But its newspapers — including its main mastheads, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and the Australian Financial Review — are expected to continue as usual in both their printed format and online, at least for the foreseeable future. Fairfax recently struck a deal with News Corp to share printing presses, in a move designed to extend the life of its print editions for many more years. Fairfax has already cast off its property portal Domain as a separate entity, although it retains 51 per cent ownership.
Its majority ownership of Domain as well as other assets including its radio stations will now be owned and controlled by Nine.
Fairfax and Nine announced the merger to the Australian stock exchange this morning. But given that Nine is offering Fairfax shareholders a 22 per cent premium on the latest share price, the offer is generous and unlikely to be a problem. Once the regulatory hurdles are passed, the merger is likely to be finalised by the end of the year. The Federal Government made some big changes to Australia's media ownership laws late last year, which have allowed this merger to go ahead. The changes effectively removed the restrictions that previously prevented companies owning newspapers, television and radio stations in the same city.
They also abolished the "reach rule" which prevented a single TV broadcaster from reaching more than 75 per cent of the population. The most immediate changes, once the Fairfax-Nine merger takes effect, will be at management level. Nine's current chief executive, Hugh Marks, and chairman, Peter Costello, will both retain their positions in the new merged company. That raises questions about the future of Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood, amid speculation he may retire or would lose his job under the change.
Fairfax journalists will inevitably fear for their future , given the company's form in retrenching thousands of journalists in recent years and increasing competition from other digital media. Even if Fairfax's newspapers continue, for the foreseeable future, many will rightly fear that a pooling of journalists and other staff with Nine will inevitably lead to more job losses. A loss of journalists will mean fewer people reporting on the important issues facing Australia each day, and many fear will mean a loss of diversity in media coverage.
A successful merger between Nine and Fairfax is tipped to open the door to other such deals , particularly now that Australian media laws have been changed to remove restrictions on cross media ownership.
That will put pressure on its media rivals, particularly the other commercial free-to-air networks, Seven and Ten. Already there is speculation that they will be forced to merge with other media to remain profitable. The merger could change Fairfax operations, and may well bring an end to its investigative co-productions with the ABC. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.
Fairfax and Nine have announced they will be merging to create a new media giant. The one rule that News Corp has wanted removed for years — anti-siphoning the mandatory requirement for certain sport matches to appear on free-to-air television — has never been removed. Foxtel, owned by News Corp, wants the laws to be relaxed to allow it to be able to run sports matches exclusively, a move that would gain it subscribers.
Whether News Corp can overthrow a prime minister could also be contested. Wilding says in areas where News Corp owns the only major print newspaper, there is an ability to shape opinion. Particularly in Adelaide and Brisbane, where there's only one daily newspaper … the influence of whoever owns that newspaper is enhanced. But sometimes, no matter what The Australian or The Daily Telegraph says, they do not affect outcomes.
Influence also requires an audience of all ages. Because of the wide range of choice on the internet, younger audiences do not tend to read newspapers in the same way they may have done decades ago. A piece that appeared in this masthead by academic Rodney Tiffen, who has written extensively about Murdoch, says News Corp gains much of its power from the enthusiasm of politicians who indulge it.
Reviewing the evidence, he does have a point. An earlier version of this article described News Corp as the biggest newspaper owner in Australia. The wording has been updated to clarfiy that this was based on the number of newspapers it owns and their readership. If you'd like some expert background on an issue or a news event, drop us a line at explainers smh. Read more explainers here. How much influence does the Murdoch media have in Australia? Please try again later.
The Sydney Morning Herald. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size. The industry term for this is "reach". Is the media industry more competitive than in the past? Credit: Jessica Hromas At times the newspapers have shifted their view and have rallied against political leaders. Let us explain If you'd like some expert background on an issue or a news event, drop us a line at explainers smh.
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