The day Australian media turned upside down: Mumbrellacast special edition | Stock market punishes Nine | Media buyers welcome deal | A modern tragedy | Fairfax and Nine merger creates a tangled web of companies

[View Newsletter Online]( [Mumbrella Newsletter][Mumbrella Newsletter]( Final days to save over $2100 on Mumbrella marketing summit tickets Book your [Annual Pass]( by July 31 to get a transferrable ticket to all eight Mumbrella marketing summits for just $2999. The pass will save you over $2100 on standard price tickets, or an additional $1200 off earlybird rates, which is the best ticket offer you’ll find anywhere. But hurry, these prices won’t last long. [Book now.]( Features [Mumbrellacast special: The day Australian media turned upside down]( On one of the most significant days for Australian media in at least a generation, the Mumbrella team unpack everything you need to know about the Nine and Fairfax merger in handy audio form. From the survival of regional journalism to what this all means for Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood, we cover it all in this special edition of the Mumbrellacast. [READ MORE »]( News [Investors punish Nine after Fairfax deal announcement]( Nine Entertainment has dipped below the $2bn valuation mark this afternoon as investors digest the news of the merger with Fairfax. Following this morning’s announcement, Nine’s shares slumped 6.5% on a delayed opening at 11am while Fairfax gained 13% and Domain jumped 9%. [READ MORE »]( News [Media buyers welcome Nine and Fairfax merger]( Australia’s media agency bosses have responded positively to the Fairfax and Nine merger, with Wavemaker CEO Peter Vogel claiming the news will help sustain an industry that was “in desperate need of legislative reform”. “At Wavemaker and GroupM, we see the move as positive for the market, our clients and for Australian content,” Vogel told Mumbrella. “The industry was in desperate need of legislative reform to allow it to innovate and compete locally and with global players and this is now playing out.” [READ MORE »]( Opinion [A modern tragedy: Nine-Fairfax merger a disaster for quality media]( On this historic day for Australia’s media industry, the University of Melbourne’s Denis Muller describes a tale of loss in this crossposting from The Conversation. All deaths are sudden, even if long expected. Appropriately enough, this is the opening sentence of a book called Journalism in a Culture of Grief. [READ MORE »]( Features [The other companies involved in the Nine Fairfax merger]( The merger of Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media will inevitably see the coming together of Australia’s biggest media brands. But the takeover doesn’t just include the big names – such as The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the main television network, Nine. Zoe Samios explores which other media brands are involved in the deal. This morning, Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media announced the merging of the two businesses. Once the transaction has been finalised, the Fairfax Media brand will be absorbed into Nine. [READ MORE »]( News [Minister applauds Fairfax-Nine merger, while ACCC flags review]( Federal communications minister Mitch Fifield has lauded the proposed Nine-Fairfax merger as vindicating last year’s media reforms while the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission expects to carry out 12 week public review of the deal, the regulator has announced. “What this proposition from Nine and Fairfax demonstrates is that our changes to media law are giving the opportunity for Australian media organisations to look at how they can make themselves the strongest they can be,” Fifield said at a media conference. [READ MORE »]( Features [Industry bodies respond to Nine and Fairfax merger]( Today it was announced two of Australia’s most significant media players will become one – with Nine Entertainment intending to purchase Fairfax Media. The deal, should it proceed, would make the combined company worth around $4bn. Here, Mumbrella’s Abigail Dawson looks at how the various industry bodies involved in the sector have reacted. Is it good news, or bad news for the news? Fairfax Media could be no more, should Nine Entertainment be successful in its bid to buy the legacy media company. [READ MORE »]( News [Journalists warn of culture differences and conflicts in reaction to Nine-Fairfax merger]( Journalists and media figures have had a mixed reaction to the Nine and Fairfax merger with former reporters who’ve worked with both companies warning there is a big culture difference between the two organisations. Former Fairfax journalist Katherine Murphy reflected much of the print company’s mood around the announcement, tweeting she wanted to cry on hearing the news the merged company will be called Nine. [READ MORE »]( News [Nine and Fairfax Media to merge businesses]( One of the biggest moves in the Australian media’s history is underway, with Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media set to merge businesses. Nine announced the news on the Today Show this morning, telling the audience the deal would conclude by the end of 2018. It is the biggest proposal to come out of the media reforms – which include the repeal of the two out of three and 75% media ownership rules, since they were passed late last year. [READ MORE »]( Opinion [Fairfax - Where did it all go right?]( Today’s blockbuster merger between Nine Entertainment Co and Fairfax Media will radically change the Australian media landscape. In a piece first written prior to the announcement, for Saturday’s “Best of the Week” email, Mumbrella’s Tim Burrowes examines how Fairfax Media came back from the critical list.As I write this in a remote part of Tasmania, my laptop is sharing the table with the daily miracle, today’s newspapers. And I must admit, if you’d asked me five years ago whether that would be still be the case now, I’d not have been sure. I may have been listening to the wrong people. [READ MORE »]( Features [Nine and Fairfax merger draws 177 years of Australian media history to a close]( The Nine and Fairfax merger sees the end of the Fairfax family’s 177-year association with Australian media, writes Mumbrella’s Paul Wallbank. When John Fairfax purchased the Sydney Morning Herald in 1841, Fairfax became a national company. It went on to launch the Australian Financial Review in 1953 and cemented its broadsheet portfolio with the acquisition of Melbourne Age publisher, David Syme & Co, in 1983. [READ MORE »]( News [Mumbrella Entertainment Marketing Awards incorporating the BEFEST Awards launches]( Mumbrella has launched the Entertainment Marketing Awards, incorporating the BEFEST Awards for branded entertainment. The awards coincide with the Entertainment Marketing Summit and include 19 categories all up split into two distinct groups. [READ MORE »]( News [Facebook stocks plunge on flat user numbers]( Mark Zuckerberg has pledged increased investment in privacy after Facebook saw its shares slump 24% in out of hours trading following the release of its second quarter figures, which revealed slowing user growth. Facebook reported 11% global growth in users, the lowest growth rate since 2011. In North America, the key Daily Active User measure remained stagnant at 185 million while European DAUs fell from 282m to 279m. [READ MORE »]( News [Nine, News Corp and the NRL join Mumbrella Publish conference lineup]( Nicholas Gray, CEO of News Corp’s The Australian, is the first speaker revealed for a session on publishign funding models to take place at Mumbrella’s annual Publish conference this September. In the session, three of the industry’s senior leaders will discuss their various reader revenue solutions, why the model has been chosen, what the reception has been and what size of audience they have managed to build. Once each speaker has provided a rundown of their reader revenue model, the audience will be given the opportunity to decide who has the best model of the three in a real-time vote. [READ MORE »]( News [Westpac supports those grieving in heartfelt campaign]( Westpac has launched a campaign to support those who have lost a loved one promoting the ways in which the bank can help Australians with bereavement and the management of a Deceased Estate. The one minute commercial shows the budding romance between a young woman and man and chronicles the couples life together. [READ MORE »]( Features [Why News Corp’s regional and local paywalls are holding strong]( It’s been seven years since News Corp owned mastheads began rolling out subscriptions. Now, local and regional titles are behind a freemium paywall. Mumbrella’s Zoe Samios asks News Corp’s Damian Eales why the model is working. The arrival of a local newspaper at my doorstep always feels nostalgic. My first memories of receiving a weekly title involved cutting clippings out and pasting them into my primary school workbook in an attempt to show my teachers what was going on in my community. [READ MORE »]( News [Weight-loss company pulls The Bachelor ad deal]( The parent company of a weight-loss drug has pulled the plug on plans to advertise during The Bachelor. Inova Pharmaceuticals, which distributes the prescription-only weight-loss drug Duromine in Australia, had been planning on running ads during Ten’s dating show promoting messages about weight loss. But it insists it never intended to tie the messages directly to Duromine. [READ MORE »]( SUPPORTED [No longer a ‘little island’ – how content marketing found its place in the world]( Following on from the recent Mumbrella Awards, the winner and nominees of Best Content Marketing Strategy discuss how the medium is evolving, where brands are still going wrong and what’s next on the horizon. At first glance, the winning campaign for Best Content Marketing Strategy at the Mumbrella Awards seems a tad too ambitious to be considered a mere content marketing strategy. ‘Born This Way’, for car oil brand Nulon, comprised a series of 32 videos and was executed over an 18-month period. The man behind the project, The Edge Agency ECD Matt Batten, explains it was a decision made because car nuts tend to be ravenous for information. [READ MORE »]( News [Banks won’t have any young customers in 10 years unless they transform their marketing: Mediacom]( Financial institutions risk completely losing their hold on the youth market as their marketing efforts fail to keep pace with evolving market trends, Mediacom’s global ECD and head of Mediacom Beyond Advertising, Gemma Hunter, has warned. The source of the problem, she said, is poor advice being dished out by partners and agencies, as well as the bureaucratic layers within banks. [READ MORE »]( Opinion [It is time for agencies to reject racist clients and put ethics before revenue]( A toxic client will not only damage an agency’s reputation and credibility, but also bring team morale down, so agencies must fight against unethical behaviour even if it means giving up business – says Lina Marican. I have been closely following the Papa John’s public relations crisis over the past weeks – not for the company’s response to it, but to see how agencies around the brand have reacted. [READ MORE »]( News [Beau Ryan exits Macquarie Sports Radio after three months]( The newly-launched Macquarie Sports Radio has lost one of its breakfast hosts, with NRL star Beau Ryan leaving the company after just three months. Macquarie Media has confirmed Ryan, who was announced as part of the revamped station’s lineup three months ago, will not be returning. [READ MORE »]( News [Banks shouldn't expect love from customers says Volt Bank co-founder]( Banks shouldn’t be expecting love from their customers, instead they should focus on providing a good service and knowing what customers need, co-founder and deputy CEO at Volt Bank, Luke Bunbury, said. “Many institutions have actually got it wrong, we shouldn’t expect customers to love us because that is just the wrong emotion to pair with your financial services provider. [READ MORE »]( Sponsored Post Automotive Marketing Summit is just two weeks away - book now [Mumbrella’s Automotive Marketing Summit]( is just two weeks away. Join industry leaders including Caroline Laird from Google, to learn how you can better understand your customers and gain valuable insights from data. Find out how to effectively target the right customers. [Book now](to join your peers and get data driving your marketing strategy. F.Y.I. • [ALDI continues Good Different platform with new retail ads]( • [News Corp launches innovation program]( Jobs [20 new jobs]( MOST DISCUSSED [Nine and Fairfax Media to merge businesses]( [The Monkeys' first Australia Post ad showcases caring posties and community support]( [Eight male media personalities to front Ten's Pilot Week]( [Yoghurt Digital wins R.M. Williams' digital account]( mumbrella.com.au Sent By Focal Attractions Pty Ltd 46-48 Balfour Street, Chippendale, NSW, 2008, Australia If you would rather not receive this newsletter, you can [unsubscribe]( or [manage subscriptions here.](