This Is Not Journalism or How A 165 Year Old Australian Masthead Finally Lost Its Good Name

The Age newspaper has been read in Melbourne since October 1854.

Over the years it grew in circulation until it was read across the state of Victoria and elsewhere in Australia.

It has survived the vagaries of the print newspaper business, until the Fairfax-Nine Entertainment merger when it became part of a media group whose chairman was a former Liberal MP and onetime Australian federal treasurer Peter Costello and its CEO began courting the Liberal Party by hosting a $10,000 dollar a head party fundraiser at its headquarters in 2019 raising at least $700,000 for the party.

It is no secret that the current Federal Liberal-Nationals Coalition Government dislikes the Victorian Labor Government and is out to criticize and undermine it at every opportunity.

So when this front page headline appeared in The Age on 5 June 2020, "Activists 'planning trouble' at protest: Exclusive", under the bylines of the newspaper's State Political Editor and a general news journalist, it came as no surprise.

The opening paragraphs ran thus:

Activists have threatened police with spitting, inflammatory chanting and other forms of physical abuse during tomorrow's "Black Lives Matter" protest in Melbourne in an attempt to provoke use-of-force responses from officers. 

A senior government source told The Age police were preparing for tactics from some protesters tomorrow designed to provoke physical confrontation and produce images of police brutality. [my yellow highlighting]

The newspaper amplified this message on social media:

The online copy of the original article in question has since been removed. With the current online article now having a different headline and and text much altered from the original.

The apology issued by The Age and published on 6 June on the second page of the print newspaper, contains a meas culpa for its lapse in "editorial standards and values". However, this creates another issue surrounding these values.

It completely omitted mention of the "senior government source". Instead the apology states "one unnamed source".

The Age, 6 June 2020, p.2:

Apology 

On June 5, The Age published a story headlined: "Activists 'planning trouble' at Protest". 

This story reported concerns within the Victorian government about the potential for physical confrontation during planned protests. 

The story fell short of The Age's editorial values and standards and caused understandable offence to many members of the community. 

The claim that activists had threatened police with spitting and abuse was not backed up beyond one unnamed source. 

The story put undue emphasis on these claims. The main organisers of the rally, the Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance, clearly stated that they had no knowledge of any threats to police. The Age apologises. [my yellow highlighting]

It certainly differed from the "clarification" displayed under the current online article posted at 11:45pm the night before:

One has to wonder if, between the publication of that original inflammatory article and the final print apology, management began to hedge its bets because the "source" cited appeared highly suspect and may not have been a source in government or even close to government and that there was a possibility that The Age's journalists had been played.

Quadrant's post-publication editing does not erase its bitter, tasteless and potentially destructive blunder

Snapshot from Quadrant magazine article “The Manchester Bomber’s ABC Pals” by editor of Quadrant Online Roger Franklin, published 23 May 2017:

via @JoshButler on Twitter

The article then concluded:

Mind you, as Krauss felt his body being penetrated by the Prophet’s shrapnel of nuts, bolts and nails, those goitered eyes might in their last glimmering have caught a glimpse of vindication.

A blast of Manchester dimensions must surely knock over the studio’s lunchroom refrigerator.  Allah only knows how many innocent lives that shocking incident might claim.

The ABC response was appropriate and in the circumstances relatively restrained.

Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) transcript of letter sent to Quadrant magazine editors, 24 May 2017:

Dear Sirs,

Quadrant promotes itself as “the leading general intellectual journal of ideas”. Those words ring hollow in the wake of last night’s vicious and offensive attack on the ABC, its staff and its program guests.

To take issue with our programming and our content is one thing. But to express the wish that, if there were any justice, the horrific terrorist bombing in Manchester would have taken place in the ABC’s Ultimo studio and killed those assembled there is a new low in Australian public debate.

Your subsequent attempt to make amends by changing some of the wording (without acknowledging or apologising for the original article) has done little to undo the damage. The article continues to state that if a blast occurred in one of our studios, none of the likely casualties “would have represented the slightest reduction in humanity’s intelligence, decency, empathy or honesty.”

Like many others, I am appalled at your willingness to turn an act of terrorism in the United Kingdom into a means of making a political point against those you disagree with. One of the immediate results of this behaviour is that while our staff both here and in Manchester were working long hours to provide extensive coverage of this unfolding tragedy, we were also forced to reassure worried staff who had read your article and call in our own security experts to assess any possible impact flowing from your inflammatory words.

I ask that this response be posted prominently on the Quadrant website, and I also ask that the article, which continues to contain entirely inappropriate comments about possible bombings at the ABC, be removed and apologised for.

