Corporate Media vs Punters: An Insiders Guide to Who Really Controls Your News
THE TLDR: Osmond Faruqi, a former journalist who worked inside Australia's biggest media companies, reveals how advertisers directly influence editorial decisions down to star ratings for reviews and why the government's Media Bargaining Code was essentially a shakedown that forced Facebook and Google to pay Murdoch, Stokes, and the Gordon family instead of funding independent journalism.
KEY FACTS:
1️⃣ Corporate Media Puts Profit Before Truth. The dirty secret of Australian journalism isn't just bias—it's systematic corruption by design. Osmond witnessed firsthand how advertising revenue shapes editorial decisions at major outlets like Nine's Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Clive Palmer was allowed to publish factually incorrect information on newspaper front pages simply because he paid for it. The fundamental problem is that publicly listed media companies have a legal duty to maximize shareholder value, not serve the public interest, creating an irreconcilable conflict between profit and truth.
2️⃣ We didn't accidentally end up with just three companies controlling Australian media—this monopoly was deliberately constructed through decades of lobbying to dismantle protective laws. For most of the 20th century, Australia had regulations preventing anyone from owning TV stations, radio networks, and newspapers simultaneously because governments recognized that concentrated media ownership threatens democracy. Through systematic lobbying, companies like News Corp and Nine successfully eliminated these protections, allowing Murdoch to control everything from cricket broadcasts to newspapers across multiple cities.
3️⃣ While corporate media fails to hold power accountable due to financial constraints and monopolistic structures, independent creators are successfully pushing critical issues into mainstream political discourse. Konrad's years-long focus on gas taxation—an issue corporate media largely ignored due to industry connections—has now forced politicians to address it publicly. This demonstrates that when media isn't beholden to advertisers or billionaire owners, it can actually move political conversations toward issues that matter to ordinary Australians.
Delve deeper with our Punter Citations:
ABC - The history of media regulation in Australia
ABC - Government's media ownership law changes pass Senate with help from NXT, One Nation
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