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News Corp Australia

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News Corp Australia
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryMass media
PredecessorNews Limited
Founded1923; 101 years ago (1923), in Adelaide, South Australia
FounderJames Edward Davidson
Headquarters
Surry Hills, Sydney
,
Australia
Area served
Australia
New Zealand
Key people
Michael Miller (executive chairman)
ProductsNewspapers
Magazines
Internet
ServicesPay television
National Rugby League
Market research
DVD and film distribution
Film and television production
ParentNews Corp
SubsidiariesFoxtel (65%)
Brisbane Broncos (69%)
Australian News Channel (Sky News Australia)
Websitenewscorpaustralia.com

News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of the American News Corp.

The group's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, subscription television in the form of Foxtel, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television production trading assets.[1] News Pty Limited (formerly News Limited) is the holding company of the group.

Until the formation of News Corporation in 1979, News Limited was the principal holding company for the business interests of Rupert Murdoch and his family. Since then, News Limited had been wholly owned by News Corporation. In 2004, News Corporation announced its intention to reincorporate to the United States. On 3 November 2004 News Corp Limited ceased trading on the Australian Stock Exchange; and on 8 November, News Corporation began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.[2] On 28 June 2013, News Corporation was split into two separate companies. Murdoch's newspaper interests became News Corp, which was the new parent company of News Limited.[3] The group adopted the new News Corp Australia name following the listing of the new News Corp on 1 July 2013.[4]

History

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Early days

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News Limited was established in 1923 by James Edward Davidson and funded by the Collins Group mining empire for the purpose of publishing anti-union propaganda,[5][6] when he purchased the Broken Hill Barrier Miner and the Port Pirie Recorder.[7] He went on to purchase Adelaide's weekly Mail[8] and to found The News, a daily newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia.

Murdochs

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Sir Keith Murdoch acquired a minority interest in the company in 1949.[9] Following his death in 1952, his son Rupert Murdoch inherited The News, which has been described by Murdoch biographer Bruce Page[10] as the "foundation stone" of News Limited (and News Corporation).

Over the next few years, Murdoch gradually established himself as one of the most dynamic media proprietors in Australia, quickly expanding his holdings by acquiring a string of daily and suburban newspapers in most capital cities, including the Sydney afternoon paper, The Daily Mirror, as well as a small Sydney-based recording company, Festival Records. His acquisition of the Mirror proved crucial to his success, allowing him to challenge the dominance of his two main rivals in the Sydney market, the Fairfax Newspapers group, which published the hugely profitable The Sydney Morning Herald, and the Consolidated Press group, owned by Sir Frank Packer, which published the city's leading tabloid paper, The Daily Telegraph.

In 1964, News Limited made its next important advance when it established The Australian, Australia's first national daily newspaper, based initially in Canberra and later in Sydney. The Australian, a broadsheet, gave News Limited a new respectability as a quality newspaper publisher, and also greater political influence since The Australian has always had an elite readership, if not always a large circulation.[citation needed]

Also in 1964, News Limited made Rupert Murdoch's first overseas newspaper investment – a 29.57 percent stake in the Wellington Publishing Company, subsequently part of Independent Newspapers Limited, INL, New Zealand's largest publishing group. The News Limited holding in INL fluctuated over the years and was just over 49 percent in 1997. The INL business was bought by News Limited's main rival in 2003 – Fairfax Media.

Over the next ten years, as his press empire grew, Murdoch established a hugely lucrative financial base, and these profits were routinely used to subsidise further acquisitions. In his early years of newspaper ownership Murdoch was an aggressive, micromanaging entrepreneur.[citation needed] His standard tactic was to buy loss-making Australian newspapers and turn them around by introducing radical management and editorial changes and fighting no-holds-barred circulation wars with his competitors. By the 1970s, this power base was so strong that Murdoch was able to acquire leading newspapers and magazines in both London and New York, as well as many other media holdings.

To gain subscriptions for its new pay television business, News Ltd recruited rugby league football administrators, clubs and players to form a new competition, sparking the mid-1990s Super League war.

