The Fin steps up as Chenoweth detonates Murdoch bomb
When Greg Hywood took over as CEO of Fairfax Media last year, one of the first things he did was initiate discussions to merge printing operations with News Limited in Australia. The discussions were terminated a few weeks ago but there were other signs of collaboration between the two Australian publishing giants.
For instance, with Fairfax veteran Mark Baker taking over as president of the Melbourne Press Club last year, it was interesting to watch the cosiness with Rupert Murdoch’s Melbourne boss, Peter Blunden, at last Friday’s Quill awards. News Corp’s phone hacking scandal wasn’t mentioned all night, with the exception of a two-second image which flashed up during the video highlights reel.
Another point of collaboration between the two companies was their joint attacks on the Finkelstein inquiry, as Hywood and an assortment of News Ltd operatives argued there was no suggestion of illegality in Australia.
Until today.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012, is one day when The Australian Financial Review, the world’s most expensive financial daily, is certainly worth its $3 cover price.
Spread across five pages (and syndicated — for free — to Fairfax news sites far and wide), Neil Chenoweth has vividly told the story of the dark games played by a rogue division of News Corp, NDS, which eventually left behind a $5 billion windfall for the media empire and a trail of destruction for its pay-TV competitors.
In the context of the British phone hacking scandal, the revelations are dynamite and will inevitably trigger an even stronger regulatory response across various jurisdictions.
In essence, Chenoweth has a treasure trove of emails which reveal the dark arts of global pay-TV piracy and the way NDS division hired scores of spooks, coppers, hackers and pirates to maximise its own commercial position and damage its competitors. While many of the allegations are old and the commercial issues sorted, the revelations of Australian piracy activities is vital for two reasons.
Firstly, it raises even more questions as to whether Rupert Murdoch is a fit and proper person to be granted management control over a pay-TV monopoly in Australia. Only yesterday, the ACCC announced it was again delaying approval of Foxtel’s $1.9 billion Austar takeover.
Secondly, there will be questions as to whether News Corp can retain its share of the windfall $US5 billion sale of NDS to Cisco, which was announced just two weeks ago but won’t close until various regulatory approvals have been given.
Chenoweth has spent more time than anyone researching and writing about the world’s most powerful family. As we all know, the Murdochs play the game hard, so News Corp has long campaigned to undermine Chenoweth’s employment at Fairfax, claiming he is biased, obsessed and full of conspiracy theories.
There has been a recent regime change at Fairfax with Hywood coming in and removing Michael Gill and Glenn Burge, the duo who ran The AFR for the previous decade. They were replaced by two News Corp recruits from The Australian — Brett Clegg and Michael Stutchbury — who both had spent many years previously at The Fin.
What to do with Chenoweth was always going to be an interesting question for The AFR’s new leadership team. The timeframe of the various moves is important to note:
- February 7, 2011: Greg Hywood replaces Brian McCarthy as CEO of Fairfax.
- March 21, 2011: Hywood removes Gill and Burge and Clegg announced as AFR supremo, sparking tough News Ltd moves to enforce some gardening leave.
- July 4, 2011: UK phone hacking scandal explodes, sparking a series of articles by Chenoweth in The AFR which is editorially leaderless.
- September 28, 2011: Clegg finally settles in as AFR CEO and immediately poaches Michael Stutchbury from The Australian to be editor.
- Early November, 2011: Chenoweth takes annual leave and long service leave from The AFR to help the BBC’s flagship investigative program Panorama research allegations about News Corp’s role in global pay-TV piracy.
- March 27, 2012: The Panorama program goes to air and The AFR carries a two-page Chenoweth spread summarising the allegations.
- March 28, 2012:The AFR goes super-hard with five pages of new Chenoweth allegations, including details of hacking and piracy involving NDS in the Australian pay-TV market.
In the end, The AFR’s hand was effectively forced by the quality and gravity of what Panorama produced. It would have looked very strange to see an AFR reporter helping the BBC drop a bombshell without sharing the goodies around.
However, The AFR’s decision to go so hard today was still very brave. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the Fairfax empire follows up. Will there be editorials damning the unethical Murdoch empire?
While there have always been plenty of competitors and journalists who take pot-shots at News Corp, the key to its power has been an ability to keep compliant regulators and politicians on side. That all changed in the UK when everyone turned on News Corp over phone hacking. News of the World was closed, scores of employees have been arrested, the BSkyB mop-up takeover was abandoned and there are now serious prospects the company will be kicked out of Britain in disgrace.
Amazingly, News Corp’s share price has soared ever higher in recent months and jumped another 10c to $19.48 this morning, valuing the company at $US51 billion. The Murdoch family has a debt-free $6.5 billion stake in News Corp and appear to be financially unscathed from the British scandal.
