News Corp Australia

What about the Financial Review, the Weekly Times or the Saturday Paper?

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Hardly an achievement to be in front of a batch of niche market titles (I suppose the Australian Jewish News are also hurting at their loss) but if it makes The Australian feel better about itself to boast being #1 then good for them.

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The Australian Financial Review says this week the sale of Perth Sunday Times and PerthNow website to Seven West Media is nearing completion, and the ACCC has been approached for its views on the transaction.

Wow, I knew this was proposed, but didn’t know it had got this far!

Exciting news.

Hopefully we hear proper WA news on ‘Tomorrow’s headlines tonight’ on Tony Delroy’s ABC radio show. Very strange they would talk with Perth Now rather than The West.

News Corp revamped the Escape travel liftout in this week’s Sunday papers. It looks cleaner and fresher than the previous look.

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News Corp axes Best Weekend and Kidspot magazine, launching BW Magazine in their place
Mumbrella

Via the Star Weekly: News Corp will cut seven of it’s Leader brand newspapers; between five and eight jobs are expected to go with the closure of the Berwick, Brimbank, Free Press, Hobsons Bay, Melbourne, Melton and Wyndham publications.

It’s sad to see that in just two years, my local area has gone from having three local publications to just one - the Brimbank Weekly (nee Sunshine Advocate) and the Star amalgamated into the Star Weekly in 2014. Clearly, the business model is unsustainable, although I fear that the Star Weekly could be next, with the cash-strapped Fairfax holding a two-thirds stake in the joint venture.

Surprised that Leader in Berwick, Wyndham and Melton are closing, those regions are among the fastest population growth areas in Australia, surely they can sustain more than one suburban paper. Plus the paper is still needed to cover the issues not reported by the Herald Sun.
Can’t believe a large part of Melbourne’s west will be ignored by News Corp like that.
Has the company considered merging the titles? My suggestions:
Free Press merge with Lilydale and Yarra Valley Leader
Brimbank, Hobsons Bay, Melton and Wyndham Leader merge with Maribyrnong Leader to form a “super suburban” weekly (let’s call it Western Leader)
Berwick merge with Cranbourne Leader
Melbourne Leader to merge with Port Phillip Leader

My area was similar in going from 3 to 1 but it happened years ago. I never really read any of them apart from the occasional Leader edition anyway.

Leader Newspapers has posted a message to readers and advertisers on the website:

Leader has made a business decision to focus on the 26 Leader community mastheads across Melbourne that have the strongest future for commercial success and audience growth.
As a result, Leader has made the difficult decision to close seven Leader mastheads.
Leader publications Wyndham, Hobsons Bay, Melton, Brimbank, Melbourne/Yarra, Berwick and Free Press will cease publication from the end of June.
We thank our readers and advertisers in those communities for your support over many years.
Leader is proud of the community connection that we have worked hard to achieve.
Leader has been a strong advocate for local causes in those areas. We have reported on local news and events and played an active role in community life.
Leader regrets that changing business conditions mean it is no longer commercially possible for us to continue in those seven communities.
We thank you for your support. Our final print publications in those areas will be delivered in the week of June 27.

The Australian’s foreign editor Greg Sheridan has been appointed an officer (AO) in the general division of the Order of Australia in today’s Queen’s Birthday honours list, for distinguished service to print media as a journalist and political commentator on foreign affairs and national security, and to Australia’s bilateral relationships.

Leader has published identical editorials on its Wyndham, Hobsons Bay, Melton, Brimbank, Melbourne/Yarra, Berwick and Free Press titles this week, reconfirming their closures. However, the editorial adds that:

We will endeavour to continue to report digitally on the local news and issues that matter to you, and to be a strong advocate for local causes and community life.

How can Leader achieve both aims, by sacking 5-8 journalists? Will it ask journalists from neighbouring titles to do the job?

From the Australian Regional Media thread:

News Corp is demonstrating which side it is supporting in the three-way Country Fire Authority wage deal dispute between the Victorian State Government, the United Firefighters Union and the volunteer CFA firefighters*. Tomorrow (Wednesday) Herald Sun is giving away free BACK THE CFA bumper stickers at participating newsagents across Victoria so the public can show their support behind the volunteers.
*the volunteers claimed the enterprise bargaining agreement signed between the State Government and the UFU gave the latter too much power in CFA operation and taking control of the volunteer organisation.

Wow what a surprise the Herald Sun going against the (ALP) government. Who’d have guessed?

(Having said that I should declare I am not on one side or another for this debate as I’ve not followed it at all so perhaps the HS is taking the better side here but given its track record for slagging anything ALP it’s hard to take anything the paper does too objectively)

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^ But not in this blatant fashion. We can all safety guess which side the paper will be supporting in the upcoming federal election.

I thought it was a well known fact that all News Corp tabloids usually always support the Coalition both on a state and federal basis? The Daily Telegraph here in Sydney certainly does anyway, especially remembering those now infamous front pages during the 2013 Federal Election campaign…

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Maybe you’ve forgotten the Herald Sun’s front pages cheering for Tony Abbott ahead of the 2013 federal election? Not to mention just about any other political coverage since then which has continually taken the view that LNP = good, ALP = bad and Greens = worse. Usually illustrated tastefully with cartoon/photoshopped images to make their point.

Not to mention the paper (and its sister papers) recent character slaughter of Duncan Storrer whose only ‘crime’ was to ask a question on Q&A which made the Libs look bad.

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Coles is offering a discount deal on News Corp’s major Victorian papers. Starting yesterday and for the next three weeks, when you spend $30 or more in one transaction in Coles supermarkets across the state you can get half price for the Herald Sun, Sunday Herald Sun, The Australian, The Weekend Australian, the Geelong Advertiser and The Weekly Times.

Why are you spruiking their papers? Are you on commission?