
Issue No 41		26 November 1999

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Satire

Too Many Media Players!

By The Chaser

The Productivity Commission has issued a report calling for the abolition of existing cross-media ownership laws.

The report claims that the existing arrangement only allowed the industry to be dominated by two players.

Launching the report, the head of the Productivity Commission, Mr Richard Snape, argued there would be major gains in efficiency if the industry was owned by one proprietor.

"Currently the government is in an absurd position where it is forced to pander to two major media proprietors," he said.

"This creates an awful policy headache every time Packer wants one thing and Murdoch wants something else. It occasionally leads to confusing divergences of media opinion, especially at election time."

Under the Commission's proposals, ownership rules would be relaxed, allowing for a complete, rather than virtual monopoly of the media.

The report also urges a relaxation of existing foreign ownership rules. "We think it's only fair that the New York Times should be allowed to own the Sydney Morning Herald, rather than just writing most of their articles," Mr Snape said.

Mr Snape said he thought changes to media laws were inevitable, especially in light of the fallout from the cash-for-comments scandal. Without changes to existing regulations, the banking industry may be forced to divest its shares in John Laws. Currently businesses are restricted to owning John Laws in only one medium. "It would be much more efficient if the banks were allowed to own John Laws' opinions across radio, television and print," Snape suggested. "Then we really would have been told the whole story."

A spokesperson for Federal Communications Minister Richard Alston said that the government would release its position on the report after the Cabinet members had recovered from the Packer wedding.

But critics of the plan claim that any changes to foreign ownership rules will see an "unbearable concentration of media ownership." One insider at Channel Ten, who refused to be named for fear of retribution, predicted the moves would eventually see our television stations filled with re-runs of old American sitcoms and repackaged American news.

"It won't be like it is at the moment, where you have all that fresh Australian content, like E! News and Entertainment Tonight," he said.

   Click here to visit The Chaser

  View entire issue - print all of the articles!

  Issue 41 contents

Interview: A Bob Each Way
ALP tactician Bob McMullan is responsible for charting Labor industry policy into the next millennium. He tells us where he�s heading.

Unions: Organiser of the Year
Just ten days to go before entries close for our $2000 air ticket. Here�s another nomination.

History: Labour Daze
A report from the 6th National Biennial Conference of the Australian Society For The Study Of Labour and Community.

Politics: Tomorrow�s Questions
While the turn of the century sees Sydney play host to the Olympic games, the International Youth Parliament 2000 will bring world focus to contemporary issues facing young people.

Health: Red Ribbons
December 1, World AIDS Day has a special place in the history of the AIDS pandemic.

International: Organised Chaos
Persistent rumours are floating around Jakarta that the former boss of the official pro-Soeharto Indonesian trade union movement is about to be charged with corruption.

Economics: Seattle Numbers Grow for WTO Protest
News of the agreement to smooth China�s entry to the World Trade Organisation has created its own "China Syndrome" for organisers of the Seattle WTO event.

Satire: Too Many Media Players!
The Productivity Commission has issued a report calling for the abolition of existing cross-media ownership laws.

Review: Leviathan
John Birmingham has lifted the lid on Sydney�s shady past - and found trade unions to be at the centre of the sordid tales.

Deface a Face: Reith Loses His Shine
With his Second Wave looking more like a splash in the bath-tub, Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith still reigns as the union movement�s favourite bogeyman.

» Labor Hire Faces Deregulation

» Democrats Poised to Say No

» Olympic Job Cut Fears

» Inspectors to Act on Ships of Shame

» Grave Concerns About Body Bags

» Former Trades Hall Boss Into Teachers Fray

» Tools for Timor Plea

» Rio Tinto Sacks 84 for Christmas Eve

» Hotel Workers in Unprecedented Action

» Tug Action Hits Sydney Harbour

» Free National Parks Access as Bans Kick In

» Parkers Issue Ticket To Loitering Government

» Stop Forced Repatriation of Burmese Migrant Workers

» Will the Real Casual Workers Please Stand Up?

» STOP PRESS: Labor Wins NZ Election