But the family’s biggest single earner over the years has been US programming pumped out through the world’s most lucrative global pay-TV distribution channels. Thanks to Chenoweth’s revelations, there are now serious questions being asked as to whether these have been ill-gotten gains.
As for what happens now, I reckon Chenoweth’s package — there’s more to come — will pick up the Gold Walkley in 2012. The Murdochs will be kicked out of Britain, Foxtel won’t be allowed to buy Austar and Sir Rod Eddington, lead independent director of News Corp, will finally develop some spine and intervene to reduce this notorious family’s control over its unethical media empire.
4pm 28th March 2012. Response from Mark Baker, MPC President:
Today’s piece by Stephen Mayne is ridiculous and insulting.
In support of his bizarre thesis about some kind of conspiracy between Fairfax and News he describes my “cosiness with Rupert Murdoch’s Melbourne boss Peter Blunden” at last Friday’s Melbourne Press Club Quill awards dinner.
I did indeed have a brief and friendly chat with Peter Blunden at the start of the dinner. And I am happy to reveal all: I thanked Peter for his considerable support in preparing for that night’s presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award to Herald Sun veteran John Hamilton and I wished him a pleasant evening. And, while I haven’t gone out of my way to avoid him, it was the first time I had seen Peter since another Press Club event more than 10 years ago. Some conspiracy.
Why hasn’t Murdoch been arrested? If he ever is, expect him to feign dementia, as Alan Bond and Bjelke-Petersen did…
Abc still not reporting.
Mr Mayne. Do somethimg about that. I have noticed you get coverage on News Limited and News Corporation issues on Aunty.
I really hope all the things mentioned in your last para come true Stephen.
It would be such a refreshing change, to see the Australian political and media landscape, finally stand up to Murdoch’s traditional tactic of bullying.
Interesting times indeed.
Either Chenoweth is an awful writer or there isn’t a story here. After three pages of the AFR stuff, I’m still no wiser as to what exactly the allegations are.
Now Chenoweth’s package is getting a run in The Australian Financial Review, will we be permitted to read stories about shonky corporate activities in Australia Media. With the same explosive exposure we witnessed being promulgated in England. Edward James
Crikey! In your rush to publish this article on line someone forgot to proof read properly… NOTE: the last 2 points in your time frame…
March 27, 2011: The Panorama program goes to air and The AFR carries a two-page Chenoweth spread summarising the allegations.
March 28, 2011:The AFR goes super-hard with five pages of new Chenoweth allegations, including details of hacking and piracy involving NDS in the Australian pay-TV market.
Should be 2012, I reckon.
stiofan
IMHO
Short and Nasty Guide to Market Domination:
Get some really good hackers
Hack into pay-tv competitors’ smartcards, used in their pay-tv boxes, to crack security codes
Release security codes so that smartcards can be easily copied and sold on the black market, thereby destroying cashflow of competitors’ businesses.
When competitors go broke, step in and buy rival businesses for peanuts.
At least that is how I read it.
@Edward James.
I have to say dream on. Our so called commercial Interest Free Broadcaster is not oing so.
So I agree with Mr Mayne. The AFR editorial team is indeed being brave when the ABC is not reporting the major story on the front page of the Financial Newspaper.
I hope a lot of people are going to use social media to bombard news sites like News 24 “The Drum” so that all media has to report this story.
Story is now up on The Sydney Morning Herld. Still not @Daily Telegraph.
Still not ABC.
Not surprised at News Limited. Where is “our” Independent no fear or favour to commercial interest Abc. Not even reporting Minister Conroy calling on Australian Federak Police as Herald reports.
@ Guytaur. I know what you mean. I spend most of my sober time dreaming of what could be! I recall when I first discovered Crikey.com back when Stephen Mayne was pulling an idea together. I dream about those anything but halcyon days too! Edward James
@Eward James.
Today Crikey has shown that for all its faults it is better han the Abc. Crikey has covered and not ignored the biggest finncial story as decided by the biggest financial newspaper. The Abc has not. This is to the credit of Crikey I think.
Its even up on CNN and BBC but still nothing so far from the ABC.
What it shows is just how pervasive Murdochs influence has become. They are ignoring Conroy’s call for police investigation. That in itself is a front page story they would normally pounce on.
I notice The Age is appealing to the broader market of online readers, using “cops” instead of “police” in their headline. Could I be anymore cynical?
stiofan- it took me two reads of the original story to get the gist of it but it does become clear.
It’s a tale of corporate sabotage (just allegations so far) with enough distance for ‘plausible deniability’ but it should disturb everyone in Australia that one corporation has so much control over our media.
