Media mayhem

The Atlantic's report on aides to US President Donald Trump inadvertently sharing sensitive military information via Signal became the most viral news story of the year. Voice of America filed a lawsuit against the new administration, alleging attempts to dismantle government-funded media. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld press protections by refusing to revisit the 1964 New York Times v. Sullivan case, safeguarding media outlets from defamation suits by public figures.

Closer to home, the 2025 Australian Media Landscape Report has highlighted concerns from over 500 journalists regarding the impact of AI on media integrity and challenges related to trust, fragmentation, and bias. As well, the Australian government invited social media influencers to the federal budget lock-up, a very interesting strategy presumably to increase engagement with younger audiences.

Also, last week, CMT held an event on alternatives to the news media bargaining code. The event occurred at Holding Redlich and was co-presented by the International Institute of Communications. On the panel was Julie Eisenberg – who wrote our report published at the end of last year, Finding a Way Forward for Australian News – as well as Lenore Taylor from Guardian Australia, Professor Allan Fels, and economist George Siolis. The future of the News Bargaining Incentive is unknown, although it seems that both Labor and the Coalition are committed to seeing the introduction of legislation to give effect to it. We're now developing a follow-up project to examine the distribution mechanisms that could be used under a charge/levy approach or a tax offset scheme. We’ll update you on that as work gets underway. 

In this week’s newsletter, Michael examines the backlash over Clive Palmer’s controversial election ads, challenging the notion of impartiality and the boundaries of acceptable political advertising. Gary investigates concerns regarding Gazette News’ affiliation with the teal independent movement. Derek discusses the major American tech companies’ lobbying efforts, urging the Trump administration to pressure Australia into relaxing its regulations on social media and streaming services. And my post focuses on the interactions between digital hate and real-world hate crimes.