This week’s newsletter is all about the conduct of companies in the broader media landscape and the rules that govern their conduct – or fail to.
The biggest media story of the last fortnight was of course the continuing drama of Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation action against Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, the judgment for which is expected on Monday. The proceedings unexpectedly brought to light further details concerning the conduct of Seven in securing its exclusive interview with Lehrmann for Spotlight. This was followed by revelations earlier this week – in a Nine Newspapers report – about Seven’s response to inquiries about alleged misuse of company benefits by staff from Sunrise. Below, Monica and Sacha look at the ethical questions raised by the latest twists in the Lehrmann action. I look at how social media platform X, in a series of moves against the eSafety Commissioner and its own industry association, is offering a challenge to the still-developing regulatory framework for digital platforms.
We end on a short piece announcing the latest CMT research report, with a link to an upcoming webinar explaining the findings. Meanwhile, you can revisit last week’s fascinating conversation between Richard Fidler and our Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Ayesha Jehangir. Ayesha explains her Pashtun background and recounts the difficulties of her early life in Pakistan, her work as a journalist in Afghanistan, and her transformation into a researcher in Australia.
Derek Wilding, CMT Co-Director