Articles by Matthew Knott

Freelancers have been among the victims of Fairfax’s consolidation drive, with regular contributors describing the payment system as a “shemozzle”.

Crikey examines how media and culture organisations fared in this year’s budget. The ABC and SBS are smiling — and the ghost of Simon Crean lives on.

PolitiFact Australia’s launch has been marred by controversy over one of the site’s first rulings. Was Labor wrong to say penalty rights can’t be “stripped away”?

The latest Audit Bureau of Circulations results show massive drops in print circulation and reveal, finally, how many readers are paying for the Herald Sun online. Hint: it’s not very many.

Sydney University tasked students with planting stories in rival student paper Tharunka as part of an assignment, leaving students outraged.

John Garnaut, one of Australia’s most respected foreign correspondents, is heading home after a stint in China. Who will Fairfax pick to replace him?

News Limited, Fairfax and other big media companies say the government’s proposed whistleblower laws need major changes. It’s brought them together to fight for whistleblower protection.

A Melbourne doctor with stunning claims about gender-based abortion didn’t tell News Limited about his pro-life views. Or that he’s a member of the anti-abortion Democratic Labor Party.

The ABC has announced a new team dedicated to checking up on pollies’ spin, and US website PolitiFact is also opening an Australian division.

All media eyes will be on the announcement of a new host for Media Watch, with Jonathan Holmes set to stand down soon. Who will the ABC pick?

In an age of fragmentation and financial difficulties, court costs for media lawsuits are becoming prohibitive. What impact will this have on what journos dare to write?

Fortescue Metals Group paid for travel and accommodation for multiple journalists at the Bo’ao forum, but you wouldn’t hear it from News or Fairfax.

Should journalists accept leaks in exchange for not seeking critical comment? Crikey examines the pros and cons of the media “drops” that you’re not told about.

Why is The Australian Financial Review spruiking a book by one of its writers on the death of Fairfax? There’s a slew of such books coming out — it may test Fairfax’s tradition of openness.

Editors at The Australian Financial Review have hit back at claims there is creeping advertorial in the business paper, after dismissing journalist Paddy Manning for public criticism.

Change is afoot in the ABC’s network of foreign bureaux: Moscow is out and a second Middle-East position is on the way.

Tony Abbott delivers a sermon on the importance of Christian values, and the need to give more recognition to Australia’s Western heritage, in a speech to a gala IPA dinner in Melbourne. Crikey obtained the audio of the speech.