Business of Media
Murdoch court action set to be first major test of defamation changes
Lachlan Murdoch’s decision to sue the small news website Crikey may be the first major test of changes to Australia’s defamation laws that seek to protect public interest journalism, reports Nine Publishing’s Mark Di Stefano.
News Corporation’s co-chairman officially commenced defamation proceedings this week against Private Media, the publisher of news and politics website Crikey, over claims in an article linking the Murdoch family to the January 6 Capitol riot in Washington, DC.
University of Western Australia law professor Michael Douglas said that “Lachlan Keith Murdoch v Private Media Pty Ltd” would be the first high-profile test of amendments to Australia’s defamation law passed last year.
The new provisions, covering most of Australia, introduced a public interest defence for media organisations, and a requirement for plaintiffs to show that claims were likely to cause “serious harm” to their reputation.
Media freedom fears in India after Modi ally Adani buys 29% stake in NDTV
India richest man, Gautam Adani, has launched a hostile takeover of the country’s popular NDTV television network in a deal that has sparked concerns about the future of one of the media outlets prepared to criticise Narendra Modi’s government, reports The Guardian’s Martin Farrer.
In a stunning coup that blindsided the network’s high-profile founders, a unit of Adani’s sprawling conglomerate said on Tuesday that it will be acquiring a 29.18% stake in NDTV in a complex deal involving one of the network’s investors.
Under Indian takeover regulations, the move triggers an open offer for a stake of another 26%. If that is successful, Adani would be left with a controlling stake of 55%.
Twitter whistleblower to meet with Senate panel Sept. 13
The U.S. Senate Judiciary committee will hold a hearing on Sept. 13 with Twitter Inc’s former security chief Peiter Zatko to discuss allegations from his whistleblower complaint that the social media company misled regulators, reports Reuters.
Zatko, who accused Twitter of falsely claiming it had a solid security plan and making misleading statements about its defenses against hackers and spam accounts, has already discussed his complaint with staffs of the chair and ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and the staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee, according to a spokesperson for Zatko.
In an 84-page complaint, Zatko, a famed hacker widely known as “Mudge,” made numerous claims and alleged Twitter prioritized user growth over reducing spam, with executives eligible to win individual bonuses of as much as $10 million tied to increases in daily users, and nothing explicitly for cutting spam, according to documents relayed by congressional investigators.
Australian High Court confirms Google defamation immunity
Australia’s highest court has ruled that Google could not be held liable as the publisher of the websites it links to in search results, meaning it is not responsible for libel on the articles it links to, reports Press Gazette’s Andrew Kersley.
One media lawyer told Press Gazette the High Court ruling could make it much harder to remove defamatory content from Google and could influence the way libel cases are handled in the UK.
“In reality, a hyperlink is merely a tool which enables a person to navigate to another webpage,” a joint statement by Chief Justice Susan Kiefel and Justice Jacqueline Gleeson said last week.
“There was no other basis for finding publication because the appellant [Google] had not participated in the writing or disseminating of the defamatory matter,” the judgment summary added.
Radio
KIIS FM’s Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O dumped off air after bleep button gets stuck
Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson were unceremoniously dumped off air after a swearing incident led to a technical malfunction on Wednesday morning, reports news.com.au.
The duo were interviewing comedian and actor Jim Jefferies at about 9.30am when listeners were treated to seven seconds of a single-note hold tone.
Later, a prerecorded voiceover reintroduced the duo back onto the show.
“The station you’ve been listening to has been dumped. This means someone has said something inappropriate and is currently getting in trouble. The broadcast will return in seconds,” the voice over said.
Television
Ch 31 & Ch 44 launch CTV+ app
Melbourne’s Channel 31 and Adelaide’s Channel 44 have released a joint CTV+ community television streaming application, reports TV Tonight.
CTV+ is comprised of 100% Australian-made and produced content and follows a push by the previous LNP governments to suspend spectrum for Community TV broadcasters in favour of streaming.
Community TV has been pivotal to early careers of Rove McManus, Hamish & Andy, Waleed Aly, Nazeem Hussain, Emmylou MacCarthy, and Tommy Little.
Minister for Creative Industries, Steve Dimopoulos: “Community television has not only provided a rich training ground for some of our most talented TV stars, but it also offers a wide variety of locally-made content and diverse programming for our multicultural communities. The launch of CTV+ will see this offering go from strength to strength.”