Michelle Guthrie

ABC Managing Director

ENDS

The Clayton's apology from Quadrant followed swiftly even if the promised takedown didn't - the full article (along with its comments section) still being available in Google cache (snapshot 24 May 2017 15:25:33 GMT) late on 25 May - and yes, before anyone asks Google would promptly remove cache at the magazine's request. 

via Twitter

Out of the frying pan and into the fire for NSW & Qld regional newspapers?

In June 2016 when APN News & Media announced that it was selling its faltering Australian regional newspaper operations to News Corp, staffing levels at APN east coast regional newspapers had long ago been pared to the bone.

Now News Corp is also embarking on yet another round of staff reductions and work practice changes across its mastheads.

The Guardian, 11 April 2017:

Rupert Murdoch’s Australian tabloids are making the majority of their photographers and subeditors redundant in a radical cost-cutting move designed to keep the ailing newspaper business afloat.

The director of editorial management, Campbell Reid, said the restructure of the traditional newsroom was needed to “preserve in print and excel in digital”.

The Daily Telegraph, the Herald Sun and the Courier-Mail are set to lose dozens of staff each – the Queensland masthead alone will cut 45 – although the company is not revealing the total number of job losses.

The announcement follows a cost-cutting drive in December which saw 42 journalists, artists and photographers made redundant in a bid to slash $40m from News Corp.

Last week the Gold Coast Bulletin was told it had to lose 10 jobs, and sources said dozens of people had been quietly made redundant already this year across all the mastheads.

News Corp said the old model of staff photographers would be retired for a “hybrid model, consisting of a core team of photographic specialists, complemented by freelance and agency talent”.

At a meeting at Sydney’s Holt Street headquarters, the Daily Telegraph editor, Chris Dore, told staff the photographers would lose their permanent status but may be hired back as casuals and freelancers.

Staff at the Herald Sun were told News Corp “is in a fight for its life”.

There was no mention at the meeting of the company’s financial losses which are behind the move. In February News Corp posted a second-quarter loss of $287m and cited impairments in the Australian newspaper business as a key factor. The Australian editors were summoned to the US for a meeting about making substantial cuts to operations.

News described the changes as a modernisation of the newsroom which would “simplify in-house production and maximise the use of available print technology for print edition production”.

“Like every other business today, we have to identify opportunities to improve and modernise the way we work to become more efficient,” Reid said.

According to Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, 11 April 2017:

Management also flagged significant changes to work practices with earlier deadlines, greater copy sharing across cities and mastheads, and journalists taking up more responsibility for production elements and proofing their own work, which has journalists concerned about already stretched news gathering resources and maintaining the editorial standards of their mastheads.

                                                                              

The Daily Examiner: methinks it stinks!

The Daily Examiner, 31 December 2014, Page 3:

While the voting numbers varied between our online poll and votes lodged directly with The Daily Examiner, we decided to weight these views differently because many online voters were not buyers of our newspaper.

We're pleased to be supporting a majority of Australian-made cartoons - including Zanetti on our opinion pages - and we look forward to your feedback.

On the same day Bill Dickinson took to Facebook to express his displeasure - thereby joining a growing band of valley residents unhappy with a range of APN News & Media’s decisions:

Bill of course could have added that there is only one regular opinion page in the old Egg Timer and that page only carries one political cartoon per issue, despite the liberal use of plurals in The Daily Examiner quote at the top of this post.

He could have also pointed out that The Daily Examiner has an ePaper which is purchased online.

As far as the financial integrity of those who lodged votes directly - its an open secret that traditional print copies of the newspaper are often shared between households (sometimes between up to half the houses in a short street) with only one person being the purchaser, so there is no guarantee that the person voting directly in Grafton or by mail actually paid for the newspaper.

The Daily Examiner plays a dangerous game with readership loyalty

Once more The Daily Examiner allows an unknown person from an unidentified place to request that their name and the town they either live or work in be withheld when his/her letter is published

It is my understanding that the editor has been politely but firmly told by one Clarence Valley resident that his policy of printing anonymous letters is not agreed with – and that anonymous letters of this type are gutless.

I tend to agree with that sentiment and, for all I know the name supplied might be that of someone closely associated with coal seam/tight gas mining company, Metgasco Limited or with the pro-mining NSW Baird Government.

That suspicion has to remain when authorship is deliberately hidden by the editor.

What the approach to the editor last Monday signals is that a newspaper’s credibility is important to those living in its distribution area – without that credibility a newspaper withers.