As it is, now those seeking power in politics must court the media and plead for it’s patronage. Amply demonstrated by the Australian’s ghastly promotion of it’s power groups ie-“who is more powerful, Laurie Oakes or…etc etc” with not a soul apparently seeing how perverted our media has become when a journalist is listed as being “powerful”, rather than respected.
I reckon Chase Carey, Roger Ailes & their neocon boosters are getting a little nervous about the increasing likelihood of having to run News Ltd without Rupe.
Only KRM has ink in his veins…..something which no amount of money can buy.
What is far more concerning than the originl allegations is that large sections of the media have refused to report on any of it.
it has gone very quiet on social media from the right wing posters.
@Grouco.
Yes. Is this the final proof that the abc has gone for a right wing bias?
Whilst Chenowith’s expose of the rivers of muddy ethics that engulf everything the Murdochs associate themselves with, is a cause for deep concern, the close association of Hywood with these perpertrators of mafiosi standards is evidenced of the cloning of News Corporation coverage of politics in Australia, by the likes of Harcher and Coorey in the SMH.
It has been evident for some time that both these journalists have little concern for their own journalistic reputations in their efforts to mirror and echo the Murdoch’s political minions.
Harcher’s coverage of the recent Rudd challenge is a case in point. Two days before the challenge Harcher emphatically declared Ms Gillard would no longer be Prime Minister of the country. Such an illinformed call by front line pundit would have been reason for stint on a copy boy’s desk in a reputable newspaper, to allow some reflection on his responsibilities and ethics of his trade.
I put Harcher in the same class as Greg Sheridan, wordsmiths of self indulgent biases that are invaribly unreadable.
Bernard informs us that he holds Coorey in high esteem. I beg to differ. Coorey’s coverage of politics is nothing more than a personal vendetta against Ms Gillard and promotion of a person who considers riding a bike is the way to lead this nation and develope policies to suit.
If Hywood cared to reflect and review his own work as Political Correspondent for the SMH he would notice that throughout his carriage of this position he offered some noticable deference to Mr Howard as prime minister and so maintained a public respect for the office. Today non of his charges have any respect to the holders of leading offices in the country. Coorey and Harcher refer to these people as children refer to the opponents in a school yard playground, in exactly the same terms the Murdoch press has established as a standard.
As for the Murdoch’s, many of us have queried for many years whether they were ‘fit and proper’ people to be influential in the ‘fourth estate’ of democracy, now it is becoming apparent they are not even fit and proper people to be allowed to walk our streets.
Chenoweth first broke this yarn last August in the AFR, with cases involving the European cable companies. It was a really great story but let down by bad editing - the point of the story was buried about half-way down. I don’t give a damn about whether Chenoweth is a good writer or not. He’s a brilliant journalist who needs better editing.
As far as the other news organisations go, it’s difficult to report stories when you don’t have access to the same material. You end up reporting the reporting of the story or reactions to it. The ABC is also somewhat restricted by its charter.
Isn’t Crikey the new Fairfax?
@Nici
The Abc has no trouble covering stories without access to sorce material. Eg their coverage of the Wikileaks cables.
No excuse for the Abc to ignore this.
… and thanks Stephen.
Funny to think (by contrast) that Clive is a ‘national treasure’.
I hereby declare acccording to the powers vested in me (ie citizenship) Stephen Mayne to be (un)officially a “national treasure”!
Now get back in the trenches son (as Big Kerry might say). Ha ha.
(1) The AFR story seems to steer clear of saying that Murdoch deliberately facilitated pirating of opposition pay tv cards. In fact, it is extremely difficult to understand exactly what the precise accusation (if there is one) is.
(2) Every time a copyright protection agency claims that pirating costs copyright holders millions and millions of dollars, the IT crowd scoffs at the figure. The AFR claims that 50,000 people in Australia were using pirated pay tv cards: where are the guffaws of disbelief?
(3) Sorry, but someone’s choice of clothing and footwear does not prove that he isn’t an expert hacker.
Those among us who skim the papers on line around 12 30 know the so called shock jocks read them to air as brethless breaking news. Flowing from that we can understand the info we are processing here now, has been under the noses of main stream and their sad bias is apparant! Your right Tom, Stephen Mayne is missed by many of us. Edward James
I downloaded and watched the program last night. It’s dynamite to say the least.
Murdoch really does run a criminal mafia empire.
Crikey ed writes: Simon, you’re right. We still haven’t got our heads around the fact that it’s 2012. We’ve changed the reference, thanks for the heads up.
The murdoch criminals must be brought to justice. Beginning immediately, ban all govt. advertising in the Newscrap papers. Criminalize and stigmatize murdoch journalists.
The AFR story is the Toponredditt.
