Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has signed a $36.6 million deal to buy APN News & Media’s Australian regional newspaper business, which includes The Northern Star and Tweed Daily News.
The deal – which is subject to approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission – also covers the weekly publications, Byron Shire News, Ballina Advocate, the Lismore Echo and the Richmond River Examiner.
News Corp, already holds a stake of almost 15 per cent in APN, which means shareholder approval would also be required for what would be deemed a related-party transaction.
APN Australian Regional Media has a portfolio of 12 daily and more than 60 non-daily Australian regional newspapers.
Staff at the Northern Star and the other publications received an email just before 11am today confirming that the deal had been struck.
APN’s chief executive Ciaran Davis described the deal as an ‘historic day as we are letting go of our custodianship of a great business’.
APN chairman Peter Cosgrove said the divestment was another significant milestone in APN pivoting its future towards radio and outdoor media assets.
‘The divestment of ARM is an historic day for the company as APN has been the custodian of some wonderful newspapers whose community roots go back over 150 years,’’ Mr Cosgrove said.
‘We are now passing that ownership onto another media group with deep publishing experience across regional Australia.’
Echo Publications general manager Simon Haslam saw the sale differently.
‘This is bad news for readers in the northern rivers, as it further increases the power and influence of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp,’ Mr Haslam said.
‘We will now have a huge multinational, even larger than APN, controlling papers like the Northern Star, Byron Shire News, Ballina Advocate and Lismore Echo.
‘In addition to the malignant corporate influence, we can expect an increased homogeneity of news and opinion and a further reduction in the free-thinking, independent press that regions like this deserve.’
Echo Publications publishes the Byron Shire Echo and the Echonetdaily, and is locally owned and produced.
This is quite frankly awful news. Newscorp’s papers are rubbish – the extreme right-wing hate vitriol that passes for news in The Courier Mail is just one example. The remaining independent newspapers must now take up the slack of journalism that is anywhere near the centre of the political spectrum – and will they? Can they?
This shocking news and the ACCC should not allow Murdoch this domination. It means support for coal seam gas, that there’s no such thing as climate change, the Reef is just fine and right wing politics/money/greed/corruption rule. A monumental disaster.
looks like Mr.Grumpy, acts like Mr. Greedy
Very disappointed to read this. It will further increase the influence of Rupert Murdoch’s views. We need our diverse and locally-owned free press more than ever not a foreign owned multinational.
A sad day for local independent news, our local Echo in particular. How long before someone fills the void?
Oh Dear…..
Up goes the paywall….and bang go the rest of us as the door slams shut.
I agree with you Simon… force fed news!! I am sure the local content will be same but possibly politically influenced. Damn…..
I have not purchased a Murdoch paper since 1975 when his publication made the vicious attacks on the Labor Government of the time. This was a central way for the conservatives to regain power through the governor general. It is lamentable that now the Murdoch brand will dominate regional news on the North Coast
I guess that spells the end of any kind of sensible reporting. How very sad.
Adios, Lismore Echo. I love you for what you were, however, i simply refuse to read anything that carries the stamp “Mudoch’ on it.
It’s solely up the Byron Echo and Echonetdaily now to maintain the last bastions of a free press. Keep it up!
I wouldn’t like to be a Northern Star employee right now. Wait for the “productivity” reviews. Job security nil and unpaid overtime. No doubt there will be a spate of “voluntary redundancies and “staff rationalisation” just before Christmas.
There goes the neighbourhood.
Let the left wing brain washing continue ! How can one person own so much media ? Too brainwash us ? Surely not !!
Just dispose the Murdoch rubbish the same old way as toilet paper or firelighters.
And don’t waste money on the non-free stuff.
Murdoch is a US citizen and should not be allowed to own so much OZ media. If Turnbull had any guts he would stop the sale!
In 1978, my first article was published in the Daily News.
I was then the Publicity Officer of the Tweed Heads Rowing and Aquatic Club and I also was published in the Gold Coast Bulletin. Those articles and publicity were used by the Club for a resume and a legal case and in 1979 the Tweed Heads Rowing and Aquatic Club gained a NSW/Liquor Licence and a NSW Poker Machine Licence and the Rowing Club moved from Boyd’s Bay Bridge to the Coolangatta Bowls Club building in Coral Street, next to the Jack Evans Boat Harbour. That move was quite a feat as in the olden days to make buildings and institutions stay put into perpetuity they put the building deeds on different land titles and tied the land up into red tape so it was a complete legal mess to untie for change. Change was not part of life in those days. Change was deplored. When a building was set to be built in those days it was meant to be set in concrete forever.
The Rowing and Aquatic Club move was finally completed and the old Coolangatta Bowls Club building became the Clubhouse for the Tweed Heads Rowing and Aquatic Club.
One of the rowers was a solicitor and it was his job to untie the legal mess for the move. His name was Paul Bolster. In 1982 I became a compositor at the Daily News and the General Manager was Wal Martin. I remained a compositor there until 1985. In 1985 I left and became a sub-editor at the Wynnum Herald in Brisbane and I subbed all the Quest publications, in hard-copy for all Brisbane’s Community newspapers. That was the beginning of my career as a sub-editor. There was no computerisation. In late 1986 the decision was made to change Quest into a computerised establishment. With computers they would need less workers. I was put off as I was the last on.
I contemplated, just what was a computer? That was the question in 1986.
I began my BA in Journalism in Toowoomba in 1987 at DDIAE, and I put myself through my BA by working part-time at the Toowoomba Chronicle subbing the sports notes and writing articles. My Teacher in journalism computing was Mark Pearson, and he is now Professor Mark Pearson of Bond University. Mark Pearson and I became friends as he also subbed articles at the Toowoomba Chronicle and I being a mature-age student, we both had maturity on our side opposing the students in class. We played squash together, and worked out together. Mark was a good teacher. He has excelled as a journalism professor at Bond University and has gained awards. Another journalism teacher at Toowoomba was Leon Cantrell and he moved to Southern Cross University at Lismore and became their Journalism master. Lean Cantrell wrote a book ‘The 1890s, stories verses and essays” Those 1890s years was the time of Henry Lawson and the shearers strike that began the Australian Labor Party. The book is about Henry Lawson.
The LNP have been working towards this for years . Murdochs stranglehold on Australian & world MSM is very sad & is directly responsible for the direction this planet will take ….
We know all there is to know about the LNP. If you know we know. How is a self-made man sad? The planet revolves around the sun and has been going in that direction for billions of years. He owns the Gold Coast Sun and the Tweed Sun.
Sad day for Australia. Another Murdock not to read.
Murdoch is Australian.
Murdoch did renounce his Australian citizenship and so is no longer an Australian. He can however try and get it back if he can show renouncing his citizenship was necessary in order to avoid financial hardship !
if you are informed that you’ve read to many articles and have to pay , go to your web browser settings and clear your cookies , you can do this over and over again . i have been doing this for years and refuse to give Mr. Murdoch my money
You,ve already gone and burnt your Bra,s so what’s next.Oh, I know, you can burn your Vaccination Reminder letters. Use your brains, not abuse them. Think, for heavens sake, listen to other opinions. Listen to people who know the difference between carbon and carbon dioxide, Something that Di Natali obviously doesnt.