Labor's media manoeuvres
News publishers and the gambling industry are holding their breath ahead of two major government decisions on media policy.
The Albanese government is taking a beating in the polls over its handling of the economy, but it’s not just voters' hip pockets it has to manage during the cost-of-living crisis. Labor is also finalising two crucial regulatory decisions that will affect the influential but financially challenged legacy media sector.
It’s now a full month since Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones flagged that the government was poised to act imminently on Meta’s refusal to renew the deals it had in place with the likes of News Corp, Nine Entertainment and Seven West Media, which were struck under the media bargaining code.
At the National Press Club on 31 July, Jones flagged “a whole‑of‑government response, which will deal with all of the challenges that we face in the news media environment in 2024”. Media and tech execs are now on alert for that response, and there are growing expectations it will arrive around the same time that Communications Minister Michelle Rowland unveils her plan to curb gambling advertising.
Jones is tasked with deciding whether the government should ‘designate’ Meta under the code, a move that would force the Facebook and Instagram parent into protracted negotiations to pay publishers or risk enormous fines. He is in that position because Treasurer Jim Chalmers recused himself due to his wife's employment at News Corp.
