So much for the brave new world of online, taking on Facebook, streaming video, getting fit, helping employment and freedom of the press and maintaining that a healthy media is good for democracy – all claims made by the Turnbull Government and supporters of the media law changes from Kerry Stokes, through to News Corp, Southern Cross and Fairfax’s Greg Hywood.
They are all tosh and rubbish because once the media law changes, especially the ownership provisions pass the house of Representatives in October we will be heading back to the media structures of the 1970s and early 80’s.
On AM on ABC Radio on Friday Communications Minister Senator Mitch Fifield was twice asked about what happens in three years when the $60 million funding packages for cadet journalists and equipment runs out, he had no answer.
And he said “we are proprietor agnostic’ when asked about could see Rupert Murdoch buy the Seven or Nine Networks.
Yes, and that could very well be the end result of the changes. Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon are having anther lash, offering creditors $55 million instead of $35 million, but making no disclosure about how to pay out CBS in the event of winning (CBS has paid out more than $A200 million to the CBA, to Murdoch, Gordon, Packer and other creditors, and given Ten a $30 million working capital injection).
Ten creditors meet tomorrow and later today a NSW Supreme Court judge is due to release his decision on the challenge from Bruce Gordon that seemed to run off the rails last week.
Assuming that challenge is knocked out, CBS will get up at tomorrow’s creditors meeting because it is the biggest creditor and has solid support from the 750 Ten employees who are the largest number of creditors (under bankruptcy laws asset sales from collapsed companies need two approvals from creditors – by value and by number).
Murdoch and Gordon have a long history of cutting jobs and one of their proposals is to brig in Sky News (owned by Murdoch’s News Corp) to run Ten News, a move that would see heavy job losses.
Gordon and Murdoch propose to borrow their $55 million from the Commonwealth Bank, but won’t say if they are putting up any of their money.
But expect Murdoch and Gordon to try all sorts of tricks to try and get rid of CBS, with a bigger offer perhaps coming from 21st Century Fox.