On 12 July 2006, News Limited announced the creation of a new division, News Digital Media, to manage the operations of the news site news.com.au; the online marketplace sites, carsguide.com.au, truelocal.com.au and careerone.com.au as well as the partly owned realestate.com.au, foxsports.com.au and related activities involving Foxtel and the company's newspapers and the Australian versions of Fox Interactive Media sites Myspace and IGN. Chairman and chief executive of News Limited, John Hartigan, announced the appointment of Richard Freudenstein as chief executive of the division.[11]

In February 2018, News Corp Australia announced a partnership with Taboola to launch an integrated native content creation, booking and distribution platform. The Taboola Feed will be implemented on desktop, mobile, web and in-app across the News Corp Australia digital network.[12]

Corporate changes

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In 2000 John Hartigan was appointed Chief Executive Officer,[13] replacing Lachlan Murdoch.[14] and added chairman to his role in 2005.[13] During his time in the roles, he presided over a number of controversies, included Eatock v Bolt, the court case following News Ltd journalist Andrew Bolt breaching the Racial Discrimination Act, and an unfair dismissal case brought by former Herald Sun editor Bruce Guthrie.[15] On 30 November 2011, Hartigan left News Ltd, and owner Rupert Murdoch took on the role of chairman, while former Foxtel executive Kim Williams took on the role of CEO.[13][15][14]

On 28 June 2013, News Corporation split into two publicly traded companies focused on publishing, and broadcasting/media respectively. At this time News Limited was renamed News Corp Australia and became part of the publishing company, News Corp, with Wall Street Journal editor Robert Thomson replacing Rupert Murdoch as CEO. Murdoch remained a chairman and major shareholder for both companies.[16]

On 9 August 2013 it was announced that Julian Clarke would replace Kim Williams as the CEO of News Corp Australia.[17]

On 9 June 2015, it was announced that Peter Tonagh would replace Julian Clarke as the CEO, with Michael Miller to be appointed to the role of Executive Chairman.[18] Peter Tonagh and Michael Miller's first day in their new roles was 16 November 2015[19]

Acquisitions

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Britain

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Murdoch moved to Britain and rapidly became a major force there after his acquisitions of the News of the World, and The Sun in 1969 and The Times and The Sunday Times in 1981, which he bought from the Thomson family. Both takeovers further reinforced his growing reputation as a ruthless and cunning business operator. His takeover of The Times aroused great hostility among traditionalists, who feared he would take it "downmarket." This led directly to the founding of The Independent in 1986 as an alternative quality daily.[citation needed]

United States

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Murdoch made his first acquisition in the United States in 1973, when he purchased the San Antonio News. Soon afterwards he founded the National Star, a supermarket tabloid, and in 1976 he purchased the New York Post. Subsequent acquisitions were undertaken through News Corporation.

Australia

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News Limited expanded its newspaper holdings in 1987 when it acquired The Herald and Weekly Times, which published two newspapers in Melbourne (in 1990 these papers would be combined to form the Herald Sun) as well as large stakes in several other newspaper publishers. News Limited went on to acquire the remaining shares of Brisbane's Queensland Newspapers (owner of The Courier-Mail), Adelaide's Advertiser Newspapers (owner of The Advertiser) and Hobart's Davies Brothers (owner of The Mercury).

In 1991, News Limited spun off its longtime magazine house, Southdown Press, as Pacific Magazines and Printing, and sold the former Advertiser magazines, renamed Murdoch Magazines, to Matt Handbury. News Limited re-entered the magazine market in 2000 with the start of News Magazines. In 2006, News Limited returned to being a major player in the Australian magazine business with the purchase of Independent Print Media Group's FPC Magazines (Delicious, Super Food Ideas, Vogue Australia).[20]

Nationwide News is a subsidiary of News Corp Australia.[21] It was involved in Nationwide News Pty Ltd v Wills in the High Court of Australia in 1992.[22] In 2018 it was ordered by the Federal Court to pay damages to actor Geoffrey Rush after The Daily Telegraph published a front-page article alleging that Rush engaged in "inappropriate behaviour" on stage with actress Eryn Jean Norvill during the Sydney Theatre Company's 2015 production of King Lear.[23]

