Skip to main content

Site navigation

  • University of Technology Sydney home
  • Home

    Home
  • For students

  • For industry

  • Research

Explore

  • Courses
  • Events
  • News
  • Stories
  • People

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Study at UTS

    • arrow_right_alt Find a course
    • arrow_right_alt Course areas
    • arrow_right_alt Undergraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Postgraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Research Masters and PhD
    • arrow_right_alt Online study and short courses
  • Student information

    • arrow_right_alt Current students
    • arrow_right_alt New UTS students
    • arrow_right_alt Graduates (Alumni)
    • arrow_right_alt High school students
    • arrow_right_alt Indigenous students
    • arrow_right_alt International students
  • Admissions

    • arrow_right_alt How to apply
    • arrow_right_alt Entry pathways
    • arrow_right_alt Eligibility
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for students

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Apply for a coursearrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Scholarshipsarrow_right_alt
  • Featured industries

    • arrow_right_alt Agriculture and food
    • arrow_right_alt Defence and space
    • arrow_right_alt Energy and transport
    • arrow_right_alt Government and policy
    • arrow_right_alt Health and medical
    • arrow_right_alt Corporate training
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Tech Central
    • arrow_right_alt Case studies
    • arrow_right_alt Research
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for industry

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Partner with usarrow_right_alt
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Explore our research
    • arrow_right_alt Research centres and institutes
    • arrow_right_alt Graduate research
    • arrow_right_alt Research partnerships
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for research

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Research centres and institutesarrow_right_alt
  • University of Technology Sydney home
Explore the University of Technology Sydney
Category Filters:
University of Technology Sydney home University of Technology Sydney home
  1. home
  2. arrow_forward_ios ... Newsroom
  3. arrow_forward_ios ... 2022
  4. arrow_forward_ios 09
  5. arrow_forward_ios Can teal seal the real deal?

Can teal seal the real deal?

2 September 2022
circles of light emanating from a point touched by a hand

Last week the new Independent member for Goldstein, Zoe Daniel, issued a statement calling for a judicial inquiry into media concentration and News Corp. It’s not a new idea. A judicial inquiry into ‘media diversity, ownership and regulation’ was proposed by the  Senate Inquiry into Media Diversity in Australialast year. That followed Kevin Rudd’s call for a royal commission. And now the whole issue has become entangled in the defamation brawl between Crikey and Lachlan Murdoch.

A judicial inquiry is not what we need, especially one that – in Daniel’s words – probes ‘the Murdoch media empire’.

Sweeping gestures such as this conflate issues of media diversity, concentration of ownership, and news standards. Sure, it’s worth questioning Lachlan Murdoch’s decision to take action against Crikey for commenting on the Murdochs’ support of a culture at Fox News that encouraged the dangerous rhetoric surrounding the attacks on the US Capitol. Here in Australia, News Corp has to answer for its own lapses in journalistic standards, and it occupies a bigger space in Australian media than is desirable. But that can be said of others, and News does participate in, and fund, an independent complaints scheme.

When we unpack some of this, we can see work has already been done on some aspects of regulation and policy. For example:

  • We know there is a need for a better grip on what we mean by ‘media diversity’. PIJI has gradually been building picture of news production through its mapping project,  while in 2020 the ACMA released a really thoughtful paper on building a measurement framework,  linking diversity to localism.
  • We know that with the removal of sector-specific media ownership laws, there’s a gap in assessing media mergers that is not adequately addressed by s 50 of the Competition and Consumer Act, or CCA. Whatever you think of the merger of Nine and Fairfax, the CCA did not offer a good framework for assessing that transaction. CMT and others have urged development of a public interest test,  drawing on reviews dating back to the Productivity Commission report in 2000.                                                                                                                  
  • We know there’s a problem in encouraging effective media standards when rules about accuracy and fairness vary according to the media platform on which the consumer encounters the content. Some news consumers can complain to the Press Council, some to the Independent News Council and some to ACMA. Others have no independent body to assess their complaint.

These are not matters best addressed by a judicial inquiry. They do need attention, but they require specialist consideration by government as part of broader policy reform.

Derek Wilding - CMT Co-Director

Derek Wilding, CMT Co-Director

 

This article was featured in our newsletter of 2 September 2022, read it in full here.

To subscribe and stay up to date with all things Centre for Media Transition, click here.

Share
Share this on Facebook Share this on Twitter Share this on LinkedIn
Back to CMT news

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation and the Boorooberongal People of the Dharug Nation upon whose ancestral lands our campuses now stand. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands. 

University of Technology Sydney

City Campus

15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007

Get in touch with UTS

Follow us

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Facebook

A member of

  • Australian Technology Network
Use arrow keys to navigate within each column of links. Press Tab to move between columns.

Study

  • Find a course
  • Undergraduate
  • Postgraduate
  • How to apply
  • Scholarships and prizes
  • International students
  • Campus maps
  • Accommodation

Engage

  • Find an expert
  • Industry
  • News
  • Events
  • Experience UTS
  • Research
  • Stories
  • Alumni

About

  • Who we are
  • Faculties
  • Learning and teaching
  • Sustainability
  • Initiatives
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Campus and locations
  • Awards and rankings
  • UTS governance

Staff and students

  • Current students
  • Help and support
  • Library
  • Policies
  • StaffConnect
  • Working at UTS
  • UTS Handbook
  • Contact us
  • Copyright © 2025
  • ABN: 77 257 686 961
  • CRICOS provider number: 00099F
  • TEQSA provider number: PRV12060
  • TEQSA category: Australian University
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Accessibility