plane

The Trump administration has issued subpoenas to several New York Times journalists after the newspaper reported on security concerns with the president’s new plane, according to the outlet.

The Times said its journalists were subpoenaed on Friday by the US justice department to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan five days later, marking the latest effort by the Trump White House to compel testimony from journalists under the threat of penalty. Agents delivered some of the subpoenas to the Times reporters at their homes, the paper added.

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TV presenter Dermot Murnaghan dies of prostate cancer, aged 68

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The former ITV, BBC and Sky News journalist died peacefully at home in London on Saturday, his family say

The former BBC and Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan has died aged 68 after a “period of illness with prostate cancer”, his family have said.

The journalist, who was long a fixture on British TV screens, was also known for hosting the quizshow Eggheads.

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Big tech platforms will have to ban scam ads under UK plans to tackle fraud

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Range of potential measures announced by Ofcom include reducing risk of accounts being hijacked for scams

Big tech platforms will be required to ban scam advertisers in the UK under proposals to tackle online fraud.

Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, X and YouTube will have to block bad actors who post fraudulent ads and prevent them from creating new accounts in a range of measures targeted at the biggest services.

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Journalist Richard Guilliatt resigns from Walkley awards board after critic wins reporting prize

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Exclusive: Resignation comes after abuse survivor said she was devastated her father, who was jailed for 48 years, was interviewed for the Shadow of Doubt podcast

The journalist Richard Guilliatt has resigned from the Walkley awards judging board after the Walkley Foundation dismissed complaints about his podcast and then handed an award to the journalist whose reports were critical of him.

Nina Funnell won a mid-year Walkley for freelance journalist of the year for a series of three articles in news.com.au about a survivor of sexual assault who was abused by her own parents for 14 years.

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Daphne Caruana Galizia screamed in panic before explosion that killed her, court hears

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Businessman stands trial over death of Maltese journalist killed by bomb in her car after she reported on corruption

Moments before the explosion that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia, the journalist screamed in panic, a witness has told the trial of the man accused of ordering her murder.

Caruana Galizia was killed in 2017 by a remotely detonated bomb placed under the driver’s seat of her car, after writing a series of reports on political and financial corruption in Malta. The government’s handling of the investigation led to mass protests and ultimately to the resignation of the Maltese prime minister, Joseph Muscat.

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ABC and SBS need ‘oversight’ committee to vet Israel coverage, Jillian Segal tells royal commission

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Antisemitism envoy says public broadcasters, which currently have an ombudsman to handle complaints, need an independent oversight committee

The antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, wants a new “oversight” committee to vet the ABC and SBS’s Israel coverage, she told the royal commission on Thursday morning.

Both the ABC and SBS have an independent ombudsman to handle complaints.

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Prince Harry gets burned in his mission to ‘slay dragons’ of British media

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Harry claimed victory in two earlier legal actions but he and his co-claimants lost their lawsuit against ANL on Tuesday

The Duke of Sussex has variously described his long-running legal battles with certain sections of the British media as a “mission” and a “life’s work”.

“I’ve been told that slaying dragons will get you burned,” was his defiant response when he claimed victory against Mirror Group Newspapers in December 2023 over historic allegations of unlawful information gathering, adding it was a “worthwhile price to pay”.

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