Convergent Journalism Blog

02/08/06

The Meanings and Implications of Convergence 

09/08/06 

The Media and Communications in Australia: Chapter 6
 -          The press had a far less central role in the media from as early as the 1950s and 60s; movies, radio and infant television were the preferred sources of media.
-          As a result, there was a significant decline in newspaper sales inevitably leading to the demise of newspapers, referred to as “The Depression”.

-         Media barons such as, Murdoch, strived to delay the downfall of print media, by wisely scheduling television news broadcasts at a later hour; in hope to encourage the public to purchase newspapers to stay up-to-date.

-         P.M Lyons eventually questioned ownership and control of the media in the 1930s.

-          Concentrated ownership of the media continued – by 1972 Murdoch owned; the Adelaide News, the Daily Mirror, the Daily Telegraphy and the Australian.

-         In 1986, the Hawke Government introduced a ban on cross-media ownership in all markets, and allowed TV ownership to be extended to stations covering 60% of the population.

-         Murdoch was forced to sell his TV stations, replacing them with the Herald and Weekly Times Newspaper – everyone in the print sector suffered, which led to the closure of many newspapers.

-         Murdoch’s News Limited publications and FAIRFAX Newspapers were all that was left in Australian press.

-         As the market picked itself back up over the years, publications began to differ from one another to suit the reader, The Sun, The Mirror etc. However, Australia never felt the need to produce a news source, instead we relied on the US and Britain, Reuters and AAP.

-         The importance of advertising for the circulation of a newspaper – ABR’s stats for newspaper sales show that the Herald-Sun, Daily Telegraph and the Financial Review decline is sales over the weekend.

-         Government’s always disliked newspapers; as the editor always has the power to manipulate the journalist’s work – thus the licensing of newspapers?

-         Murdoch papers still have managed to obtain the strength of one of the six biggest media conglomerates in the world.

-         Despite the convergence of news broadcasting; newspapers still provide systematic critical scrutiny of all authorities; their reports are disseminated in a timely and credible manner – they have a crucial democratic role.