CMT news

Monica Attard unpacks the latest BBC turmoil and what it signals for the ABC as public broadcasting becomes a proxy battlefield.

Derek Wilding digs into the proposed Australian content obligations for streaming services. 

Dr Alena Radina looks at new claims about Russia “grooming” AI models. 

CMT Newsletter | Issue 20/2025

Prof Derek Wilding looks at what’s left of the Pentagon press corps in the US and its link to the media scene in Australia.

Prof Derek Wilding discusses our policy submission to the review of the Australian Code of Practice on Misinformation and Disinformation, including a proposal to remove misinformation from the scope of the code.

Sacha Molitorisz considers some recent high profile regulatory action against digital platforms, including Amazon’s US$2.5 billion settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission for failing to disclose to customers they were being signed up for the Prime streaming service.

Centre for Media Transition newsletter | Issue 19/2025

Derek investigates ACMA’s latest decency breach finding against the Kyle and Jackie O show, and asks why we seem to be back at the beginning of the enforcement path.

Elon Musk’s announces Grokipedia, his AI-generated alternative to Wikipedia, in the context of alarming drops in user traffic to both Wikipedia and news websites.

Kieran examines the definitional hair-splitting underlying the public discussion about which platforms will fall under the social media ban, and queries whether the regulatory approach is genuinely responsive to risk.

Even with some divestments in regional markets, and even by Australian standards, this is looking like an extraordinary level of media concentration.  

Michael Davis talks to Robin Mansell, Professor Emerita at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Scientific Director of the International Observatory on Information and Democracy. They discuss how a broader ecosystem based approach to problems of information integrity are needed.

Centre for Media Transition Newsletter | Issue 18/2025

With news of a proposed merger between Seven West and Southern Cross, media laws are back in the spotlight, and so too are the glaring holes in the regulations.

Five years since major digital platforms came together at the request of the federal government to develop the voluntary Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation, the code is undergoing its second review.

Trump had tried and failed to ban Tik Tok during his first term, but has since developed a “warm spot in his heart” for it when the platform boosted his appeal amongst young American voters in the 2024 election.

Although it was later reconsidered, the kneejerk decision by ABC America to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show became a flashpoint in the ongoing debate around free speech and the limits of satire.

UTS Centre for Media Transition newsletter - Influencers, illusions and information integrity | Issue 17/2025

Despite being elected partly on a platform of increased government transparency, the Albanese government is by many accounts even less transparent than its predecessor

Trust hinges on respect for privacy. People need to be confident that information about them is being treated in a way that is not misleading or deceptive, and that respects their consent, and that is not unfair.

Relations between successive governments and the media over national security reporting are, by definition, fractious.

This week public consultation on new reforms to our whistleblower laws opens

For those expecting the Albanese government to deliver on early election promises that it would be more transparent than the previous Coalition administration, they may have to wait a bit longer.

When it was released last month, the Productivity Commission’s interim report, Harnessing Data and Digital Technology, caused a furore amongst news publishers and the creative industries.

Centre for Media Transition Newsletter | Issue 16/2025

Media law and ethics are in the spotlight this fortnight – with mixed results for press freedom.