Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp’s proposed buyout of daily and weekly newspapers in the northern rivers is under a cloud after the competitive watchdog flagged concerns it would have a monopoly on print newspapers in Queensland which could dilute local news content and opinion.
News Corp already owns 14.9 per cent of its print rival, APN News and Media, but since June has been in talks to buy out its regional newspaper division for $36.6 million.
APN owns the weekly Byron Shire News, the daily Northern Star in Lismore, the free Tweed Daily News and Ballina Advocate.
In stark contrast, Echonetdaily and its sister weekly, the Byron Shire Echo, are independently and locally owned.
The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) issued a statement yesterday flagging its concerns that the buyout could reduce local news and opinion content in regional parts of Australia.
It also fears it may close down rival APN newspapers that compete against it, such as in the Tweed where News Corp’s free community weekly the Tweed Sun and APN’s free Tweed Daily News compete for advertising in the same distribution area.
The ACC raised concerns that News Corp would sack journalists by closing down the APN rival in the same market, such as the Tweed Daily News, and reduce news and content.
APN has released a statement to the market saying it would adjust its timetable for the deal as a result of the ACCC issues statement, while News Corp told Fairfax Media it was giving it ‘proper consideration’.
In its statement, the ACCC said the proposed buyout would mean News would own ‘a vast majority of print newspapers in Queensland’ and could also affect the quality of content in future.
If only the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) could express such a reasonable opinion on Rupert Murdoch South Australian newspaper publishing monopoly with its false records of newspapers published sold as ‘archives’ by Australian state and national public libraries. The fake archives, also exported to British Libraries UK London, have news articles published erased or altered for those false records. Crimes and corruption of national significance involving federal authorities concerning events in South Australia are concealed, some details of some of which can be viewed at https://rjrbtsrupertsfirstnewspaper.wordpress.com/2016/09/27/rupert-murdochs-fake-archives-of-newspapers-corrupt-journalism-and-billions-of-dollars-of-unaccounted-for-public-debt/ The ACCC claim that the Australia’s public libraries’ sale of false records of newspapers published as authentic ‘archives’ is not a crime under ACCC enforced laws.
Ask Rupert what he knows about the fake archives of the first newspapers that ever owned and the crimes and corruption that they conceal.
Don’t forget Nimbin GoodTimes. It is a community monthly newspaper run by volunteers.
Bugger off Rupert. Leave the Northern Rivers out of your evil empire.