Influence in Australia

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Murdoch's desire for dominant cross-media ownership manifested in early 1961 when he bought an ailing Australian record label, Festival Records, and within a few years it had become the leading local recording company [citation needed]. He also bought a television station in Wollongong, New South Wales, hoping to use it to break into the Sydney television market, but found himself frustrated by Australia's cross-media ownership laws, which prevented him from owning both a major newspaper and television station in the same city. Since then he has consistently lobbied, both personally and through his papers, to have these laws changed in his favour. This occurred in 2006 when the Liberal-National Coalition government, having gained control of both houses of the Australian Parliament, introduced reforms to cross-media ownership and foreign media ownership laws.[24] The laws came into effect in early 2007,[25] with further changes in 2017 abolishing 'two out of three' restrictions that had previously prevented news companies from owning newspaper, radio, and television services within the same city.[26]

In 2001 News Corp Australia had nearly three-quarters of daily metropolitan newspaper circulation and so maintained great influence in Australia. Internal News Corp Australia documents reveal a brazen offer during the 2001 federal election campaign to promote the policies of the Australian Labour Party (ALP) in its best-selling newspapers nationwide for almost A$500,000.[27] Other documents include a marginal seats guide written by a senior business manager for internal use. It evidences a corporate strategy to target marginal seats at the 2004 election.[28] Some of the documents appeared on Media Watch.[29]

Murdoch wanted a way to influence politics in his native land. He saw a way to do that through the News Corp publication The Australian.[30] The national daily has been used to support Murdoch's political interests over time, such as John McEwen with the National Party of Australia and Gough Whitlam with the Australian Labor Party.[31] According to the Finkelstein Review of Media and Media Regulation, in 2011 the group accounted for 23% of the newspaper titles in Australia.[32] As of 2021, it owns seven of the country's 12 national or capital city daily (print) newspapers (that is, 58 per cent; excludes weekend papers). In the capital cities of Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, and Hobart, there are no other print dailies. However a 2020 report showed that only 25% of news consumed is obtained from print newspapers, with TV being the top source, online second, and social media third. By early 2021, News Corp had either dropped, or made online only, many of its local newspapers. At that time, it was publishing fewer than 20 print newspapers, and around 85 online titles.[33]

In 2016, News Corp commanded 65% of national and capital city daily (print) newspapers. However, its news website news.com.au ranks second after the ABC News website on visitor count, and its individual newspaper websites do not match several digital-only ones. In December 2020, all of News Corp's news websites reached 1.2 million fewer readers than those owned by Nine Entertainment. The company owns just one television news outlet, Sky News Australia, which does not have a large audience on TV; however, its Facebook posts are shared prolifically, and its subscribers on YouTube, by 2021, not only far outnumbered those of Channel 7 and Channel 9 but had surpassed ABC News.[33]

In 2018 the company's sites included news.com.au, Business Spectator and Eureka Report, Kidspot.com.au, taste.com.au, and homelife.com.au. It had a 55% stake in carsguide.com.au, which was sold in 2016, a share in REA Group that operates realestate.com.au, as well as websites for most newspaper and magazine titles. The company's other Australian assets include Australian News Channel, 65% ownership of subscription television provider Foxtel, (which in turn owns Fox Sports Australia)[34] and shares in the Brisbane Broncos NRL team.[citation needed]

A parliamentary petition initiated by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for a Royal Commission investigating the diversity and integrity of print media, focused primarily on News Corp, raised more than 500,000 signatures in November 2020.[35]

Unethical conduct

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In the wake of the News International phone hacking scandal in the United Kingdom, in July 2011 News Limited announced a review of all payments in the previous three years.[36] On 22 July it was reported that two retired Victorian Supreme Court judges, Frank Vincent AO QC and Bernard Teague AO, were appointed to act as independent assessors of the conduct of the review and also assess the outcome.[37] The editorial and financial review concluded in early November and found no evidence of phone hacking or payments to public officials,[38][39] with Vincent and Teague declaring that the review process did not bring ".....to light any systemic issues with respect to the making of payments to third parties and any substantial amounts paid to individuals in respect of illegitimate activities."[40] Despite this the Australian division of News Corp has not entirely escaped scandal with allegations in 2012 that News Corp subsidiary, News Datacom Systems (NDS) had used hackers to undermine pay TV rivals around the world, including Australia. Some of the victims of the alleged hacking, such as Austar were later taken over by News Corp and others such as Ondigital later went bust. NDS had originally been set up to provide security to News Corp's pay TV interests but emails obtained by Fairfax Media revealed they had also pursued a wider agenda by distributing the keys to rival set top box operators and seeking to obtain phone records of suspected rivals.[41] The emails were from the hard drive of NDS European chief, Ray Adams. It was also revealed that Australian Federal police were working with UK police to investigate hacking by News Corp.[42]

