Australia’s high concentration of media ownership is eroding its democracy, preventing critical action on issues like climate change and limiting stories being told, media experts have warned
The warning comes as former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Saturday called for a royal commission on media concentration, launching a petition in parliament that garnered thousands of signatures hours after it went live
The Australian media landscape is dominated by two players: Nine Entertainment, which owns the mastheads The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald among others, and News Corp, owned by former Australian Rupert Murdoch, who controls between 60 and 70% of the metropolitan market
M Rudd denounced the sheer concentration of the Murdoch empire and pointed to News Corp’s masthead support for the Liberal Party in the last 18 elections
« I call on parliament to create a royal commission on abuses of the media monopoly in Australia, and in particular by the Murdoch media, to make recommendations to maximize ownership of media diversity for the future stone corner of our democratic system «
M Rudd had a long-standing feud with News Corp, which used his mastheads to hunt him down during his tenure as Prime Minister
A petition to parliament is essentially a demand for action, but that does not mean that the government of the day should implement its demands
UTS columnist and scholar Jenna Price explained how some media companies have exerted their influence
« We can see in some publications that there is a non-journalistic desire to choose who should be in power, rather than providing readers with evidence, » Dr Price said.
Rupert Murdoch’s influential newspapers and TV stations have been widely criticized for spreading false information about climate change during the out-of-control bushfires in Australia
The Australian has repeatedly argued that this year’s fires were no worse than those in the past – a claim scientists have dismissed as false
« You can understand how frustrating the Murdoch Empire’s stance on climate change was for James Murdoch, who had the direct power. Imagine how we feel the rest, » she says
« We see story after story in Murdoch’s journals saying that climate change does not exist, while arsonists were responsible
News Corp is also suing Victorian Prime Minister Daniel Andrews over the issue of coronavirus lockdowns in the state, she said
« Every story in Australia is about ‘Dictator Dan’, it would be like New Zealand publications are attacking ‘General Jacinda’, but there the cover was more considered, » said Dr Price
His dream royal commission on media ownership would also focus on tabloid commentators and how they target and intimidate people they don’t like
« I want a royal commission among the flood of columnists who should have to make amends for their stories without facts, » said Dr Price
Denis Muller, who previously worked for Nine Papers and is now a senior researcher at the University of Melbourne, said a royal commission on media concentration was « long overdue »
« Not just Murdoch, but all major media owners The need for an investigation is more urgent than ever »
« If you look at the two most struggling democracies, the UK and the US, in both cases the Murdoch Empire is dominant and has played an active role in the preference of right-wing governments. » , did he declare
The only way to break the monopoly would be for Murdoch to cede his assets or for the government to support more independent regional masts, Dr Muller said
« You get diversity from A to Z, you won’t get it right away at the metropolitan level »
Highlighting closures of media companies such as BuzzFeed, Vice, The Huffington Post and local media, M Strom said success stories for Australian media companies outside of the News Corp / Nine duopoly were very rare
« Google and Facebook need to pay their share, we need more support for suburban and campaign media, and the government needs to restore funding for public broadcasters, » he said
The Australian public has paid the price for the country’s highly concentrated media sector, he said
Kevin Rudd, Rupert Murdoch, Media, News Corp, News Corporation, Democracy, Prime Minister of Australia
World News – AU – « Cancer »: Kevin Rudd calls for a royal commission in the « Murdoch monopoly »
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