Story is now on ABC Website - Conroy urges probe into News Corp piracy claim http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-28/news-piracy-claims-should-be-sent-to-afp-says-conroy/3917880?WT.svl=news0
It is on the ABC, Conroy is calling for an investigation.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-28/news-piracy-claims-should-be-sent-to-afp-says-conroy/3917880
Nothing about it on the Murdoch mafia rags though.
The program last night showed that the NDS card makers are a Murdoch owned company in Haifa.
The ABC have just posted the story, a mere 19 hours after the story was first posted (open access) on the AFR site.
(abc.net.au/news/2012-03-28/news-piracy-claims-should-be-sent-to-afp-says-conroy/3917880)
GUYTAUR: The ABC has had a right-wing bias for years. It’s just that their usage of the R/W bias is a lot more subtle than the methods employed by the MSM. When Coalition politicians bucket the ABC for being too L/W they do so knowing that, in the final analysis, the ABC won’t strike back. Neat isn’t it?
@Venise
That is why I thought a glaring example like this needed highlighting. Glad they used Minister Conroy’s remarks as their excuse. It still does not explain why the much marketed home of quality journalism took 19 hours to react to a story published in print. That glaring example of bias is the sledgehammer needed to show Joe and Jane Public that the ABC has indeed lurched to the right.
Its paywalled, but its there.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/foxtel-denies-pay-tv-dirty-tricks/story-e6frg996-1226312470663
Why?
Why present the story as such, under that headline?
Why turn the issue into a partisan party political presentation where many, even most , people will fall into tribal reactions?
The story is major in itself and deserves to be presented to the Oz public as a news story not just another example of “Conroy said …, someone else said” journalism.
Sure include Conroy in the report, but not lead with it as if its just another round in political point scoring by a pollie.
Shame ABC.
From Steve777 above
Story is now on ABC Website - Conroy urges probe into News Corp piracy claim http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-28/news-piracy-claims-should-be-sent-to-afp-says-conroy/3917880?WT.svl=news0
Moderated.
So here is the post minus Steve 777’s link.
Why?
Why present the story as such, under that headline?
Why turn the issue into a partisan party political presentation where many, even most , people will fall into tribal reactions?
The story is major in itself and deserves to be presented to the Oz public as a news story not just another example of “Conroy said …, someone else said” journalism.
Sure include Conroy in the report, but not lead with it as if its just another round in political point scoring by a pollie.
Shame ABC.
Most expensive daily Financial Newspaper in the World, yet another Corbett gouge
Well at the very least Id expect any criticism of Foxtel / Pay TV corruption would be a boon, and therefore a high news priority, to the commercial tv news.
Watching Channel 9 because I can’t stomach Channel 7 News.
MIKE FLANAGAN: There’s a terrifying simplicity under this claim that Rupert Murdoch has, and uses, the ability to tell his journos what to write. How is it then that Rupert’s hirelings can scream with impunity, “”We don’t get told what to write.”” They can do so because it is close to the truth. Rupert Murdoch only hires journalists who are in line with his own extreme views.
Self-censorship in the MSM leads to one thing only. The banal and mendacious tripe produced by the Australian MSM. They churn out muck to please their readers. IMO the much quoted line of ‘Freedom of the Press’ has one c0notation only. The freedom of the media moghuls to write what they damn well wish to write.
¡Viva la vuelta! But it ain’t going to happen.
“”Mary had a little lamb,
its fleece was white as snow…..”“
Testing to see if moderating machine just picks up on my name.
@ Venise Alstergren
“”Mark had a little lamb,
its fleece was white as snow…..”“
Testing to see if moderating machine just picks up on stereotype!!
@SB
Suddenly The Business Newspaper for Australia is not good eough for you.
Are you in an email? Listed under secret paid bloggers propaganda arm?
@ guytaur
I am not paid by anyone, work for myself.
@SB
Really. Then you must be a Murdoch Empire fangirl.
@ guytaur
I hate Murdoch for killing off Souths in the 90’s
GuyTaur - ORAC has denied ALL COALition allegiance and claimed, variously, to be a ‘foresnic’ auditor, a housewife, an erstwhile ALP supporter, an ”expert witness” a couple of weeks ago and an unaligned, concerned, private citizen who doesn’t listen to shoutjocks and just happens to hate her local member whose name she cannot spell, as well as being in Oakeshott’s satrapy.
Also, depending on who is using the nom-de-guerre at any given time, the trolling ranges from ungrammatically sub-literate to occasional correct english but ALWAY, like its namesake, a squawking plastic box, always, wrong, malevolent & banally irksome.
The only advantage of the recent Crikey site outages was being spared the constant necessity to delete her follow-up comments, usually replying to itself in alter ego or recently with EJ.
SB, very very deep! souffs lol