Is it any wonder that this newspaper’s current Monday to Friday daily print circulation numbers for the twelve months ending December 2013 were still in the doldrums and its parent company APN News & Media Limited (which also puts advertisers rather than readers first) noted in the 2013 annual report that total circulation revenue across its media outlets is still in decline.

This despite the fact that print media is apparently read for news content by more people (14.7 million) across Australia than those who watch television for news content.

Because competition from global or national mainstream digital platforms was never the sole reason that APN newspaper mastheads like The Daily Examiner are struggling. 

Who is going to pay good money to read thinly disguised advertorials or anonymous comment like this below?

The Daily Examiner on 28 April 2014:

Just a rabble mob

RE: Saturdays Examiner "Protesters ordered out at Bentley".

Reading this article, and seeing the photo attached, made me remember the same sort of disgusting rabble that protested over logging in the Washpool and Chaelundi forests back in the 1980s.

Same look, same disregard for the common law of the land, same hippy music (presumably) and no jobs.

These people do nothing to help the cause of CSG opponents.

The truth is, these people are anti everything.

To think that good, decent, clean-cut, young men went from our country to die in wars all over the globe, so that this rabble can have the right to make a public nuisance of themselves.

It really does make my blood boil.

Name and address withheld

UPDATE

One local reader sent me an email this morning which began: I saw THAT letter on Monday and was really p*ssed off.

From Those Wonderful Folk Who Gave You Wal-Mart Grand Openings: Abbott Government picks Japanese global media group to deliver its political propaganda and campaign advertising

Mitchell & Partners, with experience in government media management, is about to become the Abbott Government’s new master media agency with a contract worth approximately $137 million.

Mitchell & Partners was formerly part of the Aegis Media Group. 

The Japanese Dentsu Group acquired the Aegis Media Group in 2013 and formed Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd in London.

In August 2013 major shareholders in the parent company of this global media group were The Master Trust Bank of Japan Ltd. (Trust accounts), Kyodo News, Jiji Press, Ltd, Japan Trustee Services Bank Ltd (Trust accounts), Group Employees’ Stockholding Association, Mizuho Corporate Bank  Ltd, Yoshida Hideo Memorial Foundation, Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd, Tokyo Broadcasting System Television Inc, SSBTOD05OMNIBUS ACCOUNT-TREATYCLIENTS.

It will come as no surprise to find that Aegis Media/Mitchell & Partners appears to have had one or more contracts with Rupert Murdoch’s News Ltd.

Mitchells says of itself:

We are thought leaders and reputation managers, protecting and promoting the missions, visions and values of our clients.

I suspect that neither Mitchells nor Dentsu realise what an onerous contract they may have entered into.

Australian Government Dept. of Finance media release:

Mitchells appointed as the Australian Government’s master media agency

15 Apr 2014

Author: John Sheridan

Category: Procurement Coordinator

Tags: Government Advertising

Hi all,

I am pleased to announce that Mitchell and Partners Australia Pty Ltd (Mitchells) has been appointed as the Australian Government’s master media agency for an initial period of four years. Mitchells was awarded the contract following a competitive open tender process undertaken by the Department of Finance, which was overseen by industry, probity and legal advisers.

Mitchells, in an alliance with Adcorp Australia Ltd, will provide both campaign and non-campaign advertising services and deliver operational efficiencies to departments and agencies through the amalgamation of advertising services, the use of an online system and increased visibility of transactional data.  Mitchells will also be offering a number of optional services under the contract such as econometric modelling and creative content development and production services.

It is mandatory for departments and agencies covered by the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 to use the arrangement for media planning, buying and placement.  Bodies covered by the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 will have the option to utilise the arrangement.

Finance is planning for a smooth transition for users of the advertising arrangement and will be in contact with departments and agencies over the next few weeks.

Regards

John

Campaign Brief 15 April 2014:

Says John Thompson, general manager of Mitchells: "Our approach to develop a customised and innovative solution for the Australian Government allows Mitchells and Adcorp to deliver a full service media model covering core media activity as well as search and performance marketing, social media, creative services and econometric modelling. We have a deep appreciation of the needs of Government and look forward to bringing a new level of innovation, understanding and capability to the Australian Government media activity."

To flak or not to flak - that is the question when the cameras flash

News Ltd looks at Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott arriving in Afghanistan on Monday 28 October 2013. Note that much is made of him not wearing a flack jacket.

Courtesy of @Thefinnigans

Fairfax Media looks at Tony Abbott on that same 28 October visit. Note the flak jacket.

Courtesy of The Age