Holdings

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News Corp Australia operates 170 newspaper and magazine titles in Australia[when?], including the following:

Newspapers

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National

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Metropolitan

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New South Wales
Victoria
Queensland
South Australia
Tasmania
Northern Territory

Community

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Sydney
Melbourne
Brisbane
Adelaide

Regional

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New South Wales
South Australia
Tasmania
Victoria
Queensland

Magazines

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Websites

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  • News.com.au publishes stories and multimedia created by a team of about 51 reporters.
  • The Punch was an opinion and news website, founded in 2009 and merged with news.com.au in March 2013[64]
  • Business Spectator is a business news website
  • Punters.com.au, an Australian horse racing news and form guide website[65]
  • Racenet.com.au, Australia's Premier Horse Racing News, Form Guides & Tips[66]
  • KidSpot, a parenting website[67]
  • Realestate.com.au, Buy, rent and sell property
  • Code, sports news website

Gambling

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Sport

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Television

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News Awards

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News Corp holds annual award events to recognise its journalists, known as the News Awards.[69] The top award is known as the Sir Keith Murdoch Award for Excellence in Journalism.[70][71][72]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Share Price & Information - ASX". www.asx.com.au. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  2. ^ "News Corp Limited reincorporation proposal – action in respect of News Corp Limited individual share futures contracts" (PDF). SFE Bulletin. SFE Corporation Limited. 25 October 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  3. ^ "New News Corp starts trading at $15 per share". The Australian. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  4. ^ Jabour, Bridie (26 June 2013). "News Limited to rebrand local operation as News Corp Australia". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  5. ^ Young, Sally (15 May 2019). "The secret history of News Corp: a media empire built on spreading propaganda". The Conversation. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  6. ^ Merrett, D.T. "Collins House". eMelbourne. School of Historical & Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Prominent Journalist". The Chronicle. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 5 June 1930. p. 18. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  8. ^ "The Mail". The Mail. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 24 March 1923. p. 2. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  9. ^ Gershon, Richard A. (1996). The Transnational Media Corporation: Global Messages and Free Market Competition (paperback). Routledge. p. 226. ISBN 0-8058-2425-1.
  10. ^ Page, Bruce (2003). The Murdoch Archipelago (hardback). London: Simon & Schuster. p. 480. ISBN 0-7432-3936-9.
  11. ^ [1] [dead link]
  12. ^ "News Corp Picks Taboola Over Outbrain To Launch Premium Native Marketplace". ABC News. Australia. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  13. ^ a b c Crook, Andrew (9 November 2011). "Farewell Big Harto: News Ltd CEO John Hartigan resigns". Crikey. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  14. ^ a b Guthrie, Bruce (10 November 2011). "Opinion: Change of tack: man overboard". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  15. ^ a b Hirst, Martin (10 November 2011). "A new broom for News Limited as Hartigan exits, but what now for Murdoch's empire?". The Conversation. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  16. ^ "New News is good news, says mogul". Business Day (Australia. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  17. ^ Christensen, Nic (9 August 2013). "News Corp Australia Kim Williams departs, Julian Clarke named as replacement". Mumbrella. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Peter Tonagh and Michael Miller to lead News Corp as Ciaran Davis steps up at APN". mUmBRELLA. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  19. ^ "One voice, two social media strategies". mUmBRELLA. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  20. ^ "FPC clan puts synergies before sentiment". 15 November 2006. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  21. ^ "Nationwide News". Australian Breastfeeding Association. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  22. ^ Nationwide News Pty Ltd v Wills [1992] HCA 46, (1992) 177 CLR 1
  23. ^ Jefferson, Dee (7 May 2022). "Portrait of an artist: The making, unravelling and reinvention of Eryn Jean Norvill". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  24. ^ "Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act 2006". Federal Register of Legislation. Federal Government of Australia. 4 November 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  25. ^ Phillips, Keri (6 October 2015). "The history of media regulation in Australia". ABC. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  26. ^ "Government's media ownership law changes pass Senate with help from NXT, One Nation". 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  27. ^ "Cash for Comment at half a million dollars". Limited News. 22 October 2001. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  28. ^ "News Limited 2004 Federal Election Marginal Seats Guide". Limited News. 2004. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  29. ^ "Media Watch | News Ltd unlimited cheek". Abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  30. ^ Shawcross, David (1997). Murdoch: The Making of a Media Empire. Touchstone. pp. 58–63.
