This makes me sad. Fairfax is the last independent and robust journalism company in Australia. News Corp is Rupert Murdoch's plaything. The commercial television channels - like Channel Nine -...
This makes me sad. Fairfax is the last independent and robust journalism company in Australia. News Corp is Rupert Murdoch's plaything. The commercial television channels - like Channel Nine - have dumbed down to chase ratings. While Channel Nine used to be home to some high-quality journalism, such as our local version of '60 Minutes', that has changed.
The executives of Channel Nine say they won't touch the Fairfax newspapers, but I lack confidence that they'll resist that temptation forever. Eventually, they'll have to interfere and turn 'The Sydney Morning Herald' and 'The Age' into platforms for cross-promoting their television channel.
Thanks for the context. I was just about to ask for some since the article is clearly written primarily for an Australian audience who are already aware of all the players involved, but as an...
Thanks for the context. I was just about to ask for some since the article is clearly written primarily for an Australian audience who are already aware of all the players involved, but as an outsider (Canadian), even after googling around a bit I didn't really know quite what to make of this news before I read your comment. Even without context though, if the history of media conglomeration has taught me anything, it's that it's rarely a good thing for a country when huge media organizations merge. The Sydney Morning Herald, from what I have read from it (also largely thanks to you), seems like a solid news organization so I hope this doesn't negatively effect them too much... :/
p.s. This is one of the reasons I am exceptionally wary of publicly traded new organizations. Shareholders rarely have anything but their own money making potential in mind and when it comes to something as vital to the health of a nation as its journalistic institutions, that is problematic to say the least.
They are. Especially working with the government-owned but independent ABC, they've managed to do some great investigative journalism over the decades, and have broken some major stories as well...
The Sydney Morning Herald, from what I have read from it (also largely thanks to you), seems like a solid news organization
They are. Especially working with the government-owned but independent ABC, they've managed to do some great investigative journalism over the decades, and have broken some major stories as well as uncovering things that needed to be known. News Corp doesn't do anywhere near the same amount of, or level of, hard-nosed journalism. If the 'Herald' and 'The Age' become Channel Nine's toys rather than independent journalistic publications, something of great value will be lost. Another fear is that, to cut costs, the new owners will "streamline" their journalistic operations by combining Nine's and Fairfax's news desks.
Fairfax has a charter of editorial independence. Hopefully, Nine Entertainment's executives respect that.
This makes me sad. Fairfax is the last independent and robust journalism company in Australia. News Corp is Rupert Murdoch's plaything. The commercial television channels - like Channel Nine - have dumbed down to chase ratings. While Channel Nine used to be home to some high-quality journalism, such as our local version of '60 Minutes', that has changed.
The executives of Channel Nine say they won't touch the Fairfax newspapers, but I lack confidence that they'll resist that temptation forever. Eventually, they'll have to interfere and turn 'The Sydney Morning Herald' and 'The Age' into platforms for cross-promoting their television channel.
Thanks for the context. I was just about to ask for some since the article is clearly written primarily for an Australian audience who are already aware of all the players involved, but as an outsider (Canadian), even after googling around a bit I didn't really know quite what to make of this news before I read your comment. Even without context though, if the history of media conglomeration has taught me anything, it's that it's rarely a good thing for a country when huge media organizations merge. The Sydney Morning Herald, from what I have read from it (also largely thanks to you), seems like a solid news organization so I hope this doesn't negatively effect them too much... :/
p.s. This is one of the reasons I am exceptionally wary of publicly traded new organizations. Shareholders rarely have anything but their own money making potential in mind and when it comes to something as vital to the health of a nation as its journalistic institutions, that is problematic to say the least.
They are. Especially working with the government-owned but independent ABC, they've managed to do some great investigative journalism over the decades, and have broken some major stories as well as uncovering things that needed to be known. News Corp doesn't do anywhere near the same amount of, or level of, hard-nosed journalism. If the 'Herald' and 'The Age' become Channel Nine's toys rather than independent journalistic publications, something of great value will be lost. Another fear is that, to cut costs, the new owners will "streamline" their journalistic operations by combining Nine's and Fairfax's news desks.
Fairfax has a charter of editorial independence. Hopefully, Nine Entertainment's executives respect that.