This print stable includes 12 daily newspapers and 70 community & specialist titles.
Sunday 28 February 2016
Is Rupert Murdoch about to gobble up ten Queensland and two NSW regional daily newspapers?
It probably comes as no surprise to readers of APN News & Media’s The Daily Examiner and Coastal Views that newspapers in the Northern Rivers are battling and, Rupert Murdoch may be poised to swallow whole APN’s print stable Australian Regional Media.
This print stable includes 12 daily newspapers and 70 community & specialist titles.
This print stable includes 12 daily newspapers and 70 community & specialist titles.
If News Corp does purchase ARM that would leave only three Northern Rivers newspapers, including the Clarence Valley Independent not in Murdoch’s control.
Echo NetDaily, 26 February 2016:
The owner of The Northern Star and other local newspapers including Byron Shire News, Tweed Daily News, Lismore
Echo and Ballina Advocate has
put them on the market, saying they are dragging the company down.
They join more than 100 regional
newspapers and websites in Queensland and northern NSW that are are up for sale
as their owner says it no longer wants to pour money into them.
APN News & Media says it is in
talks about the divestment of its Australian Regional Media (ARM) business,
which reaches an audience of more than 1.5 million between Mackay and Coffs
Harbour.
ARM’s earnings dropped 27 per cent in
calendar 2015, despite millions in cost cuts and growth in digital
subscriptions beginning to replace the declining newspaper audience.
‘Further investment in this business
is now inconsistent with APN’s long term ambitions and we have commenced the
process to divest the business,’ APN chief executive Ciaran Davis said.
According to industry
publication TheNewspaperWorks APN was asked after its results
presentation, whether News Corp Australia was the only potential purchaser of
the mastheads and how APN would ensure it was not disadvantaged in the sales
process by News’ investment in the company. (News holds a 15 per cent
strategic stake in APN.)
‘In response APN said it was talking
to a number of parties, and it was too early for a price guide,’
TheNewspaperWorks reported.
Byron
Shire Echo and Echonetdaily general manager Simon
Haslam said, ‘This just reinforces the point that Rupert Murdoch is calling the
shots at APN.’
Mr Haslam added, ‘On behalf of The
Echo, I’m happy to offer to run free classifieds for APN to help them in their
search for an alternative purchaser, so Byron shire is not further exposed to
News Ltd, as Murdoch’s ownership increases to 100 per cent of the Byron News and Northern Star.’…..
Labels:
media,
News Corp,
newspapers
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