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COMPANY ONLINE STORE PRODUCTS SERVICES INDUSTRIES MORGAN POLL PAPERS PRESS RELEASES CONSUMER CONFIDENCE READERSHIP UNEMPLOYMENT THE REACTOR 
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Journalists Strongly Oppose Government's Media Laws
Survey of Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) members conducted for Crikey! The Federal Government’s media reform package has failed to attract support among the vast majority of Australian journalists, with 82% believing the changes to the media laws will have a negative impact on the integrity of reporting and 85% saying the reforms will reduce diversity An overwhelming majority of journalists (87%) oppose the plan to drop cross-media restrictions and 74% oppose the plan to relax foreign ownership restrictions. In addition, 70% of journalists oppose maintaining the current limit of three free-to-air commercial TV networks in capital cities. Political and Commercial Interests Influence of the Media The above are the main findings of a special Crikey survey of 374 Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) members conducted by Roy Morgan Research. The survey was conducted online during August 3-7, 2006 and covered journalists from all media outlets including SBS, ABC, Fairfax, News Limited, ACP, APN, Rural Press and all the major TV and radio networks. Roy Morgan Qualitative Analysis: “Because media power needs to be dispersed to ensure various opinions are made public” “It's a disaster for independent thought; it concentrates too much power in too few hands” “Too few owners means more aggregation. Fewer newsrooms, fewer jobs, shortened career paths, less diversity of opinion” “It will end up being one big owner with more than 90% of the market, along with fragmented smaller ones that will become weaker as time goes on” Those who disagreed with the proposal to drop the present restrictions on foreign ownership of TV stations did so generally because they thought Australian owners care more about the standard of news, and foreign owners would be in it for the cash: “Australian broadcasting should not be just about business and profit - there are public interest issues at stake” “Prefer to have a boss who understands the culture of the country we work in” “We are already subjected to too much cultural imperialism” “Should be Australian owned. We don’t want a homogenised (or worse still - Americanised) global media system” A clear majority of respondents are of the opinion that media companies and moguls (i.e. Packer, Murdoch, Fairfax…) wield too much power in the political arena: “Kerry Packer gets a state funeral. Politicians accept hospitality from the Packers - stay on his boat and houses. And now channel nine is being protected by no other TV licence being offered” “Packer and Murdoch have open access to PM etc; the way PM et al kowtow to Alan Jones and others is not only nauseating but downright immoral” “The media should be the Politicians watch dog ... not its lap dog. Political decisions are often made in this country in favour of Big Business, which draws votes rather than what’s in the countries best interest” “Murdoch and Fairfax have commercial reasons for wanting the Howard Government returned and the NSW Government removed. Their efforts to achieve these ends are laughably obvious, yet most people naively imagine that what they're reading in the major newspapers” “I currently work for a politician in a city with one newspaper, Murdoch-owned. So many issues do not get attention because they do not fit with the agenda of the newspaper's owner/editor” “Murdoch papers are flagrantly biased and provide a very large stable of right wing columnists” “It's a bit too obvious for my liking which way Rupert Murdoch votes, and the degree to which his views filter through News Ltd” “The Australian's political conservative political bias has been particularly noticeable in the past 12 months” “Editorials tell stupid people how to vote” “How many Prime Ministers have been elected when the manistream press is running against them? Not many!” “People make up their own minds, given their own situation in life and what the Government can do for them, for example interest rates” “The media’s left wing bias does not worry me, because there are always ways to get the real news, like the internet for example” “I have never worked in a newsroom and been told to cover a story in a particular way” Reply from Professor David Flint (former head of the Australian Broadcasting Authority) — Published in Crikey newsletter (August 11): The Morgan Poll of journalists' views of cross-media laws is useful but hardly newsworthy — those surveyed have reacted just like anyone else confronted with those winds of creative destruction that can follow the freeing up of any industry to market forces. What is the justification for treating the media differently? It is not as if entry to the media is closed — except of course FTA TV. On that, Rupert Murdoch makes a good point. But politics is the art of the possible. The proprietors — those who are left — are near impotent as to the detail of editorial content. Even if they acted together, they have lost whatever ability they had to quarantine the nation from news in other countries, or from sources other than the ones they control. Technology and new work practices have released journalists from anonymity, and devolved down to them, especially those on TV or radio, much of the control over content. As Lord Hutton found when he looked at the BBC, self editing has probably gone too far. The poll itself is restricted to those who could reasonably be expected to be most opposed to change, that is those who are unionized, but one section of the nation's working journalists. And even in the question on political control, 71% say they have NEVER been instructed to comply with the proprietors' politics, and 12% are not sure. As to the claims of those who say they were so directed, remember they haven't been tested. And anyway, the proposed changes are hardly an open slather. They could never be that — as with every other industry the competition laws apply. Those about mergers were tightened after the cross media laws were introduced. And even then, the proposals are a half way house, mitigated by the voices test and the quarantining of FTA TV. The media generally expects the farmers and car workers to expose themselves to the forces of globalisation — why should those who work in it be treated differently? 1. Reaction to Media Ownership Changes Journalists were told: “The Federal Government plans to abolish cross-media ownership restrictions so TV stations and newspapers can have the same owner — as long as there are five media competitors in a capital city or four competitors in a country region.” a) Journalists were asked: “Do you agree or disagree with the proposal to abolish cross-media ownership restrictions?”
^ Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution
b) Journalists were then asked: “And about the proposal to drop the present restriction on foreign ownership of TV stations — do you agree or disagree?”
^ Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution
c) Journalists were then asked: “And about maintaining the limit of three commercial free-to-air television stations in capital cities?”
^ Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution
2. Diversity of Media in Australia Journalists were asked: “How do you think the Government’s proposed media changes will affect diversity of media in Australia?”
^ Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution
3. Integrity of the Media Journalists were asked: “How will the proposed changes to media ownership in Australia affect the integrity of media reporting?”
^ Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution
4. Influence over Content from Media Owners/Companies a) Journalists were asked: “While working, have you ever felt unable to be critical of the company or owner you work for?”
^ Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution
b) Journalists were asked: “Do you ever feel obliged to take into account the commercial position taken by the company or owner you work for?”
^ Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution
c) Journalists were asked: “Do you ever feel obliged to take into account the political position taken by the company or owner you work for?”
^ Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution
d) Journalists were asked: “Have you ever been instructed to comply with the company or owners commercial position?”
^ Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution
e) Journalists were asked: “Have you ever been instructed to comply with the company or owners political position?”
^ Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution
5) Influence of Media in Australia a) Journalists were asked: “How much influence do Australian media companies and owners have in determining the political agenda?”
^ Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution
b) Journalists were asked: “How much influence do Australian media companies and owners have in determining how Australian electors vote?”
^ Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution For further information:
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