From seemingly out of nowhere, the veteran tech giant has waded into the war between Facebook, Google and the Australian government – and may emerge the ultimate victor, writes Hal Crawford. The “big friendly giant” of the tech world, Microsoft, has shown in recent days it retains every bit of the cunning that has seen … Read more
The extraordinary adventure that is Australia’s attempt to make Facebook and Google pay for news has reached its climax, writes Hal Crawford, and it’s still possible the world’s smallest continent will end up with one of the world’s worst internet experiences as a result: no Google search and no news on Facebook. The “News Media … Read more
Facebook’s threat to pull out of news in Australia is the latest salvo in an increasingly bitter battle over who owns the news – and who should fund its production, writes former MediaWorks news boss Hal Crawford from Sydney. The struggle between the Australian government and Facebook and Google over news is surely close to … Read more
Holding Facebook and Google to account might be a great idea in theory, but the proposed code is based on false assumptions, writes Australian ex-MediaWorks news boss Hal Crawford. A couple of weeks ago, the Australian government announced that it was going make Facebook and Google pay news companies for the news content they “used … Read more
Former head of Newshub Hal Crawford surveys Australian media, and finds it significantly changed in less than four years. I have a strange relationship with Australian media. In some ways I’m an insider: I’ve worked in the industry for 25 years, I know people from most major companies, and I have a lot of affection … Read more
How Australians affected, and concerned family and friends living overseas, can keep up with the latest developments on the fires ravaging the country. As I write this, fires are consuming huge swathes of Australia and conditions are expected to worsen. The situation is attracting global interest, and reporting has been extensive. But it isn’t always … Read more
MediaWorks’ owners have called time after years of losses from its TV division. Sources say the company will announce it is for sale – if no buyers emerge, it will close within months. Three is facing the biggest crisis in its three decade history today, as its ownership will soon announce the channel is for … Read more
The ancient Australian shock-jock yesterday targeted Jacinda Ardern, urging Australia’s PM to ‘shove a sock down her throat’. It’s all in keeping with a substantial history of being an arse. The plucky nation of Australia excels in a range of endeavours, but nowhere more than the angry, anguished howls of bloated, Jurassic men. It’s a … Read more
The Australian Communication and Media Authority has identified ‘serious questions’ about the screening of images from the Christchurch terrorist attack, but declined to find a specific breach. Coverage of the Christchurch terrorism by Australia’s television channels raised “serious questions” about whether they had breached the television codes of practice, according to the broadcasting regulator, the … Read more
On Wednesday the AFP, the Australian equivalent of New Zealand’s SIS, raided the Sydney headquarters of the state broadcaster the ABC. The move represents a clear threat to democracy, writes an Australian lawyer who specialises in press freedom. The Australian Federal Police has this week conducted two high-profile raids on journalists who have exposed government … Read more
Julie Hill fondly recalls one of the Australian media’s great, accidentally truth-packed print cock-ups. Every now and then, an epic headline blunder (or spelling booboo or layout flub or grammar snafu), the work of some doomed subeditor, is so bad it becomes famous. “Girls’ Schools Still Offering Something Special – Head”, it will say, or … Read more
It’s all relative, sure, but New Zealand’s media has clearly done a far better job at holding the line against Islamophobia than their UK and Australian counterparts, writes Elle Hunt from London. The danger of speaking relatively about race relations is that it risks excusing wrongdoings already being committed and in doing so allowing them … Read more
Australian media helped feed the anti-Muslim prejudice that led to the Christchurch attacks, writes Australian journalism lecturer Dr Nasya Bahfen, a practising Muslim of Indonesian heritage. Despite not personally knowing anyone who was gunned down at Friday prayers in Christchurch, I did not sleep that Friday night. I know I am not the only one who … Read more
Sources suggest the New Zealand editorial arm of the global youth media giant is shutting down, reports Duncan Greive. A huge round of redundancies being rolled out worldwide by youth media giant Vice has reached the New Zealand office. Staff were told today that the team faces being slashed to one to two positions – with … Read more
Why is Australian politics so poisonous? A lot of the blame can be laid at the feet of the right-wing media, which has given a megaphone to reactionary forces within the Liberal Party, writes the University of Melbourne’s Denis Muller. Note: This article was originally published on Thursday 23 August, before the second spill that … Read more