Legal letters from Senator Pauline Hanson’s lawyers to Senator Lidia Thorpe and the Nine Network … Followed Today interview in which Thorpe referred to Hanson as a “convicted racist” … Hanson sought withdrawal and apology … Nine Network posts clarification … Courts Editor Stephen Murray reports … more
Category: Media Matters
No more Rivers of Gold
Australia is among the most concentrated media markets in the world … Economic dominance in key sectors … NBN and its consequences … Google and Meta occupy top spots in the top ten … Rob Nicholls breaks down the report into concentration of media and communications … more
Preserving the digital archive
Sustainability of digital archives … Legal issues … Loss of valuable MTV News content … The Wayback Machine … Accessibility to the past … National Library of Australia … Data storage … Environmental and financial costs … Veronica Lenard reports … more
Antoinette Lattouf v Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Fair Work Commission … ABC terminated employment relationship with casual radio presenter Antoinette Lattouf … Termination came after Lattouf shared Instagram post from human rights NGO commenting on Israel/Gaza War … Relationship ended when Lattouf taken off air and given no more work … Courts Editor Stephen Murray reports … more
Southey v Butler
NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal … Transgender activist loses transgender vilification claim against Herald-Sun … Argued article about female inmates petition against transgender inmate amounted to vilification … Article did not convey that transgender people as a class were a threat … Courts Editor Stephen Murray reports … more
Buying Silence
Oligarchs and plutocrats versus the media … The crushing appeal of SLAPP actions … Goldsmith, Maxwell and now the Russians … Lawyers and the money … Important stories that are never published … British media lawyer David Hooper suggests useful reforms … Book review by Veronica Lenard … more
Duke of Sussex v MGN Limited
Hacking case in London ... Mirror Group Newspapers ... Significant damages awarded to the Duke of Sussex ... 38 private investigators engaged by the editors ... Board of directors not aware ... Editor Piers Morgan knew of the illegal newsgathering ... Some claimants time barred ... Report from Inforrm ... more
Pressing issues
Australian Press Council ... Press "watchdog" ... Delay, obstruction and torment ... The tortured road to getting a remedy for inaccurate, unfair, and prejudicial journalism ... The Louise Milligan case shows why the APC needs to replaced ... Richard Ackland reports ... more
Journalists’ jamboree
Media Roundtable ... Attorney General's press freedom gathering in Canberra ... What's likely to be discussed ... What should be discussed ... Reporting that seeks to break free from the yoke of "national security" ... Open society inhibited by a range of forces ... Richard Ackland reports ... more
The road ahead
Ashurst’s review of media law developments in 2023 … Defamation reform … Federal Court document access rules … Misinformation and disinformation on digital platforms … Privacy … National cultural policy … From Robert Todd, Imogen Loxton, Nic Perkins, Karen Wang and Lisa Xia … more
Hamish McDonald
Investigative journalism … Long and determined pursuit of the Croatian Six case by foreign editor Hamish McDonald … Judicial inquiry into a miscarriage of justice … Failure of police, ASIO and the justice system … Dogged reporting … more
Michael West
Journalist and publisher Michael West talks to GLJ … Independent journalism today … Financing the enterprise … Best scoops … Interruptions by lawyers … Shortcomings of the mainstream … The next phase … more