  31. ^ Tuccille, Jerome (1989). Rupert Murdoch. Donald I. Fine Inc. pp. 69–74. ISBN 9781556111549.
  32. ^ "FactCheck: does Murdoch own 70% of newspapers in Australia?". The Conversation. 7 August 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  33. ^ a b Campbell, David (13 April 2021). "How large is Rupert Murdoch's reach through News Corp in Australian media, old and new?". ABC News. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  34. ^ "Fox Sports and Foxtel merger". 9News. 6 March 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  35. ^ "E-petitions".
  36. ^ "Phone hacking: Australian PM promises 'hard questions'". BBC News. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  37. ^ Canning, Simon (22 July 2011). "Judges to oversee local News review". The Australian. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  38. ^ "News Limited review finds no phone hacking". ABC News. Australia. AAP. 14 November 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  39. ^ Dick, Tim (14 November 2011). "News Ltd not involved in phone hacking, report finds". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  40. ^ "Report of the Independent Assessors upon an Internal Review conducted by News Limited into Third Party Payments" (PDF). The Australian Financial Review. 10 November 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  41. ^ Chenoweth, Neil Pay TV Piracy Hits News, The Financial Review 28 March 2012, online Retrieved 4 May 2012
  42. ^ Tingle, Laura & Daley, Gemma "Federal Police Join News Probe", The Financial Review 28 March 2012, online Retrieved 4 May 2012
  43. ^ "Daily Sun [catalogue entry]". National Library of Australia. 2 August 1982 – 13 February 1988. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  44. ^ The Sun, Queensland Parliamentary Library, 1988, retrieved 14 August 2022
  45. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you, Tweed Daily News. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  46. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you, Coffs Coast Advocate. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  47. ^ "Townsville Bulletin - News Corp Australia". www.newscorpaustralia.com. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  48. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you, The Daily Mercury. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  49. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you, Central Queensland News. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  50. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  51. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you, Central Telegraph. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  52. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you, The Observer. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  53. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you[permanent dead link], NewsMail. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  54. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you, Fraser Coast Chronicle. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  55. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you, The Gympie Times. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  56. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you, The Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  57. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you, The Queensland Times. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  58. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you, The Chronicle. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  59. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you, Warwick Daily News. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  60. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you, The Dalby Herald. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  61. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you, Chinchilla News. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  62. ^ Johns, Bryce (22 June 2016) What News Corp purchasing us means for you, The Western Star. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  63. ^ "delicious".
  64. ^ Christensen, Nic (15 March 2013). "News Limited to close The Punch". Mumbrella.
  65. ^ "News Corp Australia To Purchase Racing Industry Publisher Punters.com.au". B&T Magazine. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  66. ^ "News Corp seeks to back a winner with Racenet buy". Australian Financial Review. 7 October 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  67. ^ "Katie May sells KidSpot group to News Corp for $45 million". SmartCompany. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  68. ^ Watchdog issues News Corp's Betr show cause notice two days after launch Sydney Morning Herald 14 October 2022
  69. ^ "News Corp honours its top journalists in the 2021 News Awards". Mediaweek. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  70. ^ Krusche, Derrick (8 November 2022). "Top honours for Telegraph journalists". dailytelegraph. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  71. ^ "News Corp Australia's best of the best for 2018 announced at the News Awards". NewsCorp Australia. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  72. ^ "News Awards: Lachlan Murdoch presents trophies to Herald Sun & Australian journalists". Mediaweek. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
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